DISASTER RISK

“The probability that a community’s structure or

geographic area is to be damaged or disrupted by the
impact of a particular hazard, on account of its nature,
construction and proximity to a hazardous area.”
1. Trauma
2. Injured person
3. Collapsed buildings
4. Food shortages
Impacts from natural disasters are on
the rise, and disasters pose a
growing threat to both economies
and people's lives. We need to be
able to identify risks rapidly,
rigorously, and regularly. Open-
source technology is making this
easier than ever, allowing people all
over the planet to pitch in.
DISASTER
 A sudden calamitous event, bringing a great
damage, loss, destruction and devastation to life
and property.
 A serious disruption of the functioning of the
society, causing widespread human, material or
environmental losses, which exceed the ability of
the affected people to cope using their human
resources.
 Emergencies that cannot be handled by those
affected without outside assistance.
NATURE OF DISASTER
 Types
NATURAL
HUMAN-
MADE
RISK FACTOR UNDERLYING DISASTER
(Asian Disaster Preparedness Center)
“a number of factors make it more likely that those
affected will have more severe or longer-lasting stress
reactions after disaster.”
 SEVERE EXPOSURE
(future mental problems)
-those that go through the disaster
-those in close contact with victims
-those who only had indirect exposure
 GENDER AND FAMILY
-women or girls suffer more negative effects than do
men or boys.
-more stressful when children are present.
-a family member in the home who is extremely
distressed.
-lack of support of family members.
 AGE
-40-60 y/o are likely to be more stressed
-children show more severe distress after disaster
-higher stress in the parents is related to worse recovery
in children.
 OTHER FACTORS SPECIFIC TO THE
SURVIVOR
recovery is worse if survivors:
-were not functioning well before the disaster.
-have had no experience dealing with disasters.
- must deal with other stressors after the disaster.
-have poor self-esteem.
-think they are uncared for by others
-think they have little control over what happens to them
-lack the capacity to manage stress
 -bereavement (death of someone close)
-injury
-life threat
-panic ,horror or feelings that during the disaster
-being separated from family
-great loss of property
-displacement (being forced to leave home)
 DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
“Disasters in developing countries, like the Philippines
have more severe mental health impact than do disasters in
developed countries.”
 LOW OR NEGATIVE SOCIAL SUPPORT
-the support of others can be both a risk and a
resilience factor.
-Social support can weaken after disasters.
 The following are the common effects of
natural disaster identified by some studies on
disaster risk and management:

displaced
health risks
populations

emotional
food scarcity
aftershocks
Displaced populations

When countries are ravaged by

earthquakes or other powerful forces
of nature like floods and super
typhoons, many people have to
abandon their homes and seek shelter
in other regions. A large influx of
refugees can disrupt accessibility of
health care and education, as well as
food supplies and clean water.
Displaced populations
When Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991,
thousands of families in Zambales and
Pampanga were displaced. Their
communities were ravaged by lahar
flow that turned these communities into
“wilderness”. Several resettlement
areas were established to accommodate
those who were displaced. These
resettlement areas which started as tent
cities for those affected by the volcanic
eruption became permanent
communities.
 Health Risks
After natural disasters, food often becomes scarce. Thousands
of people around the world go hungry as a result of destroyed
crops and lots of agricultural supplies, whether it happens
suddenly in a storm or gradually in a drought. As a result, food
prices rice, reducing families’ purchasing power and
increasing the risks of severe malnutrition. The impacts of
hunger following an earthquake, typhoon or hurricane can be
tremendous, causing lifelong damage to children’s
development. One of the serious “aftershocks” of Super
Typhoon Yolanda was there’s no food to eat immediately after
the storm surge. This resulted into looting some of the stores
and supermarkets in Tacloban City.
Food Scarcity

One of the serious

“aftershocks” of Super
Typhoon Yolanda was
there’s no food to eat
immediately after the
storm surge. This resulted
into looting some of the
stores and supermarkets in
Tacloban City.
Emotional Aftershocks
Natural disasters can be particularly
traumatic for young children.
Confronted with scenes of
destruction and the deaths of friends
and loved ones, many children
develop post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), a serious
psychological condition resulting
from extreme trauma. Left untreated,
children suffering from PTSD can be
prone to lasting psychological
damage and emotional distress.
 How & When an
Event becomes a
Disaster
An event, either human-
made or natural, becomes a
disaster when it is sudden
or progressive, causing
widespread human, material
or environmental losses
Typhoon yolanda

A typhoon like Yolanda is a natural phenomenon. It

became a disaster due to several factors:
 its strength (290 km/hour)
 the storm surge it brought
 devastating effect to human, material, and
environment.
 More than 7,000 people perished
 entire City of Tacloban was literally flattened to
the ground
Typhoon ondoy

Another example is Typhoon Ondoy that struck the country

in 2009.
 amount of precipitation brought by its torrential rains
 thousands of houses were submerged in flood water
 hundreds of shelters along river banks and steros were
washed out
 power and water supplies were cut off for several
weeks
 Hundreds of lives perished
ULTRA STAMPEDE

A television program like Wow Wowie became so

popular that thousands of fans flock to ULTRA. That
event turned out to a disastrous tragedy when there
was a human-induced disturbance among watching
crowd that cause a stampede. Many spectators were
hurt and some even died which led to the dissolution
of said TV program.
 The Philippines is
visited by typhoons
on the average of 20
every year.
 SUMMARY
Disaster is a calamitous event that brings destruction to
human life, environment, and other material elements.
Disaster risk is the probability that a community’s
structure or geographic area is to be damaged or
disrupted by the impact of a particular hazard.
 
 Disaster is generally classified natural and human-made.
Natural disasters originate from the “forces” of nature,
like earthquakes, typhoons, volcanic eruption, floods,
flash floods, tornadoes, storm surge etc. Oil spill,
nuclear reactions and leaks, hazardous materials,
terrorism and the like are considered human-made
disasters.
 SUMMARY
There are several risk factors underlying a disaster. There are:
1) severity of exposure, 2) gender, 3) family, 4) age, 5)
developing countries and 6) low or negative social support.
These factors are determinants of the degree of disaster risk.
 
Natural disaster affect human life in different dimensions.
Disaster can cause displacement of population, health risks,
food scarcity, and emotional aftershocks.
 
There are areas/locations in the Philippines that are exposed to
different hazards. Communities in these areas definitely need
knowledge and awareness on disaster risk reduction and
management.