Disaster Risk Management Overview

Disaster Definition

• A serious disruption to a community or society, any size, caused by hazardous events interacting with conditions of exposure, vulnerability, and capacity.

Disaster Damage

• Occurs during and immediately after the disaster.

Disaster Impact

• The total effect of a hazardous event or disaster.

Disaster Risk Management

• Application of disaster risk reduction policies and strategies to prevent new disaster risks.
• Tasks of the NDRRMC (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council) include coordination, mobilization of resources, response management, and information management (including communications).

Exposure

• The situation of people, infrastructure, housing, production capacities, and other tangible assets located in hazard-prone areas.

Vulnerability

• Inability to resist a hazard or respond when a disaster occurs.

Types of Vulnerabilities in Disaster Management

• Physical Vulnerability
• Social Vulnerability
• Economic Vulnerability
• Environmental Vulnerability

Capacity

• The combination of strengths, attributes, and resources within an organization, community, or society to manage and reduce disaster risks and strengthen resilience.

Readiness

• Process used to mitigate, prepare, respond, and recover from disasters.
• The ultimate purpose of emergency management is to save lives, preserve the environment, and protect property and the economy.

Mitigation

• Reducing harmful effects by preventing a disaster.

Preparedness

• Set of actions taken as precautionary measure ahead of potential hazards or disasters.

Response

• Immediate actions such as warning/evacuation, search and rescue, providing assistance, assessing damage, and restoring/constructing infrastructure.

Recovery

• Phase taking place after a disaster, focusing on rebuilding.

Risk

• Possibility of something bad happening.
• Measures to reduce the frequency or severity of losses are known as loss control.

Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act (RA 10121)

• Comprehensive, all-hazard, multi-sectoral, inter-agency, and community-based approach to disaster risk management.
• Framework for National Disaster Risk Management

Penalties of RA 10121

• Fines ranging from ₱50,000 to ₱500,000 and imprisonment of 6 to 12 years.
• Perpetual disqualification from holding public office and confiscation of objects, at the court's discretion.

Prohibited Acts

• Buying goods from disaster relief agencies for personal use or resale.
• Selling relief goods intended for victims or substituting them with inferior/cheaper quality items.
• Falsely claiming relief goods originated from another organization or person.

Disaster (Definition)

• A sudden, calamitous event causing great harm, injury, destruction.

Hazard

• Dangerous situation threatening human life.
• Situations with less critical consequences, developing after a series of events.

Risk

• Event completely damaging human life and property.
• More critical consequences, catastrophic effects often happening in a short time.

When a Hazard Becomes a Disaster?

• A hazard becomes a disaster if it occurs where many people live or have their livelihoods, causing damage.

Classification of Disasters

• Natural Disasters
  • Earthquakes, typhoons, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, fires, tornados, and extreme temperatures.
• Man-Made Disasters
  • Disasters caused by intentional or non-intentional human actions.

Subdivided Categories of Disasters

• Technological/Industrial disasters
• Terrorism/violence
• Complex humanitarian emergencies

Technological/Industrial Disaster

• Unregulated industrialization and inadequate safety standards increase the risk for industrial disasters (e.g., hazardous material leaks).

Terrorism/Violence

• Spread of technologies for weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, biological, and chemical).

Complex Humanitarian Emergencies

• Humanitarian emergency resulting from international or civil war, affecting large numbers of people displaced.

Risk Factors for Disasters

• Processes/conditions, often development-related, influencing disaster risk by increasing exposure/ vulnerability or reducing capacity

Severity of Exposure

• Measures those who experience disasters firsthand, having the highest risk of developing future mental problems.

Factors that Underlie Disasters

• Climate change altering hazard frequency/intensity/exposure patterns
• Environmental degradation impacting hazard occurrence
• Globalized economic development (increased polarization)
• Poverty and inequality, people living in hazard-prone areas, lacking resources for risk reduction
• Poorly planned urban development

Weak Governance

• Public sector actors unable or unwilling to assume roles in protecting rights, providing basic services, and managing disaster risks, disproportionately affecting low-income countries

Disaster and Its Effects

• A damaging event with loss of life, property, or human operations.
• Hazard is a dangerous situation with threat to humans.
• Disaster is when hazards affect people, and society.

Human Effects of Disasters

• Displacement of populations (e.g., earthquakes, natural disasters)
• Health risks due to stagnant water or malaria-carrying mosquitos
• Food scarcity in disaster aftermath
• Emotional distress, especially in children