Disaster Risk Reduction

Management
“The more you know, the less you have to
carry. The less you know, the more you
have to carry.”
Mors Kochanski
Revelation 21:4

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,

and death shall be no more, neither shall there
be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for
the former things have passed away.”
How can we Reduce Risk?
Vulnerability
 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.
  Physical hazard – is defined as “a factor
within the environment that can harm
the body without necessarily touching
it.” For the examples, vibration and noise.

  Cultural hazard – also known as social

hazards, result from your location,
socioeconomic status, occupation and
behavioral choices.
 Economic hazard – refers to major
natural disasters which can and do have
severe negative short-run economic
impacts.
 Environmental hazard – refers to state of
events which has the potential to
threaten the surrounding natural
environment and adversely affect
people’s health.
 Vulnerability

Vulnerability is the state of

susceptibility to harm from
exposure to stresses associated
with environmental and social
change and from the absence of
capacity to adapt.
 Agriculture and Food The agriculture
sector in the Philippines is highly
dependent on a constant water
supply and unpredictable growing
seasons. Climate-related changes
disrupt farming activities and
hamper agricultural production
resulting physical factors.
• Watersheds: Forestry, Biodiversity, and
Water resources Major river basins in the
Philippines are considered the lifeblood
of the Philippine economy. However,
because of the pollution, unstable
resource use and the additional pressure
brought on by climate change, these
areas have become less viable.
• Coastal and Marine Resources Even without
climate change, many parts of the Philippines
coasts were already getting damaged and
deteriorating due to natural causes or human-
induced activities.
• Human Health Infectious diseases that are
climate-sensitive become vulnerabilities of a
population that is threatened by the
increasing frequency of extreme climate
events. Other diseases have re- emerged or
have become harder to treat.
 Preparedness

• Disaster preparedness refers

to measures taken to prepare
for and reduce the effects of
disasters.
 Disaster Preparedness Measures
• Disaster preparedness, as already stated, is a broad
concept that describes a set of measures that
minimises the adverse effects of a hazard including loss
of life and property and disruption of livelihoods.
Disaster preparedness is achieved partially through
readiness measures that expedite emergency response,
rehabilitation and recovery and result in rapid, timely
and targeted assistance. It is also achieved through
community-based approaches and activities that build
the capacities of people and communities to cope with
and minimise the effects of a disaster on their lives.
A comprehensive disaster preparedness strategy
would therefore include the following elements:
 Preparedness Planning
Disaster preparedness planning involves
identifying organisational resources,
determining roles and responsibilities,
developing policies and procedures and
planning preparedness activities aimed at
ensuring timely disaster preparation and
effective emergency response.
The aim of preparedness planning is to
identify assignments and specific
activities covering organisational and
technical issues to ensure that
response systems function successfully
in the event of a disaster.
 Coordination
National Society plans ideally should be coordinated
with the plans and intentions of other agencies and
organisations. Effective disaster response requires
mutual trust and coordination of efforts and resources
among the many agencies and people involved in
emergency response—including the affected local
population and local community based organisations,
Civil Defence and government emergency structures,
fire brigades, health departments and clinics, Red
Crescent/Red Cross Societies, international agencies,
NGOs and others.
 Information Management
Disaster preparedness and response depend on
gathering, analysing and acting on timely and
accurate information before (hazard and early
warning information), during (disaster needs
assessment) and after disasters (progress of
post-disaster recovery). This requires that
National Societies pre-determine what
information they need, how it will be collected,
who will collect it, who will analyse it and how it
will be integrated into a timely decision making
process.
Once a disaster strikes, National Societies must
conduct initial assessments that are timely and
that inform emergency responders about critical
and immediate life-saving needs. Disaster needs
assessments should develop a picture of where
people are, what condition they are in, what
they are doing, what their needs and resources
are, and what services are still available to them.
After an initial assessment, more in-depth needs
assessments should collect information related
to critical sectors and technical areas of concern.
 Early Warning Systems
The purpose of early warning systems is to detect,
forecast, and when necessary, issue alerts related to
impending hazard events. In order to fulfil a risk
reduction function, however, early warning needs
to be supported by information about the actual
and potential risks that a hazard poses, as well as
the measures people can take to prepare for and
mitigate its adverse impacts. Early warning
information needs to be communicated in such a
way that facilitates decision making and timely
action of response organisations and vulnerable
groups (Maskrey 1997).
Early warning information comes from a number
of sources:

 meteorological offices; Ministries of Health

(for example, disease outbreaks)
 Agriculture (for example, crop forecasts)
 local and indigenous sources;
 media sources and increasingly from Internet
early warning services.
 Resource mobilisation

National Societies should develop strategies,

agreements and procedures for mobilising and
acquiring emergency funds, supplies and
equipment in the event of a disaster.
 Public Education, Training and
Rehearsals
Disaster preparedness must be supported by public
education campaigns, training of response teams and
rehearsals of emergency response scenarios. The aim of
public awareness and education programmes is to
promote an informed, alert and self-reliant community,
capable of playing its full part in support of and in co-
operation with government officials and others
responsible for disaster management activities. An
essential part of a disaster preparedness plan is the
education of those who may be threatened by a disaster.
 Mitigation

Mitigation means to reduce

the severity of the human
and material damage caused
by the disaster.
 Prevention
Prevention is to ensure that human action
or natural phenomena do not result in
disaster or emergency. Primary prevention
is to reduce -avert- avoid the risk of the
event occurring, by getting rid of the
hazard or vulnerability, e.g. to avoid
overcrowding, deforestation and to
provide services.
Questions
God Bless.