Disasters and Disaster Risks

VICTOR ANGELO O. HERMOSO

Subject Team Leader – SHS DisReadi

CHRISTINE BAJIO, ERWIN REYES, JOHN BRYAN ZAMORA

Instructors – SHS DisReadi
 How Do We Define Disasters?
• In a technical sense, it is a serious
disruption of a community or society
whose human, material, economic,
or environmental loss and impact
exceeds the ability of a community
to cope or adapt using its own
resources (UN International Strategy
for Disaster Reduction)
• This definition, despite its
inclusiveness, is limited to a physical
sense
How Do We Define Disasters?
• In a psychological mindset, a disaster
can be defined as any unexpected
and overwhelming event that takes a
significant emotional toll (American
Psychological Society)
• In this definition, there is an element
of what we may call a life-altering
reality; the change can be positive or
negative, depending on how a person
perceives a disaster
 How Do We Define Disasters?
• In a sociological perspective,
disasters are defined as threatening
events that impacts people not just
during the events itself, but also
before and after a disaster
• In this context, it is simply how
people act to either rise up or give
way once a disaster is perceived,
either before it has happened, when
it happens, and after it has passed
How Do We Define Disasters?
• In the view of the
environment, it is
simply the
interference of any
event to a natural
environment
 How Do We Define Disasters?
• Finally, in an
economic view, it is
any event that can
cause perturbations
in the economy’s
function, whether
small-scale or large-
scale.
 Characteristics and Types of Disasters
• Origin – defined by the source of the disaster
– Natural – Caused by natural events
– Man-Made – Caused by human interference
• Frequency – defined by the probability of a disaster’s occurrence and return period
– Frequent – Happens at intervals
– Infrequent – Happens irregularly
• Scale – defined by the locality of a given disaster
– Small-scale – happens at localized communities and needs attention from surrounding communities
– Large-scale – happens at a nationwide level and requires a coordinated national and international
response
• Length of Occurrence – defined by the length of time a disaster has occurred
– Slow-onset – disasters emerging gradually over time
– Sudden-onset – emerges quickly or unexpectedly
 Disaster Risks
• Disaster Risks are
defined as the potential
loss of life, injury, or
destroyed or damaged
assets that can occur in
a given system,
community, or society in
a specified time period
 Characterizing Disaster Risks
• Foresight – Even before a disaster strikes, a potential loss of life and
property is always predetermined by the impending disaster
• Dynamic – Risks can increase or decrease depending on a community’s
ability to reduce or minimize risk
• Invisible – Apart from the obvious loss, there is always things that even the
most stringent measures cannot see
• Uneven Distribution – Risks of a disaster are differential; they can affect a
community greatly or minimally
• Emergent and complex – Factors that contribute to a risk are more than
one, and are connected in ways even experts can barely imagine
How do We Assess Risks in a Disaster?
 Advanced Reading Assignment
• Read up on assessing risks and its components:
– Hazards
– Vulnerability
– Exposure
 ICL Activity
• Scenario: Imagine you are a reporter covering one of
the most devastating disasters in the Philippine setting
• Output: By pair, write a one-page news article regarding
any known disasters in the Philippines.
• Content: What the disaster is, when did it happen, what
kind of disaster was it, and what risk/s are presented
• Rubrics: NEXT SLIDE
 CRITERIA 5 4 3 2 1 SCORE

Content The news article

was exceptionally
The news article
was informative
The news article had
a few missing
A significant amount
of information was
The news article did
not present any __ x 2 =
informative information missing from the significant
article information

Information The news article

presented correct
The news article
had a few minor
The news article had
a significant amount
The news article had
a significant amount
The news article is
entirely erroneous in __ x 2 =
information errors on the of minor errors and of minor and major the information
information a few major errors in errors in the presented
presented the information information
presented presented

Organization The information

on the article is
The information
on the article is
The information on
the article is
A significant part of
the article is
The news article is
entirely confusing
well organized organized confusing at certain confusing
parts

Visual Impact The presentation

of the article is
The presentation
of the article
The presentation of
the article meets the
The presentation of
the article is very
The presentation of
the article lacks
very engaging to catches the standards average visual impact
the reader attention of the
reader