ELEMENTS EXPOSED TO HAZARD

 EXPOSURE – refers to the ‘elements at risk’ from a natural or

man-made hazard event. Elements at risk include the following:
1) Human beings;
2) Dwellings or households and communities;
3) Buildings and structures;
4) Public facilities and infrastructure assets;
5) Public and transport system;
6) Agricultural commodities; and
7) Environmental assets.
Elements at risk can also refer to intangible elements such as
economic activities and infrastructure networks.

 VULNERABILITY
 can determine the ability of an person or a group to predict,
cope with, resist and recover from the effects of a natural or
human-induced threat. As vulnerability increases, it means
that the population is at greater risk of suffering from a
severe natural danger.
 the characteristics and circumstances of a community,
system or asset that make it susceptible to the damaging
effects of a hazard
 As indicated by United Nations International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). “there are many aspects of
vulnerability arising from various physical, social, economic,
and environmental factors. Examples may include poor design
and construction of buildings, lack of public information and
awareness, limited official recognition of risks and
preparedness measures, and disregard for wise environmental
management.
 Vulnerability is a state of being at risk
 According to Republic Act 10121 also known as ‘Philippine
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010’,
“vulnerability is defined as the characteristics and
circumstances of a community, system or resource that make
 it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard. With all
the identified hazard at home, there is a possibility that
some family members might be susceptible or prone to the
accident due to the presence of hazard.”
 Vulnerability is also situation specific. This means that if a
specific province is prone to earthquake, it does not mean
that all localities on that province is vulnerable to it. The
vulnerability of different towns or cities or even provinces
differ in the way they prepare for the hazard and the amount
and type of resources they have in order prevent and manage
it.
 To lessen vulnerability means to make the community
prepared and ready for the possible damaging effect of the
hazard. This further means that to make the community less
vulnerable, it must be resilient. So, to develop resiliency at
home, you should first identify the hazards and be prepared
all the time for the possible outcome and respond
immediately.
 Moreover, it is also hazard specific. A community that is
vulnerable to earthquake hazard does not necessarily mean
that it is also vulnerable to typhoons. Hazards have different
traits that can influence the disasters possible to happen.

REASONS WHY CERTAIN SECTORS OF SOCIETY ARE MORE

VULNERABLE TO DISASTER THAN OTHERS

VULNERABILITY – can be seen as the result of a process in which

different things cause a population to be more vulnerable. These can
be split into demographic and socio-economic. They can also be
discussed through the level of community preparedness and the
ability of a community to manage the after effects of a hazard
event.

1. DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS
 Population density – The more dense the population, the more
efficient a response should be, considering the number of
 people that might be affected by disaster. Densely populated
cities like Manila and Quezon City require some amount of
education on disaster preparedness, government support and
relief operations in the event of a disaster.
 Age of population – Very old and very young populations are
less mobile and able to respond to hazard events well. This
makes them more vulnerable compare to others, and this
requires more attention from the government and other
support agencies especially during emergency evacuation or
relocation.
 Distribution of population – regardless of density,
populations may be distributed differently within the hazard
area, e.g. elderly people on lower floors of apartment
buildings. This must be seriously considered in human
settlement planning and relocation activities of the
government.
2. SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS
 Wealth - Low income populations are less likely to be well
prepared. Part of preparation is having a Survival Kit that
include tools to be used, emergency food stock and water
that could last for at least 3 to five days. Poor families will
find a hard time to do such preparation due to lack of money
to spend.
 Education – Education programs such as the Metro Manila
Development Authority’s (MMDA) shake drill can instruct
populations on how to deal with hazard events, like the “Big
One” – the anticipated 7.8 magnitude earthquake that may
strike Metro manila anytime. However, even the proponents
of this once-a-year drill agree that such activity will not be
enough to get everybody prepared. Hence, they are
encouraging schools to make this preventive action part of
their regular activities, at least once every quarter.
 Nature of Society – In highly centralized government
structures, efficient emergency response may be the result
 of careful planning and training of personnel. However, it can
also lead to bureaucracy and a lack of autonomous decision
making which slows down distribution of relief goods and
emergency response efforts in case of extreme emergency.
 Understanding the area – Recent migrants are likely to
struggle to cope with hazard effects compared to established
population. Understanding the area is a salient factor to be
considered in Disaster Preparedness Planning, and this will
give greater advantage to the established or original settlers
in a particular area affected by disaster.
3. COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS
 Building codes – Rigorous and applied building codes protect
most buildings from collapse during earthquakes. This should
be seriously considered by the government in the issuance of
building permits and licenses for land development. In the
1990 Baguio earthquake, most of the deaths occurred in
collapsed buildings, like the Hyatt Terraces Hotel where
hundreds died and many others were hurt.
 Scientific monitoring and early warning systems –
Established monitoring system can prepare people for the
onslaught of any kind of disaster. The coming of Super
Typhoon Yolanda was forecasted by PAGASA. However, the
magnitude of storm surge that it caused Was not effectively
predicted due to lack of advanced monitoring equipment and
technology. Locals were warned for the coming of the
typhoon, but it has been ignored because, they were not
warned about the magnitude and devastating effect of a
storm surge.
 Communication networks – Countries with good quality and
widespread communication networks allow messages to be
quickly shared. Communication plays a very important and
crucial role in times of disaster. Communication Plan is a very
salient component of Emergency Planning that should not be
left out.
 Emergency planning – Preparation is the key element of
prevention. Preparation for a disaster is embodied in an
Emergency Plan. Where monitoring and communication are in
place, the emergency planning is likely to prepare a person or
a group (family) for such events and take action based on
data, rather than prediction.