Activity #5

Identifying Specific Vulnerability

I. Identifying vulnerabilities with the different exposed elements in a hypothetical household.

a. Analyze the give situation below:

i. This house is a typical raised house found in the Pampanga area affected by lahar. The frame of the
house including the foundation is made from reinforced concrete, with hollow-blow in-fill walls.
The roof system consists of a coco- lumber roof frame and galvanized iron roofing material. The
partitions are constructed from wooden materials. The house was designed and constructed by a
foreman with no formal engineering or architectural training.

ii. There are 7 persons living inside the house which include:
1. The owner of the house who is male and 34 years old.
2. The wife of the owner of the house who is 32 years old.
3. Three children aged 5-years, 3-years, and a 6-month old infant.
4. A 72-year old female.
5. A 40 year old male who is wheelchair bound.
iii. Most of the furnishing of the house is either wooden or plastic in construction.
iv. Identify how founding the house on stilts affects the vulnerability of the house, its occupants and
contents to the following hazards.
1. Strong ground shaking due to an earthquake
2. A fire starting from the stove in the kitchen
3. Flood due to continuous and heavy rains
4. Strong winds from Signal 3 or stronger typhoons.
v. Summarize your answers using the table below:

EXPOSED ELEMENT
HAZARD
HOUSE CONTENTS OCCUPANTS

Because the house is

on stilts, the residents
might find evacuating
During an
Items that are hung up harder. They could
earthquake, the
Earthquake\ against the walls may also potentially get
house on stilts will
fall and cause more harmed by the moving
Strong Ground shake more, and as
damage to certain and/or falling items
Shaking a result of the high-
things inside the during it. The children,
intensity trembling, it
house. elderly, and
may collapse.
handicapped would
have a harder time
evacuating if ever.

Fire The roof with coco- Flammable items can If the roof system
lumber frame can cause potential danger gives out, people
 potentially break and
to residents inside the
fall on the occupants. might get trapped
house. Since the house
The house being on inside the house and
is raised, some items
stilts also makes it the wheelchair-bound
and furniture cannot be
less accessible to the man would find it
brought outside during
firefighters coming for harder to evacuate.
evacuation.
aid.

Because of the house

being raising on stilts,
it may not be reached
by flood water, but the
Flood
house could still get
wrecked by incoming
waves because of its
foundation.
Because the house is
The residents of the
elevated, there is a
house will most likely be
lower chance of the
unaffected by flood
contents in the house
because it is raised
getting damaged by the
from the ground.
flood.

The house is vulnerable

to the strong winds
typhoons make
because it is on stilts.
Typhoon Because of the higher
wind speeds, there is a
chance that the roof
could get blown away
as well.
If the roof does get
blown off, the contents
inside the house could
also be blown away.
Same thing could also
happen if the windows
were left open.
The occupants inside
will be at risk if the roof
does get blown off
because they could
possibly get injured.

II. Guide Questions (15 points)

a. Does house have any of the characteristic features such the presence of soft story, or the potential for resonance of
the structure with the strong ground motions of the earthquake? Is there a possibility of the house pounding an
adjacent house given that it is founded on stilt?
- Because it is raised on stilts, the house may tremble as a result of the earthquake's high-intensity vibrations. It is
possible that if the stilts are damaged, it will pound a neighboring house.

b. Identify the exposed elements affected by the lahar hazard, and why were these elements vulnerable?
- Several crops, infrastructure, residences, and people's personal belongings were devastated by the lahar hazard.
Because of their low base, these elements are prone to damage and burying by the lahar.

c. Which factors/circumstances led to the adoption of the traditional practice of house raising by residents of
Bacolor to reclaim and protect their houses?
- Villages impacted by the lahar adopted the Bacolor people's traditional house-raising process. Crops,
infrastructure, and personal property were all harmed by the lahar caused by Mt. Pinatubo's eruption. They raised
their homes to avoid being buried and damaged by the lahar, as well as to protect themselves and their property
from future eruptions.

d. Does putting the raised house together with its occupants and contents, make it overall more vulnerable
considering it is exposed to earthquake, fire, flood and typhoon hazards? Why or why not?
- Yes. The house was planned and built without a thorough understanding of engineering and architecture,
resulting in a weak foundation and construction. Because the house's occupants include kids, a senior citizen, and
a wheelchair-bound man, all of whom are highly vulnerable to injury during these disasters, the house's
susceptibility is increased. The contents and partitions are made of materials that are easily destroyed or more
susceptible to fire, making the house more vulnerable.

e. Suggest a measure that can be done to reduce the vulnerability of the house, its occupants or its contents to each
of the four hazards it is exposed to.
- Building the house with the help of engineers and architects to guarantee the structure and foundation are strong,
as well as using high-quality materials, could help to lessen the house's vulnerability. Residents should always be
prepared and knowledgeable about how to survive various disasters, and the contents inside the house should be
replaced with high-quality ones that can withstand the risks while not adding to the dangers.