BUCE NSTP Handout No.

Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM)

Disaster risk reduction includes disciplines like people, their property, their services and their
disaster management, disaster mitigation and environment.
Asian Disaster Preparedness Center
disaster preparedness.
It could be natural or human-induced.
In order for development activities to be
sustainable they must also reduce disaster risk. Types of Hazards:
• Geophysical
Unsound development policies will increase
• Hydro-Meteorological
disaster risk - and disaster losses.
• Terrorism
• Epidemics
Thus, DRR involves every part of society, every • Civil Disturbances
part of government, and every part of the • Infestation
professional and private sector. • Nuclear and Radiological

United Nations International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction (UNISDR)
• Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) includes
activities that will minimize disaster-related
losses of life, property or assets, and
environment.
• Such activities are also described as
mitigation measures.
• Mitigation activities aim to reduce the
impacts or effects of unavoidable disasters.
• Mitigation measures include building codes,
vulnerability analyses updates, zoning and
land use management, building use
regulations and safety codes, preventive
health care, and public awareness and
education.
EXPOSURE- The degree to which the element at
risk are likely to experience hazard events of
different magnitude.
VULNERABILITY-Is a condition or sets of
conditions that reduces people’s ability to prepare
for, withstand or respond to a hazard
Asian Disaster Preparedness Center
• Is the characteristics and circumstances
of a community, system or asset that make it
susceptible to the damaging effects of a
hazard.
• This may arise from various physical,
social, economic & environmental factors.
Examples: 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.

VULNERABILITY HAS BEEN RELATED TO THE FOLLOWING

FACTORS
Social Integration Psychological/Physiological

➢ Ethnicity ➢ Locus of control

➢ Age ➢ Disability
➢ Gender ➢ Coping-style
➢ Location ➢ Individual’s perception
1. DEFINITION OF TERMS
➢ Status ➢ Lifestyle
HAZARD- A dangerous phenomenon, ➢ Wealth ➢ Agility
substance, human activity or condition that may ➢ Income ➢ Mobility
cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, ➢ Education ➢ Experience
property damage, loss of livelihood & services, ➢ Family type Britton and Walker 1991
social & economic disruption or environmental
damage. CAPACITY- Is the combination of all strengths and
Could be a potentially damaging phenomenon. resources available within the community, society
or organization that can reduce the level of risk or
effects of a disaster.

Hazard is a phenomenon or situation, which has

the potential to cause disruption or damage to

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DISASTER RISK-The potential disaster losses in
lives, health status, livelihood, assets and services,
which could occur to a particular community or a
society over some specified future time period.
Risk is the probability that negative consequences
may arise when hazards interact with vulnerable
areas, people, property, and environment.
RISKS - Is the combination of Probability of an
event to happen and its negative consequences…
DISASTER-The serious disruption of the
functioning of society, causing widespread human,
material or environmental losses, which exceed the
ability of the affected people to cope using their
own resources.
Asian Disaster Preparedness Center
A disaster is a natural or man-made (or
technological) hazard resulting in an event of
substantial extent causing significant physical
damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic
change to the environment.
• A tragic event stemming from events such as
earthquakes, floods, catastrophic accidents,
fires, or explosions.
• It is a phenomenon that can cause damage to
life and property and destroy the economic,
social and cultural life of people.
• In academe, disasters are seen as the
consequence of inappropriately managed risk.
• These risks are the product of a combination of
both hazard/s and vulnerability.
Hazards that strike in areas with low
vulnerability will never become disasters ( ex:
uninhabited regions).
Classification of Disasters
A, Natural Disaster- A natural disaster is a
consequence when a natural hazard affects
humans and/or the built environment. Human
vulnerability, and lack of appropriate emergency
management, leads to financial, environmental, or
human impact.
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❖ The resulting loss depends on the capacity of
the population to support or resist the disaster:
their resilience.
❖ This understanding is concentrated in the
formulation: "disasters occur when hazards
meet vulnerability".
❖ A natural hazard will hence never result in a
natural disaster in areas without vulnerability.
B. Man-made or Human Induced Disaster
Man-made disasters are the consequence of
technological or human hazards. Examples include
stampedes, fires, transport accidents, industrial
accidents, oil spills and nuclear
explosions/radiation. War and deliberate attacks
may also be put in this category. As with natural
hazards, man-made hazards are events that have
not happened, for instance terrorism. Man-made
disasters are examples of specific cases where
man-made hazards have become reality
When Is An Event A Disaster?
1. At least 20% of the population are affected &
in need of emergency assistance or those
dwelling units have been destroyed.
2. A great number or at least 40% of the means
of livelihood such as bancas, fishing boats,
vehicles and the like are destroyed.
3. Major roads and bridges are destroyed and
impassable for at least a week, thus disrupting
the flow of transport and commerce.
4. Widespread destruction of fishponds, crops,
poultry and livestock, and other agricultural
products, and
5.
6. Epidemics
NDCC Memo Order No. 4, dated 04 March 1998
Why Are Disaster Impacts Increasing?
1. Increased in population
2. Climate change
3. Increased vulnerability due to:
• Demographic changes
• Increased concentration of assets
• Environmental degradation
• Poverty
• Rapid urbanization and unplanned
development
LESSON LEARNED FROM PREVIOUS
DISASTERS
❖ LGU as the first line of defence
❖ Early warning devise or equipment are vital in
saving life
❖ Without communication support warning and
the evacuation fails
❖ Early warning and evacuation system to attain
Zero Casualty
❖ Pre-positioning of organic resource capability
for quick response
❖ Building-back better not building-back-
elsewhere
❖ DRR measures to protect economic
investments
❖ Help must be linked to initiative. Protracted
relief could breed mendicancy, inhibit or hold
back local initiative and suppress native
creativity
❖ Demand driven vs. donors driven
❖ Disaster Risk Reduction Plan must be
considered basic input in the Regional
Development Master Plan
❖ Do we conduct emergency / disaster drills
regularly?
❖ Do we have Emergency Response Plan?
❖ Do we have a Preparedness / Contingency
Plan in the event of any disaster?
❖ Are there personnel / employees trained in first
aid, fire fighting or rescue?
❖ Does the institution have any rescue equipment
and other emergency paraphernalia?
❖ Do we have an institutionalized warning
system?
❖ Are there identified evacuation areas within the
premises of the institution?

RISK PROFILE

Preparedness Cycle

Risk Index of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

The Philippines, given its location on the earth is

prone to Natural Disasters.

THE PHILIPPINE DISASTER RISK REDUCTION

AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (R.A. 10121 of 2010)
Preparedness
An Act Strengthening The Philippine Disaster
Risk Reduction and Management System,
providing for the National Disaster Risk Reduction
and Management Framework, and Institutionalizing
the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Plan, appropriating funds therefor and for other
purposes (DRRM Act of 2010)

The law which transforms the Philippines’

Disaster Management System from Disaster
Relief and Response towards Disaster Risk
Reduction.
Important Questions to Ask ⚫ Disaster legislation in the Philippines dates
back in 1978, primarily reactive approach to
❖ Does your institution have an existing Disaster disasters, focusing heavily on preparedness
Response Team / Safety Committee? and response.
❖ If yes, is it functional?

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⚫ Other relevant legislation for mainstreaming of
disaster risk reduction into development
includes land-use controls and building codes.
⚫ However, building codes are not strictly
enforced and zoning ordinances which are
reported to have been relaxed over time.
Paradigm Shift (From Reactive to Proactive)
Paradigm Shift (From Reactive to Proactive)
Proactive
Risk Reduction and Management
❖ Systematic process of using administrative
decisions, organization, operational skills
and capacities to implement policies,
strategies and coping capacities of the
society and communities
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❖ Setting of related goals and objectives in
development and land use areas.
❖ It involves the formulation of strategies and
Plans, Programs and Activities (PPAs)
What Must Be Done To Reduce Risk
❖ Institutionalize Local Disaster Risk Reduction &
Management Office
❖ Establish Early Warning System
❖ Formulation of Communication Protocol
❖ Formulation of Evacuation Procedures at the
community level and establishments
❖ Organize Local DRRMC and define the
functional roles and responsibilities of the
members and task units
❖ Establish Standard Operating Procedures
(SOP)
❖ Hazard awareness through Community-Based
trainings and seminars
• What Must Be Done To Reduce Risk
❖ Integrate disaster risk reduction into the
Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) and
land use planning
❖ Integrate hazard, risk and vulnerability
assessment into the development plan
❖ Cluster Approach on Recovery Program
❖ Good working relationship with Warning
Agencies and the Local Media
❖ Installation of rain gauges on mountain slopes
(DENR-MGB CAR recommended that 150 mm of rainfall
observed within 24 hours would already trigger
evacuation of communities in high risk areas)
❖ Strengthening of the LGU capabilities on
disaster management;
❖ Updating the hazard profile of all municipalities
and to analyse data on human induced
disasters for public safety studies
❖ Effective flow of communication system to
ensure that accurate flow of information
before, during and after disasters
Risk Reduction Method
In the following order
1. Identify, characterize, and assess threats
2. Assess the vulnerability of critical assets to
specific threats
3. Determine the risk (i.e. the expected
consequences of specific types of attacks on
specific assets)
4. Identify ways to reduce those risks
5. Prioritize risk reduction measures based on a
strategy

Potential Risk Treatments
Once risks have been identified and assessed, all
techniques to manage the risk fall into one or more
of these four major categories:
❖ Avoidance (eliminate, withdraw from the risk
area)
❖ Reduction (optimize resources to mitigate
effects )
❖ Sharing (risk transfer or enrol in insurance)
❖ Retention (accept, plan - formulate ConPlan,
Evac Plan, ICS and provision of budget)
Disaster Risk Management Strategy
A comprehensive disaster risk management
strategy, actively involving stakeholders at all
levels of government as well as the private sector,
local communities and civil society, is required to
implement the legislative framework and to provide
coordination and monitoring mechanisms and
arrangements.
Individual disaster risk reduction actions and
programs need to be integrated within the strategy,
rather than treated as discrete, individual
measures. Moreover, the strategy needs to
indicate specific entry points and mechanisms for
mainstreaming disaster risk reduction concerns
into both the broader development agenda and the
design and implementation of individual
development initiatives.
Disaster Risk Reduction Guiding Principles
❖ Institutional not personality oriented
❖ Permanent solution not temporary or palliative
❖ Preemptive evacuation is better than rescue
Some Specific Examples of Disaster Risk
Reduction or Mitigation Activities:
• Strengthening buildings or incorporation of
hazard resistance in structures to render
them more resistant against typhoons,
floods, and earthquakes;
• Changing agricultural crop cycles so that it
matures and are harvested before flood or
typhoon season;
• Restriction of activities in high-risk areas;
and
• Economic diversification to allow losses in
one sector to be offset by increased output
in other areas.
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Both mitigation and prevention depend on the
incorporation of appropriate measures in national,
regional, and community development planning. Its
effectiveness also depends on the availability of
information on hazards, emerging risks, and the
counter measures to be taken. It also includes the
shaping of public policies and plans that either
modify the causes of disasters or mitigate their
effects on people, property, and infrastructure.
Disaster Risk Reduction Process
The disaster risk reduction process is comprised of
five steps: risk identification, risk analysis,
prioritization of risks, treatment of risks, and
monitoring and evaluation.
1. Risk Identification -This step seeks to identify
the hazards and the potential threats they may
pose. Comprehensive identification using a well-
structured systematic process is critical, because a
risk that is not identified at this stage may be
excluded from further analysis. The aim of risk
identification is to develop a comprehensive list of
sources of risks and events that might have an
impact on the community. The list should be
comprehensive as unidentified risks can pose a
major threat to the community. Having identified
the possible risks, it is necessary to consider
possible causes and scenarios, as there are many
ways an event can occur.
2. Risk Analysis- Risk analysis aims to establish
an understanding of the level of risk and its nature.
It involves consideration of the sources of risk, their
positive and negative consequences, and the
likelihood that those consequences may occur.
Factors that affect consequences and likelihood
may be identified. Risk is analyzed by combining
consequences and their likelihood. Identify the
existing processes, devices or practices that act to
minimize negative risks or enhance positive risks
and assess their strength and weaknesses. The
magnitude of consequences of an event, should it
occur, and the likelihood of the event and its
associated consequences, are assessed.
3. Risk Prioritization - The purpose of risk
prioritization is to analyze and identify priority areas
for action. Decisions may include whether a risk
needs treatment, whether an activity should be
undertaken, and what should be the priorities for
treatment. Decisions would be based on the level
of risk, specified consequences, the likelihood of
specified events or outcomes, and the overall
effect of multiple events. In some circumstances,
the risk prioritization may lead to a decision to
undertake further analysis.
4. Risk Treatment - Risk prioritization provides a
list of risks requiring treatment. Risk treatment
involves identifying strategies for treating these
risks, evaluating those options, preparing treatment
plans, and implementing them. Before appropriate
treatment actions can be determined, the analysis
of each risk may need to be revisited and extended
to draw out the information needed to identify and
explore different treatment options. It is particularly
important to identify the causes of the risks so
these are treated and not just the symptoms.
5. Monitoring and Evaluation -Monitoring is
conducted to supervise the progress on
implementation of the disaster risk management
process. Evaluation is organized to periodically
investigate the progress and analyze its impact
and achievements. Monitoring and evaluation is an
essential and integral part of managing risk, and is
one of the most important steps of the risk
management process. It is necessary to monitor
risks, the effectiveness and appropriateness of the
strategies and management systems set up to
implement risk treatments and the risk
management plans as a whole. This process
should be continuous and dynamic.
Additional Useful Concepts and Terms
Risk Reduction Measures. Various activities,
projects, and programs that communities may identify
after assessing and analyzing the risks that they face.
These measures are specifically intended to reduce
the current and prevent future risks in the community.
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management. The
systematic process of using administrative directives,
organizations, and operational skills and capacities to
implement strategies, policies and improved coping
capacities in order to lessen the adverse impacts of
hazards and the possibility of disaster. Prospective
disaster risk reduction and management refers to risk
reduction and management activities that address
and seek to avoid the development of new or
increased disaster risks, especially if risk reduction
policies are not put in place.
Disaster Preparedness - The knowledge and
capacities developed by governments, professional
response and recovery organizations, communities
and individuals to effectively anticipate, respond to,
and recover from, the impacts of likely, imminent or
current hazard events or conditions. Preparedness
action is carried out within the context of disaster risk
reduction and management and aims to build the
capacities needed to efficiently manage all types of
emergencies and achieve orderly transitions from
response to sustained recovery. Preparedness is
based on a sound analysis of disaster risk and good
linkages with early warning systems, and includes
such activities as contingency planning, stockpiling of
equipment and supplies, the development of
arrangements for coordination, evacuation and public
information, and associated training and field
exercises. These must be supported by formal
institutional, legal and budgetary capacities.
DISASTER MITIGATION. An act of preventing or
minimizing the adverse effects of disaster-causing
phenomena through the introduction of measures
designed to prepare and protect life and property of
the members of the society before the occurrence of
a phenomenon. Mitigation includes activities that
prevent a disaster, reduce the chance of a disaster
from happening, or reduce the damaging effects of
unavoidable natural phenomena. Construction of
typhoon-resistant or earthquake-resistant houses and
other structures and locating human settlements
away from high risk areas are examples of mitigation
activities.
Disaster Prevention and Mitigation
Prevention and mitigation are actions taken to make
sure that the impact of a hazard is lessened. We
cannot stop natural hazards from happening but we
can reduce the damages if we institute prevention
and mitigation measures. Taking measures in order
to avoid an event turning into a disaster is prevention,
which includes planting trees in order to prevent
erosion, landslides and drought. On the other hand,
measures that reduce vulnerability to certain hazards
is mitigation which includes for instance improved
building practices and standard designs to ensure
that school buildings are constructed in risk free
school sites, houses and hospitals can withstand
earthquake or a typhoon.
1. Disaster Prevention and Mitigation
2. Disaster Preparedness
3. Disaster Response
4. Disaster Rehabilitation and Recovery
1. Disaster Prevention and Mitigation
Reducing vulnerabilities and exposure while
enhancing capacities of communities through disaster
prevention and mitigation
2. Disaster Preparedness
Establishing and strengthening capacities of
communities to anticipate, cope and recover from the
negative impacts of emergency occurences and
disasters through preparedness.
3. Disaster Response
Providing life preservation and meeting needs of
affected population based on acceptable standards in
response during or immediately after a disaster.
4. Disaster Rehabilitation and Recovery
Restoring and improving facilities, livelihood,
living conditions, and organizational capacities of
affected communities in accordance with the “building
back better” principle applied in rehabilitation and
recovery efforts.
Build Back Better
References:
Atty. Eunice Agsaoay‐Saño, 2011. Primer on the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
(DRRM) Act of 2010.
DRR Knowledge Center, What is DRR?.
http://drrknowledge.net/what-is-drr/