SHS

DISASTER READINESS AND

RISK REDUCTION
Week 3: Module 5
Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction
Grade 11/12: Week 3: Module 5
First Edition, 2020

Copyright © 2020
La Union Schools Division
Region I

All rights reserved. No part of this module may be reproduced in any form
without written permission from the copyright owners.

Development Team of the Module

Author: Marivic F. Carolino, T - II

Editor: SDO La Union, Learning Resource Quality Assurance Team

Illustrator: Ernesto F. Ramos Jr., P II

Management Team:

ATTY. Donato D. Balderas, Jr.

Schools Division Superintendent

Vivian Luz S. Pagatpatan, PhD

Assistant Schools Division Superintendent

German E. Flora, PhD, CID Chief

Virgilio C. Boado, PhD, EPS in Charge of LRMS

Rominel S. Sobremonte, EdD, EPS in Charge of Science

Michael Jason D. Morales, PDO II

Claire P. Toluyen, Librarian II
Disaster Readiness
and Risk Reduction
Week 3: Module 5
 Target

Exposure and vulnerability are part and parcel of the disaster equation. Lack
of awareness about the range of consequences of a hazard event is the big reason
why many take natural hazards for granted. In the Philippines, we have experienced
extreme natural or man –made events that have claimed thousands of lives and
damaged billions of pesos worth of property. Some events are sudden and unexpected
like what we are experiencing at present, where thousands of lives have already been
taken by Covid 19 resulting in a pandemic. Other events ranging from earthquakes
and volcanic eruptions has death toll in history records. Still, even with prior
knowledge, Filipinos in certain localities lack the capacity to reduce their
vulnerability to these extreme destructive occurrences.

These unfortunate events or disasters, will be discussed in this module, need

to be studied and examined to know more about the environment we are in. As
Filipinos, we must be aware that we inhabit a country that is highly prone to
disasters, the dangers it poses, and the negative impact it can have on both
individuals and communities. Students must learn about coping with disasters and
having the tool to reduce their vulnerability to such events.

This module will provide you with information and activities that will help you
understand vulnerability.

After going through this module, you should be able to:

1. Explain the meaning of vulnerability. (DRR11/12- Ic – 8)
2. Explain why certain sectors of society are more vulnerable to disaster
than others. (DRR11/12 -Id – 9)

Before going through, let us have a quick check of how much you know about
this topic. Answer the following questions in a separate sheet of paper.
1. What would happen if a very strong typhoon passes through a highly
populated city?
2. What if instead, the strong typhoon passed through an uninhabited island
without people, would this still result in a disaster? Why? Why not?

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 Jumpstart

For you to understand the lesson well, we will do the following activities. Be very
observant and have fun!

Activity: Shaking Egg Tray Demonstration

Materials:
1. Boiled egg (at least 2)
2. Egg tray
3. Ping-Pong ball

Case I: Place a ping pong ball and an egg on the edge of egg tray. Shake the
tray in a vigorous manner so that the ping pong ball and the egg on the edge
fall off and hit the floor. Show the cracked egg and ping pong ball to the class.
Place a new hardboiled egg on the edge of the egg try. Shake the egg tray again,
but this time in a slow and gentle manner so that neither the egg nor the ping
pong ball fall off the tray.

Case 2: Place a second the hardboiled egg in the center of the egg tray and
vigorously shake the tray while trying to make sure that the egg on the edge
falls off the tray, but the egg in the center does not.

Case 3: Move the egg from the center of the egg tray to the edge. Demonstrate
this with the help of a learner to grab the egg just before you shake the tray
vigorously. Agree with the learner that you will shake the egg tray at the count
of 3 and ask the learner to grab the egg just before the shake the tray.

Case 4: Shake the egg tray with nothing on it.

Check this out!

Both element (the egg and ping pong ball) were exposed to the same shaking
hazard by both falling off the egg tray. But only the vulnerable element (the
egg) suffered damage/loss, whereas the element that was not vulnerable did
not suffer any damage/ loss, i.e. both the egg and the ping pong ball were
susceptible but only the egg was vulnerable. For an element to be considered
exposed, it need to be in the hazard zone at the time that the hazard event
occurs. Some elements are mobile and are not always present in the hazard
zone and there are not always exposed i.e. exposure has a temporal dimension
to it.

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 Discover

VULNERABILITY

Synonym:
• exposure
• susceptibility
• defenselessness
• weakness
• helplessness
• proneness
• lack of protection

Tagalog: Kahinaan”

Definition
Vulnerability comes from the Latin word for "wound," vulnus.
• According to Dictionary.com: It is the state of being open to injury.
• United Nations Development Program: The degree of loss to a given element
at risk at a certain severity level
• IFRC: diminished capacity of an individual or group to anticipate, cope with,
resist and recover from the impact of a natural or man-made hazard.
• The degree of loss to each element should a hazard of a given severity occur.
• It is the condition of being susceptible (easily affected) to harm or danger.
• The characteristics and circumstances of a community, system or asset that
make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard.

Vulnerability is defined through three major factors

• Exposure and physical susceptibility,
• Social and economic fragilities, and.
• Lack of resilience or ability to cope and recovering.

What makes a person vulnerable?

• The Department of Health defines a vulnerable adult as a person aged 18

years or over who is or may be in need of community care services by reason
of mental or other disability, age or illness, and who is or may be unable to
take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against
significant harm or danger.
To determine people’s vulnerability, two questions need to be asked:
a. to what threat or hazard are they vulnerable?
b. what makes them vulnerable to that threat or hazard?

Is vulnerability good or bad?

To believe vulnerability is weakness is to believe that feeling is weakness. To foreclose
on our emotional life out of a fear that the costs will be too high is to walk away from
the very thing that gives purpose and meaning to living.

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 Counteracting vulnerability requires:
a. reducing the impact of the hazard itself where possible
(through mitigation, prediction and warning, preparedness);
b. building capacities to withstand and cope with hazards;
c. tackling the root causes of vulnerability, such as poverty, poor governance,
discrimination, inequality and inadequate access to resources and
livelihoods.

What is vulnerability in terms of disaster

Vulnerability is the inability to resist a hazard or to respond when a disaster has
occurred. For instance, people who live on plains are more vulnerable to floods than
people who live higher up.

Vulnerability to Natural Hazards

• The concept of vulnerability encompasses a variety of definitions. In general,
vulnerability means the potential to be harmed. Vulnerability to natural
hazards is thus the potential to be harmed by natural hazards. Some people
and places are more vulnerable to certain hazards than other people and
places. While any one extreme event may be unusual, there are broad trends
in natural hazards. These trends are due to characteristics of both natural
systems and human systems. By characterizing these trends, we can
understand who and what is vulnerable and in what ways they are vulnerable.
This, in turn, helps us reduce vulnerability and, when extreme events occur,
reduce the damage. This work saves lives, and much more.
•

•
The Ring of Fire: The Ring of Fire is a zone of many earthquakes and
volcanoes which makes the Philippines susceptible to natural hazards.
Credit: USGS(link is external)

• Generally speaking, disasters are becoming less deadly but more costly. Fewer
people are dying in disasters, but damages are costing more. Improved science
and technology is a main reason that fewer lives are lost. We are now better
at forecasting disasters, and our buildings and other structures can better

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 withstand the physical impacts. This increases our resilience to hazards.
Growth in population and the economy is a main reason that more money is
lost. Simply put, society now has more of value that is exposed to hazards.
Even though much of this is also more resistant to damage, the total dollar
amount of damage has been increasing.
• There is also an increase in the number of disasters reported, which can be
caused by population growth, economic growth, or changes in reporting
standards. It seems that natural disasters are getting more costly perhaps
because people are building more expensive infrastructure in hazard-prone
areas.

Human Factors
• Wealth affects vulnerability in several ways.
a. The poor are less able to afford housing and other infrastructure that
can withstand extreme events.
b. They are less able to purchase resources needed for disaster response
and are less likely to have insurance policies that can contribute.
c. They are also less likely to have access to medical care. Because of these
and other factors, when disaster strikes, the poor are far more likely
than the rich to be injured or killed.
d. the rich tend to lose more money from disasters, simply because they
have more valuable property at stake.
• Education is another important factor in hazard impacts.
a. With education, we can learn how to avoid or reduce many impacts.
b. When populations are literate, then written messages can be used to
spread word about hazards in general or about specific disasters. Even
without literacy, it is possible to educate a population about hazards in
order to help it reduce its vulnerability.
c. When populations include professionals trained in hazards, then these
people can help the populations with their hazard preparations and
responses.
Disaster risk is a combination of the interactions of natural hazard,
vulnerability and capacity. Let’s say the hazard is a 7.0 earthquake that hits
a major town. How badly the town is affected by the earthquake partly
depends on the vulnerabilities of the town’s infrastructure and population.
Are houses and schools sturdy? Are hospitals still reachable and running
when an earthquake strikes? Here, the effects of this disaster are partially
mitigated by the town’s capacity. Strict building codes, for example, can
guarantee that houses and schools are built earthquake-safe. A population
that knows what to do in the case of an earthquake is likely to fare better than
an untrained population.

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TYPES OF VULNERABILITY
A. Physical
- May be determined by aspects such as remoteness of a settlement, the site,
the design and materials used for critical infrastructure and for housing
Example:
1. Wooden homes are less likely to collapse in an earthquake, but are more
vulnerable to fire.
2. Houses built with light materials may not be a problem during an
earthquake, but may be totally damaged by a super typhoon.
- buildings, transportation, lifelines (electricity, water supply), essential
facilities

B. Social
• Refers to the inability of people, organizations and societies to withstand
adverse impacts to hazard due to characteristics inherent in social
interactions, institutions and systems of cultural values.
• It includes aspects related to levels of literacy and education, the existence
of peace and security, access to basic human rights, systems of good
governance, social equity, positive traditional values, customs and
ideological beliefs and overall collective organizational systems
• People with disabilities, children, seniors, medication-dependent
individuals, women, ethnic minorities, aboriginal or indigenous people,
homeless or street people, incarcerated individuals and marginalized
groups
Example:
1. When flooding occurs some citizens, such as children, elderly and persons
with disability, may be unable to protect themselves or evacuate if necessary.
2. Educated and well-informed are more likely to survive when disaster strikes

C. Economic
• The level of vulnerability is highly dependent upon the economic status
of individuals, communities and nations.
• Economic vulnerability is the susceptibility of individuals,
communities, businesses, and governments to absorb or cushion the
effects of a hazard event
• Rural households are more vulnerable than those in urban because of
greater number of people living in poverty.
• Women are more vulnerable than men because they lack access to
livelihood.
Example: poorer families may live in squatter settlements because they
cannot afford to live in safer (more expensive areas)

D. Environmental Elements
• Natural resources depletion and resource degradation are key aspect of
environmental vulnerability
Example: deforestation of mountains due to illegal logging is the main
cause of landslide and mudflows like what happened in Ormoc, Leyte 1994
and in Infanta, Quezon (2011)

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The characteristics of a community that make it vulnerable to a hazard:

• Poverty

• Disabilities

• Poor health and sanitation

• Hunger

• Poor land use and planning

• Overexploited and degraded natural resources

• Poor infrastructures

• Poor governance

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World Risk Index 2016

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 Examples of potentially vulnerable groups include:

• displaced populations who leave their habitual residence in collectives, usually due
to a sudden impact disaster, such as an earthquake or a flood, threat or conflict,
as a coping mechanism and with the intent to return;
• migrants who leave or flee their habitual residence to go to new places, usually
abroad to seek better and safer perspectives;
• returnees – former migrants or displaced people returning to their homes;
• specific groups within the local population, such as marginalized, excluded or
destitute people;
• young children, pregnant and nursing women, unaccompanied children, widows,
elderly people without family support, disabled persons.
• In a disaster, women in general may be affected differently from men because of
their social status, family responsibilities or reproductive role, but they are not
necessarily vulnerable. They are also resourceful and resilient in a crisis and play
a crucial role in recovery. Gender analysis can help to identify those women or girls
who may be vulnerable and in what way.
• Vulnerable groups often include children, ethnic groups/minorities, persons with
a limited lifespan, persons suffering from dementia, persons with mental disorders,
abusers of drugs and alcohol and persons with disabilities.

Why certain sectors of society are more vulnerable to disaster than others?

Physical, economic, social and political factors determine people’s level of

vulnerability and the extent of their capacity to resist, cope with and recover from
hazards. Clearly, poverty is a major contributor to vulnerability. Poor people are more
likely to live and work in areas exposed to potential hazards, while they are less likely
to have the resources to cope when a disaster strikes.Because of these and other
factors, when disaster strikes, the poor are far more likely than the rich to be injured
or killed.
Some coastal areas contain expensive beachside real estate populated mainly by the
rich, leaving the rich more vulnerable to tsunamis, storm surges, and other coastal
hazards. They also tend to lose more money from disaster simply because they have
more valuable property at stake.

In richer countries, people usually have a greater capacity to resist the impact of a
hazard. They tend to be better protected from hazards and have preparedness
systems in place. Secure livelihoods and higher incomes increase resilience and
enable people to recover more quickly from a hazard.

The ability of a community to recover from a disaster reflects its underlying

functioning. Communities that function well in everyday life, with strong social
connections and plentiful resources will often be most resilient when facing a crisis.

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People and communities with pre-existing vulnerabilities or who are disadvantaged
are more at risk of the immediate, medium and long term effects of disasters, such
as loss, injury and social and economic hardships.

DISABILITIES AND DISASTERS

Over 1 billion people worldwide live with a disability. This is about 15 per cent of
humanity.5 Still, those 15 per cent, who might be more vulnerable to the negative
effects of disasters, are often forgotten and rarely consulted when discussing disaster
preparedness issues. A recent survey of people with disabilities by the UN shows that
only 20 percent could evacuate immediately without difficulty in the event of a
sudden disaster event; the remainder could only do so with a degree of difficulty and
6 per cent would not be able to do so at all.6 While every child, with or without a
disability, has a right to education, in many countries children with disabilities are
kept out of school and are sometimes even ‘hidden’ by their families. This makes it
particularly difficult to involve them in disaster planning. Even those who attend
schools are often not involved in DRR planning. Students with disabilities should be
included in all DRR learning and school safety activities, not only to help reduce their
vulnerabilities, but to also harness their capacity. They can bring in important
perspectives and viewpoints on how planning and preparedness can be inclusive for
everyone. We discuss this in more detail in Step 3 (pp. 32–33).

GENDER AND DISASTER

The way we build and organize our societies shape vulnerabilities and capacities.
Who we include, who we exclude, who we empower and who we disempower
determines our society’s vulnerabilities and capacities. Gender is among the most
critical aspects that may put a person or a group of persons in a vulnerable position
during a disaster.

Here are some facts:

✓ Research into disasters in 141 countries found that, when it came to deaths,
gender differences were directly linked to women’s economic and social rights:
in societies where women and men enjoyed equal rights, disasters caused the
same number of deaths in both sexes
✓ The research also confirmed that the discrepancies were the result of existing
inequalities. For example, boys were given preferential treatment during
rescue efforts and, following disasters, women and girls suffered more from
shortages of food and economic resources.
✓ In Sri Lanka, it was easier for men to survive during the tsunami because
swimming and climbing trees are mainly taught to boys only.

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✓ Following a disaster, it is more likely that women will be victims of domestic
and sexual violence; they even avoid using shelters for fear of being sexually
assaulted.
✓ In some cases, gender differences also increase men’s mortality in disaster
situations. Many men are exposed to risky situations and even die because
they believe that society expects them to take heroic rescue actions and that
because they are physically stronger, they do not need to take safety
precautions. For example, there were more immediate deaths among men
when hurricane Mitch struck Central America, not only because they were
engaged in open-air activities, but because they took fewer precautions when
facing risks.
✓ All over the world, women play significant roles in all stages of disaster and
climate risk management; they are often at the frontline as responders and
bring valuable resources to disaster and climate risk reduction and recovery.
However, the important roles or potential roles women take on are often not
recognized or heard.

Check this out!

THEY DID IT, SO CAN YOU!

When Cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh in 2007, Lamia Akter, a seven year
old student helped save the lives of her family and many others by passing on
a cyclone warning alert she had received at school to villagers in her
community of Char Bangla. ‘As soon as our teacher announced in class that
there would be a cyclone and released us early,’ she explains, ‘my five friends
and I returned to our village and went from door to door, telling people to store
their valuables and go to the cyclone shelter.’ Many people, including Lamia’s
relatives, were reluctant to go to the shelter but Lamia had learned in school
what could happen if they delayed. She had also learned what action to take
before, during and after a disaster. She knew that legal papers and precious
crockery should be buried at home and the place marked with a bamboo cane
so that the items could be recovered afterwards. She also knew that livestock
should be moved to higher ground and that people should take refuge in the
nearest emergency shelter. Lamia’s quick action meant that she was able to
get her family and neighbors to the cyclone shelter in time. The cyclone
destroyed many homes and belongings, but Lamia and her family survived
and are now rebuilding their lives. Taken from: ActionAid International. 2009.
Disaster Risk Reduction Trough Schools: A Groundbreaking Project. p. 4.
http://www.actionaid.org/publications/disaster-risk-reductionthrough-
schools-groundbreaking-project

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 Explore

GIVE IT SOME THOUGHT!

Take some time to think about the questions below. Don’t worry if you can’t
immediately come up with all the answers. Use a separate sheet of paper.

1. What makes communities vulnerable to disasters?

2. What are your community/society’s main vulnerabilities?

3. Which groups and persons might be particularly vulnerable ?

4. What are they vulnerable to and what are the sources of their vulnerability?

5. What capacities, expertise and resources do you have to help minimize

disaster risk

Deepen

Enrichment Activity: Try to reflect and answer the following questions in a separate
sheet of paper.

1. Are there inequalities, traditions and customs in your society that might put
women and girls at greater risk when a disaster strike?

2. Are girls and women included in decision making processes when it comes to
disaster risk and preparedness at school, at home and in the community?

3. Discuss with your family members how everybody in the community, regardless
of gender, age, wealth, etc. can be part of a culture of preparedness and resilience.

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 Gauge

Directions: Read carefully each item. Use a separate sheet for your answers. Write
only the letter of the best answer for each test item.

1. Which among the following factors does NOT determine people’s level of
vulnerability and the extent of their capacity to cope?
A. Economic factor C. Political factor
B. Environmental factor D. Social factor
2. It is defined as the characteristics and circumstances of a community, system
or asset that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard.
A. Capacity B. Exposure C. Resilience D. Vulnerability
3. The Department of Health defines a vulnerable adult person by the following
EXCEPT
A. 18 y/o and above who has mental disability
B. 18 y/o and above who is able to protect himself/herself
C. 18 y/o and above who is unable to protect himself/herself
D. 18 y/o and above who is in need of community services
4. It is the susceptibility of individuals, communities, businesses, and
governments to absorb or cushion the effects of a hazard event
A. Economic vulnerability C. Physical vulnerability
B. Environmental vulnerability D. Social vulnerability
5. The following are characteristics of a community that make it vulnerable to a
hazard EXCEPT
A. Disability B.Hunger C. Poor Sanitation D. Resiliency
6. Which among the following is a key aspect of environmental vulnerability?
A. Natural resources progress C. Poor sanitation
B. Natural resources depletion D. Poverty
7. Which among the following refers to the inability of people, organizations and
societies to withstand adverse impacts to hazard due to characteristics
inherent in social interactions, institutions and systems of cultural values?
A. Economic vulnerability C. Physical vulnerability
B. Environmental vulnerability D. Social vulnerability
8. What happened in Ormoc, Leyte in 1994 and in Infanta, Quezon in 2011?
A. Avalanche B. Flood C. Earthquake D. Landslide
9. Which of the following is NOT an example of a vulnerable group?
A. accompanied children B. elderly C. nursing women D. widows
10. May be determined by aspects such as remoteness of a settlement, the site,
the design and materials used for critical infrastructure and for housing.
A. Economic vulnerability C. Physical vulnerability
B. Environmental vulnerability D. Social vulnerability
11. It is the most critical aspect that may put a person or a group of persons in

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 vulnerable position during a disaster.
A. Exposure B. Gender C. Hunger D. Poverty
12. Which among the following is the major contributor of vulnerability?
A. Exposure B. Gender C. Hunger D. Poverty
13. According to the World Index 2016 of most exposed countries worldwide what
country ranks 3rd?
A. Cambodia B. Chile C. Guatemala D. Philippines
14. Which among the following human factor affects vulnerability when
populations include professionals trained in hazards and helps the population with
their hazard preparations and responses?
A. Capacity B. Education C. Occupation D. Wealth
15. Which among the following is the primary reason why rural households are
more vulnerable than those in urban?
A. Exposure B. Ignorance C. Poverty D. Resiliency

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KEY ANSWER

GAUGE
1. B
2. D
3. B
4. A
5. D
6. B
7. D
8. D
9. A
10. C
11. B
12. D
13. D
14. B
15. C

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References:
Printed Materials:

De Guzman, Suarez (2016). Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction. Manila,

Philippines,Vibal Group Inc.

Rimando, Rolly E.,Belen, Josefina G.(2016). Disaster Readiness and Risk

Reduction (pp 14-20), 1st Edition. Manila, Philippines, Rex Bookstore

Department of Education, Disaster Risk Resource Manual, Safer School

Resource Manual (pp 12-14)

Department of Education, Powerpoint presentations

Victorian Council of Social Services

Website:

Disaster Risk Management/UN-Spider Knowledge Portal. What is

vulnerability and its types. Retrieved July 22,2020 from www.odpm.gov.tt

Disaster Risk Management/UN-Spider Knowledge Portal. What is exposure.

Retrieved July 22, 2020 from www.un-spider.org> Disaster Risk Management

Disaster Risk Management/UN-Spider Knowledge Portal. What is exposure.

Retrieved July 22,2020 from https://understandrisk.org>vizrisk

Determinants of Vulnerability. Retrieved July 22, 2020 from

https//www.itc.nl>application , hazard, vulnerability, risk analysis

Sensitivity. https://climate screening tools.worldbank.org

Facebook.com/search/photos

Disaster Risk Management.https://www.ifrc.org; https:// medium .com>

publishous;

ActionAid International. 2009. Disaster Risk Reduction Trough Schools: A

Groundbreaking Project. p. 4.
http://www.actionaid.org/publications/disaster-risk-reductionthrough-
schools-groundbreaking-project

From: UNESCO and UNICEF. 2014. Towards a Learning Culture on Safety

and Resilience: Technical Guidance for

Neumayer and Plümper. 2007. The gendered nature of natural disasters: the
impact of catastrophic events on the gender gap in life expectancy, 1981–
2002. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 97 (3). pp. 551–
566. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/30

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