Basic Concept of

Disaster and Disaster

Risk
MELC
•Explain the meaning of disaster
•Differentiate the risk factors underlying disasters
•Describe the effects of disasters on one’s life
DISASTER
A sudden, calamitous event, bringing great damage, loss,
destruction and devastation to life and property
A serious disruption of the functioning of society, causing
widespread human, material or environmental losses,
which exceed the ability of the affected people to cope,
using their human resources.
Disasters occur when a hazard is exposed to a vulnerable
community.
A hazard is a threat to life, environment, or property.
The failure to withstand the impacts of hazards is called
vulnerability.
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. (ADPC –
Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, 2012)
NATURE/ORIGIN
OF DISASTERS Click icon to add picture
 NATURE OF DISASTERS
NATURAL DISASTERS
– These originate from the different “forces” of nature
(geological, meteorological, hydrometeorological and
biological)
- Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, and cyclones
 NATURE OF DISASTERS
HUMAN-MADE DISASTERS
-These disasters occur due to people’s actions against human,
material and environment.
-These include transport and industrial accidents, such as air,
and train crashes, chemical spills, building collapses and
terrorism.
 TYPES OF
DISASTERS
NATURAL TYPES OF DISASTERS

Agricultural diseases and pests

Storm surge
Drought and water shortage – El Niño
Earthquake
Hurricanes and tropical storms
Landslide and debris flow
NATURAL TYPES OF DISASTERS
Thunderstorms and lightning
Tornadoes ¤ Floods
Tsunamis ¤ La Niña
Wildfires
Sinkholes
Emergency diseases (pandemic influenza)
HUMAN-MADE & TECHNOLOGICAL
TYPE OF DISASTERS
Hazardous materials
Power service disruption and blackout
Nuclear power plant and nuclear blast
Radiological emergencies
Chemical threat and biological weapons
Cyber attacks
Explosion
Civil unrest
RISK FACTORS
UNDERLYING
DISASTERS
 Identify The Risks
Gina, an 18-year-old resident of Tacloban City, just got
laid off from her job as a sales clerk in a medium-sized
hardware store. She and her siblings could barely survive
each day with their limited resources. Then Typhoon
Yolanda struck, it killed her 2 younger sisters. Their home
was destroyed by the storm surge. In her barangay alone,
2000 residents were killed, including her childhood friends
and former playmates.
 ELEMENTS OF DISASTER RISK
Hazard – any phenomenon that can potentially cause
damage to life, property, or environment.

Exposure – any element (people, property, or system) that is

present in a hazard and is prone to potential loss.

Vulnerability - feature of a community that makes them

prone and exposed to the negative impacts of hazard
CONCEPT OF DISASTER RISK
 DISASTER RISK FACTORS
•A number of factors make it more likely that those
affected will have more severe or longer-lasting
stress reactions after disasters. These risk factors are
summarized in a study made by ADPC, 2012
 DISASTER RISK FACTORS
1. Severity of exposure
Injury and life threats are the factors that led most often to
mental health problems. Studies have looked at severe natural
disasters and the findings show that at least half of the
survivors suffer from distress or mental health problems that
need clinical care.
 DISASTER RISK FACTORS
2. Gender and family
The female gender suffers more adverse effects. This
worsens when children are present at home. Marital
relationships are placed under strain. Conflicts between
family members or lack of support in the home make it
harder to recover from disasters.
 DISASTER RISK FACTORS
3. Age
Adults in the age range of 40-60 are more stressed after
disasters but in general, children exhibit more stress after
disasters than adults do.
 DISASTER RISK FACTORS
4. Low or negative social support
Social support can weaken after disasters. This may be
due to stress and the need for members of the support
network to get on with their own lives.
 DISASTER RISK FACTORS
5. Developing countries
Developing countries are more vulnerable to natural
disasters because people live in areas at high risk from
natural disasters (e.g., unsafe urban areas), the housing is
poorly built and can be easily damaged in the event of a
disaster, countries are not equipped with early warning
systems, and they have few assets and a weak social safety
network to help them cope with disasters.
 OTHER FACTORS SPECIFIC TO THE
SURVIVOR
Recovery is worse if survivors:
• Have had no experience dealing with disasters
• Deal with other stressors after the disasters
• Have poor self-esteem
• Feels no one cares for them
• Think they have little control over what happens to them
• Lack the capacity to manage stress
 OTHER FACTORS SPECIFIC TO THE
SURVIVOR
Other factors have also been found to predict worse
outcomes:
• Bereavement (death of someone close)
• Injury to self or other family member
• Life threat
 OTHER FACTORS SPECIFIC TO THE
SURVIVOR
• Panic, horror, or feelings like that during the disaster
• Being separated from family
• Great loss of property
• Displacement (force to leave home)
 EFFECTS OF
DISASTERS ON HUMAN
LIFE
 DISPLACED POPULATION

•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
 HEALTH AND FOOD

•One consequence of disaster is the threat to the population’s

health. Many consequences of a disaster such as the following
contribute to the degradation of the population’s health.
• presence of stagnant water
• lack of clean water
• lack of food
 HEALTH AND FOOD

•Food becomes very limited after an occurrence of a disaster.

Consequences of disaster that contribute to limited food
supply are as follows:
•damaged farms
•damaged farm to market roads
•the high price of a limited food supply
•lack of buying capacity of disaster victims
 PSYCHOLOGICAL
•The devastating impacts of disaster can be traumatic for any
person who has experienced it.

•Exposure to deaths and catastrophe can be unforgettable to

anyone especially to children.

•Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious

psychological condition from extreme trauma that should be
addressed as early as possible to prevent a long term
emotional distress.