Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk

You probably have gotten used to hearing news about typhoons, earthquakes, or
volcanic eruptions happening every now and then. Many of us might have also experienced
disasters due to one or more of these natural events that these are no longer considered as
news. When we hear the word “disaster”, several extreme events come into mind, depending on
our geographical location, knowledge, and own experiences. Some might think a typhoon that
caused severe flooding and affected hundreds of people in their barangay can be considered a
disaster. Others might think a severe earthquake that led to the collapse of houses, burying
household members, is undoubtedly a disaster. We all have our own notion of disaster, but
surely, we also have a collective concept of it.
Disasters are integral to human lives. The world experiences disasters almost every day.
We are informed of such events through various media platforms including but not limited to
television, radio, and even on our smartphones. In the Philippines, being nestled along the
Pacific Ring of Fire, disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes are normally experienced
year-round. According to World Disasters Report 2013, our country is in fact the world’s third
most prone to disasters. Although Filipinos may probably have an embedded culture of disaster,
the capacity of our fellowmen to adapt continues to be outgrown by the intensity and increasing
number of extreme weather events.
The term “disaster” originated from the French word “desastre” which is a combination of
the words “des” meaning bad and “aster” meaning star. From this, it can be inferred that
disaster literally means bad star. Disaster is a serious and tragic event that causes loss of lives,
human suffering, and great damages to properties and environment. It disrupts the current state
of communities, affecting wide-ranging aspects of community life. Disasters happen when
communities lack the capacity to adapt to disruptions that further affect the socio-economic,
political, psychological, and cultural state of individuals and families in communities. However,
the impact of these unfortunate events depends on geographical location and vulnerability of
population, among others.
Disasters are in fact the convergence of hazards and vulnerabilities. Hazards pertain to
a dangerous phenomenon that may cause loss of lives and negatively affect social, economic,
and environmental concerns. Meanwhile, vulnerability is the level of susceptibility of a
community to such hazards. Disasters are often defined by consequences to human lives and
not on the basis of disaster itself. For instance, an earthquake is a natural phenomenon. When it
happens in a place where no people are harmed or no damages are incurred, no matter how
strong, it cannot be considered a disaster.
Disaster risk is the potential loss in lives, health
Figure 1. Mechanism behind status, livelihoods, and various assets which are often
emergence of natural disasters challenging to quantify.
However, by having
knowledge on the
scientific and local context behind hazards, disaster risks
can be assessed and mapped.
Hazards can be divided into 2 large categories:
A. Natural – a natural phenomenon is caused by natural forces such as earthquakes,
typhoons, 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 a man are those in which major direct causes are
identifiable intentional or non-intentional human actions.
Subdivided into three categories:
 1. Technological/ Industrial disasters – unregulated industrialization and inadequate safety
standards increase the risk for industrial disasters.
Example: leaks of hazardous materials; accidental explosions; bridge or road collapses,
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.
Example: bombs of 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.
Example: conflicts of war; genocide

Exposure and Vulnerability

Exposure and vulnerability are part and parcel of the disaster equation. In
some cases, exposure and vulnerability are the main determinants of disasters. Lack
of awareness about the range of consequences of a hazard event is the big reason
why many take natural hazards for granted. People are not the only ones who can be affected
by hazards. For some, this might not be an easy task as disasters do not happen everyday. One
should however try to think in terms of who and what might be affected if something goes
wrong. There is no better place to start this than at home. Familiarizing yourselves with smaller
elements that are exposed to hazards is no different from doing it with bigger things exposed to
bigger source of danger. One can even make a list of those which might be affected by various
man-made hazards at home and in your neighborhood. What can one do to get these out of
harm’s way?
Elements at risk are the people, properties, economic activities, and private and public
services potentially threatened by harmful event. Risk assessment involves the identification
and mapping of the elements at risk and the assessment of vulnerability. In order to reduce risk,
most of the focus is on reducing vulnerability, and understanding the elements exposed to each
type of hazard is the first step of doing it. As the risk model (Risk= Hazard x Exposure x
Vulnerability) shows, risk is also a function of hazard. Hazard again, refers to the probability of
occurrence at a given magnitude that may cause loss of lives and negatively affect social,
economic, and environmental concerns.
Physical. Exposed element can refer to the number of people or structures within the
exposed area. Figures for these two types of elements are the most reliable and least
subjective. The combination of both hazard and exposed population provides the physical
exposure:
PhExp = Hazard x Exposure
where:
PhExp is the physical exposure for the affected area
Hazard is the probability of occurrence of an event at a given magnitude
Exposure is the total population living in the affected area for each event
When a disaster strikes, casualties (deaths, missing persons, and injured people) and
property loses and damages are the first to be reported in tri-media. Long after a disaster, the
effects to other elements assume greater attention. These are the consequences that cannot be
measured or quantified as easily as property losses or damages. Tangible and intangible losses
fall under social, environmental, and economic categories.
 Social. The social dimension of exposure and vulnerability covers a wide range of
concerns (including migration, social groups, health and well-being, education, culture,
institutions, and governance aspects) but demography is the most important aspect. Population
density maps are excellent indicators of exposure and vulnerability.
Environmental. The physical aspects of exposure and vulnerability refer to location and
built structures. Hazardous events such as the Typhoon Yolanda, which destroyed a wide range
of structures, showed how vulnerable a city’s exposed elements can be to typhoons and storm
surges partly because of location. Detailed list of physical elements exposed to various hazards:
1. Essential Facilities
 educational facilities
 medical and healthcare facilities
 emergency response facilities
 government offices
 recreational or tourist facilities
 places of worship
 banks and financial centers
 markets and shopping centers
 cemeteries
2. Industrial and High Potential Loss Facilities and Facilities Containing Hazardous
Materials
 dams and ponds
 fuel reservoirs, pipelines, and pumps
 power (electric) generating plants and lines
 multi-purpose hydropower plants, water tanks, and lines
 food processing facilities
3. Transportation Lifelines
 highways, bridges, railway tracks, and tunnels
 bus facilities
 port and harbor facilities
 airport facilities and runways
4. Utility Lifelines
 portable water facilities, waste water facilities, pipelines, and distribution lines
 oil and natural gas systems facilities, pipelines, and distribution lines
 electric power facilities and distribution lines
 communication facilities (stations) and distribution lines (cables and networks)
Environmental aspects of exposure and vulnerability encompass those beyond the
physical dimension. Also, included are potentially vulnerable natural systems such as low-lying
areas, coastal regions, and mountainous areas. Sometimes, the combination of human
settlement patterns and environment makes populations more vulnerable to hazard events.
Take for example, the preference of some people to occupy floodplains along major river
courses which increases their exposure to flood hazards. More often, the construction of flood
control structures such as dikes and channel modification give people living in these areas a
false sense of security which entices more people to come and settle. Flood control structure
design may be exceeded by extreme events, and so flood risk also increases due to both
hazard event and increased exposure.
Economic. Among the economic effects of a hazard event include business interruptions
due to accessibility problems, loss of jobs and access to work, and loss of government income
due to inability of businesses and people to pay taxes at a time when more funds are needed for
relief and rehabilitation.
 Vulnerability is the “degree of loss to each element should a hazard of given severity
occur”. Physical, social, economic, and environmental factors determine the likelihood and
severity of damage due to a given hazard. Recent and present hazardous events, highlight the
need to assess the vulnerability levels of areas of the Philippines that are exposed to these
hazards. With this, resources available can be made to work more efficiently to reduce
vulnerabilities. Such measures include mitigation, prediction and warning, preparedness, and
building capacities to withstand and cope with hazards. The root causes of vulnerability, such as
poverty and poor governance, must also be addressed to sustain efforts to reduce vulnerability.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) defines vulnerability as “the
degree of loss to a given element at risk at a certain severity level”. The vulnerability of
populations, buildings, and other elements at risk is assigned a value between 0 and 1
depending on the percentage of loss that might be incurred when a hazard event causes a
disaster.
Social vulnerability. Certain population groups may be more vulnerable than others. For
example, the very young and the old are more exposed to hazards than other age groups, just
like the Covid’19 wherein you have to belong to a specific age range to be able to get
permission to go out of the house in this time of pandemic. Furthermore, a rapidly aging
population is more vulnerable as health, economic growth, and mobility issues are more
pronounced. Below is a list of the most vulnerable populations:
 people with disabilities
 children
 seniors
 medication-dependent individuals
 women, especially those who are single, single parents, or the unemployed
 ethnic minorities, indigenous people
 homeless or “street people”
 incarcerated individuals
 marginalized groups (i.e., by the society or the community)
Among the most vulnerable elements are the schoolchildren, especially those in the pre-
elementary levels. The education sector is often exposed to hazards yet it is a potent agent in
reducing vulnerability. The use of information dissemination and education campaigns should
lead to a well-informed and motivated population, and hence, to risk reduction.
Environmental vulnerability. Compared with developed countries, developing nations
such as or country face more exposure and vulnerability because of relative inability to adapt to
changes and to create wealth that may enhance resilience. Rapid urbanization in hazardous
areas heightens vulnerability to disaster risk.
Economic vulnerability. It is the susceptibility of individuals, communities, businesses,
and governments to absorb or cushion the effects of a hazard event. Rural households are
found to be more vulnerable than those in urban environments because of the greater number
of those living in poverty. This is tied to a more limited access to markets and other services. In
a more traditional communities where gender inequalities are more pronounced, women are
more vulnerable simply because they lack access to livelihoods.
Quantifying the tangible aspects of vulnerability and loss is useful in estimating more
precisely how much mitigation and preparedness measures shall be applied. There are many
methods of expressing vulnerability. Some of these, especially those pertaining to future effects
of hazards, are based on data gathered about the intensity of previous hazard events and the
severity of their effects.