Concept of

Disaster Risk
Reduction (DRR)
and Disaster Risk
Reduction and
Management
(DRRM)
CONCEPTS,
PRINCIPLES, AND
RELEVANCE OF
DISASTER RISK
REDUCTION
Disaster and Disaster Risk
Every day, the earth undergoes different processes like
the movement of plate tectonics and wind movements
that constantly change the structure of the planet.
Some processes that are slow and steady might not be
noticeable. On the other hand, disasters can occur
when these processes become abrupt and sudden.
Disasters can cause damage or mishap in one’s life. The
word “disaster” originated from the French word,
‘desastre’ , a combination of two words, ‘des’ meaning
bad and ‘astre’ meaning star. Thus, disasters signify bad
star or evil star.
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Disaster and Disaster Risk
Yearly, the Philippines experiences an average of 20
tropical cyclones. Plate movements also occur daily.
The country also has 20 active volcanoes that can erupt
at any moment.

Percentage of disaster frequency in the Philippines as of 2015.

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The Concept of Disaster
and Disaster Risk

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A community near a volcano can be regarded
as vulnerable to its hazards. More so, the
community can experience disaster due to
volcanic hazards.
How are the concepts vulnerability, hazard,
and disaster interrelated?

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Concept of Disaster
Disaster is a dangerous situation or threat from natural or
man-made events that disrupt the functions of individuals
in a community. This could mean death, damage to
resources, and loss of property. Thus, a community under
disaster might need assistance to recover. Disasters occur
when a hazard is exposed to a vulnerable community.

A disaster risk occurs when a hazard is exposed to a vulnerable community.

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Concept of Disaster
A hazard is a threat to life, environment, or property. A
hazard can be considered a disaster if it poses an actual
harm to life and environment. It can be classified based
on its origins: natural and man-made.
Natural hazards are caused by an abrupt or slow onset
of naturally occurring phenomena which can be
biological, geological, hydrological, meteorological,
and climatological in origin.

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Type of Natural Hazards

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Concept of Disaster
Man-made hazards are caused by human activities
and occur near human settlements. Pollution,
industrial, and transport accidents, conflicts (war
and terrorism), and technological structures are
some examples of man-made hazards. pollution

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Concept of Disaster
The failure to withstand the impacts of hazards is
called vulnerability . For example, a town located
near an active volcano is more vulnerable to a
volcanic eruption compared to a town located far
from the volcano.
The impacts of a disaster can be reduced if proper
mitigation measures are done. Mitigation refers to
the act of preventing or minimizing the effects of a
disaster by introducing precautionary measures
before it strikes a community.

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Nature of Disasters
How are disasters formed? We can recall that
disaster occurrence is a combination of hazards and
vulnerability. A vulnerable community exposed to a
hazard is prone to disaster risks. Vulnerability is
often caused by limited resources, illnesses within
the population, and disabilities within a community.
Failure to plan proper disaster management
procedures also contribute in disaster formation.

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Natural Disasters
Some natural disasters are unpredictable, but
communities can prepare for its occurrence to avoid
heavy damages. For example, the earthquake on the
West Valley Fault lining the National Capital Region
and nearby areas is unpredictable. However, the
government and nearby communities can take
precautionary measures to reduce the potential
negative impacts of the earthquake. The different
communities around the area continue to conduct
earthquake drills to prepare for the upcoming
disaster.
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Man-made Disasters
Man-made disasters are caused by human
activities and usually occur in human settlements.
Like natural disasters, man-made disasters can
happen with or without warning. Flood caused by
an unknown leak or breakage in a water dam,
without proper mitigation is an example of
unpredicted disaster.
Some of the most severe man-made disasters
strike without warning. An example is the war at
Marawi that caused the death of hundreds of
civilians and soldiers, damage to properties, and
the spread of diseases. 14
Examples of Natural and Man-made Disasters

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Concept of Disaster Risk

Disaster risk is defined by United Nations

International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
(UNISDR) as “the combination of the
probability of an event and its negative
consequences.” This includes severity of
hazard, number of damage to people and
resources, and their vulnerability to damage.

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 Concept of Disaster Risk
• Hazard – any phenomenon that can potentially cause
damage to life, property, or environment.
• Exposure – any element (people, property, or system)
that is present in a hazard and is prone to potential loss.
• Vulnerability - feature of a community that makes
them prone and exposed to the negative impacts of
hazard.

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Concept of Disaster Risk

The ability of a community to withstand,

accommodate, and recover from a disaster is called
resilience .
According to UNISDR, 1.6 billion people have been
killed in disasters worldwide since 1980. It is also
estimated that global average annual loss will increase
up to US$415 billion by 2030. Disaster risk is measured
and assessed to reduce the number of deaths and
resources lost as mentioned in the example.

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Concept of Disaster Risk
Analyzing disaster loss from previous years are
employed to plan mitigation procedures to prevent
and estimate future disaster losses. Information
gathered from hazards, exposures, vulnerabilities, and
damages will give an accurate risk assessment. A risk
assessment is made to estimate the potential
economic, infrastructure, and social impacts.

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Disaster Risk Factors
There are several factors that affect the degree of disaster risk in a
community. These factors can intensify or lessen the effects of disaster.
These factors can be classified into physical, psychological, socio-cultural,
economic, and biological aspects.
1. Physical – This includes the concrete objects in a community that can
help or harm an individual during a disaster. Examples are availability
of fire exits during a fire, sturdiness of infrastructure or the ability of a
building to withstand earthquakes.
2. Psychological – It includes the mental state of an individual, like the
ability of an individual to respond to a disaster and fear.
3. Socio-cultural – This includes traditions, religion, and social statuses
in society. Examples include community folklore, presence of
bayanihan system, etc.
4. Economic – This includes resources in the community and the income
source of individuals such as farming and employment.
5. Biological – This includes the flora and fauna in the environment,
their health, and its Diseases. 21
Community-Based Risk
Reduction Management
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Each community is unique in its physical,
environmental, economic, and socio-cultural
aspects. It follows that different communities
are exposed to different sets of hazards, have
different disaster risks, vulnerabilities, and
resilience.

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Community-based risk reduction
management (CBRDM)
It is a process that a community undergoes in
order to derive a set of locally-appropriate and
adapted strategies for disaster preparedness and
management. All members of the community are
active participants and contributors to all aspects
of risk reduction and management. This includes
identification and assessment of risks, risk
reduction, management and recovery planning.

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Community-based risk reduction
management (CBRDM)
The decision-making of the community is based
on their own experiences, and the unique
characteristics of their community. It will serve to
build the capacity of the community in disaster
risk reduction and management, as well as the
resilience of every member of the community,
including its vulnerable sectors (e.g. children,
elderly, pregnant, physically challenged, and
unprivileged).

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Community-based risk reduction
management (CBRDM)

There are four components to consider in

community-based risk reduction management:
1. Emergency Plan
2. Monitoring and Evaluation
3. Early Warning Systems
4. Survival Kits and Materials

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1. Emergency Plan
In emergency planning, it is important to
establish who to prioritize during a response
based on the individual’s capacity and
vulnerability. The role of individuals, rescuers,
and the government in an emergency event,
should be identified. Emergency planning is the
basis for a community’s Standard Operating
Procedures (SOP) or Emergency Operations Plan
(EOP).

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2. Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring aims to track the steps done in the

mitigation procedures and the result of post-
disaster actions. This helps the community to
evaluate the compatibility of the disaster risk
reduction plans done by the government. This
also serves as basis for modifications for future
disaster risk reduction planning suited to the
community needs.

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3. Early Warning Systems
These are vital for information dissemination. This serves as a
warning for the community in an upcoming hazard so that
they can take the necessary precautionary procedures to
reduce the negative impacts of disasters. Early warning
devices are based on the resources of a community. An
effective early warning system has four main elements which
are:
1. knowledge of the community about the risks they have;
2. monitoring and forecasting of hazards;
3. dissemination and communication methods; and
4. knowledge and capability of community members to
respond when the warning is delivered. 29
Survival Kits and Materials

These are supplies needed to be prepared

before a disaster . This includes materials
that are needed for survival and immediate
relief during and immediately after a disaster
event. Some of the materials needed for
survival kits are water, ready to eat food that
can last for 72 hours, battery-operated
radios, medicines, etc.

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Developing Community
Preparedness Plan

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THANK YOU