Basic Concept of Disaster

and Disaster Risk

Objectives:
• Assess the different key concepts of disaster, hazard, vulnerability, and
capacity.
• Determine the risk factors underlying disasters and evaluate the different
effects of disasters on one’s life.
• Analyze how risk leads to disaster.
• Explain the reason why the Philippines is highly vulnerable to disaster and
identify disaster prone areas in the Philippines.
• Categorize hazards, exposure, and vulnerabilities and give examples from
actual situations.
Essential Question

Why do we need to know

about the disaster?
How do Earth’s
sphere interact?
➢ Formation of clouds, rains, and winds in
the atmosphere result in changes in
weather.
➢ Deforestation and urbanization are some
human activities that contribute to climate
change and loss of animal habitat.
➢ Landforms like mountains and volcanoes
are formed from the movement of plate
tectonics.
Why these concepts are important
in studying the concept of
disaster?
 LESSON 1: CONCEPT OF DISASTER

Disaster
• is a dangerous situation or threat from natural or man-
made events that disrupt the functions of individuals in a
community.
• This could mean death, damage to resources, and loss of
property. Thus, a community under disaster might need
assistance to recover.
Disaster
• Disasters occur when a hazard is exposed to a vulnerable
community.
Hazard
•Is a threat to life, environment, or property. A
hazard can be considered a disaster if it poses
an actual harm to life and environment. It can be
classified based on its origins: natural and
man-made.
Hazard
• Natural hazards are caused by an abrupt or slow onset of
naturally occurring phenomena which can be biological,
geological, hydrological, meteorological, and climatological in
origin.
• Man-made hazards are caused by human activities and
occur near human settlements. Pollution, industrial, and
transport accidents, conflicts (war and terrorism), and
technological structures are some examples of man-made
hazards.
 We can
encounter
different types of
natural and man-
made hazards.
▪ The failure to withstand the impacts of
hazards is called vulnerability.
▪ The impacts of a disaster can be
reduced if proper mitigation measures
are done. Mitigation refers to
precautionary activities to prevent or
reduce the effects of a disaster.
Remember:
➢Disasters occur when hazards bring
harmful impacts to the human
population.
➢Natural disasters are of natural
processes origin while man-made
disasters are produced from human
activities.
Assessment: ¼ answer the following
questions.
1.Explain what is meant by “Buildings
kill people, not Earthquakes”.
2.Is the large magnitude of a natural
hazard a guarantee for a disaster?
Why or why not?
Which town has a higher A landslide?
chance of surviving a tsunami? Why?
LESSON 2: RISK FACTORS UNDERLYING
DISASTERS
Disaster Risk
➢is defined by the United Nations International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) as “the combination of the
probability of an event and its negative consequences.”
This includes severity of hazard, number of damage to
people and resources, and their vulnerability to damage.
 ▪ 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.
Disaster Risk and its Elements
To understand disaster risks,
one must also consider the
community’s capacity to
protect itself against
disasters. The ability of a
community to withstand,
accommodate, and recover
from a disaster is called
resilience.
➢ Analyzing disaster losses from
previous years are employed to
plan mitigation procedures to
prevent and estimate future
disaster losses.
➢ Information gathered from
hazards, exposures,
vulnerabilities, and damages will
give an accurate risk assessment.
➢ A risk assessment is made to
estimate the potential economic,
infrastructure, and social impacts.
Disaster Risk Factors
•There are several factors that affect the degree of
disaster risk in a community. These factors can
intensify or lessen the effects of disaster.
•These factors can be classified into physical,
psychological, socio-cultural, economic, and
biological aspects.
•Physical
➢ This includes the concrete objects in a
community that can help or harm an
individual during a disaster. Examples are
availability of fire exits during a fire,
sturdiness of infrastructure or the ability of a
building to withstand earthquakes.
•Psychological
➢ It includes the mental state of an individual,
like the ability of an individual to respond to
a disaster and fear.
• Socio-cultural
➢ This includes traditions, religion, and social
statuses in society. Examples include
community folklore, presence of the
bayanihan system, etc.
• Economic
➢ This includes resources in the community
and the income source of individuals such
as farming and employment.
• Biological
➢ This includes the flora and fauna in the
environment, their health, and its diseases.
Disaster Risk Reduction
➢ aims to decrease the risk level in communities. It
implements policies and measures to control potential risks
like poor urban and rural planning, poverty, and poor
government and local capacities. Disaster risk reduction is
implemented in order to:
• reduce vulnerability to life, property, or environment to an existing
hazard;
• reduce degree of exposure to hazards; and
• increase preparedness through proper mitigation procedures.
1.Why is it necessary to plan
mitigation procedures?
2.Is resiliency a natural characteristic
in the Philippines, or a necessity in
the face of government inaction?
The following are also taken into consideration when
risk factors underlying disaster are involved:
• Severity of exposure - which measures those who experience disaster firsthand which
has the highest risk of developing future mental problems, followed by those in contact
with the victims such as rescue workers and health care practitioners and the lowest risk
are those most distant like those who have awareness of the disaster only through news.
• Gender and Family - the female gender suffers more adverse effects. This worsens
when children are present at home. Marital relationships are placed under strain.
• 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.
• Economic status of country - evidence indicates that severe mental problems resulting
from disasters are more prevalent in developing countries like the Philippines.
Furthermore, it has been observed that natural disasters tend to have more adverse
effects in developing countries than do man-made disasters in developed countries.
Factors which underlie disasters:
• Climate Change - can increase disaster risk in a variety of ways – by altering the
frequency and intensity of hazards events, affecting vulnerability to hazards, and
changing exposure patterns.
• “directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global
atmosphere, and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over
comparable time periods” – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
• Environmental Degradation - Changes to the environment can influence the
frequency and intensity of hazards, as well as our exposure and vulnerability to
these hazards.
• Over consumption of natural resources results in environmental degradation,
reducing the effectiveness of essential ecosystem services, such as the mitigation of
floods and landslides.
 Factors which underlie disasters:
• Globalized Economic Development - It results in an increased polarization
between the rich and poor on a global scale. Currently increasing the
exposure of assets in hazard prone areas, globalized economic development
provides an opportunity to build resilience if effectively managed.
• Dominance and increase of wealth in certain regions and cities are expected
to have increased hazard exposure (Gencer, 2013).
• Poverty and Inequality - Impoverished people are more likely to live in
hazard exposed areas and are less able to invest in risk-reducing measures.
The lack of access to insurance and social protection means that people in
poverty are often forced to use their already limited assets to buffer disaster
losses, which drives them into further poverty.
Factors which underlie disasters:
• Poorly planned and Managed Urban Development - A new wave of
urbanization is unfolding in hazard-exposed countries and with it, new
opportunities for resilient investment emerge.
• The growing rate of urbanization and the increase in population density
(in cities) can lead to creation of risk, especially when urbanization is
rapid, poorly planned and occurring in a context of widespread poverty.
• Weak Governance - weak governance zones are investment
environments in which public sector actors are unable or unwilling to
assume their roles and responsibilities in protecting rights, providing basic
services and public services.
Directions: Analyze the given situation by identifying the correct risk factor. Write only the letter that
corresponds to your answer. To facilitate your task, accomplish the given table below. Write your
answers on your paper.
A. Climate Change D. Poverty and Inequality
B. Environmental Degradation E. Poorly planned and Managed Urban Developmen
C. Globalized Economic Development F. Weak Governance
Factor Underlying
Situation Disaster
Unwillingness to assume their roles and responsibilities in governing
disaster risk department
Rising sea levels
Cities located in low-altitude estuaries such as Marikina City, Philippines
are exposed to sea-level rise and flooding.

Houses are built with lightweight materials

Effects in developing countries
 A. Climate Change D. Poverty and Inequality
B. Environmental Degradation E. Poorly planned and Managed Urban Development
C. Globalized Economic Development F. Weak Governance

Factor Underlying
Situation Disaster
Depletion of the ozone layer and combustion from automobiles causing
extreme air pollution
An increase in heavy precipitation (heavy rain and hail) increase in the
proportion of violent tropical cyclones.
Women and children with lack of access to healthcare after a disaster.
Weaknesses of disaster response leads to delays in the immediate
aftermath of the disaster, hence the response is often fragmented,
inefficient and ineffective leading to increased number of casualties and
deaths.
Poor solid waste management can cause blockage to storm water and
sewage networks that can lead to waterlogging and flooding.