DISASTER READINESS AND DISASTER RISK

RISK REDUCTION - refers to the potential potential (not actual

and realized) disaster losses, in lives, health
status, livelihoods, assets, and services
(POWERPOINT 1) which could occur in a community or society
over some specified future time period
DISASTER
- the product of the possible damage caused
A serious disruption of the functioning of a by a hazard due to the vulnerability within a
community or a society involving widespread community
human, material, economic or environmental losses
and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the (POWERPOINT 2)
affected community or society to cope using its own
resources THREE IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF DISASTER
RISK
HAZARD
1. Exposure - the “elements at risk from a
A dangerous phenomenon, substance, human natural or man-made hazard event
activity or condition that may cause loss of life, (Quebral, 2016)
injury or other health impacts, property damage, 2. Hazard – a potentially dangerous physical
loss of livelihoods and services, social and occurrence, phenomenon or human activity
economic disruption, or environmental damage. that may result in loss of life or injury,
property damage, social and economic
Types of Hazard: disruption, or environmental degradation
1. Natural Hazards – naturally-occurring 3. Vulnerability - the condition determined by
physical phenomena caused either by rapid physical, social, economic and
or slow onset events environmental factors or processes, which
Examples: increase the susceptibility of a community to
a. Biological Hazard the impact of hazard (Food and Agriculture
b. Geological Hazard Organization of the United nation, FAO
c. Hydrometeorological Hazard 2008)
2. Man-Made and Technological Hazards –
Hazard ×Vulnerability
a hazard originating from technological or Risk is proportional
Capacity
industrial conditions including accidents,
dangerous procedures, infrastructure
failures or specific human activities
Examples: CONSIDERATION WHEN RISK FACTORS
a. Fire UNDERLYING DISASTER ARE INVOLVED:
b. Industrial pollution
a. Severity of Exposure - - which measures
c. Nuclear radiation
those who experience disaster first-hand
d. Chemical spills
which has the highest risk of developing
RISK future mental problems, followed by those in
contact with the victims such as rescue
- the combination of the probability of an workers and health care practitioners and
event and its negative consequences the lowest risk are those most distant like
(UNISDR, 2009) those who have awareness of the disaster
only through news
b. Gender and Family - the female gender
suffers more adverse effects. This worsens
 when children are present at home. Marital
relationships are placed under strain
c. Age - adults in the age range of 40-60 are
more stressed after disasters but in general,
children exhibit more stress after disasters
than adults do
d. Economic status of country - evidence
indicates that severe mental problems
resulting from disasters are more prevalent
in developing countries like the Philippines.
Furthermore, it has been observed that
natural disasters tend to have more adverse
effects in developing countries than do man-
caused disasters in developed countries
FACTORS WHICH UNDERLIE DISASTERS:
1. Climate Change - can increase disaster
risk in a variety of ways – by altering the
frequency and intensity of hazards events,
affecting vulnerability to hazards, and
changing exposure patterns
2. Environmental Degradation - changes to
the environment can influence the
frequency and intensity of hazards, as well
as our exposure and vulnerability to these
hazards
3. Globalized Economic Development - It
results in an increased polarization between
the rich and poor on a global scale.
Currently increasing the exposure of assets
in hazard prone areas, globalized economic
development provides an opportunity to
build resilience if effectively managed.
4. Poverty and Inequality - Impoverished
people are more likely to live in hazard-
exposed areas and are less able to invest in
risk-reducing measures.
5. Poorly planned and Managed Urban
Development - A new wave of urbanization
is unfolding in hazard-exposed countries
and with it, new opportunities for resilient
investment emerge.
6. Weak Governance - weak governance
zones are investment environments in
which public sector actors are unable or
unwilling to assume their roles and
responsibilities in protecting rights, providing
basic services and public services. Disaster
risk is disproportionately concentrated in
lower-income countries with weak
governance (UNISDR, 2015a).
VANUATU – world’s most at-risk country for natural
hazards
Philippines - the 3rd most vulnerable country
(POWERPOINT 3)
VULNERABILITY
- The characteristics and circumstances of a
community, system or resource that make it
susceptible to the damaging effects of a
hazard (RA 10121 aka Philippine Disaster
Risk Reduction and Management Act of
2010).
- Is situation specific
- Is hazard specific
FACTORS OF VULNERABILITY:
1. Physical Factors
- Poor design and construction of buildings,
unregulated land use planning etc.
Example: UNECE study maps transport
infrastructure at high risk due to climate
change
2. Social Factors
- Poverty and inequality, marginalization,
social exclusion and discrimination by
gender, social status, disability and age,
psychological factors, etc.
Example: Older adults’ independence is
most significant factor for vulnerability in hot
weather
3. Economic Factors – the uninsured
informal sector, vulnerable rural livelihoods,
dependence on single industries,
globalization of business and supply chains
Example: Secure food supply chain
4. Environmental Factors – poor
environmental management,
overconsumption of natural resources,
decline of risk regulating ecosystem
services, climate change, etc.
Example: Severe air pollution can heighten
Covid-19 in South Africa
(POWERPOINT 4) (POWERPOINT 5)
VULNERABILITIES OF DIFFERENT ELEMENTS DISASTERS FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES
EXPOSED TO HAZARDS
1. Physical Perspective – causes great
1. Physical Vulnerability physical damage
- Includes population density level, place of a Effects:
settlement, the site design, and materials  Injuries
used for infrastructure and housing  Physical disabilities or illness
- When hazardous events occur, normally  Sanitation
physical elements are severely damaged  Damage in infrastructure
2. Social Vulnerability 2. Psychological Perspective – causes
- Happens due to inability of people, serious mental health conditions or Post
organization, and societies to prevent Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
severe effects from hazards because of the Effects:
expected behaviour in social interactions,  distress
institutions, and system of cultural values  intrusion/avoidance
3. Economic Vulnerability  hatred/revenge
- Is based on the economic status of  dependence/insecurities
individuals, communities, and nations  grief/withdrawn/isolation
- The poorer the country, the more vulnerable  guilt feeling
to disasters because they lack the funds or  lack of trust
budget to build sturdy structures and put 3. Socio-cultural Perspective – causes
other engineering measures in place which changes in relationships
protect them from being affected by Effects:
disasters  change in individual roles
- So, we can say that Philippines is more  disruption of social relationships and
vulnerable to an event such as earthquake personal connections
compared to Japan with improved 4. Economic Perspective – reduces local and
infrastructures that are earthquake proof international trade
Effects:
Social and Economic Vulnerability can be  loss of life
combined also known as Socioeconomic  unemployment
Vulnerability.  loss of property
 loss of household articles
4. Environmental Vulnerability
 loss of crops
- Is caused by natural resources depletion
 loss of public infrastructure
and destruction
5. Political Perspective - disasters can have
- Organisms like humans, animals, and plants
major consequences for political stability
are all dependent on the environment for
and political legitimacy
survival
Effects:
 People who have trust in political
institution will assess the
government’s risk assessments as
credible and accept their hazard
policies (Johnson 1999)
 Low level of trust in public
institutions therefore means that
citizens may ignore the
 recommendations and disregard the
information provided by these
institutions (McCaffey 2004).
 If individuals are confident that they
will receive sufficient aid from the
government when a disaster occurs,
they might not be motivated to take
measures on their own (King and
Kang 2000).
6. Biological Perspective – disturbing effects
caused by a prevalent kind of disease or
virus
Effects:
 loss of lives
 public demobilization
 negative economic effect
 unemployment
 hunger
(POWERPOINT 6)
INTERPRETING HAZARD MAPS
Fault – refers to a fracture, fissure or a zone of
weakness where movement or displacement has
occurred or may occur again
Active Fault – a fault which has moved within the
last 10,000 years
EARTHQUAKE-RELATED HAZARDS
a. Ground shaking – disruptive up-down and
sideways movement or motion experienced
during an earthquake
b. Ground rupture – displacement on the
ground due to movement of fault
c. Tsunami – sea waves resulting from the
disturbance of ocean floor by an earthquake
d. Liquefaction – a process that transforms
the behaviour of sediments from that of a
solid to that of a liquid when subjected to
extremely intense shaking

Parts of Hazard Maps:

1. Title
2. Legend
3. Scale

(POWERPOINT 7)
POTENTIAL EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS AND
THEIR EFFECTS

EARTHQUAKE

- A feeble shaking to violent trembling of the

ground produced by the sudden
displacement of rocks or rock materials
below the earth’s surface

Types of Earthquake:

1. Tectonic Earthquakes – generated by

sudden displacement along faults in the
solid and rigid layer of the earth
2. Volcanic Earthquake – induced by rising
lava or magma beneath the active
volcanoes