DISASTER READINESS AND

RISK REDUCTION
LESSON 1
OBJECTIVES:

 EXPLAIN THE MEANING OF DISASTER

 DIFFERENTIATE THE RISK FACTORS
UNDERLYING DISASTERS
DESCRIBE THE PICTURE.
Disaster is "a sudden, calamitous occurrence that
causes great harm, injury, destruction, and
devastation to life and property”. It disrupts the
usual course of life, causing both physical and
emotional distress such as an intense feeling of
helplessness and hopelessness.
 Disasters are often a result of the combination of: the
exposure to a hazard; the conditions of vulnerability that
are present; and insufficient capacity or measures to
reduce or cope with the potential negative consequences.
 Its impacts may include loss of life, injury, disease and
other negative effects on human physical, mental, and
social wellbeing, together with damage to properties,
destruction of assets, loss of services, social and economic
disruptions, and environmental degradation.
 Classification of Disasters:
 Disasters can be divided into 2 large categories:
 Natural Disasters – a natural phenomenon is caused by
natural forces, such as earthquakes, typhoon, volcanic
eruptions, hurricanes, fires, tornados, and extreme
temperatures. They can be classified as rapid onset disasters
and those with progressive onset, such as droughts that lead
to famine. These events, usually sudden, can have
tremendous effects.
 Man-made - Disasters caused by man are those in which
major direct causes are identifiable intentional or non-
intentional human actions.
 Subdivided into three categories:
1. Technological/industrial disasters - Unregulated industrialization and
inadequate safety standards increase the risk for industrial disasters.
EXAMPLE: leaks of hazardous materials; accidental explosions; bridge or road
collapses, or vehicle collisions; Power cuts
2. Terrorism/Violence - the threat of terrorism has also increased due to the
spread of technologies involving nuclear, biological, and chemical agents used to
develop weapons of mass destruction.
EXAMPLE : bombs or explosions; release of chemical materials; release of
biological agents; release of radioactive agents; multiple or massive shootings;
mutinies
3. Complex humanitarian emergencies - the term complex
emergency is usually used to describe the humanitarian
emergency resulting from an international or civil war. In such
situations, large numbers of people are displaced from their homes
due to the lack of personal safety and the disruption of basic
infrastructure including food distribution, water, electricity, and
sanitation, or communities are left stranded and isolated in their
own homes unable to access assistance.
EXAMPLE: conflicts or wars and Genocide the deliberate killing
of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic
group or nation
DIFFERENTIATE THE
RISK AND DISASTER
RISK?
 Risk has various connotations within different disciplines. In
general, risk is defined as “the combination of the probability of
an event and its negative consequences” (UNISDR, 2009).
 Disaster risk is the product of the possible damage caused by a
hazard due to the vulnerability within a community. It should
be noted that the effect of a hazard (of a particular magnitude)
would affect communities differently (Von Kotze, 1999:35).
 It can also be determined by the presence of three variables:
hazards (natural or anthropogenic); vulnerability to a hazard;
and coping capacity linked to the reduction, mitigation, and
resilience to the vulnerability of a community.
RISK FACTORS
 Disaster risk as defined in the first module, has three important elements
such as:
1. Exposure - the “elements at risk from a natural or man-made hazard event
(Quebral, 2016).
2. 2. Hazard-a potentially dangerous physical occurrence, phenomenon or
human activity that may result in loss of life or injury, property damage,
social and economic disruption, or environmental degradation.
3. Vulnerability - the condition determined by physical, social, economic and
environmental factors or processes, which increase the susceptibility of a
community to the impact of hazard (Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United nation, FAO 2008).
Risk Factors are processes or conditions, often development-related, that influence the
level of disaster risk by increasing levels of exposure and vulnerability or reducing
capacity.
The following are also taken into consideration when risk factors underlying disaster are
involved:
1. Severity of exposure - which measures those who experience disaster first- hand 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.
2. Gender and Family - the female gender suffers more adverse effects. This worsens
when children are present at home. Marital relationships are placed under strain.
3. 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.
4. Economic status of country - evidence indicates that severe mental problems
resulting from disasters are more prevalent in developing countries like the
Philippines.
Activity

The students will group into 6 members.

They will pic one factors underlie
disasters and they will describe it through
drawing and explain it in the class.
Factors which underlie disasters:
1. 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.
2. Environmental Degradation - changes to the
environment can influence the frequency and intensity of
hazards, as well as our exposure and vulnerability to these
hazards.
3. Globalized Economic Development - It results in an
increased polarization between the rich and poor on a
global scale.
4. Poverty and Inequality - Impoverished people are more
likely to live in hazard- exposed areas and are less able to
invest in risk-reducing measures.
5. 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. People, poverty, and disaster risk are
increasingly concentrated in cities.
6. 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.
Exercise Activity 1:
Direction: Supply the missing letters to complete the word/s that described the various effects
of disaster. Statements are provided as clues.
1. The elements at risk from a natural or man-made hazard event.
_X__S__E
2. These are processes or conditions, often development-related, that influence the level of
disaster risk by increasing levels of exposure and vulnerability or reducing capacity.
D_S___E_ R_ _
_
3. The conditions determined by physical, social, economic, and environmental factors or
processes, which increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazard.
_U_ N__A__L_ _Y
4. Damage to both public and private infrastructures.
I_F__S_R__T_R_ D__A_E
5. Many people must abandon their homes and seek shelter in other regions which may cause
large influx of refugees that disrupt accessibility of health care and education, as well as food
supplies and clean water
P__E_T__L D _ S _ _A_ _ M _ N _
Exercise Activity 2:
Direction: In this activity, you must identify the classification of disaster as well as the disaster
risk of a given disaster situations. Accomplish the table below. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

Classification of Disaster Disaster Risks (Effects)

Disasters (Natural or Man-Made)

1. typhoon
2. war conflicts
3. volcanic eruption

4. chemical leakages
5. vehicular accident
6. earthquake
7. drought
8. thunderstorms
9. tuberculosis
10. rainfall-induced
landslide
11. floods in rivers and coastal areas

12. avalanche
13. tsunami
14. bomb explosion
15. house