Disaster, Hazard, Types of Hazard (Natural and Man Made Hazards), and Vulnerability (Categories of Vulnerability)

DRRM Senior High School Curriculum
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

1. DRRR Prepared by: Jerome A. Bigael Leyte Progressive High School

2. What is a “disaster” ? The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR, 2004) defines disaster as “ a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic, or environmental losses, which exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope, using its own resources ”.

3. Disaster impacts may include loss of lives , injuries , diseases , and other negative effects on human physical, mental and social well-being, together with damage to properties , destruction of assets, loss of services, social and economic disruption and environmental degradation.

4. Similarly, the World Health Organization (WHO, 2002) describes disaster as “ any occurrence that causes damage, ecological disruption, loss of human life, deterioration of health and health services, on a scale sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response from outside the affected community or area ”

5. Disaster causes a multidimensional impact affecting not only the socioeconomic and political life, but also the mental and cultural state of the affected area (Srivastava 2010). It disrupts the people’s normal day-to-day life such as school life, business activities, and government services. It brings to a condition which overpowers local capacity (IJMES Quarentelly 1987)

6. Disasters are frequently described as a result of the combination if (1) the exposure to a hazard ; (2) the conditions of vulnerability that are present ; and (3) insufficient capacity or measures to reduce or cope with the potential negative consequences (DepEd, DRR Manual 2008). Hence in understanding disaster, it is necessary to have a good grasp of the concepts of hazard , vulnerability , and capacity .

7. The concept of Hazard What is hazard ? A hazard is a situation or an occurrence with capacity to bring damages to lives, properties and environment.

8. The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction or UNISDR 2004 defines hazard as “ A potentially damaging physical event, phenomenon or human activity that may cause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation .

9. Hazards can include latent conditions that may represent future threats and can have different origins: natural ( geological, hydrometeorological, and biological ) or induced by human processes ( environmental degradation and technological hazards )

10. Types of Hazard Natural Hazards Human Made Hazards Combination or Socionatural Hazards

11. Natural Hazards Natural phenomena that pose threats or cause negative impacts to people and property . Examples are: Typhoon, storm surge, lahar floods, drought, red tide, pestilence and fire.

12. Human Made Hazards Includes civil conflict , displacement due to development projects, environmental degradation, industrial technological hazards like leakage of toxic wastes, oil spill , fish kills , nuclear, gaseous, chemical contamination, famine , drought, fires and flood .

13. Combination or Socionatural Hazards Flooding and drought can fall under this category if these are due to deforestation . Most events are combinations of both natural and human-made factors. Typhoons are natural hazards that can also cause flash floods. At the same time, environmental degradation like excessive and illegal logging can also be a cause of flash floods.

14. The flash floods in Ormoc, Leyte in 1991 is an example.

15. Reflection Question: ½ crosswise From the three (3) types of hazards, what type of hazards can be prevented and can be anticipated and why?

16. If we are going to shake the table, which object would be affected the most by the shaking? Why do you think it would be affected the most?

17. The three objects have been exposed to the same hazard but did you notice different possible effects on the mug, glass and bottle? The mug, glass and bottle have intrinsic vulnerabilities such as shape, thickness, and the material they are made of aside from extrinsic vulnerabilities such as location or distance from the edge of the table.

18. The mug, glass and bottle are elements-at-risk that have different risk consequences as determined by their particular vulnerabilities.

19. Choose 1 example of hazard (i.e., flooding, environmental degradation, etc.) and write an article about the issue . Explain your standpoint and your analysis if it is preventable or not . Explain why it is preventable and how it can be prevented.

20. Vulnerability

21. The concept of vulnerability comes from many aspects, specifically, those that arise from various social, economic, physical, and environmental factors.

22. Examples may include poor design and construction of buildings , inadequate protection of assets and lack of public awareness , limited official recognition of risks and preparedness measures, and disregard for wise environmental management.

23. Vulnerability

24. It is defined as a set of prevailing consequential conditions , which adversely affect the community’s ability to prevent, mitigate, prepare for and respond to hazardous events.

25. Vulnerability is present in the community or society even before a disaster happens. It precedes disaster ; contribute to its severity, impede disaster response and may continue to exist long after a disaster has struck.

26. Who are the so-called most Vulnerable sectors ? They are the community members whose capacities are low and not sufficient to withstand and overcome the damaging and adverse effects of disasters They are composed of farmers, urban poor, laborers, indigenous, people, person with disabilities, (PWD’s), women, and children . In addition, they are the so-called abused sector and at the lowest levels of the society.

27. Who are the so-called less vulnerable sectors ? They are the community members whose capacities start from their own ability to acquire material resources; skills and trainings; and position in society . The capacities are higher than those in the vulnerable sector to overcome the adverse effects of disasters.

28. They are composed of professionals , small entrepreneurs, and others similar to those who belong to the higher levels of society . Their role in disaster management activities is to extend assistance and support to vulnerable sectors.

29. Who are the so called Not Vulnerable Sectors ? Sector in the society having high position in the community. Most of the time, they are the targets of the vulnerable and less vulnerable sectors in advocacy work in relating disaster issue to structure and policies implemented by the government that are the root causes of vulnerability of the community.

30. Categories of Vulnerability 3 areas of vulnerability by Anderson and Woodrow (1990) Physical or material vulnerability Social or Organizational vulnerability Attitudinal or motivational vulnerability

31. Physical/ Material Vulnerability Location or type of housing/building materials Land, water, animals, capital, other means of production . Infrastructure and services : roads, health facilities, schools, electricity, communications, transport, housing etc.

32. Human capital: population, mortality, diseases, nutritional status, literacy, numeracy, poverty levels. Environment factors: forestation, soil quality, and erosion

33. Social/Organizational Vulnerability Family structure (weak/strong) Leadership qualities and structure Legislation Administrative structures and institutional arrangements Decision-making structures Participation levels

34. Divisions and conflicts: ethnic, class caste, religion, ideology, political groups, language groups, and structures for mediating conflicts Degree of justice, equality, access to political processes. Community organizations: formal; informal; traditional; governmental; progressive. Relationship to government Isolation and connectedness

35. Attitudinal/Motivational Vulnerabilty Attitude toward change Sense of ability to affect their world, environment, get things done Initiative Faith Religious beliefs Fatalism, hopelessness, despondency, discouragment

36. Dependent/Independent (self reliant) Consciousness, awareness Cohessiveness , unity, solidarity, cooperation Orientation toward past, present, future.

37. Reflection Questions What are the conditions that make you vulnerable? Does vulnerability contributes to the adverse impacts of hazards to the community? If yes , why do you think so?

38. Study and Analyze the picture

39. Answer the following questions on a ½ crosswise What does the picture portray? What can be considered as a form of vulnerability? 3. What categories of vulnerability is present in the picture or situation?