DISASTER READINESS AND RISK REDUCTION CvSU-LSHS

11-STEM
LECTURE / DIGMA S.Y 2020-2021
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LESSON 3: BASIC CONCEPT OF HAZARD

OUTLINE  A dangerous phenomenon, substance, human

I. Hazard Map of the Philippines activity or condition that may cause loss of life,
II. Hazard Signs injury or other health impacts, property damage,
III. Basic Concept of Hazard
loss of livelihood and services, social and
- Definition of Hazard
- Classification of Hazards economic disruption, or environmental damage
- Common Types of Hazards (UNISDR)
IV. Natural Hazards and Human Intervention  A hazard is a threat. A future source of danger. It
- Types of Hazards has the potential to cause harm to:
- Impact of Various Hazards
1. People – death, injury, disease, and stress.
2. Human Activity – economic, educational, etc.
HAZARD MAP OF THE PHILIPPINES
3. Property – property damage, economic loss,
etc.
4. Environment – loss fauna and flora, pollution,
loss of amenities.
 Some examples of hazards are earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, cyclones, floods, landslides,
and other events.

CLASSIFICATION OF HAZARDS
 Are hazards natural?
o There are many ways of classifying
hazards. One is to consider the extent to
which hazards are natural.
I. Natural hazards such as earthquakes or
floods arise from purely natural processes in
the environment.
II. Quasi-natural hazards such as smog or
desertification arise through the interaction
of natural processes and human activities.
III. Technological (or man-made) hazards
such as the toxicity of pesticides to fauna,
accidental release of chemicals or radiation
Figure 3-1. Hazard Map of the Philippines from a nuclear plant. These arise directly as
HAZARD SIGNS a result of human activities.
 Herwitt and Burton (1971) itemized a variety of
factors relating to damaging geophysical events,
which were not process-specific, including:
1. Aerial extent of damage zone;
2. Intensity of impact at a point;
3. Duration of impact at a point;
4. Rate of onset of the event; and
Figure 3-2. Hazard Signs 5. Predictability of the event.
BASIC CONCEPT OF HAZARD  A typology based on Hewitt and Burton (1971)
would appear as follows:
DEFINITION OF HAZARD 1. Atmospheric Atmospheric
 Elements of the physical environment, harmful to Single element Combined elements/events
Excess rainfall Typhoons
man and caused by forces extraneous to them Hail Thunderstorms
(Burton, et. al., 1978). High wind speeds Tornadoes
 Extreme temperatures Heat stress
A natural event that has the potential to cause 2. Hydrologic 3. Geologic
harm or loss (ADPC). Single element Mass-movement

Discussion Date: March 3, 2021 DRR11-L3

 Floods-river and Landslides 1. Human intervention can increase the frequency
coastal Mudslides
Wave action Earthquake
and severity of natural hazards.
Drought Volcanic eruption 2. Human intervention may also cause natural
Rapid sediment movement hazards where none existed before.
4. Biologic 5. Technologic
Epidemic in humans Transport accidents 3. Human intervention reduces the mitigating effect
Epidemic in plants Industrial explosions and of natural ecosystems.
Epidemic in animals fires
Locusts Accidental release of toxic
chemicals TYPES OF HAZARDS
Nuclear accidents 1. Geologic Hazards – a geological state that may
Collapse of public buildings lead to widespread damage or risk. Geohazards
Table 3-1. Typology
are geological and environmental conditions
COMMON TYPES OF HAZARDS may involve long-term or short-term geological
1. Physical Hazards – conditions or situations that processes.
can cause the body physical harm or intense o An earth process that upon interaction
stress. with human activity causes loss of life
o Slippery floors, objects in walkways, and/or property.
unsafe or misused machinery, excessive o By earth process we mean a natural
noise, poor lighting, fire, etc. event that occurs within the
2. Chemical Hazards – substances that can cause lithosphere/crust, hydrosphere (e.g.
harm to the body, property, or the environment. weather system) or atmosphere.
o Gases, dusts, fumes, vapours, and o Mass movements or landslide hazards
liquids. o Flood hazards
3. Biological Hazards – biological agents that can o Earthquake hazards
cause harm to the human body. o Volcanic hazards
o Infection by bacteria, virus, fungi, or o Coastal hazards
parasites – through a cut, insect bite, or o Accelerated erosion
contact with infected persons or  Why is it important to study geohazards?
contaminated objects. o Because they are a threat to the human
4. Psychological Hazards – usually work-related population and/or infrastructure.
or created in a stressful environment. o If human lives were not threatened or
o Shiftwork, workload, dealing with the endangered then the process would not
public, harassment, discrimination, be classified as hazards and it would not
threat of danger, constant, low-level be so vital that we understand the
noise, stress. process involved.
5. Ergonomic Hazards – described as problems 2. Natural Hazards – a natural process or event
that can occur in a worker’s physical workplace that is potentially damaging in that it may result
or typical work procedures. in loss of life or injury, loss of property, socio-
o Poor design of equipment, workstation economic destruction or environmental
design, postural or workflow, manual degradation. Climate and weather-related
handling. hazards, in particular, refer to the direct and
 Other types of hazards include: indirect effects of observed changes and/or
o Radiation Hazards projected deviations from present-day conditions
o Noise Hazards of natural climate events (such as increase and
o Electrical Hazards decrease in precipitation and temperature); and
o Lighting Hazards impacts of changes in the frequencies and
o Temperature Hazards occurrences of extreme weather/climate events
(such as tropical cyclones, droughts, El Nino,
NATURAL HAZARDS AND HUMAN INTERVENTION and La Nina events).
 Although humans can do little or nothing to o Earthquakes
change the incidence or intensity of most natural o Landslides
phenomena, they have an important role to play o Volcanic eruptions
in ensuring that natural events are not converted o Flooding
into disasters by their own actions. o Wildland fires
 It is important to understand that: o Snow avalanches

Discussion Date: March 3, 2021 DRR11-L3

 o Drought
o Lightning
o Severe storms
o Tornadoes

IMPACT OF VARIOUS HAZARDS

1. Grief and psychological trauma;
2. Loss of vital infrastructure, e.g. sewers,
sanitation, and water;
3. Loss of power stations and key transport
infrastructure, e.g. harbors, airports, and railway
lines;
4. Widespread loss of housing;
5. Loss of harvest, fertile soils or cattle/s;
6. Loss of fishing vessels and/or equipment;
7. Loss of forests and/or freshwater environments;
8. Destruction of houses, bridges, roads, buildings,
and/or other infrastructures;
9. Erosion of river banks and farm lands;
10. Siltation of agricultural fields;
11. Crop loss;
12. Deaths due to drowning;
13. Interruption of services;
14. Health problems;
15. Permanent changes in the river channel; and
16. Loss of wildlife habitat.
 Therefore, we can simplify the different impacts
of hazard into six (6) types:
1. Physical Impact – death of people.
2. Psychological Impact – depression.
3. Socio-cultural Impact – displacement of
populations.
4. Economic Impact – loss of jobs due to
displacement.
5. Environmental Impact – disturbance of
biodiversity.
6. Biological Impact – epidemic to the people
and/or animals.

REFERENCES
Rosarda, N. A. L. (2021). Powerpoint Presentation:
Basic Concept of Hazard.

Discussion Date: March 3, 2021 DRR11-L3