DRRR Q3

• Disaster

  -       “Desastre” a combination of two words ‘des’ meaning bad and ‘aster’ meaning star.

  -       People before believed in the alignment of the stars and moon

  -       Serious disruption in the functioning of the community or a society causing wide spread material, economic, social or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected society to cope using its own resources.
• -       A disaster is a result from the combination of hazard, vulnerability and insufficient capacity or measures to reduce the potential chances of risk.

  -       A disaster happens when a hazard impacts on the vulnerable population and causes damage, casualties and disruption.
• Disaster – How do we Consider?

  §   Any hazard - flood, earthquake or cyclone which is a triggering event along with greater vulnerability (inadequate access to resources, sick and old people, lack of awareness etc) would lead to disaster causing greater loss to life and property.

   
• Disaster Affects only when

  §   For example; an earthquake in an uninhabited desert cannot be considered a disaster, no matter how strong the intensities produced.

  §   An earthquake is disastrous only when it affects people, their properties and activities
• Disaster occurs only when hazards and vulnerability meet. But it is also to be noted that with greater capacity of the individual/community and environment to face these disasters, the impact of a hazard reduces. Therefore, we need to understand the three majors’ components namely hazard, vulnerability and capacity.
• Hazard

  -       Serious condition or event that threat or have the potential for causing injury to life or damage to property or the environment."

  o   Earthquake, volcanic eruption, fire

  -       Owes its origin to the word ‘hasard’ in old French and ‘az-zahr’ in Arabic meaning ‘chance’ or ‘luck’.
• Hazard vs Disaster

  1.    An earthquake in an uninhabited desert cannot be considered a disaster, no matter how strong the intensities produced. (HAZARD)

  2.    An earthquake is disastrous only when it affects people, their properties and activities. (DISASTER)
• Types of Hazard

  1. Natural
  2. Man-made
• 1.    Natural

  a.    Metrological, geological, or even biological origin

  b.    Cyclones, Tsunamis, Earthquake, Volcanic eruption, etc.
• 1.    Man-made

  a.    Leakage of toxic waste, pollution, Dam failure, wars

  b.    Hazards which are due to human negligence

  c.    Man Made hazards are associated with:

                                            i.    Industries or Energy generation facilities and include explosions, Leakage of toxic waste, Pollution, Dam failure, Wars or civil strife etc.
• Vulnerability

  -       Vulnerability + Hazards = Disaster

  -       The extent to which a community, structure, services or geographic area is likely to be damaged or disrupted by the impact of particular hazard, on account of their nature, construction and proximity to hazardous terrains or a disaster-prone area.
• Types of Vulnerability

  1. Physical vulnerability
  2. Socio-economic vulnerability
• 1.    Physical vulnerability

  a.    Includes notions of who and what may be damaged or destroyed by natural hazard such as earthquakes or floods

  b.    It is based on the physical condition of people and elements at risk, such as buildings, infrastructure etc.; and their proximity, location and nature of the hazard.

  c.    It also relates to the technical capability of building and structures to resist the forces acting upon them during a hazard event.
• 1.    Socio-economic vulnerability

  a.    Includes notions of who and what may be damaged or destroyed by a natural hazard such as earthquakes or floods

  b.    The degree to which a population is affected by a hazard will not merely lie in the physical components of vulnerability but also in the socio-economic conditions.

  c.    Hazards are always prevalent, but the hazard becomes a disaster only when there is greater vulnerability and less capacity to cope with it.
• Risk Assessment

  • Made to estimate the potential economic, infrastructure, and social impacts for the government to be ready.
• United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR)

  • does the risk assessment
  • defines risk assessment as “the combination of the probability of an event and its negative consequences.” This includes severity of hazard, number of damages to people and resources, and their vulnerability to damage.
• Risk Assessment

  -       It is measured and assessed to reduce the number of deaths and resources lost.

  -       Analyzing disaster loss from previous years are employed to plan mitigation procedures to prevent and estimate future disaster losses. Information gathered from hazards, exposures, vulnerabilities, and damages will give an accurate risk assessment..
• Types of Risk

  1. Physical
  2. Psychological
  3. Socio-cultural
  4. Economic
  5. Biological
• Physical risk

  -       Concrete objects in a community that can help or harm an individual during a disaster

  - Examples are availability of fire exits during a fire, sturdiness of infrastructure or the ability of a building to withstand earthquakes.
• Psychological risk

  -       Mental state of an individual, like the ability of an individual to respond to a disaster and fear.
• Socio-cultural Risk

  -       Traditions, religion, and social statuses in society

  -       Examples include community folklore, presence of ​bayanihan​ system, etc.
• Economic Risk

  -       Resources in the community and the income source of individuals

  -       farming and employment.
• Biological Risk

  • Flora (flowers) and Fauna (animals) in the environment, their health and its diseases.
• Types of Disaster

  • Natural
  • Man-Made
• Natural disasters

  -       Strikes without warning

  -       though most areas know what is "normal" for their areas and prepare for such occurrences. Assessing is done by reviewing the history of the region, looking at what weather and other disasters have occurred in the past.
• Man Made disasters

  • There are some man-made disasters that occur or can occur with some warning, such as knowing that a dam is weak and, without proper mitigation, it will break, releasing a flood. However, most of the serious man-made disasters are the result of unexpected accidents (e.g., an oil tanker running aground or a power plant blowing up) or deliberate acts of terrorism.
• Man-made disasters

  - There are also epidemics and pandemics that occur with some regularity and, while one may not consider these man-made, many are the result of people living with livestock, as in influenza, or living in crowded conditions, which helps spread tuberculosis.
• Aspects of Disasters

  1. Physical and Environmental
  2. Socio-economic
  3. Educational
  4. Biological
  5. Political
• Physical and Environmental aspect

  a.    When a disaster hits, the first line of impact is the environment. Disaster causes drastic changes in the structure of the environment

  b.    Earthquake, landslide, el nino/drought
• Physical and environmental aspect

  • When an earthquake occurs in an area, there is a high possibility that roads will break and crack.
  • Landslides in the mountains causes erosion of the soil. This will lead to the removal of an arable layer of soil.
  • Droughts can cause soil cracking in farms as well because of the absence of water moisture. Because of this, farmers cannot provide enough supply of crops because the land is not suitable for crop growth
• Socio-economic aspect

  • include the state of the social well-being and the financial resources of the community.
  • Government agencies are responsible for reducing the socio-economic impacts of the community through proper mitigation procedures.
  • developing countries are more prone to disaster impact because of its high vulnerability and low resistance.
• Socio-economic aspect

  • The low economic status of developing countries contribute to their high vulnerability and mitigation procedures has to involve proper budget allocation.
  • Urban areas with more stable infrastructure are less vulnerable than areas with poor infrastructure. Proper information dissemination and education about disasters are lacking in some rural areas. Because of this, they fail to implement a proper disaster risk reduction plan in their area which would lead to higher risk and vulnerability to a disaster impact.

   
• Educational aspect

  • Access to information is important in reducing the hazardous effects of disasters.
  • Observation and data analysis are not just essential for identifying risk in disasters but also to educate and train people on how to reduce disaster risk. Students in elementary and high school are greater in population. This large percentage in a community is crucial in literacy when it comes to disaster management.
• Educational aspect

  • Students in Senior High School are taking up the subject Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction as part of the new curriculum for the K to 12 program
• Biological aspect

  1. Disasters can cause health problems to individuals. On a larger scale, these diseases can cause an epidemic or an outbreak especially if emergency care is not available.
  2. In terms of biological diversity, animals, and plants that live in a community where disaster strikes can drastically decrease in number. This would result in imbalance in the ecosystem and potentially limited access to food resources, agriculture, and livestock
• Political aspect

  • A disaster may also change the way citizens feel about other people in general, like after giving donations to assist affected individuals
  • A disaster may also affect public opinion about the government, because citizens can feel and see how the government handled the effects of disaster. In that respect, potential social and political effects of disasters occur through direct and indirect experiences.
• Political aspect

  1. In the Philippines, a disaster has brought donations from local and international agencies
  2. Survivors and their families expected to rebuild their properties from those donations but government rebuilding efforts seem too slow. This scenario made a huge political impact to the country regarding the trust rating of government officials.
• Effects of Disaster

  1. Population
  2. Food
  3. Health
  4. Psychological
• Effect in Population

  • Increased population in evacuation centers is the most immediate effect during a disaster. Natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons force people to vacate their homes and seek shelter to a nearby safe area.
• Effect in Population

  • a.    In the Philippines, the common evacuation areas are schools and churches. These infrastructures can accommodate a large number of people and can usually withstand a natural disaster. However, a large number of evacuees in an area will have limited access to basic needs like food and clean water. Children and elderly become prone to diseases. Schools and churches that serve as evacuation sites suspend their operations which lead to delays in classes and the progress of students’ education.