SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI COLLEGE

SAINT ANTHONY SCHOOL

UNIT I:

LESSON 1:
Understanding the
Concept of Disaster

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE:
• Explain the meaning of disaster
• Differentiate the risk factors underlying
disasters
• Describe the effects of disasters on one’s life
• Explain how and when an event becomes a
disaster
• Identify areas/ locations exposed to hazards
that may lead to disasters
• Analyze disaster from the different perspectives

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Disaster
 pertains to anything that disrupts the normal functioning of people,
events and circumstances
 Predicted Calamities – like typhoon become a disaster when its
effect could no longer be controlled and disturbs people, damages
properties and unsettles events
 Unpredicted Calamities – are more disastrous because people
wouldn’t know when these calamities would struck a place,
person or a thing. (Lightning, earthquake, tsunami)

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The formula of Disaster
 The occurrence of disaster is presented by the International
Federation of Red Cross and it is shown by the words in the box
below:
(VULNERABILITY + HAZARD)
CAPACITY = DISASTER

 Vulnerability - pertains to the weakened capability of a person

or group of persons to prepare, manage and recover from the impact
of a natural or man-made disaster

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Sample Application of Vulnerability
A community or barangay which is not knowledgeable in
disaster risk reduction and management is a vulnerable victim of
disaster
 A member of the family who refused to evacuate from the
house, despite repeated warnings from the Office of the Disaster
Risk Reduction and Management is vulnerable victim of flood or
landslide

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Hazard
 pertains to any condition or circumstances that endangers a
person, thing or situation. Hazard could be classified as man-
made or natural. Natural hazards include:
1. Geologic hazards like earthquake and floods
2. Atmospheric hazards like droughts and thunderstorms
3. Natural Hazards – these are hazards that may occur
naturally, but don’t fall in to either of the categories above.
These include insect infestations and disease epidemics.

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Capacity

 pertains to ability of every individual or group or the

community as a whole to mitigate the effects of hazards
or causes of disaster

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 SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI COLLEGE
SAINT ANTHONY SCHOOL

UNIT I:

LESSON 2: The
Concept of Disaster
Risk

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Definition of Disaster Risk

Is caused by hazards

Is the assessed damage to a person or property as a
result of hazard
Is caused by man-made or natural disasters is called
disaster risk
It is the result of hazard, exposure and vulnerability

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Disaster Risk may be simplified using
the formula below:

Hazard + Exposure + Vulnerability = Disaster Risk

 Disaster risk has a direct relationship with hazards,

exposure and vulnerability, with all three combined.

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Reducing Disaster Risk
Below are the recommended measures to reduce disaster risk:

1. Lessen the rate of vulnerability by empowering people in disaster risk

reduction
2. Keep exposure away from hazard by relocating people and property
3. Develop disaster preparedness – conduct fire, earthquake and emergency
drills
4. Empower the people – conduct information drive and seminars

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Risk Factors Underlying Disaster
 The Voluntary Organizations in Cooperation in Emergencies, a
non-governmental organization (NGOVOICE) and an active
humanitarian aid worldwide, assists European Organizations in
times of disasters
 The organization identified some underlying factors which
increase disaster and are needed to be addressed in order to
reduce overall risk. This include:

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1. Environmental problem such as:

a) Declining Ecosystems – this pertains to environmental degradation due to

the exploitation of our natural resources like rivers and mountains. Ex.
Mining activities and flashfloods

b) Social – social aspect of risk factors may pertain to apathy of the people
towards disaster preparedness
- lack of concern of some Filipino people in disaster preparedness is
another underlying factor which increases disaster

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1. Environmental problem such as:

c) Economic Vulnerabilities– lack of financial capability of the concerned

authorities to fund disaster information drive or the cost-effective thinking
of builders makes them susceptible to disasters

d) Climate Change – this is also known as the change in the pattern of

weather for an extended period of time. El niño and La niña are
considered as results of climate change

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2. Human Factor such as:

a) Unplanned Urbanization – this is believed to be a threat to ecological

balance and may cause severe flooding in the city or municipality. (Ex.
Migration is one of the factors in unplanned urbanization)

b) Under-development/Poverty – due to poverty, people become more

vulnerable to disaster which increases the risk factor underlying disasters
when they build homes along rivers and other waterways or in the
dumpsite making them more prone to diseases, which is also a kind of
disaster (Ex. Payatas)

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SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI COLLEGE
SAINT ANTHONY SCHOOL

UNIT I:

LESSON 3: Nature
of Disasters

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Type of Disasters

 The type of disasters are listed by Adelman and Gray in their book “The
nature of Disasters”
 Two Different Types of Disasters
1. Natural Disasters
• Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Floods
2. Man – made Disasters
• Airplane Crashes, Major Chemical Leaks, Nuclear Reactor
Accidents, Terrorists Attacks, Wars

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Natural Disasters

 Pertain to any act of nature which results to distressing effects to life

and property
 Predicted – Typhoons and Volcanic Eruption
 Unpredicted – Earthquake and Landslide
 It may not only be the natural process of the environment, it may
also be the result of some human activities like illegal logging and
mining

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Top 10 Deadliest Natural Disasters in
the Philippines
1. Moro Gulf Tsunami
Date of Occurrence – August 16, 1976
Place most devastated – Southern Island of Mindanao
Number of Casualties – 5,000 - 8,000 people
2. Tropical Storm Thelma
Date of Occurrence – November 15, 1991
Place most devastated – Central City of Ormoc, Leyte
Number of Casualties – More than 5,100 people

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Top 10 Deadliest Natural Disasters in
the Philippines
3. Typhoon Bopha
Date of Occurrence – December 3, 2012
Place most devastated – Main Southern Island of Mindanao
Number of Casualties – about 1,900 people dead or missing
4. July 16 Earthquake
Date of Occurrence – July 16, 1990
Place most devastated – Baguio City
Number of Casualties – 1,621 people

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Top 10 Deadliest Natural Disasters in
the Philippines
5. Typhoon Ike
Date of Occurrence – August 31, 1984
Place most devastated – Central Island of the Philippines
Number of Casualties – 1,363 people
6. Eruption of Taal Volcano
Date of Occurrence – January 30, 1911
Place most devastated – Batangas
Number of Casualties – 1,300 people

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Top 10 Deadliest Natural Disasters in
the Philippines
7. Eruption of Mayon Volcano
Date of Occurrence – February 1, 1814
Place most devastated – Albay
Number of Casualties – 1,200 people
8. Guinsaugon Landslide
Date of Occurrence – February 17, 2006
Place most devastated – Guinsaugon Central Island of Leyte
Number of Casualties – 1,126 people

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Top 10 Deadliest Natural Disasters in
the Philippines
9. Typhoon Washi
Date of Occurrence – December 16, 2011
Place most devastated – Northern part of Mindanao Island
Number of Casualties – Almost 1,080 people dead
10. Typhoon Trix
Date of Occurrence – October 16, 1952
Place most devastated – Bicol Region of the Main Island of Luzon
Number of Casualties – 995 people
Super Typhoon Yolanda or Haiyan it’s international name
Date of Occurrence – November 6, 2014
Place most devastated – Southern Leyte
Number of Casualties – at least 10,000 people
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Man-made Disasters
 Are stressful events caused directly and primarily by human action,
it is also called human-made or human caused disasters

Incidence of man-made disasters in the Philippines

1. Tubbataha reef damage caused by the USSS guardian – they

destroyed at least 1,000 sqm of coral, more than 1% of
Tubbataha’s marine protected area mandated by law

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Man-made Disasters
Incidence of man-made disasters in the Philippines

2. Oil Spills – this disaster is generally caused by human negligence in

which petroleum hydrocarbon is carelessly discharged in the
waters or on land
3. The Rizal Day Bombings
Date of Occurrence – December 30, 2000
Place most devastated – Metro Manila Philippines
Number of Casualties – 22 dead and hundreds suffered from
non-fatal injuries

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SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI COLLEGE
SAINT ANTHONY SCHOOL

UNIT I:

LESSON 4: Effects
of Disaster on
One’s Life

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Effects of Disaster on One’s Life

Earthquakes, landslides, typhoons, tsunamis and other disasters

greatly affect lives and properties. Aside from damaged crops,
houses, drainage, buildings and others, unperceived long term
effects of disaster are psychological, emotional, social and
economic effects

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I. Psychological Effects of Disaster
Signs and Symptoms of psychological effects of disasters
1. Fear – this may be characterized by fear of the dark, of being
alone or of some things
2. Shock – any victim of disaster under the stage of shock may
show irregularity in breathing, nausea and confusion
3. Grief – a victim of disaster may show extreme sadness by
crying and sighing due to the effect of the event
4. Irritability – may display sudden burst of anger, may also get
easily frustrated by small events like noisy surroundings and
lack of basic need like food and water

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II. Emotional Effects of Disaster
Some of the emotional effects are the following:

1. Feeling of guilt with the thought that had he/she done

something, he/she may nit have lost a member of the family
2. Feeling of dissatisfaction from the support coming from the
family, neighbors, friends or even from the government
3. Feeling bitterness for those who survived the disaster or for
those who were not actually affected by it

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III. Physical Effects of Disaster
The following are some manifestations of physical effects of disasters:

1. Physical sickness like headaches, fever, cough and others

2. Change in Appetite
3. Poor Sleeping Condition
4. Constipation

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IV. Social Effects of Disaster
Some of the social effects of disaster are the following:

1. Loss of interest in the activity previously enjoyed by the

victim/survivor
2. Family may be rebuilt
3. Circle of Friends will expand

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V. Economic Effects of Disaster

1. Loss of Job of a family member

2. Loss of business by the merchants
3. Damaged bridges, buildings and roads which will be repaired
by the government at the expense of the country’s budget
4. Forfeiture of investments from other countries
5. Decline of tourism industry due to damaged sceneries

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V. Economic Effects of Disaster

Other economic effects of disasters:

1. Agricultural damage brought by typhoons may result to shortage in

the supply of major agricultural products in the country like rice,
vegetables and fruits
2. Collapsed building in high urban areas may result to loss jobs and
other sources of income
3. Disasters may also result in the loss of livelihood like poultry
industry being manifested by plague or those which were carried
away by flash floods

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What are the general effects of
disaster to people?
1. Loss of life
2. Injury
3. Damage to and destruction of property
4. Damage to and destruction of subsistence and cash crops
5. Disruption of production
6. Disruption of lifestyle
7. Loss of Livelihood
8. Disruption of essentials services
9. Damage to national infrastracture and disruption of governmental system
10. national economic loss
11. Sociological and psychological after-effects

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Coping with the Effects of Disasters
1. Take care of yourself
2. Encourage open communication and support
3. Be Brave
4. Be a good listener
5. Carry on with your routine
They are also positive attributes which may help in the faster recovery
after a disaster. These are the following:
1. Belief in God
2. Optimism
3. Confidence
4. Wisdom

Academics. And beyond.

Academics. And beyond.