MODULE 2: UNDERSTANDING HAZARDS, RISK,

VULNERABILITY, AND CAPACITY

Module Objectives

Upon completion of the module, you will be able to:

1. Explain the basic concepts of hazard, disaster, capacity, vulnerability, and risk.

TIME FRAME: Week 2- 3

INTRODUCTION:

This module discusses the basic concepts of disaster, hazard, capacity, vulnerability, and risk, and aims to
explain the relationship of these concepts to each other.

ACTIVITY:

List down different hazards that may be observed in your community and identify vulnerable groups and
respective capacities within the community.

ANALYSIS:

What is the relationship between hazards, risk, vulnerability, and capacity?

ABSTRACTION:

What is DISASTER?

“Disaster” – a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread

human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected
community or society to cope using its own resources.

Disasters are often described as a result of the combination of: the exposure to a hazard; the conditions of
vulnerability that are present; and insufficient capacity or measures to reduce or cope with the potential
negative consequences, Disaster impacts may include loss of life, injury, disease and other negative
effects on human, physical, mental and social well-being, together with damage to property, destruction
of assets, loss of services, Social and economic disruption and environmental degradation. (RA 10121)

What is HAZARD?

A dangerous phenomenon, substance, human activity, or condition that may cause loss of life, injury or
other health impacts, damage to property, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption,
or environmental damage. (RA 10121)

Hazards may bring about disasters but not all hazards result into disaster. It is important to know the
characteristics of hazards to understand the particular ones that communities experience or might face. This
will effectively help them to conduct measures to lessen the adverse impacts of hazards or disaster risks.
Examples of hazards that affect the Philippines are tropical cyclone, flood, flashflood, landslide,
earthquake, volcanic eruption, storm surge, tsunami, and others. Hazards can be classified according to
their characteristics such as hydrometeorological or geological.

Hazards may be natural, anthropogenic, or socio-natural in origin. Natural hazards are predominantly
associated with natural processes and phenomena. Anthropogenic hazards, or human-induced hazards, are
induced entirely or predominantly by human activities and choices. This term does not include the
occurrence or risk of armed conflicts and other situations of social instability or tension which are subject
to international humanitarian law and national legislation. Several hazards are socio-natural, in that they are
associated with a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors, including environmental degradation
and climate change.
Hazards may be single, sequential, or combined in their origin and effects. Each hazard is characterized by
its location, intensity or magnitude, frequency, and probability. Biological hazards are also defined by their
infectiousness or toxicity, or other characteristics of the pathogen such as dose-response, incubation period,
case fatality rate and estimation of the pathogen for transmission.

Multi-hazard means:
(1) the selection of multiple major hazards that the country faces, and
(2) the specific contexts where hazardous events may occur simultaneously, cascadingly or
cumulatively over time, and taking into account the potential interrelated effects.

Hazards include (as mentioned in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and listed
in alphabetical order) biological, environmental, geological, hydrometeorological and technological
processes and phenomena.

Biological hazards are of organic origin or conveyed by biological vectors, including pathogenic
microorganisms, toxins and bioactive substances. Examples are bacteria, viruses or parasites, as well as
venomous wildlife and insects, poisonous plants and mosquitoes carrying disease-causing agents.

Environmental hazards may include chemical, natural and biological hazards. They can be created by
environmental degradation or physical or chemical pollution in the air, water and soil. However, many of
the processes and phenomena that fall into this category may be termed drivers of hazard and risk rather
than hazards in themselves, such as soil degradation, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, salinization and
sea-level rise.

Geological or geophysical hazards originate from internal earth processes.

Examples are earthquakes, volcanic activity and emissions, and related geophysical processes such as mass
movements, landslides, rockslides, surface collapses and debris or mud flows. Hydrometeorological factors
are important contributors to some of these processes. Tsunamis are difficult to categorize: although they
are triggered by undersea earthquakes and other geological events, they essentially become an oceanic
process that is manifested as a coastal water-related hazard.

Hydrometeorological hazards are of atmospheric, hydrological or oceanographic origin. Examples are

tropical cyclones (also known as typhoons and hurricanes); floods, including flash floods; drought;
heatwaves and cold spells; and coastal storm surges. Hydrometeorological conditions may also be a factor
in other hazards such as landslides, wildland fires, locust plagues, epidemics and in the transport and
dispersal of toxic substances and volcanic eruption material
Technological hazards originate from technological or industrial conditions, dangerous procedures,
infrastructure failures or specific human activities. Examples include industrial pollution, nuclear radiation,
toxic wastes, dam failures, transport accidents, factory explosions, fires and chemical spills. Technological
hazards also may arise directly as a result of the impacts of a natural hazard event. (UNDRR)

What is VULNERABILITY?

“Vulnerability” – the characteristics and circumstances of a community, system or asset that make it
susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard. Vulnerability may arise from various physical, social,
economic, and environmental factors such as poor design and construction of buildings, inadequate
protection of assets, lack of public information and awareness, limited official recognition of risks and
preparedness measures, and disregard for wise environmental management.

“Vulnerable and Marginalized Groups” – those that face higher exposure to disaster risk and poverty
including, but not limited to, women, children, elderly, differently-abled people, and ethnic minorities.

Categories and Factors of Vulnerability

Factors that make communities susceptible to the damaging effects of hazards can be grouped into three
categories of vulnerability: physical and material, social and organizational, and attitudinal and
motivational. (ACCORD Training Manual, 2012)

a. The factors that contribute to physical and material vulnerability include:

 Being physically located or living in unsafe locations such as unstable mountain slopes,
riverbanks, coastal areas, and garbage dumpsites;
 Lack of access and control over assets such as land, farm animals, machinery and tools;
 Having household incomes that are insufficient to meet basic needs;
 Poor health of household members and inability of children to attend school;
 Degraded ecosystems such as polluted rivers whose fishes are no longer safe to eat; and
 Unpredictable climate that negatively affects food production of farming households.

The physical location of the Philippines exposes it to many hazards as shown in the previous sessions.

b. The factors of social and organizational vulnerability that make communities more susceptible to
hazards include:
 Lack of cohesion or divisiveness amongst community members;
 Community members are not organized to pursue common interests;
  Political affiliations and electoral practice that prevent community members and local authorities
to work together for the common good;
 Lack of commitment from government units and agencies to implement sustainable poverty-
reduction programs; and
 Government policies and priorities that do not effectively address poverty and vulnerability, or
that create and exacerbate poverty and vulnerability even more.

c. The factors of attitudinal and motivational vulnerability that make communities more
susceptible to hazards include:
 Defeatism and lack of confidence in a community’s capacity to change its conditions;
 Lack of initiative or volition amongst community members and leaders;
 Beliefs that things are meant to be and nothing can be done to change them;
 Dependence on others and on external assistance
 Lack or low level of awareness;
 Lack of capacity or willingness to review past events, and learn lessons from these

What is CAPACITY?

“Capacity” – a combination of all strengths and resources available within a community, society or
organization that can reduce the level of risk, or effects of a disaster. Capacity may include infrastructure
and physical means, institutions, societal coping abilities, as well as human knowledge, skills and
collective attributes such as social relationships, leadership and management. Capacity may also be
described as capability. (RA 10121)

Categories and Factors of Capacity

Factors that make communities more resistant to the adverse impacts of hazards can be grouped into three
categories of capacity: physical and material, social and organizational, and attitudinal and motivational.
(ACCORD Training Manual, 2012)

a. The factors that contribute to physical and material capacity of communities include:
 Proper identification and use of safe locations
 Access and control over land, capital and other means of production
 Projects and/or activities that increase resilience of livelihoods
 Healthy population and low poverty incidence
 Healthy ecosystems
b. The factors that contribute to social and organizational capacity of communities include:
 Community leaders, formal and informal, are well-respected;
 Community members are organized and actively pursuing their common interests;
 There is broad participation in decision making, where the poor and disadvantaged groups
have a voice on matters that affect their lives; and
 Conflicts in the community are quickly and justly resolved.

c. The motivational and attitudinal capacity factors that make communities more able to reduce
and withstand hazard impacts, prepare for emergencies and recover from disasters include:
 Confidence amongst community members that they have the capacity to change and
improve their conditions;
 Positive indigenous or local practices such as bayanihan or mutual aid;
 High level of awareness on community concerns;
 High level of unity and cooperation amongst community members
 Capacity and openness of community to collectively review past events, learn lessons from these
and apply lessons in appropriate future events.

d. There are many types of activities that strengthen our capacity:

 Increasing community knowledge about local risks through community risk assessment
 Identifying and implementing risk reduction measures based on good risk assessments;
 Organizing or strengthening community organizations that have ecosystems- based and climate-
smart DRR in their agenda
 Helping households and communities develop resilient livelihoods, i.e. ecosystem-friendly,
climate-smart, and less susceptible to hazards
 Developing capacity of local authorities to mainstream ecosystems-based and climate-smart
DRR in development plans and to implement these plans
 Emergency preparedness planning of communities and local government units
 Choosing the right leaders who are committed to serve and protect the common good, and giving
particular attention to the poor and disadvantaged;
 Advocating for ecosystems-based and climate-smart DRR policies and programs
 Promoting broad participation and giving voice to poor households, and to disadvantaged groups
such as women, children, indigenous peoples, elderly and persons with disability Understanding
capacities and increasing them is essential to offset or reverse the vulnerabilities that exist within
communities. This is key to reducing the level of risk in communities.
What is RISK?

Risk is the combination of the probability of a hazard occurring and the severity of its effect or
consequences. The concept of risk is not only an assessment of the likelihood of the occurrence of a
disaster, but also an estimation of the magnitude of its effects. Risk (R) is being studied because it helps
us determine the likelihood and severity of a hazard (H) that can be illustrated in the formula below:

Disasters are sometimes considered external shocks, but disaster risk results from the complex interaction
between development processes that generate conditions of exposure, vulnerability and hazard. Disaster
risk is therefore considered as the combination of the severity and frequency of a hazard, the numbers of
people and assets exposed to the hazard, and their vulnerability to damage. Intensive risk is disaster risk
associated with low-probability, high-impact events, whereas extensive risk is associated with high-
probability, low-impact events. (UNDRR, 2020)

It is important to consider the social and economic contexts in which disaster risks occur and that people
do not necessarily share the same perceptions of risk and their underlying risk factors.

Acceptable risk, or tolerable risk, is therefore an important subterm; the extent to which a disaster risk is
deemed acceptable or tolerable depends on existing social, economic, political, cultural, technical and
environmental conditions. In engineering terms, acceptable risk is also used to assess and define the
structural and non-structural measures that are needed in order to reduce possible harm to people,
property, services and systems to a chosen tolerated level, according to codes or “accepted practice”
which are based on known probabilities of hazards and other factors.

Residual risk is the disaster risk that remains even when effective disaster risk reduction measures are in
place, and for which emergency response and recovery capacities must be maintained. The presence of
residual risk implies a continuing need to develop and support effective capacities for emergency
services, preparedness, response and recovery, together with socioeconomic policies such as safety nets
and risk transfer mechanisms, as part of a holistic approach.

Why does disaster risk matter?

If current global patterns of increasing exposure, high levels of inequality, rapid urban development and
 environment degradation grow, then disaster risk may increase to dangerous levels. If current trends
continue, the number of disasters per year may increase from around 400 in 2015 to 560 per year 2030.
(UNDRR, 2022)

1. Disasters threaten development, just as development creates disaster risk

The key to understanding disaster risk is by recognizing that disasters are an indicator of development
failures, meaning that disaster risk is a measure of the sustainability of development. Hazard,
vulnerability and exposure are influenced by a number of risk drivers, including poverty and inequality,
badly planned and managed urban and regional development, climate change and environmental
degradation.

Understanding disaster risk requires us to not only consider the hazard, our exposure and vulnerability but
also society's capacity to protect itself from disasters. The ability of communities, societies and systems to
resist, absorb, accommodate, recover from disasters, whilst at the same time improve wellbeing, is known
as resilience. (UNDRR, 2015)

Source: Risk dimensions, categories and components retrieved from Bangladesh INFORM Sub-National Risk Index 2022, UNDRR (2022)
How do we measure disaster risk?
Identifying, assessing and understanding disaster risk is critical to reducing it.

We can measure disaster risk by analyzing trends of, for instance, previous disaster losses. These trends
can help us to gauge whether disaster risk reduction is being effective. We can also estimate future losses
by conducting a risk assessment.

A comprehensive risk assessment considers the full range of potential disaster events and their
underlying drivers and uncertainties. It can start with the analysis of historical events as well as
incorporating forward-looking perspectives, integrating the anticipated impacts of phenomena that are
altering historical trends, such as climate change. In addition, risk assessment may consider rare events
that lie outside projections of future hazards but that, based on scientific knowledge, could occur.
Anticipating rare events requires a range of information and interdisciplinary findings, along with
scenario building and simulations, which can be supplemented by expertise from a wide range of
disciplines.

Data on hazards, exposures, vulnerabilities and losses enhance the accuracy of risk assessment,
contributing to more effective measures to prevent, prepare for and financially manage disaster risk.
Modern approaches to risk assessment include risk modelling, which came into being when
computational resources became more powerful and available. Risk models allow us to simulate the
outcomes and likelihood of different events.

How do we reduce disaster risk?

If a country ignores disaster risk and allows risk to accumulate, it is in effect undermining its own future
potential for social and economic development. However, if a country invests in disaster risk reduction,
over time it can reduce the potential losses it faces, thus freeing up critical resources for development.
 
Hazards do not have to turn into disasters.
 
A catastrophic disaster is not the inevitable consequence of a hazard event, and much can be done to
reduce the exposure and vulnerability of populations living in areas where natural hazards occur, whether
frequently or infrequently. We can prevent future risk, reduce existing risk and support the resilience and
societies in the face of risk that cannot be effectively reduced (known as residual risk).

Disaster risk reduction (the policy objective of disaster risk management) contribute to strengthening
resilience and therefore to the achievement of sustainable development. Evidence from several countries,
including Colombia, Mexico and Nepal indicates that investment in disaster risk reduction is effective -
there are therefore both political and economic imperatives to reducing disaster risk. Disaster risk is a
shared risk, and businesses, the public sector and civil society all participate in its construction;
consequently, disaster risk reduction (DRR) must be considered a shared value. DRR, thus, requires a
people-centered and multi-sector approach, building resilience to multiple hazards and creating a culture
of prevention and safety.

Disaster risk management (DRM) can be thought of the implementation of DRR and includes building
the capacity of a community, organization or society to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from
disasters.

By understanding and managing risk, we can achieve major reductions in disaster losses. For instance, by
strengthening their capacities to absorb and recover from disasters, several countries across the world
have reduced mortality risk associated with flooding and tropical cyclones. Many high-income countries
have also successfully reduced their extensive risks. However, losses associated with extensive risk are
trending up in low and middle-income countries. (UNDRR, 2015)

APPLICATION

Instructions: Students must choose a type of hazard that is relevant to their school's location or
environment. Research the chosen hazard and identify its potential impacts on the school and the
surrounding community. (50 pts.)
ASSESSMENT

1. What are some practical steps that your school can take to reduce its risk and vulnerability to
hazards? (50 pts.)

2. How can you encourage others in your community to become more prepared and resilient? (50 pts.)

Analysis 20 pts.

Organization 10 pts.

Clarity and Style 10 pts.

Research and Citations 10 pts.

TOTAL 50 pts.

"Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today."

- Malcolm X