Elements

Exposed to
Hazards
Exposure
Exposure refers to the presence of people, livelihood,
environmental services and resources, infrastructure, or
economic, social, or cultural assets in places that could be
adversely affected by physical events and which, thereby,
are subject to potential future harm, loss, or damage.

It may be possible to be exposed but not vulnerable.

Elements at risk include the following:
1. Human beings
2. Dwellings or households and communities;
3. Buildings and structures
4. Public facilities and infrastructure assets;
5. Public and transport system;
6. Agricultural commodities; and
7. Environmental assets.
Various Elements Exposed to Hazards
1. Physical Hazard – is defined as “a factor within the
environment that can harm
the body without necessarily
touching it.

Example: body stressing heights

confined spaces noise
electricity vibration
heat toxic materials
Various Elements Exposed to Hazards
2. Cultural Hazard – also known as social hazards, result
from your location, socioeconomic
status, occupation and behavioral
choices.

Example: smoking lung cancer

drug use nervous system damage
overeating heart disease / diabetes
Various Elements Exposed to Hazards
3. Economic hazard – refers to major natural disasters
which can and do have severe
negative short-run economic
impacts.

Example: inflation
currency
market
labor
Various Elements Exposed to Hazards
4. Environmental Hazard – refers to state of events which
has the potential to threathen
the surrounding natural
enviroment and adversely
affect people’s health.

Example: pollution (air, water, noise, soil)

global warming (ozone layer is damaged)
deforestation (cutting of trees)
soil erosion (topsoil is eroded)
Elements at Risk
and Exposed to
Hazards
Vulnerability
Vulnerability can be seen as the result of a process in
which various different things cause a population to be
more vulnerable.

The Philippines is known to be very vulnerable to different

kinds of disasters, hence there is a need for strategies to
increase awareness, information campaign and disaster
preparedness level among the Filipinos.
Vulnerability to Specific Hazards
There are many aspects of vulnerability, arising from various
physical, social, economic, and environemntal factors. Examples
may include:

• Poor design and construction of buildings and other

infrastructures;
• Inadequate protection measures of assets;
• Lack of public information and awarenesss;
• Limited official recognition of riks and preparedness measures,
and
• Disregard for wise environmental management. (ADPC, 2012)
Four (4) Main Types of Vulnerability
1. Physical Vulnerability

It is determined by aspects such as population density

levels, remoteness of a setttlement, the site, design and
materials used for critical infrastructure and for housing
United Nations International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction (UNISDR)
Four (4) Main Types of Vulnerability
2. Social Vulnerability

It refers to the inability of people, organizations and

societies to withstand advers impacts to hazards due to
characteristics inherent in social interactions, institutions
and systems of cultural values.
Four (4) Main Types of Vulnerability
3. Economic Vulnerability

The level of vulnerability is highly dependent upon the

economic status of individuals, communities and nations.

The poor are usually more vulnerable to disasters because

they lack the resources to build sturdy structures and put
other engineering measures in place to protect themselves
from being negatively impacted by disasters.
Four (4) Main Types of Vulnerability
4. Environmental Vulnerability

Natural resource depletion and resource degradation are key

aspects of environmental vulnerability.

This is one aspect that both communities and government must be

sensitive about.

Mitigation measures like reforestation and natural resource

protection and conservation must be undertaken to reduce natural
disaster risk and vulnerability.
Elements at Risk and Exposed to Hazards
Persons, houses, buildings, infrastructures, transportation
systems, financial establishements, crops, environmental
sources of living, and others like societal components
exposed to known hazard, which are likely to be adversely
by the impact of hazard.
Risk Factors
Risk signifies the possibililty of the adverse effects in the
future.

It is derived from the interaction of social and

environemental processes, from the combination of
physical hazards and the vulnerabilities of exposed
elements.
The diagram illustrates the concept of risk which combines an understanding
of the likelihood of a hazardous event occuring with an assessment of its
impact
where:

Risk = Hazard × Exposure × Vulnerability

Capacity

The left side of the triagram shows the different natural hazards that may
occur in an area at any given period of time.

The base of the triagram indicates the different elements exposed to

hazard/disaster.

On the right side, factors and elements of vulnerability are presented.