Q1 W2

• Disaster can affect everyone. It does not discriminate between and among social classes, gender, creed, race and nationality
• Risk factors


  Processes or conditions, often development-related that influence the level of disaster risk increasing levels of exposure and vulnerability or reducing capacity
• Disaster risk has three important elements

  • Exposure
  • Hazard
  • Vulnerability
• Exposure


  The element at risk from a natural or man-made hazard event
• Hazard


  A potentially dangerous physical occurrence, phenomenon or human activity that may result in loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption, or environmental degradation
• Vulnerability


  The condition determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes, which increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards
• Disaster risk


  The consequence of the interaction between hazard and the characteristics that make people and places vulnerable and exposed
• Climate change


  • Can increase disaster risk by altering the frequency and intensity of hazards events, affecting vulnerability to hazards events, and changing exposure patterns
• Environmental degradation


  • Is both a driver and consequence of disasters, reducing the capacity of the environment to meet social and ecological needs
• Globalized economic development


  • Has resulted in increased polarization between the rich and poor on a global scale, increasing the exposure of assets in hazard prone areas
• Poverty and inequality


  • Poverty is both a driver and consequence of disasters, and the process that further disaster risk related poverty are permeated with inequality
• Poorly-planned and managed urban development


  • The growing rate of urbanization and increase in population density (in cities) can lead to creation of risk especially when urbanization is rapid, poorly planned and occurring in a context of widespread poverty
• Weak governance


  • Zones are investment environments in which public sector actors are unable or unwillingly to assume their roles and responsibilities in protecting the rights, providing basic services and public services
• Certain factors are related to a survivor's background and recovery is hampered if survivors: were not functioning well before the disaster; have no experience in dealing with disasters; must deal with other stressors after the disaster; have low self-esteem; feel uncared for by others; think they exercise little control over what happens to them; and unable to manage stress
• More factors contributory to worse outcomes: death of someone close; injury to self or family member; life threat; panic, horror, or similar feelings; separation from family; massive loss of property; and displacement