SHS

DISASTER READINESS and

RISK REDUCTION
Week 2 – Module 4
Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction
Grade 11/12 Week 2 – Module 4
First Edition, 2020

Copyright © 2020
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 T. QUINONES

Editor: SDO La Union, Learning Resource Quality Assurance Team

Illustrator: Ernesto F. Ramos Jr., P II

Management Team:

ATTY. Donato D. Balderas, Jr.

Schools Division Superintendent

Vivian Luz S. Pagatpatan, PhD

Assistant Schools Division Superintendent
German E. Flora, PhD, CID Chief

Virgilio C. Boado, PhD, EPS in Charge of LRMS

Rominel S. Sobremonte, EdD, EPS in charge in Science
Michael Jason D. Morales, PDO II
Claire P. Toluyen, Librarian II
Disaster Readiness and
Risk Reduction
Week 2 – Module 4
 TARGET

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

destruction and devastation to life and property. The damage caused by disasters is
immeasurable and influences the mental, socioeconomic, political, and cultural state
of the affected area. Disasters are events that cause great damage, destruction, and
human suffering. Their origin can be natural, such as earthquakes, floods, and
typhoons, or of human origin: accidents and terrorist acts.

In your previous lesson, you are able to understand the effects of disaster on
one’s life.

This learning material will provide you with information and activities that will
help you analyze the different perspective or point of views of disaster.

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

1. Analyze disaster from the different perspectives (physical, psychological,

socio-cultural, economic, political, and biological (DRR11/12-Ia-b-6)

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 Jumpstart

ACTIVITY 1: LET’S CHECK IF YOU KNOW

Read the following statements expressing the different perspectives of disaster.
Choose your answer from the box. Write your answer on the space provided before
the number.

Economic perspective Political perspective

Environmental perspective Psychological perspective

Physical Perspective Socio-cultural perspective

_________________________1. Disasters can cause serious mental health

consequences for the victims, which can take the form of Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) and a variety of other disorder and symptoms which have been less
investigated.

_________________________2. A natural disaster is a natural event that causes a

perturbation to the functioning of the economic system, with significant negative
assets, production factors, output, employment, and consumption

_________________________3. Disasters are not random and do not occur in accident

_________________________4. Natural disasters are commonly thought to be less

politically contentious than armed conflicts.

_________________________5. What the people living at risk and do about natural

hazards and disaster risk is mediated by a range of factors including social
conditions and cultural settings

_________________________6. Disaster is a phenomenon that can cause damage to

physical elements such as buildings, infrastructures, including people and their
properties, e.g. houses and environmental sources of living

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 Discover

A disaster is a result of a vast ecological breakdown in the relation between humans

and their environment; a serious or sudden event on such a scale that the stricken
community needs extraordinary efforts to cope with it, often with outside help or
international aid.

Disaster is analyzed from different perspectives as follows:

Physical Perspective

From this view, disaster is defined as a phenomenon that cause damage to

physical elements such as buildings, infrastructures, including people and their
properties, e.g. houses and environmental sources of living. Physical effects are the
most visible and quantifiable effects of a disaster. In assessing the aftermath of a
disaster, physical damages are essentially considered in data recording. Assessment
of disaster is focused on the following common questions:

How many families are affected? (displacement, injury, death)

How many houses are damaged or washed out? (in case of super typhoons)

How many buildings collapsed or are damaged? (in case of an earthquake)

How many roads, bridges, dams and other infrastructures are damaged? (in
case of floods, lahar flows and earthquakes)

What is the extent of damage in agricultural industry? (crop losses, damaged

fish cages, washed out rice fields, etc.)

Psychological Perspective

Psychological research has shown that disasters can cause serious mental
health consequences for victims. These consequences take the form of Post-
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and a variety of other disorders and symptoms
which have been less investigated. The more stress, defined in a variety of ways,
within the disaster, the more likely there are to be emotional consequences.

In psychological context a disaster is regarded as an occurrence involving an

unexpected or uncontrollable event rather than a long-term experience. In other
words, a disaster is something that could happen within a hazard rather than the
hazard itself. Hence, one very important component of the recovery phase, aside
from relief services is debriefing or psychological support system.

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 Other psychological effects of a disaster are the following:

• Emotional effects: Shock, terror, irritability, blame, anger, guilt, grief or

sadness, numbing, helplessness, loss of pleasure derived from familiar activities,
difficulty feeling happy, difficulty feeling loved.

• Cognitive effects: Impaired concentration, impaired decision-making

ability, memory impairment, disbelief, confusion, nightmares, decreased self-esteem,
decreased self-efficacy, self-blame, intrusive thoughts, memories, dissociation (e.g.
tunnel vision, dreamlike or ‘spacey’ feeling).

• Physical effects: Fatigue, exhaustion, insomnia, cardiovascular strain,

startle response, hyper arousal, increased physical pain, reduced immune response,
headaches, gastrointestinal upset, decreased appetite, decreased libido, vulnerability
to illness.

• Interpersonal effects: Increased relational conflict social withdrawal,

reduced relational intimacy, alienation, impaired work performance, decreased
satisfaction, distrust, externalization of blame, externalization of vulnerability,
feeling abandoned.

Socio-Cultural Perspective

What the people living at risk know and do about natural hazards and disaster
risks is mediated by a range of factors including social conditions (such as age,
gender, wealth, ethnicity) and cultural settings (language, beliefs, traditions,
customs). In most places people are also more or less exposed by information and
ideas coming from the “outside” – the world outside their own cultural setting. At
the same, the field of natural hazards and disasters has developed its own debates,
framework, and notions such as vulnerability, resilience, and ‘risk’. But
communities may have different priorities and notions of natural hazards and
disaster risks. People’s socio-cultural background may affect their response to
disasters at the different stages of disaster management.

Hence, from the socio-cultural point of view, a disaster is analyzed based on

how people respond having as parameter their social conditions and cultural
settings. These two factors are important determinants of the degree of risk,
resilience and vulnerability of those affected. That is why some ethnic groups can
easily cope with disasters compared to other groups.

Economic Perspective

From an economic perspective, a natural disaster can be defined as a natural

event that causes a perturbation to the functioning of the economic system, with a
significant negative impact on assets, production factors, output, employment and
consumption. One salient component of assessing the impact of disaster impact
from this view is defining direct economic cost and indirect losses.

Direct economic cost is the value of what has been damaged or destroyed by
the disaster. This should be seriously considered in disaster risk management and
assessment. However, to get the whole picture indirect losses is crucial in assessing

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disaster seriousness. This is done by evaluating the main indirect consequences of
a disaster. One example is when a head of family losses a job due to isolation or the
workplace itself is affected. The value of losses is measured vis-à-vis time period and
salary including perks and allowances.

Political Perspective

From this view, natural disasters are commonly thought to be less politically
contentious than armed conflicts. Yet, a closer look reveals that politics are deeply
wedded to both the impact of a natural disaster and the subsequent delivery of
humanitarian assistance. Political considerations before, during, and after a natural
disaster can determine who is most at risk, who can intervene, what actions will be
taken, and who will benefit from those actions. Some case studies demonstrate that
economic, social, and political factors can significantly amplify the devastating
impact of a natural disaster.

Governmentality or deliverance of government services to constituents can be

a plus or minus factor in disaster risk reduction and management. Government
interventions should be present in following phases of Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management: (1) Prevention, (2) Mitigation, (3) Preparedness, and (4) Recovery.
Failure to do so adversely affects the capacity and opportunities of those affected to
cope with and recover from the impacts of disaster.

Environmental Perspective

Disasters are not random and do not occur by accident. They are the
convergence of hazards and vulnerable conditions. Disasters not only reveal
underlying social, economic, political and environmental problems, but
unfortunately contribute to worsening them. Such events pose serious challenges
to development, as they erode hard-earned gains in terms of political, social and
educational progress, as well as infrastructure and technological development. The
Millennium Declaration recognizes the risk to development stemming from disasters
and calls on the global community to “intensify our collective efforts to reduce the
number and effects of natural hazards and man-made disasters.” Several studies
have recently highlighted the fact that investments in development are in jeopardy
unless precautionary action is taken toward reducing disaster risk. Yet, few
development organizations adopt a precautionary approach in the design and
management of projects and fewer still recognize the role of environmental
management in reducing disaster risk.

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 Explore

Read an account of Super Typhoon Yolanda that struck Samar and Leyte in 2013.
Analyze its impact from the different perspective enumerated below:

a. Physical perspective
b. Environmental perspective
c. Socio-cultural perspective

Deepen

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a new

strain of coronavirus. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak
began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.

On January 30, 2020, the Philippine Department of Health reported the first
case of COVID-19 in the country with a 38-year old female Chinese national. On
March 7, the first local transmission of COVID-19 was confirmed.

On July 24, the number of active COVID-19 cases has reached 50,063
following 2,103 additional cases. This brings the total number of cases to 76,444.

Analyze the impact of COVID-19 in the following perspective:

a. Economic perspective
b. Psychological perspective
c. Political perspective

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 Gauge

Read and analyze the different statement. Determine the perspective being explained
in each number. Use short bond paper for your answer.

1. Within countries, it is almost always the poor and marginalized who are
disproportionately affected by natural disasters.

2. The occurrence of a natural disaster in an area affected by on-going conflict can

lead to more difficulties for relief agencies in accessing affected communities.

3. A natural disaster has the propensity to reshape society and along with it, its
ability to manage risk, grievances, and political change.

4. Disasters are usually viewed as a collective experience, excluding personal

disasters like sexual abuse or automobile accidents, unless these involve a large
number of people.

5. Natural hazards contribute to reinforcing or increasing existing inequalities and

vulnerabilities.

6. Natural disasters cause significant budgetary pressures, with both narrowly fiscal
short-term impacts and wider long-term development implications.

7. People may not blame their government for misfortune and may not expect perfect
prevention of damage and fatalities caused by disasters, yet, they will likely expect
their government to respond to disasters in an effective and accountable manner.

8. Due to the overexploitation and utilization of resources by human beings, the

original orderly state of the ecosystem has been broken, resulting in a decline in the
ability of the ecosystem to resist stress.

9. Disasters can be substantially reduced if people are well informed and embrace
a culture of prevention.

10. Systematic analysis of natural hazards and related vulnerability should be

undertaken as a central component of environmental assessment in areas of risk of
natural hazards.

11. Indigenous knowledge should be considered as a complement to scientific

knowledge in the development of community-based disaster risk management plans
and programs.

12. Due to its geographic circumstances, the Philippines has an unusually high
exposure to natural hazards.

13. Natural disasters are a key cause of increased poverty and environmental
degradation, and reducing the risk of disasters will be key to achieving the strategic
goals laid out for the nation.

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14. Disasters are likely to result in additional expenditure and/or the partial
reallocation of already committed financial resources, with implications for panned
investment and other expenditures.

15. Environmental concerns include not only humans but also plants and animals,
water and air quality, the fate and transport of environmental contaminants, the
toxicology of human and animal effects, and the exposure and vulnerability of the
affected biota.

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Answer Key
JUMPSTART

Answers may vary

EXPLORE

Answers may vary

DEEPEN

Answers may vary

GAUGE

1. Economic
2. Political
3. Political
4. Psychological
5. Socio-cultural
6. Economic
7. Political
8. Environmental
9. Political
10. Environmental
11. Socio-cultural
12. Environmental
13. Economic
14. Economic
15. Environmental

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References
Books

Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction Core Teacher's Guide. (2017). Pasig City: Department of
Education.

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

Online Sources

https://www.preventionweb.net/files/26081_kp1concepdisasterrisk1.pdf

https://www.who.int/philippines/emergencies/covid-19-in-the-philippines

https://www.brookings.edu/on-the-record/natural-disasters-conflict-and-human-rights-tracing-the-
connections/

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