DISASTER RISK AND REDUCTION MANAGEMENT

Hand-out No. 2: Hazard Mapping, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment

Hand-out No. 2 HAZARD MAPPING, VULNERABILITY AND RISK ASSESSMENT Time Frame: 3 hours

Learning Objectives
 Distinguish between different types of hazard.
 Identify the data types for hazard mapping.
 Identify the components of a risk assessment.

Content Outline
1. Hazard Mapping
a. Data Requirements of Hazard Mapping
b. Applications of Hazard Maps
2. Vulnerability Assessment
a. Types of Vulnerability
b. Data needed for vulnerability assessment and their usefulness
3. Risk Assessment
a. Components of Risk Assessment
b. Population Risk

HAZARD MAPPING
Hazard mapping involves a graphical representation of the location, magnitude and temporal
characteristics of hazards on 2 or 3 dimensional surfaces. The objective of this is to represent the spatial and
temporal characteristics of the hazard as well as its magnitude using graphical symbols.

Hazard can be categorised based on their origin, that is, whether they are natural, human-induced or
technological.
Natural hazards are phenomena experienced in the physical environment which are harmful to humans
and caused by forces for which there is no control. Examples of natural hazards are floods, earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions and hurricanes. Figures 2.1 and 2.2 are examples of natural hazards.

Figure 2.1 Flooding at Cagayan Region

Figure 2.2 High Level Eruption at Taal Volcano

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DISASTER RISK AND REDUCTION MANAGEMENT
Hand-out No. 2: Hazard Mapping, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment

Human-induced hazards are changes of natural processes within the earth’s system caused by human
activities which accelerate or aggravate damaging events. Oil spills, atmospheric pollution, and major armed
conflicts are some of such hazards. Figures 2.3 and 2.4 are examples of human-induced hazards.

Figure 2.3 Oil Spill at Guimaras Island

Figure 2.4 Morning Smog at Metro Manila

Technological hazards are dangers caused by technological or industrial accidents, infrastructure

failures or certain human activities. Nuclear activities and radioactivity, dam failures, transport, industrial or
technological accidents (explosions, fires, spills) are some of the technological hazards.

Data Requirements of Hazard Mapping

Spatial characteristics such as location, distribution and dimension; temporal (duration and speed of
onset) and magnitude are the major data requirements for hazard mapping. Such information can be obtained
through the following sources:
 Base maps
Base maps represent topographic layers of data such as elevation, roads, water bodies, cultural
features and utilities.
 Remotely sensed images
Satellite images are increasingly becoming preferred sources of readily available information of
locations or events on the earth’s surface compared to conventional ground survey methods of mapping
that are labour intensive and time consuming. Depending on the sensor type or capabilities (spatial
resolution, spectral resolution, radiometric resolution and temporal resolution), different images may be
obtained from different service providers to feed into the information extraction process. RADARSAT,
ALOS and LIDAR, for instance, are some of the sensors that produce Digital Elevation Model (DEM)
depicting topography. Figure 2.5 shows a digital elevation model of the Pampanga river basin.

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DISASTER RISK AND REDUCTION MANAGEMENT
Hand-out No. 2: Hazard Mapping, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment

Figure 2.5 Digital Elevation Model of the Pampanga River Basin

 Field data
Through the advances of technology, ground surveying methods using electronic survey systems like
the global positioning systems (GPS) and Laser Scanners, have all greatly increased opportunities for
data capture in the field.

Applications of Hazard Maps

Hazard maps have various applications that may be broadly captured as in spatial planning, risk
reduction measures, instruments used in emergency planning and raising awareness among the population.
 Spatial planning: Hazard maps provide a basis for communal and district spatial planning processes
(e.g. definition of hazard zones in development plans and formulation of building regulations).
 Risk reduction measures: Hazard maps assist in the localisation and dimensioning of hazard protection
measures (e.g. flood protection structures, avalanche barriers, etc.)
 Instruments used in emergency planning: Hazard maps indicate where the biggest risks arise and the
events most likely to occur. This information can be used as a source of orientation in emergency
planning.
 Raising awareness among the population: Hazard maps help to demonstrate potential risks to the
population and to increase awareness of eventual protective measures.

VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT
Vulnerability was defined as the degree to which a system is exposed and susceptible to the adverse
effects of a given hazard. Pelling (2003) defines vulnerability as “Exposure to risk and an inability to avoid or
absorb potential harm”.

where Exposure: at risk property and population;

Resistance: Measures taken to prevent, avoid or reduce loss; and
Resilience: Ability to recover prior state or achieve desired post-disaster state.

Types of Vulnerability
 Physical vulnerability
This refers to the potential losses to physical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, railways, radio and
telecommunication mast and other features in the built environment. Physical vulnerability also includes
impacts on the human population in terms of injuries or deaths. Vulnerability is analysed per group of
constructions (i.e. structural types) having similar damage performance. It is an intrinsic quality of a
structure and it does not depend on location.
 Social vulnerability
 Social vulnerability refers to losses as experienced by people and their social, economic, and political
systems (Pelling, 2003 in Vilagrán de León, 2006). In this context, vulnerability refers to the extent to

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DISASTER RISK AND REDUCTION MANAGEMENT
Hand-out No. 2: Hazard Mapping, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment

which elements of society such as children, the aged, pregnant and lactating women, single parents,
physically and mentally challenged, the poor and destitute, social class, caste, ethnicity, gender, family
systems, political systems, economic systems and cultural values degrade after being exposed to a
hazardous condition. Levels of exposure to hazards, access to financial, social, natural, physical and
human capital as well as policies, institutions and processes will influence the degree to which
individuals, groups of persons or systems will degrade.
 Economic vulnerability
 This refers to the potential impacts of hazards on economic assets and processes (i.e. business
interruption, loss of productive capacity, secondary effects such as increased poverty and job loss) and
includes vulnerability of different economic sectors. Economic vulnerability is usually combined with
social vulnerability during assessments.
 Ecological/environmental vulnerability
 This refers to the degree of loss that an ecosystem will sustain to its structure, function and composition
as a result of exposure to a hazardous condition. This includes degradation, biodiversity loss and loss
of productivity.

Vulnerability Assessment
This refers to the quantification of the degree of loss or susceptibility to an element at risk. The
assessment is essential when conducting a risk assessment. Vulnerability assessments have not always been a
part of risk assessment, but in recent times, they have become indispensable due to the recognition that
disasters occur as a result of interactions between hazards and vulnerable elements. Variations exist in the
method of quantification of vulnerability based on the following:
a. Type of vulnerability being measured, that is, it is physical, social, economic or ecological.
b. The scale at which vulnerability is being measured, whether at the individual, household or community
level.
c. The type of hazard. Different hazard types call for different methods of quantification as not all methods
of vulnerability quantification are used for the different hazard types.

Data needed for vulnerability assessment and their usefulness

 Historical data on the magnitude of a hazard and the level of damage it caused to specific elements
such as buildings built from sandcrete or wood.
 Socio-economic data such as level of education, access to pipe borne water, access to secure shelter,
social networks, sanitation, income level, access to credit, access to land, access to technology etc. The
emphasis here is on the level of access that an individual, household or community has to various
assets.
 Level of exposure to hazardous conditions
 Data on policies, institutions and processes which influence capacity of individuals, households and
communities.

RISK ASSESSMENT
Risk assessment was defined and regarded as a methodology to determine the likelihood and
magnitude of damage or other consequences by analysing potential hazards and evaluating existing conditions
of vulnerability that jointly could likely harm exposed people, properties, services, livelihoods and the
environment they depend on.

Components of Risk Assessment

There are two (2) main components:
1. Risk analysis: The use of available information to estimate the risk caused by hazards to individuals or
populations, property or the environment. Risk analyses generally contain the following steps: Hazard
identification, hazard assessment, elements at risk/exposure, vulnerability assessment and risk
estimation.
2. Risk evaluation: This is the stage at which values and judgement enter the decision process by
including the importance of the risk and associated social, environmental, and economic consequences,
in order to identify a range of alternatives for managing the risk.

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DISASTER RISK AND REDUCTION MANAGEMENT
Hand-out No. 2: Hazard Mapping, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment

Risk assessments are strongly influenced by the nature and likelihood of a hazard as well as the extent of loss
that may occur due to the hazard. Risk can be conceptualised as:

Population Risk
Population risk can be expressed as individual risk or societal risk. Individual risk is the risk of fatality or
injury to any identifiable (named) individual who lives within the zone impacted by a hazard, or follows a
particular pattern of life that might subject him or her to the consequences of a hazard.
Individual risk can be calculated as the total risk divided by the population at risk. For example, if a
region with a population of one million people experiences on average 5 deaths from flooding per year, the
individual risk of being killed by a flood in that region is 5/1,000,000, usually expressed in orders of magnitude as
5×10-6.
Societal risk is the risk of multiple fatalities or injuries in the society as a whole, and where society would
have to carry the burden of a hazard causing a number of deaths, injury, financial, environmental, and other
losses.

EXAMPLE 2.1
There are 15,000,000 accidents per year, 1 in 300 of which result in death, there are 250,000,000 people. What are the
risks from driving an automobile?

SOLUTION

1 h 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬
𝑆𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑘 15,000,000 𝟓𝟎, 𝟎𝟎𝟎
300 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫

50,000 h 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬
𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑘 𝟐 𝟏𝟎−𝟒
250,000,000 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 ∙ 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫

h
𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑘 2 10−4 70 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝟎. 𝟎𝟏𝟒
∙

ACTIVITY: Write your answer on a short bondpaper. Only HANDWRITTEN answers will be accepted.

1. There are 500,000 cars driving on the road per year, there are 100 accidents due to rock fall on the road
each year, 1 in 10 results in death, the average number of persons per car is 2. What is the risk of being
killed by a rock fall while driving on the road from A to B?
a. The number of deaths per year is:
b. The individual risk of having an accident is:
c. The individual risk of being killed is:
d. The societal risk is:
e. The life time risk is:
f. The risk over 5 year period is:

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Hand-out No. 2: Hazard Mapping, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment

2. Select three hazards and complete the tasks below:

Elements at Why these elements are Underlying factors contributing
Hazard
Risk at risk to vulnerability
Example: Earthquake Houses Collapse of houses Poor construction material used
a.
b.
c.

Reference:

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2016). Disaster Risk Management Training Manual.

Rubric No. 1 Assessing and Grading of Ability to Perform Mathematical Computations

Level 100% 70% 40% 0%

Criteria* Does not meet
Exceeds expectations Meets expectations Needs improvement
expectations
The task is worked out The task is worked out to The task is worked An insignificant amount
to completion, the steps completion and steps out partially and the of the task is done,
Mathematical shown are shown are mathematically steps shown are and/or the steps shown
Content mathematically error- error-free; the result is correct and could are mathematically
(70%) free, and the result is correct but still requires potentially lead to a wrong, unrelated or
correct and expressed one or two steps to bring correct result if inappropriate.
in its required form. it to its required form. worked through.
Timeliness The output is The output is submitted The output is The output is
(30%) submitted on time. a day after the set submitted two days submitted eight days
deadline. to a week after the after the set
set deadline. deadline.

Rubric No. 2 Assessing and Grading of Written Reports or Essay

1.0 2.0 3.0 5.0
Criteria/Level Does not meet
Exceeds expectations Meets expectations Needs improvement
expectations
The introduction is The introduction clearly The introduction clearly There is no clear
inviting, states the main states the main topic and states the main topic or introduction of the main
topic and position and position and previews the position but does not topic, position or
Introduction
previews the structure structure for the paper adequately preview the structure of the paper.
(10%)
for the paper. but is not particularly structure of the paper nor is
inviting to the reader. it particularly inviting to the
reader.
There is a clear, well- Answer is clear, but the Answer is somewhat clear The answer is not clear.
focused answer to the supporting information is but there is a need for more There is a seemingly
Content problem. The answer general. supporting information. random collection of
(50%) stands out and is information which does
supported by detailed not relate at all to the
information. answer.
Organization/ Writing has a Writing has a beginning, Writing is organized but Writing is aimless and
Conclusion compelling opening, an middle and an end. It is sometimes gets off topic. disorganized.
(5%) informative middle and organized but could be
satisfying conclusions. more compelling.
Grammar & Writer makes no errors Writer makes 1-2 errors Writer makes 3-4 errors in Writer makes more than
Spelling in grammar or spelling in grammar or spelling grammar or spelling that 4 errors in grammar or
(5%) that distracts the reader that distract the reader distract the reader from the spelling that distracts
from the content. from this content. content. the reader from the

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Hand-out No. 2: Hazard Mapping, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment

. content.
Timeliness The output is The output is The output is submitted The output is
(30%) submitted on time.
submitted a day after two days to a week after submitted eight days
the set deadline. the set deadline. after the set deadline.
NOTE: Please do not distribute or reproduce any parts of the module without any permission from the
subject instructor. If you have questions and clarification, please contact me thru FB Messenger,
Google Classroom or thru text.

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