IMPACTS OF HAZARDS
Frequency (how often, the higher the
Based on RA 10121 (Philippine Disaster
Risk Reduction and management Act of 2010),
as adapted from the UNDRRR (United Nations
Office for Disaster Risk Reduction), a hazard is
anything (phenomenon, substance, human
activity or condition) THAT MAY CAUSE
negative consequences to lives, properties,
economy, or environment.
TWO TYPES
1. NATURAL HAZARDS- naturally
occurring physical phenomena caused
by either rapid or slow onset of events
which can be GEOLOGICAL,
HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL (interaction
between atmosphere, water and land),
and BIOLOGICAL
2. MANMADE/ TECHNOLOGICAL- caused
by humans
IMPACTS of hazards are measured through the
ANALYSIS of the interaction between HAZARD
and RECEPTORS (AKA ELEMENTS AT RISK)
Receptors- entities that may be harmed
as a result of interaction of hazard
Elements at risk- considered at risk
when they are EXPOSED to hazards
and there is a PROBABILITY of severe
harm
Classification of Elements at risk
1. Physical (facilities and services, community
structures, infrastructures)
2. Social (people and their health/wellbeing,
community)
3. Economic (livelihood and economic
activities)
4. Environmental (natural environment)
Factors influencing impacts
1. Natural (rock type, shape of coastline,
height of land)
2. Population density (the greater the number
of people in an area, the greater the potential
disaster)
3. Magnitude (size of the event)
4.
perception of the risk, the more prepared
people are)
5. Level of development (how much money is
available, preparing people to cope)
6. Time (amount of time since the last
hazardous event, time of the day when the
hazardous event occurred)
7. Preparations (limits the impact of a hazard)
8. Accessibility (remote areas=prevents safe
search and rescue efforts)
EFFECTS OF DISASTERS
Primary
-direct result of a disaster
-collapse of a building, landslide, water
damage during a flood
Secondary
-comes from the primary effects
-will only occur because a primary effect
caused them
-power outages due to fallen trees or
buildings, fires from broken gas lines
Tertiary
-long term effects set off as a result of a
primary
-changes in landscape, loss of habitat, crop
failure or reduction
ALSO:
People
-stress
-psychological trauma
-mental health problems
Homes
-damaged houses
-can’t fix due to little to no savings
Infrastructure
-unavailability of primary services
-damaged hospital, ATMS, stores
Economy
-cannot engage in commerce

EXPOSURE, VULNERABILITY, AND
CAPACITY
DISASTER- the interaction/convergence of
the three (exposure to a hazard, conditions of
vulnerability, and insufficient measures to
reduce or cope with potential negative
consequences)
DISASTER RISK- potential impacts that could
affect the community
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑘
Hazard × Exposure × Vulnerability
=
Capacity
HAZARD
EXPOSURE- degree to which the elements at
risk are likely to experience hazardous events
of different magnitudes
-mainly concerns GEOGRAPHICAL
LOCATION
-refers to people, properties and systems
within danger zones
VULNERABILITY
-characteristics and circumstances that make
entities susceptible to the damaging effects of
hazard
-WEAKNESSES found in the community
CATEGORIES
Physical- geographic proximity to origins of
hazards
-determined by POPULATION
DENSITY (number of people in an
area), DESIGN AND MATERIALS
USED for buildings (if building codes
are followed), LEVELS OF
DEVELOPMENT, REMOTENESS
Social- attitudes, values and beliefs
(pamahiin)
-inability of societies to withstand
adverse impacts from multiple stressors
to which they are exposed
-includes political accountability, or how
local authorities respond to possible
threats
Economic- economic status of individuals and
communities
Environmental- resource depletion and
degradation
CAPACITY
-STRENGTHS and resources available to
combat negative impacts of a hazard
-individual and collective attributes
Occurrence of natural disasters cannot be
prevented but REDUCING exposure and
vulnerability can minimize their impacts.
RISK FACTORS UNDERLYING DISASTERS
- They aggravate the impacts
1. Severity of Exposure – emotional
disturbances brought by repeated
experiences with a disaster
2. Gender and Family – hormonal
differences and greater challenges in
this age make women suffer more
- Distress of one is stress for
everyone
- Conflicts make it harder to recover
3. Age – working adults have more
responsibility in terms of meeting
demands from job and people they
support; after a disaster they feel the
 need to come off stronger for the young
to emulate
- The elderly having cognitive and
physical impairments
- Young people having less
knowledge in handling disasters
4. Low or negative social support – both a
risk and resilience factor
- No man is an island
- Social support, e.g. bayanihan and
relief operations, is a resilience
factor
- Social conflicts recur as people try
to gain access to much needed
resources
- Responses from others may be
negative
5. Developing Countries – less developed
or underdeveloped countries suffer
greatly
- Money
- Disaster management is better off
for developed countries as they
have the resources and capability
for preparation, mitigation, response
and rehabilitation, and recovery
Underlying risk drivers
Factors specific to the survivor
Recovery is worse for you if
-were not functioning well before the disaster
-have had no experience dealing with
disasters
-must deal with other stressors after the
disaster
-have poor self-esteem
-think you are uncared for by others
-think you have little control over what
happens to you
-lack the capacity to manage stress
Everything else would become difficult.
WORLD RISK INDEX
Has four components
1. Exposure – relates to geographical
location, or the community being
located in a danger zone
2. Susceptibility (BEFORE) – likelihood of
suffering from harm
- Reflects the situations and
conditions of a community
(VULNERABILITY/ Weaknesses)
3. Coping capacity (DURING) – SHORT
TERM activity for the community to be
able to face the effects of an impending
disaster
- What the community does right
away
- DIRECT ACTION
- RESOURCES TO AVERT DAMAGE
4. Adaptive capacity (AFTER) –
permanent changes done to enable
adaptation
- What the gov’t does to minimize
impacts long before a recurrence
- CHANGING ASPECTS for long-
term protection
2, 3, and 4 focuses on characteristics of
vulnerability of societies and social actors
WE CANNOT CONTROL THE NATURAL
HAZARDS BUT WE CAN REDUCE THE
RISKS THROUGH THE REDUCTION OF
EXPOSURE AND VULNERABILITY
e.g., Keeping people and properties away
from hazards OR implementing mechanisms
to avert great damages
To mitigate risk drivers:
- Raising awareness
- Education
- Preparations
- Predictions
- Early warning systems
- Land-zoning
- Land-use practices
- Following building codes