Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction

• Disaster


  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
• Disaster


  • Result of the combination of: (1) exposure to a hazard; (2) conditions of vulnerability; and (3) insufficient capacity or measures to reduce or cope with the potential negative consequences
• Disaster


  Happens when the probable destructive agent, the hazard, hits the vulnerable populated area resulting to casualties, and damage to property
• Types of hazard

  • Geologic (earthquakes, volcanic eruption, rapid sediment movement, subsidence, sinkhole formation)
  • Hydrologic (floods, wave action, rapid glacier advance)
  • Atmospheric (typhoons or hurricanes, thunderstorms, excessive rainfall, tornadoes, heavy snowfalls, hail, lightning, etc.)
  • Biologic (epidemic in plants, animals and humans and locusts)
  • Man-made (transport accidents, industrial explosions and fire, etc.)
• Disaster risk


  Interaction between exposure to natural hazards including the adverse effects of climate changes and the vulnerability of societies
• Disasters are inherently unexpected or happen quickly with little or no warning. As a result, disasters (both man-made and those resulting from natural events) cause widespread death, injury, and property damage.
• Impacts of disasters

  • Medical effect (traumatic injuries, emotional stress, epidemic diseases, and indigenous diseases)
  • Damage to critical facilities (communication installation, electrical generating and transmission facilities, hospitals, water facilities, etc.)
  • Economic impact (disruption of normal business operations and other economic activities)
  • Global environmental change (more hazards such as wildfires and mudslides, reduced productivity in the oceans, and weakened immune system of people and animals)
  • Social and political impact (inequality in the poor and marginalized people rises in some developing countries)
• Exposure


  People, property, systems and other elements present in hazard zones that are thereby subject to potential loss
• Elements that may be exposed to hazards

  • Social
  • Environmental
  • Economic
• Vulnerability


  The physical, social, economic and environmental factors which increase susceptibility to hazards
• Dimensions of vulnerability

  • Social (including migration, social groups, health and well-being, education, culture, institutions, and governance aspects)
  • Environmental (location and built structures)
  • Economic (business interruptions due to accessibility problems, loss of jobs and access to work)
• EXPOSURE

  People, property, systems and other elements present in hazard zones that are thereby subject to potential loss
• Elements that may be Exposed to Hazards

  • Social
  • Environmental
  • Economic
• Social dimension of exposure and vulnerability


  • Covers a wide range of concerns (including migration, social groups, health and well-being, education, culture, institutions, and governance aspects)
  • Demography is the most important aspect
• Environmental dimension of exposure and vulnerability


  • Refers to location and built structures
• Economic effects of a hazard event

  • Business interruptions due to accessibility problems
  • Loss of jobs and access to work
• VULNERABILITY


  The physical, social, economic and environmental factors which increase susceptibility to hazards
• Social vulnerability


  • Certain population groups may be more vulnerable than others
• Environmental vulnerability

  • Inability to adapt to changes and enhance resilience of developing countries compared to developed nations
• Economic vulnerability


  • Susceptibility of individuals, communities, businesses, and governments to absorbs or cushion the effects of hazards events
• According to the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, vulnerability refers to the physical, social, economic and environmental factors which increase susceptibility to hazards
• Hazard


  A potentially-damaging physical event that may cause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation
• Hazard


  • Characterized by its location, intensity, and probability of occurrence
• Classification of Hazards

  • Natural Hazards
  • Human-made Hazards
• Natural Hazards


  Natural phenomena that pose threats or cause negative impacts to people and property
• Types of Natural Hazards

  • Geologic hazard
  • Hydrologic hazard
  • Atmospheric hazard
  • Biologic hazard
• Geological Hazards


  Occur on Earth's crust, such as earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, subsidence, and sinkhole formation
• Earthquake


  Unexpected violent shaking of the earth's surface due to a sudden release of underground energy
• Tsunamis


  Gigantic waves or series of waves that are a dangerous natural phenomenon, caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or landslides under the sea and near the sea shore
• Landslide


  Soil, rocks and vegetal debris that are transported suddenly or slowly down a slope because the soil is not sufficiently stable, often caused by heavy rain, earthquakes or volcanic eruptions
• Volcanic eruption


  Explosions or emissions of lava, ashes and toxic gases from deep inside the earth, through volcanoes, which may also trigger earthquakes, tsunamis, floods or landslides
• Hydrological Hazards

  Floods, wave action or drought
• Flood


  The overflowing of the normal confines of a stream or bodies of water, or the accumulation of water over areas that are not normally submerged, including flash floods caused by heavy precipitation in a short period of time
• Storm surge


  The rise and onshore surge of seawater as the result primarily of the winds of a tropical cyclone, and secondarily of the surface pressure drop near the center of the tropical cyclone
• Atmospheric Hazards


  Typhoons or hurricanes, thunderstorms, excessive rainfall, tornadoes, heavy snowfalls, hail, blizzards, and lightning
• Tropical cyclones


  Characterized by strong winds and heavy rain, with an average of 22 entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility and approximately 9-10 making landfall in the Philippines each year
• Thunderstorms


  Local storms produced by cumulonimbus clouds, always accompanied by lightning and thunder, usually with strong wind gusts, heavy rain and sometimes with hail and/or tornado
• Biologic Hazards


  Outbreaks of epidemic diseases, plant or animal contagion, insect or other animal plagues and infestations
• Human-made Hazards

  Hazards originating from technological or industrial conditions, including accidents, dangerous procedures, infrastructure failures, or specific human activities, including biological, technological, and socio-natural hazards
• Although humans can do little or nothing to change the incidence or intensity of most natural phenomena, they have an important role to play in ensuring that natural events are not converted into disasters by their own actions