DISASTER READINESS AND RISK REDUCTION
Lesson 1: Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk
Disaster
❑The term disaster owes its origin to the French word
“desastre” which is a combination of two words “des”
meaning bad and “aster” meaning star
❑Thus the term refers to “Bad or Evil star”
❑is a situation that causes substantial losses and
damage to communities and individuals, possibly
including losses of life and livelihood assets and damage
to the ecosystem, which leaves the affected
communities unable to function normally without
outside assistance.
❑ is a “serious disruption of the functioning of a
community or society causing widespread human,
material, economic, and environmental losses which
exceed the ability of the affected community to cope
using its own resources”
Risk
•The possibility that something bad or unpleasant will
happen (such as an injury or a loss).
•Concept of chance or possibility on an event and its
negative consequence, ex. The risk of an accident.
(General usage)
•Consequences “potential losses” for some cause, place
and period.
Capacity
•Combination of all the strengths, attributes, and
resources available within a community, society, or
organization that can be used to achieve agreed goals.
Disaster Risk is “the probability of harmful
consequences or expected losses (deaths, injuries,
livelihoods, assets, services) resulting from the
interactions between natural or human-induced
hazards and vulnerable conditions”
Disaster Risk Factor
1. Physical factors – would pertain to tangible
objects or infrastructure, like the availability of
fire exits, or the sturdiness of the building, or
the presence or absence of objects that can
harm you or help you, etc.
2. Psychological factors - include state of mental
capacity and health (e.g. are we dealing with
babies? Kids? Adults? People with special
needs?), perception of self (e.g., self-
assessment of capability to respond to
disasters, fear), etc.
3. Socio-cultural factors - include religion, social
status, traditions, perception by society, etc.
4. Economic factors - include assets and liabilities,
income, economic class, etc. Disaster Risk
5. Political factors - include government structure,
diplomatic issues, etc. Disaster Risk Factor 6.
Biological factors include environment, health,
diseases, etc.
Lesson 2: Nature and Effects of Disaster
Natural Disasters
➢Are consequence when a natural hazard affects
humans and/or the built environment.
Man-made Disasters
➢Are events that are caused by humans and occur in or
close to human settlements (IFRC).
➢Consequence of technological or human hazards.
Effects of Disaster
• Effects to human - leads to death, injuries,
psychological impact (trauma), and etc.
• Effects on the economy - economic disruption,
destroy tangible assets such as buildings and equipment
– as well as human capital – and thereby deteriorate
their production capacity. These adverse impacts may
sometimes be fatal to the firms and result in them being
forced to close down.
• Environmental effect - the destruction of natural
resources and habitat of the animals and humans.
Aggravate
• To make more serious or severe (injury, problem, etc.)
Mitigate
• To make it less severe, harmful, or painful
Lesson 3: Exposure and Vulnerability
Exposure (elements at risk)
- Elements at risk from a natural or man-made
hazard event.
- It is the total value of elements at risk.
- It is expressed as the number of human lives
and value of the properties, that can potentially
be affected by hazards.
Exposure has three (3) essential components:
1. People, property, systems, and other elements.
2. Present in hazard zones.
3. That is thereby subject to potential loss.
Vulnerability
 Is the physical, social, economic and
environmental factors which increase the
susceptibility to be impacted by hazards.
 Vulnerability engages resistance and resilience.
 Vulnerability is the state of being open to injury
or appearing as if you are.
Lesson 4: Difference Between Hazards, Vulnerability
and Exposure
Vulnerability has many aspects it can be physical, social,
economic, and environmental factors.
Types of Vulnerability
1. Physical Vulnerability may be determined by aspects
such as population density levels, remoteness of a
settlement, the site, design and materials used for
critical infrastructure and for housing
2. Social Vulnerability it is linked to the level of well-
being of individuals, communities and society.
• It includes aspects related to levels of literacy and
education, the existence of peace and security, access
to basic human rights, systems of good governance,
social equity, positive traditional values, customs and
ideological beliefs and overall collective organizational
systems
it is linked to the level of well-being of individuals,
communities and society
3. Economic Vulnerability it is the level of vulnerability
is highly dependent upon the economic status of
individuals, communities and nations.
4. Environmental Vulnerability the natural resource
depletion and resource degradation are key aspects of
environmental vulnerability
 •A natural event that has the potential to cause harm
or loss. (ADPC)

•Is a threat.

•Future source of danger.

•It has the potential to cause harm to:

- People

- Human Activity

- Property

- Environment

Classification of Hazards

Technological (man-made) Hazard

➢Result of human activities. Examples: Toxicity

of pesticides to fauna, accidental release of
chemicals or radiation from a nuclear plant

Quasi – Natural Hazard

➢It arises through the interaction of natural

processes and human activities.

Types of hazards

Geological Hazards (Geohazards)

•This are geological and environmental

conditions and involve long-term or short-term
geological processes

•It originates from the solid earth’s geosphere

Examples: Ballistic projectiles (Rocks from an

erupting volcano), Ground shaking
(Earthquake), Landslide

Hydrometeorological Hazard

•It is a process or phenomenon of atmospheric,

hydrological or oceanographic nature
Lesson 5 : Concept of Hazards
Examples: Tornado, Flood, Typhoon, Forest fire
Hazard
Biological Hazard
• Those elements of the physical environment, harmful
to man and caused by forces extraneous to him (Burton,
et al., 1978)
 • It is a process or phenomenon of organic
origin or conveyed by biological vectors/agents,
including exposure to pathogenic
microorganisms, toxins and bioactive
substances.

Examples: Ebola Virus, Flu virus, Rabies

•Tsunami- sea waves resulting from the disturbance of

ocean floor by an earthquake

Lesson 6: Earthquake Hazard and Effects

What is Earthquake?

•Is shaking of the ground caused by the sudden

breaking and movement of large sections (tectonic
plates) of the earth’s rocky outermost crust. • Liquefaction- is a process that transforms the
behavior of a body of sediments from that of a solid to
that of a liquid when subjected to extremely intense
Common Earthquake Related Hazard shaking.
•Ground shaking disruptive up-down and sideways
movement or motion experienced during an
earthquake.

•Earthquake-induced landslide- failures in steep or hilly

slopes triggered by an earthquake

•Ground rupture displacement on the ground due to

movement of fault.
Natural Signs of an Impending Tsunami

1. Severe ground shaking from local earthquakes may

cause tsunamis.

2. As a tsunami approaches shorelines, water may

recede from the coast, exposing the ocean floor, reefs
and fish.
3. Abnormal Ocean activity, a wall of water, and an
approaching tsunami create a loud "roaring" sound
similar to that of a train or jet aircraft.
Lesson 7: Volcano Hazards
VOLCANO
•is a vent on the Earth’s surface that opens downward
to a pool of molten rock, debris, and gases
debris avalanche event occurred during the 1980
eruption of Mt. St. Helens.
•Ballistic projectiles -are volcanic materials directly
ejected from the volcano’s vent with force and
trajectory
•Tsunami - sea waves or wave trains that are generated
by sudden displacement of water (could be generated
during undersea eruptions or debris avalanches)

VOLCANIC HAZARDS - are phenomena arising from

volcanic activity that pose potential threat to persons or
property in a given area within a given period of time.

•Lava flows - are stream-like flows of incandescent

molten rock erupted from a crater or fissure.

When lava is degassed and/or very viscous, it tends to

extrude extremely slowly, forming lava domes.

•Ashfall or tephra fall -are showers of airborne fine- to

coarse-grained volcanic particles that fallout from the
plumes of a volcanic eruption.

ashfall distribution/ dispersal is dependent on prevailing

wind direction

•Pyroclastic flows and surges -are turbulent mass of

ejected fragmented volcanic materials (ash and rocks),
mixed with hot gases that flow downslope at very high
speeds.

Surges are the more dilute, more mobile derivatives or

pyroclastic flows.

•Lahars -are rapidly flowing thick mixture of volcanic

sediments (from the pyroclastic materials) and water,
usually triggered by intense rainfall during typhoons,
monsoons and thunderstorms.

•Volcanic gases - gases and aerosols released into the

atmosphere, which include water vapor, hydrogen
sulfide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen
chloride, hydrogen fluoride

•Debris avalanche or volcanic landslide - massive

collapse of a volcano, usually triggered by an
earthquake or volcanic eruption. An example of recent