drr 2

• Disaster risk is defined by United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) as "the combination of the probability of an event and its negative consequences"
• Disaster risk includes severity of hazard, number of damage to people and resources, and their vulnerability to damage
• Concept of Disaster Risk:

  • Hazard: any phenomenon that can potentially cause damage to life, property, or environment
  • Exposure: any element (people, property, or system) that is present in a hazard and is prone to potential loss
  • Vulnerability: feature of a community that makes them prone and exposed to the negative impacts of hazard
• Community's capacity to protect itself against disasters is called resilience
• Disaster Risk Factors:

  • Factors that affect the degree of disaster risk in a community
  • Factors can intensify or lessen the effects of disaster
  • Factors can be classified into physical, psychological, socio-cultural, economic, and biological aspects
• Physical factors include concrete objects in a community that can help or harm individuals during a disaster

  • Examples: availability of fire exits during a fire, sturdiness of infrastructure, ability of a building to withstand earthquakes
• Psychological factors include the mental state of an individual, like the ability to respond to a disaster and fear
• Socio-cultural factors include traditions, religion, and social statuses in society

  • Examples: community presence of bayanihan system
• Economic factors include resources in the community and income sources of individuals such as farming and employment
• Biological factors include the flora and fauna in the environment, their health, and diseases
• Disaster Risk Reduction:

  • Aims to decrease the risk level in communities
  • Implements policies and measures to control potential risks like poor urban and rural planning, poverty, and poor government and local capacities
• Examples of Disaster Risk Reduction:

  • Constructing flood defences
  • Planting trees to stabilize slopes
  • Implementing strict land use
• How and When an Event Becomes a Disaster:

  • A strong typhoon may or may not result in a disaster
  • A hazardous event results in a disaster when it happens where many people are living or have their livelihoods and causes damage to them and their property
  • For example, during a flood many people drown or are injured, lose their animals and their property
• Hazards are a risk factor in the occurrence of disasters

  • A disaster can be prevented if the risk brought by a hazard can be prevented or reduced
  • For instance, a typhoon is a natural hazard that can be predicted using weather satellites
• Proactive approach to emergency preparedness

  • Impacts can be reduced if proper mitigation procedures are done such as information dissemination and evacuation before the typhoon strikes in a community