Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

• The ring of fire, also referred to as the circum-pacific belt. A path along the pacific ocean characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes. The majority of earths volcanoes and earthquakes take place along the ring of fire
• Disaster is "A sudden calamitous 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
• Disaster according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 2008), disaster is "a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources"
• Natural hazards and disasters are the results and outcomes of naturally occurring processes that occurred throughout earth's history.
• Hazard is defined as a process, phenomenon, or human activity that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, social and economic disruption or even environmental degradation
• The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) defines disaster as a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources
• vulnerability is a condition determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes which increases the susceptibility of an individual, a community, assets or systems to the impacts of hazards. To determine disaster risk, the capacity of the community must be analyzed
• Capacity is the combination of all strengths, attributes, and resources available within an organization, community, or society to manage and reduce disaster risks and strengthen resilience. The capacity of a community may include the knowledge and skills of people, leadership and management of the local government, and the infrastructure and facilities available to the community.
• Man-made Hazards and Disasters occur as a result or an outcome of human actions and interactions with other people and the environment
• Disaster Risk Drivers are factors that promote or increase the risk of a disaster.
• Climate change can amplify disaster risk while weakining the resilience of the community
• Extreme poverty equates to greater disaster impact
• socio-economic inequality can result to limited capacity of households and communities to manage the risk and improve their resilience
• Increase population density/growth, the higher the population, the greater vulnerability to disasters
• Rapid and unplanned urbanization can result to an increased severity of disasters
• Environmental degradation can reduce the environmental capacity to provide social and ecological needs
• Lack of awareness: households, communities, and societies who have lack of awareness on disasters are not disaster prepared thus can aggravate disaster risk
• Weak governance: inefficient and incompetent protection of human rights, and failure to provide public services can happen due to weak governance
• Pollunation is a man-made disaster in the environment brought about by irresponsible actions and activities. Pollution can harm people, animals, and plants
• Outcomes of a Disaster:

  1. Deaths or Mortalities, injury and missing person
  2. Displaced population - many people are forced to abandon their home and seek new shelter in other places.
  3. Health risk - include infectious diseases or outbreaks, contaminated and unsafe food and water
  4. Food scarcity and water shortage
  5. Emotional aftershocks such as post-tramaitic stress disorder developed commonly in children
  6. Economin loss - loss of livelihood
  7. Infrastructure and property damages - house, buildings, bridges, and roads are destroyed
• Physical Perspective - Damages to physical elements such as on people and their properties
• Psychological Perspective - serious mental and emotional consequences of a disaster to a victim
• Socio-Cultural Perspective - refers to the behavior of communities and societies towards hazards and disaster
• Economic Perspective - refers to the loss cause by disaster on human, physical and financial
• Political perspective - the role of government and its institutions on disaster preparedness mitigation, prevention, response, recovery, and rehabilitation
• Biological Perspective - involvement of living organism that can spread diseases or the sudden growth in the population of pests
• Exposure - refers to the elements at risk that can be affected by hazard or are present in the hazard zone that are subject to potential losses. Exposed elements may be tangible or intangible