RISK FACTORS UNDERLYING

DISASTER
A PRESENTATION BY:
AICELLE PALINO
MARK JOHN BUTACAN
RISK FACTORS UNDERLYING DISASTER
• Disaster happens for many reasons but four main factors are
contributing to the increase of disaster risks: Climate Change, Rapid
Urbanization, Poverty, and Environmental Degradation.
 RISK FACTORS UNDERLYING DISASTER
1. CLIMATE CHANGE
• Climate change will create a new hazard such as glacier
melting, sea-level rise, and extreme weather events in
proportions never seen before. This will aggravate the
existing disaster risks and vulnerabilities and expose millions
of people never affected before around the world.
The facts:
In its Fourth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted that by 2100:
 RISK FACTORS UNDERLYING DISASTER
• Sea level will rise by between 18cm and 59cm; sea-level
rise, coupled with coastal storms, will increase the risks of
flooding and threaten protective ecosystems. Oceans will
become more acidic and warmer.
• Tropical cyclones (including typhoons and hurricanes) will
become more intense, with higher peak wind speeds and
heavier precipitation, as tropical sea surface temperatures
increase.
 RISK FACTORS UNDERLYING DISASTER
•Increased drought in some regions will lead to land
degradation, crop damage, and reduced yields; livestock deaths
and wildfire risks will increase, and people dependent on
agriculture will face food and water shortages, malnutrition,
and increased disease, with many being forced to migrate.
• Greater rainfall in some areas will trigger more floods and
landslides, with consequent disruption to agriculture, urban
settlements, commerce, and transport.

•.
 RISK FACTORS UNDERLYING
DISASTER
• As temperatures rise, glaciers melt, increasing the risk of lake
bursts and disastrous floods; as mountain glaciers recede,
farmers and towns downstream that depend in the summer
months on glacial meltwater will increasingly be at risk.

•.
 RISK FACTORS UNDERLYING
DISASTER
2. RAPID AND UNPLANNED URBANIZATION
The rapid growth of cities, combined with climate change and
the urban population explosion, will create new stresses for
urban settlements and make city dwellers increasingly
vulnerable.
The Facts:
✓ According to UN-HABITAT, up to 3,351 cities around the
world are located in low-lying coastal zones that may be
affected by rising sea levels. Six out of the 10 largest cities are
also located along seismic fault lines.
 RISK FACTORS UNDERLYING DISASTER
✓ Eight of the 10 most populous cities on the planet are
vulnerable to earthquakes; 6 of the 10 are vulnerable to
floods, storm surges, and tsunamis.
✓ Ineffective land-use planning, inadequate enforcement of
building codes, and faulty construction standards put millions
at risk.
✓ By 2015, 33 cities will have at least 8 million residents; of
these, 21 are in coastal areas and particularly vulnerable to
meteorological hazards driven by climate change (e.g. Dhaka,
Shanghai, Manila, Jakarta, and Mumbai).
 RISK FACTORS UNDERLYING
DISASTER
✓ Cities with weak governance and small and medium-sized
urban areas are more vulnerable to disasters as they have
weaker capacities to manage urban growth, deforestation, and
destruction of coastal systems.
3. Poverty
Poverty and socio-economic inequalities are aggravating
disaster factors. They not only make poor people more
vulnerable to disasters but they trap them in a vicious circle of
poverty.
 RISK FACTORS UNDERLYING
DISASTER
The Facts:
➢ Disasters hit poor people the hardest. Poor people tend to
live in a poorly built and unexpected building that will be the
first to collapse in any disaster.
➢ Disasters affect poor countries and poor communities
disproportionately.
➢ Disasters have long-term consequences on poor people as
they have fewer means to recover.
 RISK FACTORS UNDERLYING
DISASTER
4. Environmental Degradation
Communities can all too often increase the probability and
severity of disasters- by destroying the forests, coral reefs,
and wetlands that might have protected them.
The Facts:
Forests once covered 46 percent of the Earth’s land surface –
half of these have disappeared; only one-fifth of the Earth’s
forests remain undisturbed
 RISK FACTORS UNDERLYING
DISASTER
Coral reefs are home to one-fourth of all marine species; 60
percent of coral reefs could be lost in the next 20-40 years.
The expansion of deserts and the degradation of land threaten
nearly one-quarter of the planet’s land surface; more than 250
million are directly affected by desertification and 1 billion are
at risk.
Global warming could be accompanied by widespread species
loss, ecosystem damage, flooding of human settlements, and
greater frequency and severity of other disasters due to
vulnerability to natural hazards
THANK YOU!!!