Senior High School

Disaster Readiness and

Risk Reduction
Module 1 :
Basic Concept of Disaster and
Disaster Risk

LU_Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction_Module1

 AIRs - LM
LU_Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction_Module1
 DISASTER READINESS AND RISK REDUCTION
Module 1: Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk
Second Edition, 2021

Copyright © 2021
La Union Schools Division
Region I

All rights reserved. No part of this module may be reproduced in any form without written
permission from the copyright owners.

Development Team of the Module

Author: Aurie Amor Quinones

Editor: SDO La Union, Learning Resource Quality Assurance Team
Content Reviewer: Jodel Maria Ragpala
Language Reviewer: Joan Guerrero
Illustrator: Ernesto F. Ramos Jr.
Design and Layout: Ronnel M. Barrientos

Management Team:

Atty. Donato D. Balderas Jr.

Schools Division Superintendent
Vivian Luz S. Pagatpatan, Ph D
Assistant Schools Division Superintendent
German E. Flora, Ph D, CID Chief
Virgilio C. Boado, Ph D, EPS in Charge of LRMS
Rominel P. Sobremonte, Ed D, EPS in Charge of Science
Michael Jason D. Morales, PDO II
Claire P. Toluyen, Librarian II

Printed in the Philippines by: _________________________

Department of Education – SDO La Union

Office Address: Flores St. Catbangen, San Fernando City, La Union
Telefax: 072 – 205 – 0046
Email Address: launion@deped.gov.ph

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 Senior High School

Disaster Readiness and Risk

Reduction
Module 1:
Basic Concept of Disaster and
Disaster Risk

Introductory Message
This Self-Learning Module (SLM) is prepared so that you, our dear
learners, can continue your studies and learn while at home. Activities,
questions, directions, exercises, and discussions are carefully stated for you
to understand each lesson.

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 Each SLM is composed of different parts. Each part shall guide you
step-by-step as you discover and understand the lesson prepared for you.

Pre-tests are provided to measure your prior knowledge on lessons in

each SLM. This will tell you if you need to proceed on completing this
module or if you need to ask your facilitator or your teacher’s assistance for
better understanding of the lesson. At the end of each module, you need to
answer the post-test to self-check your learning. Answer keys are provided
for each activity and test. We trust that you will be honest in using these.

In addition to the material in the main text, Notes to the Teacher are
also provided to our facilitators and parents for strategies and reminders on
how they can best help you on your home-based learning.

Please use this module with care. Do not put unnecessary marks on
any part of this SLM. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the
exercises and tests. And read the instructions carefully before performing
each task.

If you have any questions in using this SLM or any difficulty in

answering the tasks in this module, do not hesitate to consult your teacher
or facilitator.

Thank you.

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 Target

Every year, millions of individuals, young and old, around the world are
affected by either natural disasters or human-caused disasters. Loss of lives,
livelihood as well as properties are the common end results.
Also, we are aware of the fact that the number of natural disasters has been
increasing and their aftermath to the population, properties and communities
exceeded our expectations. The geographical location of our country has a great
contribution to our exposure to different disasters. However, if the population
understand better the locally experienced hazards, we can implement preventive or
mitigating measures to ease the effect.
This module will provide you with information and activities that will help you
understand the meaning of disaster and the underlying risk factors.

After going through this learning material, you are expected to:

1. explain the meaning of disaster (DRR11/12-Ia-b-1)

2. differentiate the risk factors underlying disasters (DRR11/12-Ia-b-2)

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Pre-Test
Choose the letter of the best answer. Write your answer on a separate sheet of
paper.

1. Inherently unexpected happening that comes quickly without any warning

A. Disaster B. Hazard
C. Phenomenon D. Risk
2. Which of the following is an example of man-caused disaster?
A. Storm surges
B. Flooded coastal areas
C. Landslides on mining sites
D. Oil spills from shipping boats
3. Disaster risk can be determined by the presence of the following elements of
disaster EXCEPT _________.
A. Coping capacity B. Hazard (natural or man-made)
C. Phenomenon D. Vulnerability to a hazard
4. The increased polarization between the rich and poor on a global scale is the
result of __________.
A. Climate change
B. Poverty and inequality
C. Environmental degradation
D. Globalized economic development
5. It’s the result of unwillingness to assume their roles and responsibilities in
governing disaster risk unit
A. Climate change
B. Weak governance
C. Poverty and inequality
D. Environmental degradation
6. The following are examples of hazards that leads to disaster. Which is NOT a
natural hazard?
A. Car accident B. Earthquake
C. Tornado D. Typhoon
7. A natural disaster is said to be a(n) _________ event.
A. Expected B. Planned
C. Scheduled D. Unexpected
8. Which of the following is NOT a contributor to the worst outcomes of a disaster
when it happened?
A. Can handle stress B. Death of someone close C. Displacement D.
Massive loss of property
9. The following are elements that causes disaster EXCEPT _____.
A. Exposure B. Hazard C. Risk D. Vulnerability
10.What risk factor underlying disaster is to be considered when deforestation
leads to landslide?
A. Climate Change
B. Weak Governance
C. Environmental Degradation

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 D. Globalized Economic Development

Jumpstart

Activity 1: Guess the Phenomena!

Identify the event being illustrated in the following figures. Write your answer on
the space provided before the number.

2. ____________________________________
1. ____________________________________

3. ____________________________________
4. ____________________________________

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 5. ____________________________________

Activity 2: My After Effect!

Based on the above pictures, determine at least one effect of each of the given
phenomena.

1. ____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

3. ____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

4. ____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

5. ____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

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 _____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

Discover

Definition of Disaster
What makes an event a disaster? The answer lies with how the population is
eventually affected: both the direct effects on the people as well as the indirect
effects or damage to infrastructure. The United Nations International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction (2015) defines disaster as a serious disruption of the
functioning of a community or society due to hazardous events interacting with
conditions of vulnerability and exposure, leading to widespread human, material,
economic or environmental losses and impacts. Disasters are a type of hazardous
event in which there is a significant disruption of the function of all or part of
society. The impact of the disaster is often widespread and could last for a long
period of time. The impact may test or exceed the capacity of a community or
society to cope using its own resources, and therefore may requires assistance from
external sources, which could include neighboring jurisdictions, or national or
international levels.

Disaster results from 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. Consequences may
include injuries, disease and other negative effects on human physical, mental and
social well-being, together with damage to property, loss of services and
environmental degradation.

Although there are many definitions for disaster (Refer to Box 1), there are
common factors. First, there is an event or phenomenon that impacts a population
or an environment. Second, a vulnerable condition or characteristic allows the
event to have a more serious impact. For example, a typhoon will cause much
greater damage to life and structures if it directly strikes an area with poorly
constructed dwellings compared to striking a community of well-built homes with
greater structural support. Identifying these factors has practical implications for
communities’ preparedness and provides a basis for prevention. Third, local
resources are often inadequate to cope with the problems created by the
phenomenon or event. Disaster affects communities in multiple ways. Their
impact on the health care infrastructure is also multi-factorial. The disaster event
can cause an unexpected number of deaths. In addition, the large numbers of
wounded and sick often exceed the local community’s health care delivery capacity.

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 Box 1. Definitions of a Disaster

“Disaster is a sudden calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, or

destruction” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disaster

“Disaster is a major hazard event that causes widespread disruption to a

community or region that the affected community is unable to deal with
adequately without outside help.”
https://graphylaunchpad.weebly.com/definition-of-disaster.html

“A disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that seriously disrupts the functioning

of a community or society and causes human, material, and economic or

environmental losses that exceed the community’s or society’s ability to cope

using its own resources.”
https://www.ifrc.org/en/what-we-do/disastermanagement/about-disasters/
what-is-a-
disaster/#:~:text=A%20disaster%20is%20a%20sudden,disasters%20can%20h
ave%20human%20origins.

“Disaster is an occurrence disrupting the normal conditions of existence and

causing a level of suffering that exceeds the capacity of adjustment of the affected
community.” https://apps.who.int/disasters/repo/7656.pdf

How and when an event becomes a disaster?

An event, either human-made or natural, becomes a disaster when it is sudden or
progressive, causing widespread human, material, or environmental losses. Let’s
take an example, typhoon Yolanda. Typhoon Yolanda is a natural phenomenon.
However, it became a disaster for some factors: its strength (290 km/hr); the
storm surge it brought was sudden and unexpected; and it is devastating to
human, material, and environment. More than 7,000 people perished. The entire
City of Tacloban was literally flattened to the ground.

Our country, the Philippines, is frequently visited by typhoons on the average of 20

every year. Thus, we can consider typhoons as natural events. However, in 2009,
Typhoon Ondoy turned into a disaster because the amount of precipitation brought
by its torrential rains lasted for several days causing floods and flash floods in
Metro Manila. Thousands of houses were submerged in flood water. Hundreds of
shelters along riverbanks and esteros were washed out. Power and water supplies
were cut off for several weeks. Hundreds of lives perished.

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 Wow Wowie, hosted by Willie Revillame, a popular singer-comedian, became so
popular. Thousands of fans flock to ULTRA (a huge event venue during that time)
to watch the noon time variety show. However, that event turned out to a
disastrous tragedy when there was a human-induced disturbance among the
watching crowd that caused a stampede. Many spectators were hurt and some
even died which led to the dissolution of the said TV program.

Classisfication of Disasters
Disasters can be divided into two large categories:

A. Natural Disasters – a natural phenomenon caused by natural forces, such as

earthquakes, typhoon, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, fires, tornados, and
extreme temperatures. They can be classified as rapid onset disasters and
those with progressive onset, such as droughts that lead to famine. These
events, usually sudden, can have tremendous effects.
B. Man-made Disasters – caused by man in which direct causes are identifiable
intentional or non-intentional human actions.

Three categories of man-made disasters:

1. Technological/industrial disasters – Unregulated industrialization and
inadequate safety standards increase the risk for industrial disasters.
Examples: leaks of hazardous materials; accidental explosions; bridge or
road collapses, or vehicle collisions; power cuts
2. Terrorism/Violence – The threat of terrorism has also increased due to
the spread of technologies involving nuclear, biological, and chemical
agents used to develop weapons of mass destruction.
Examples: bombs or explosions; release of chemical materials; release of
biological agents; release of radioactive agents; multiple or massive
shootings; mutinies
3. Complex humanitarian emergencies – The term complex emergency is
usually used to describe the humanitarian emergency resulting from an
international or civil war. In such situations, large numbers of people are
displaced from their homes due to the lack of personal safety and the
disruption of basic infrastructure including food distribution, water,
electricity, and sanitation, or communities are left stranded and isolated
in their own homes unable to access assistance.
Examples: conflicts or wars and genocide that deliberately kills a large
group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation.

Risk and Risk Factors

Risk has various connotations within different disciplines. In general, risk is
defined as “the combination of the probability of an event and its negative
consequences” (UNISDR, 2009). It is usually associated with the degree to which
humans cannot cope (lack of capacity) with a situation (e.g. natural hazard).

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 Relative to disaster, a salient factor that needs to be addressed properly is
disaster risk. Disaster risk is the potential loss of life, injury, or destroyed or
damaged assets which could occur to a system, society or a community in a
specific period of time, determined probabilistically as a function of hazard,
exposure, vulnerability and capacity (UNDRR, 2019). From the definition, disaster
risk is widely recognized as the consequence of the interaction between a hazard
and the characteristics that make people and places vulnerable and exposed.

Risk = Hazard x Exposure x Vulnerability

As we can see from the mathematical equation of risk, disaster risk has three
important elements:

1. Exposure – the elements at risk from a natural or man-made hazard event

(Quebral, 2016))
2. Hazard – a potentially dangerous physical occurrence, phenomenon or
human activity that may result in loss of life or injury, property damage,
social and economic disruption, or environmental degradation
3. Vulnerability – the conditions determined by physical, social, economic, and
environmental factors or processes which increase the susceptibility of an
individual, a community, assets or systems to the impacts of hazards
(UNDRR, 2019).
Disaster risk has many characteristics. In order to understand disaster risk,
it is essential to understand that it is:

• Forward looking the likelihood of loss of life, destruction, and damage

in a given period of time

• Dynamic: it can increase or decrease according to our ability to

reduce vulnerability

• Invisible: it is comprised of not only the threat of high-impact events,

but also the frequent, low-impact events that are often hidden

• Unevenly distributed around the earth: hazards affect different areas,

but the pattern of disaster risk reflects the social construction of
exposure and vulnerability in different countries

• Emergent and complex: many processes, including climate change

and globalized economic development, are creating new, interconnected
risks

The following are taken into consideration when risk factors underlying
disaster are involved (ADPC, 2012):

a. Severity of exposure. The amount of exposure to the disaster is highly

related to risk of future mental problems. At highest risk are those that
go through the disaster themselves. Next are those in close contact with
victims. At lower risk are those who only had indirect exposure, such as
news of the severe damage. Injury and life threat are the factors that
lead most often to mental health problems.

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 b. Gender and family. Women or girls suffer more negative effects than do
men or boys. Disaster recovery is more stressful when children are
present in the home. Women with spouses also experience more distress
during recovery. Having a family member in the home who is extremely
distressed is related to more stress for everyone. Marital stress has been
found to increase after disasters. Also, conflicts between family members
or lack of support in the home make it harder to recover from disasters.
c. Age. Adults who are in the age range of 40–60 are likely to be more
distressed after disasters. The thinking is that if one is in that age range,
he/she has more demands from job and family.
d. Developing countries. Disasters in developing countries, like the
Philippines, have more severe mental health impact than do disasters in
developed countries. This is true even with less serious disasters. For
example, natural disasters are generally thought to be less serious than
human-caused. In developing countries, however, natural disasters have
more severe effects than do human-caused disasters in developed
countries.
e. Low or negative social support. Social support can weaken after
disasters. This may be due to stress and the need for members of the
support network to get on with their own lives. Sometimes the responses
from other disaster victims rely on for support are negative. For example,
someone may play down their problems, needs, or pain, or expect them
to recover more quickly than is realistic.

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. For most people, the expression
“climate change” means the alteration of the world’s climate that we humans
are causing such as burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and other practices
that increase the carbon footprint and concentration of greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere.
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. For instance, deforestation of slopes often leads to an
increase in landslide hazard and removal of mangroves can increase the
damage caused by storm surges (UNISDR, 2009). It is considered both a
driver and consequence of disasters, reducing the capacity of the
environment to meet social and ecological needs. Over consumption of
natural resources results in environmental degradation, reducing the
effectiveness of essential ecosystem services, such as the mitigation of floods
and landslides. This leads to increased risk from disasters, and in turn,
natural hazards can further degrade the environment.
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. By
participating in risk sensitive development strategies such as investing in

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 protective structure, environmental management, and upgrading informal
settlements, risk can be reduced. Dominance and increase of wealth in
certain regions and cities are expected to have increased hazard exposure.
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.
The lack of access to insurance and social protection means that people in
poverty are often forced to use their already limited assets to buffer disaster
losses, which drives them into further poverty. Poverty is therefore both a
cause and consequence of disaster risk, particularly extensive risk, with
drought being the hazard most closely associated with poverty. The impact
of disasters on the poor can, in addition to loss of life, injury and damage,
cause a total loss of livelihoods, displacement, poor health, food insecurity,
among other consequences. Vulnerability is not simply about poverty, but
extensive research over the past 30 years has revealed that is generally the
poor who tend to suffer worst from disasters.
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. People, poverty, and disaster
risk are increasingly concentrated in cities. The growing rate of urbanization
and the increase in population density (in cities) can lead to creation of risk,
especially when urbanization is rapid, poorly planned and occurring in a
context of widespread poverty. Growing concentrations of people and
economic activities in many cities are seen to overlap with areas of high-risk
exposure.
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. Disaster risk governance refers to the
specific arrangements that societies put in place to manage their disaster
risk within a broader context of risk governance. This reflects how risk is
valued against a backdrop of broader social and economic concerns.

Certain factors are related to a survivor’s background and recovery is hampered

if survivors were not functioning well before the disaster, have no experience
dealing with disasters, must deal with other stressors after the disaster, have low
selfesteem, feel uncared for by others, think they exercise little control over what
happens to them, and unable to many stresses.
More factors contributory to worse outcomes are death of someone close, injury
to self or family member, life threat, panic, horror, or similar feelings, separation
from family, massive loss of property and displacement.

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 Explore

Activity 3: Understand Me!

Identify the classification of disaster as well as the disaster risk of the given
disaster situation.

Classification (Natural Disaster Risks

Disasters
or Man-Made) (Effects)

1. typhoon

2. war conflicts

3. drought

4. floods in rivers and

coastal areas

5. vehicular accident

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 Deepen

Activity 4: Am I ready?
You are invited by the SK Chairman in your barangay as a resource speaker in a
webinar to your age group regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. You are asked to
give emphasis on the risk factors underlying the said pandemic so that young
people like you will be equipped with knowledge on how to mitigate the effects of
the pandemic. Have a concept in mind of how you are going to deliver the
information. Write down what you want to deliver to your audience. You will be
scored using the given rubric below.
4 3 2 1

Content The speech The speech is The speech is The speech is

adheres to on the topic on topic and neither on
theme/topic. but substance the substance topic nor has
is satisfactory. is fair. substance.

Organization The speech is Clear words Some pieces of Ideas and

of Thoughts very well are used. information pieces of
organized and are not clear information
informative. and hard to seem to be
follow. randomly
arranged and
improvement
is needed.

References
Book:
Disaster Reduction and Risk Management-Core Teacher's Guide. (2017). Pasig City: Department of
Education.

Quebral, V. S. (2016). Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction. Quezon City: Lorimar Publishing, Inc.

Electronic Sources:
Patrick Mahar, J. L. (n.d.). aap.org. Retrieved from aap. org website:
https://www.aap.org/enus/Documents/disasters_dpac_PEDsModule1.pdf

Physiopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from physio-pedia.com: physio-pedia.com/Disaster_Management

preventionweb.net. (2015, August). Retrieved from preventionweb.net:

https://preventionweb.net/files/45462_backgroundpaperterminologyaugust20.pdf

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UNDRR. (2019, November 29). Retrieved from UNDRR website: https://www.undrr.org/terminology

UNISDR. (2009). Retrieved from UNISDR: unisdr.org/files/7817_UNISDRTerminologyEnglish.pdf

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 For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education – SDO La Union

Curriculum Implementation Division
Learning Resource Management Section
Flores St. Catbangen, San Fernando City La Union 2500
Telephone: (072) 607 - 8127
Telefax: (072) 205 - 0046 Email
Address:
launion@deped.gov.ph lrm.launion@deped.gov.ph

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