BASIC CONCEPT OF DISASTER AND DISASTER disaster risks and strengthen resilience.

The
RISK capacity of a community may include the8

The Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk knowledge and skills of people, leadership
and management of the local government,
In this first module, you will be able to
and the infrastructure and facilities available to
explain the basic concept of disaster and
the community.
disaster and to differentiate the disaster
risk drivers. The terminologies listed below Disaster risk can be presented with this
are defined by the United Nations Office diagram:
for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), also
known as the United Nations International
Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).
A disaster is defined as a serious
disruption of the functioning of a
community or a society at any scale due to
hazardous events interacting with conditions of NATURE OF DISASTER
exposure, vulnerability, and capacity that may
1. Natural Hazards and Disasters – are
lead to one or more of the following:
the results and outcomes of naturally
human, material, economic, and
occurring processes that occurred throughout
environmental losses and impacts. An
Earth’s history.
event is already a disaster if a hazard
has already affected a population making Examples: Flood, volcanic eruption, insect
them vulnerable. One example we can have for infestation, tropical cyclone, earthquake,
disaster is a typhoon directly passing through a tsunami, landslide, hurricane, tornado,
city or a province. sinkhole, drought ,storm surge etc.
Disaster risk is the potential loss of life, injury 2. Man-made/Human-induced/Anthropogenic
or destroyed or damaged assets which could Hazards and Disasters –occur as a result or an
occur to a system, society, or a community outcome of human actions and interactions
in a specific period, determined with other people and the environment.
probabilistically as a function of hazard,
exposure, vulnerability, and capacity. Examples: Chemical threat, hazardous
material, nuclear blast, cyber-attack,
The disaster risk formula is shown below: terrorism, civil unrest, bioweapon etc.
Disaster Risk = Hazard x Exposure x Vulnerability
Capacity DISASTER RISK DRIVERS

Hazard is defined as a process, phenomenon, or Disaster risk drivers are factors that promote or
human activity that may cause loss of life, injury increase the risk of a disaster. The following are
or other health impacts, property damage, some disaster risk drivers:
social and economic disruption or even 1. Climate change – this can amplify
environmental degradation. disaster risk while weakening there silience
An exposure is the situation of people, of the community.
infrastructure, housing, production capacities 2. Poverty – extreme poverty equates to
and other tangible human assets located in greater disaster impact.
hazard-prone areas.
3. Socio-economic inequality – can result to
Vulnerability is a condition determined by limited capacity of households and communities
physical, social, economic, and to manage the risk and improve their resilience.
environmental factors or processes which 4. Increase population density/growth – the
increases the susceptibility of an individual, higher the population, the greater vulnerability
a community, assets or systems to the impacts to disasters.
of hazards.
5. Rapid and unplanned urbanization –
To determine disaster risk, the capacity of the can result to an increased severity of
community must be analyzed. Capacity is the disasters.
combination of all strengths, attributes, and
resources available within an organization, 6. Environmental degradation – can reduce the
community, or society to manage and reduce environmental capacity to provide social and
ecological needs.
 1. Physical Perspective – damages to physical
elements such as on people and their
7. Lack of awareness – households,
properties, and buildings and other
communities, and societies who have lack of
infrastructures.
awareness on disasters are not disaster
prepared thus can aggravate disaster risk. 2. Psychological Perspective – serious mental
and emotional consequences of a disaster to a
8. Weak governance – inefficient and
victim.
incompetent protection of human rights,
and failure to provide public services can 3. Socio-Cultural Perspective - this refers to the
happen due weak governance. behavior of communities and societies towards
hazards and disasters. This can influence
readiness of the people to adapt, implement,
and change disaster precautionary
measures/interventions.
EFFECTS OF DISASTER
4. Economic Perspective – refers to the loss
Disaster is an event man-made or natural caused by disasters on human, physical and
that can cause great damage while disaster risk financial capital, or the impact of disasters on
is the potential loss of life, injury or destroyed economic growth.
or damaged assets to a community.
5. Political Perspective – the role of
Disaster risk is the potential loss of life, injury or government and its institutions on disaster
destroyed or damaged assets which could occur preparedness, mitigation, prevention, response,
to a system, society, or a community in a recovery and rehabilitation.
specific period, determined probabilistically
as a function of hazard, exposure, vulnerability, 6. Biological Perspective – involvement of
and capacity. living organisms that can spread diseases, or
the sudden growth in the population of pests.
The following are the effects of the disasters to
the community:

1. Deaths or mortalities, injuries, and missing

persons.
EXPOSED ELEMENTS AND DIMENSIONS OF
2. Displaced population – many people are VULNERABILITY
forced to abandon their homes and seek new

Expo
shelters in other places.

3. Health risks – include infectious diseases

or outbreaks, contaminated and unsafe food
and water.

4. Food scarcity and water shortage.

sed
5. Emotional after shocks such as post-
traumatic stress disorder developed
commonly among children.

6. Economic loss – loss of livelihood.

7. Infrastructure and property damages –

Elem
houses, buildings, bridges and roads are
destroyed.

DISASTER FROM DFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

Disasters can be analyzed and interpreted from

different perspective. This will help us to
understand the severity of the disaster and to
identify what specific loss a community received
after a disaster.
ents
vulnerability is defined as the condition
determined by physical, social, economic, and
environmental factors or processes which
increase the susceptibility of an individual, a
community, assets or systems to the impacts of
hazards. It is the predisposition that puts
anything whether tangible or intangible at a

and
disadvantage in case of a disaster. In the first
module, you learned capacity as the strengths,
attributes, and resources of a community or
society to manage and reduce disaster risks.
Vulnerability arises as an outcome of a lack of
or insufficient capacity. Therefore, a greater

Dime
capacity reduces vulnerability, whereas a
weaker capacity promotes vulnerability.

EXPOSURE: ELEMENTS EXPOSED TO HAZARDS

Exposure refers to the elements at risk that can

nsion
be affected by hazards or are present in the
hazard zones that are subject to potential
losses. Exposed elements may be tangible or
intangible and can be classified into the
following categories:

s of
1. Physical Elements

- Infrastructures such as bridges, roads,

railways, harbors, and airports.

- Essential facilities such schools, hospitals,

fire and police stations, and emergency

Vuln
shelters

- Utilities that include power, water, and gas

supply

- Transportation and communication facilities

2. Societal Elements - vulnerable age groups

erabi
(children and the elderly), persons with
disability (PWD), homeless, etc.

3. Economic Elements - business and trade

activities, accessibility to work, productivity
and opportunity costs.

lity
4. Environmental Elements – biodiversity, and
environmental resources such as land, water
and air.

DIMENSION OF VULNERABILITY

The susceptibility of an individual, community,

EXPOSURE AND VULNERABILITY asset or system to the impacts of hazards is
determined by the physical, social, economic,
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk
and environmental dimension. The greater the
Reduction (UNDRR), formerly known as the
susceptibility to the effects and impacts of a
United Nations International Strategy for
hazard, the reater the vulnerability.
Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), defines
exposure as the situation of people,
infrastructure, housing, production capacities
and other tangible human assets located in
hazard-prone areas. On other hand,
1. Physical Dimension – refers to geography, should be provided with special protection
location and place of the population at risk;
and the site, design and materials used for
needs.
physical structures.

Some physical structures are more vulnerable 2. Senior Citizens – The elderly may have
than others due to the age of the building, poor poor health conditions which can worsen
planning, use of the building etc. Proper during a disaster. They would require assistance
planning should be considered when selecting in terms of source of income, supply of
materials for construction of a physical medicines or access to medical facilities.
structure as different materials have different
3. Women – Some women have less
strengths and weaknesses.
opportunities for work and lower wages due to
There is no such thing as a disaster-proof discrimination and gender inequality.
physical structure. Therefore, its effects cannot Pregnant women and those who underwent
be totally prevented. However, analyzing the childbirth would need pre and post-natal care.
vulnerability of physical structures before a
4. Persons with Disability – They are often
disaster hit will minimize the possible damage
not reached by disaster warning systems or
or casualties.
are not included in disaster plans. Due to their
conditions, they would require higher level of
protection and easy access to specified
2. Social Dimension – this includes
healthcare.
demography; displacement and migration; level
of education and literacy; health, and well-
being; social equity and access to basic human
5. Ethnic Minorities – Disaster may force
rights; cultural beliefs, morality, and traditional
indigenous people to flee from their homes and
values; safety and security; and the governance
relocate to distant places. They are
aspects.
vulnerable to misrepresentation and
3. Economic Dimension – refers to susceptibility discrimination due to cultural differences. They
of an economic system to the effects of a may also have less of income generating
possible disaster. This dimension includes opportunities when displaced by disaster
income, gross domestic product, tax revenue, events.
domestic savings, investments, financial
6. Survivors of Conflict and Violence – Aside
market, and indebtedness. The economic
from physical needs, victims of conflict and
dimension may also refer to poverty, and lack of
violence would also need counselling to help
access to basic services
them recover from disaster. They may also need
Disasters may hinder business operations or protections as they are vulnerable to abuse.
disrupt work arrangements, cumulatively
7. Urban Poor - Those with low income and
leading to a drop in the economy.
unsecure livelihoods are less likely to have
4. Environmental Dimension – this includes the greater capacity to withstand its effects of
regulation of the ecosystem, ecosystem disaster. It is possible that laborers in the
degradation, depletion of the natural informal sector be displaced due to the
resources, habitat destruction, and loss of circumstances of disaster.
biodiversity.
Knowledge and awareness on our vulnerability
VARIATION OF VULNERABILITY ACROSS to disaster will help us prepare and minimize
SECTORS the negative impacts that these disasters may
bring. The table below shows the different
Vulnerability and capacity of people may be
dimensions of vulnerability of a sample
influenced by physical, social, economic or
community to an earthquake.
even political factors. Age, gender, health
status and poverty greatly affect the Dimension of Vulnerability to
vulnerability of different groups. The vulnerability earthquake
following are some groups with potentially Physical My community has
higher vulnerability than others: old buildings and is
located near a fault.
1. Children – They are not fully developed The houses are built
physically and emotionally and have a poor very close to each
capability to defend themselves from abuse other
and exploitation. As a vulnerable sector they My community
Social includes children,
elderly and persons
with disability who
need to be
evacuated
Economic Business operations
would stop and
would affect income
of the people
Environmental Water quality may be
affected by the
earthquake.