Exposure and Vulnerability
Exposure and Vulnerability
Exposure and Vulnerability
Overview
Exposure refers to the
presence of people, livelihood,
environmental services and
resources, infrastructure, or
economic, social, or cultural
assets in places that could be
adversely affected by physical
events and which, thereby, are
subject to potential future
harm, loss, or damage. It may
be possible to be exposed but
not vulnerable.
Did you know that?!
Various Elements Exposed to Hazards
1. Physical hazard
– is defined as “a
factor
within the
environment that
can harm the body
without necessarily
touching it.” For
the examples,
vibration and
noise.
Various Elements Exposed to Hazards
1. Cultural hazard –
also known as
social hazards,
result from
your location,
socioeconomic
status, occupation
and behavioral
choices.
Various Elements Exposed to Hazards
1. Economic
hazard
– refers to major
natural disasters which
can and do have severe
negative short-run
economic
impacts.
Various Elements Exposed to Hazards
1.
Environmental
hazard – refers to
state of events which
has the potential to
threaten the
surrounding natural
environment and
adversely affect
people’s health.
• Vulnerability is the state of susceptibility
to harm from exposure to
stresses associated
with environmental and social change
and from the absence of capacity to adapt.
Defining Vulnerability
Vulnerable Sectors Include
1. Agriculture and Food
The agriculture sector in
the Philippines is highly
dependent on a constant
water supply and
unpredictable growing
seasons. Climate-related
changes disrupt farming
activities and hamper
agricultural production
resulting physical factors.
Vulnerable Sectors Include
2. Watersheds: Forestry,
Biodiversity, and Water
resources
Major river basins in the
Philippines are considered
the lifeblood of the
Philippine economy.
However, because of the
pollution, unstable resource
use and the additional
pressure brought on by
climate change, these areas
have become less viable.
Vulnerable Sectors Include
3. Coastal and Marine
Resources
Even without climate
change, many parts of
the Philippines coasts
were already getting
damaged and
deteriorating due to
natural causes or human-
induced activities.
Vulnerable Sectors Include
4. Human Health
Infectious diseases that
are climate-sensitive
become vulnerabilities of
a population that is
threatened by the
increasing frequency of
extreme climate events.
Other diseases have re-
emerged or have
become harder to treat.
Human Factors
1. Wealth
The poor are less able to afford housing and other
infrastructure that can withstand extreme events,
and less likely to have access to medical care.
Human Factors
2. Education
With education, we can learn how to avoid or reduce
many impacts. When populations include professionals
trained in hazards, then these people can help the
populations with their hazards preparations and
responses.
Human Factors
3. Governance
They can advance policies that reduce vulnerability. They can
support education and awareness efforts, as well as economic
development to reduce poverty. They can foster social
networks and empower individuals and communities to help
themselves to prepare for and respond to hazards.
Human Factors
4. Technology
It can improve our ability to forecast extreme events,
withstand the impacts of events, and recover afterwards.
Wealthier, more educated societies are more likely to have
more advance technology.
Human Factors
4. Age
Children and the elderly tend to be more vulnerable.
They have less physical strength to survive
disasters and are often more susceptible to certain
diseases.
Human Factors
4. Gender
Women are often more vulnerable to natural hazards than
men. This is in part because women are likely to be poor,
less educated, and politically marginalised, often due to
sexism in societies around the world.
Quantifying Vulnerability
• It is used in estimating how much mitigation and
preparedness measures will be applied.
• Based on data about the interesting of the
previous hazard
events and severity of their effects.
• It can be expressed as:
1 – lowest degree of vulnerability
2 – highest degree
People: Ratio of casualties / injured to the total
population
Buildings: Expressed as a repair cost or degree of
damage
Risk
Factors
• Risk signifies the possibility of
adverse effects in the future. It is derived
from the of social and
interaction
processes, theenvironmental
combination of
from
physical hazard and the vulnerabilities
of exposed elements.
Triagram of Disaster Risk
Earthquak
e Tsunami Engineering
Floods Economic
Cyclones Social
Bushfires
Landslides
Volcanoes
RISK
Exposure
People
Buildings
Business
Infrastructur
e