Week 1 &2

DISASTER
READINESS AND
RISK REDUCTION
WEEK 1 & 2
DISASTER
defined as a serious disruption of functioning of society, causing
widespread human, material or environmental losses, which exceed
the ability of the affected people to cope using their own resources.
An event, either man-made or natural, sudden or progressive,
causing widespread human, material or environmental losses.
Nature of
Disasters
Natural Disaster – these originate from the different
‘forces’ of nature. Natural disasters such as earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, typhoons, and cyclones affect many
countries in Asia, particularly the Philippines.
Human-made – these disasters occur due to people’s

actions against human, material, and environment. These
include transport and industrial accidents, such as air and
train crashes, chemical spills, and building collapses.
Terrorism is also categorized as human-made disaster.
Natural Disaster
• Agricultural disease and pests
• Storm Surge
• Drought and water shortage
• Earthquake
• Hurricanes and Tropical storm
• Landslide and debris flow
Types of • Thunder storm and lightning
Disaster
• Tornadoes
• Tsunamis
• Wildfires
• Sinkholes
• Emergency disease
• Extreme heat
• Floods and flash floods
• La Niῆa
Human-Made and Technological Types of Disasters
• Hazardous material
• Power service and disruption and blackout
• Nuclear power plant and nuclear blast
Types of • Radiological emergencies
Disaster • Chemical threat and biological weapons
• Cyber Attacks
• Explosion
• Civil Unrest
Risks Factors
Underlying Disasters
1. Severity of Exposure
2. Gender and Family
3. Age
4. Developing Countries
5. Low or Negative Social Support
Other factors specific to the survivor’s
background and resources are important for
recovery from disasters. Recovery is worse if
survivors:
• We’re not functioning well before the
disaster
• Have had no experience dealing with
• Must deal with other stressors after the
disaster
• Have poor self-esteem
• Think they are uncared for by others
• Think they have little control over what
happens to them
• Lack the capacity to manage stress
Other factors have also been found to
predict worse outcomes:
• Bereavement (death of someone else)
• Injury to self or another family member
• Life threat
• Panic, horror, or feelings like that
during the disaster
• Being separated from family (especially
among youth)
• Great loss of property
• Displacement (being forced to leave
home)
Effects of Natural
Disasters on
Human Life
1. Displaced Populations
2. Health Risks
3. Food Scarcity
4. Emotional Aftershocks
Areas and
Locations
Exposed to
Hazards
Exposed to Natural Hazards
Areas/Locations Exposed to:
Coastal Areas Strom surge, tsunami or tidal waves
Reclaimed Areas Flooding, sink hole
Near fault lines Earthquake
On foot of denuded mountains Mudslide/Landslide
Near volcanoes (danger zones) Volcanic Eruption-pyroclastic materials,
lahar flow, lava flow and ash fall
River Banks and esteros Flooding, flash floods
Open fields Thunderstorm, hailstorm, blizzard
Exposed to Man-made Hazard
Areas/Locations Expose to:
Near Oil Depots Oil spill, pollution
Near Mining Projects Toxic waste-heavy metal, lead, mercury,
nitric acid, etc.
Near Chemical Plants Chemical fumes, chemical waste
Near Nuclear Plants Nuclear waste, possible technical failure,
leaks, or worse accidental explosion
Near Factories Factory waste, pollution
Unsafe building structures Fire
Public Places in Mega Cities Terrorism
2
Disaster from
Different
Perspectives
• 1. PHYSICAL PERSPECTIVE
defined as a phenomenon that can cause
damage to the physical elements such as
buildings, infrastructures, including
people and their properties, e.g. houses
and environmental sources of living.
2. PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
has shown that disasters can cause
serious mental health consequences for
victims. These consequences take the
form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) and a variety of other disorders
and symptoms which have been less
investigated.
Other psychological effects of a disaster are the following:.
• Emotional effects: Shock, terror, irritability, blame, anger,

guilt, grief or sadness, numbing, helplessness, loss of pleasure
derived from familiar activities, difficulty feeling happy,
difficulty feeling loved.
• Cognitive effects: impaired concentration, impaired

decision-making ability, memory impairment, disbelief,
confusion, nightmares, decreased self-esteem, decreased self-
efficacy, self-blame, intrusive thoughts, memories,
dissociation, (e.g., tunnel vision, dreamlike or ‘spacey’ felling).
• Physical effects: fatigue, exhaustion, insomnia,

cardiovascular strain,, increased physical pain, reduced
immune response, headaches, gastrointestinal upset,
decreased appetite, decreased libido, vulnerability to illness.
• Interpersonal effects: Increased relational conflict, social

withdrawal, reduced relational intimacy, alienation, impaired
work performance, decreased satisfaction, distract,
externalization of blame, externalization of vulnerability, feeling
abandoned.
3. SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE
What the people living at risk know and do about
natural hazards and disaster risks is mediated by a
range of factors including social conditions (such as
age, gender, wealth, ethnicity) and cultural settings
(language, beliefs, traditions, customs).
4. ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE
a natural disaster can be defined as a natural event
that causes a perturbation to the functioning of the
economic system, with a significant negative impact on
assets, production factors, output, employment, and
consumption,
5. POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE
natural disasters are commonly thought to be less politically
contentious than armed conflicts. Yet, a closer look reveals that
politics are deeply wedded to both the impact of a natural disaster
and the subsequent delivery of humanitarian assistance.
6. ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE
Disasters not only reveal underlying social, economic, political,
and environment problems, but unfortunately contribute to
worsening them. Such events pose serious challenges to
development, as they erode hard-earned gains in terms of
political, social and educational progress, as well as infrastructure
and technological development.
Vulnerability
• defined as “the characteristics and
circumstances of a community,
system or asset that make it
susceptible to the damaging
effects of a hazard”. As indicated
by United Nations International
Strategy for Disaster Reduction
(UNISDR), “there are many
aspects of vulnerability arising
from various physical, social,
economic, and environmental
factors.
FACTORS
1. Demographic Factors
a. Population Density – the denser the population, the more efficient a response
should be, considering the number of people that might be affected by a disaster.
b. Age of Population – very old and very young populations are less mobile and able to
respond to hazard events well. This makes them more vulnerable compared to others,
and this requires more attention from the government and other support agencies
especially during emergency evacuation or relocation.
C. Distribution of population – regardless of density, populations may be distributed

differently within hazard area, e.g. elderly people on lower floors of apartment
buildings, or concentrations of highly vulnerable people in poorer areas of a city.
2. Socio-economic factors
Wealth – low income populations are less likely to be well prepared. Part of the preparation
is having a Survival Kit that includes tools to be used, emergency food stock and water
that could last for at least 3 to 5 days. Poor families will find a hard time to do such
preparation due to lack of money to spend.
Education – Education programs such as the Metro Manila Development Authority’s

(MMDA) shake drill can instruct populations on how to deal with hazard events, like the
“Big One”- the anticipated 7.8 magnitude earthquake that may strike Metro Manila
anytime
Nature of Society – In highly centralized government structures, efficient emergency

response may be the result of careful planning and training of personnel. However, it can
also lead to bureaucracy and a lack of autonomous decision making, which slows down
distribution of relief goods and emergency response efforts in case of extreme emergency.
Understanding of the area - Recent immigrants are likely to struggle to cope with hazard
effects compared to established population. Understanding the area is salient factor to be
considered in Disaster Preparedness Planning, and this will give greater advantage to the
established or original settlers in a particular area affected by disaster.
3. Community Preparedness
Building Codes – Rigorous and applied building codes protect most buildings from
collapse during earthquakes. This should be seriously considered by the
government in the issuance of building permits and licenses for land development.
Scientific monitoring and early warning systems – Established monitoring system

can prepare people for the onslaught of any kind of disaster
Communication works – Countries with good quality widespread communication

networks allow messages to be quickly shared. Communication plays a very
important and crucial role in times of disaster. Communication Plan is a very
salient component of Emergency Planning that should not be left out.
Emergency Planning – Preparation is the key element of pervention. Preparation

for a disaster is embodied in an Emergency Plan. Where monitoring and
communication are in place, the emergency planning islikely to prepare a person
or a group (family) for such events and take action based on data, rather than
prediction.
4. Dealing with the after effects
Insurance cover – Another important aspect of preparation is how to deal with the
after effects of a disaster. Parts of their preparation, individuals purchase
insurance policies to mitigate their losses, thus preparing them better for similar
future events.
Emergency Personnel – These are trained for community preparedness. The

availability of such personnel will vary depending on the time of day and location
of the hazard event.
Aid Request – Outside help in the form of humanitarian aid is necessary during
disaster. However, it should be fast and efficient. Inefficiency and mismangement
of aids, especially foreign aids, will possibly result to further deaths and loss of
property. Foreign aids in the form of monetary andmaterial aid poured in
immediately after the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda.
THANK YOU

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DISASTER

Human-made – these disasters occur due to people’s

• Agricultural disease and pests

• Drought and water shortage

• Hurricanes and Tropical storm

• Landslide and debris flow

Types of • Thunder storm and lightning

• Floods and flash floods

• Power service and disruption and blackout

• Nuclear power plant and nuclear blast

Types of • Radiological emergencies

Disaster • Chemical threat and biological weapons

• Emotional effects: Shock, terror, irritability, blame, anger,

• Cognitive effects: impaired concentration, impaired

• Physical effects: fatigue, exhaustion, insomnia,

• Interpersonal effects: Increased relational conflict, social

C. Distribution of population – regardless of density, populations may be distributed

Education – Education programs such as the Metro Manila Development Authority’s

Nature of Society – In highly centralized government structures, efficient emergency

Scientific monitoring and early warning systems – Established monitoring system

Communication works – Countries with good quality widespread communication

Emergency Planning – Preparation is the key element of pervention. Preparation

Emergency Personnel – These are trained for community preparedness. The

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