Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk PDF

Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk MELC: EXPLAIN THE MEANING OF DISASTER At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to: 1. understand the meaning of disaster; 2. justify different kinds of disasters that are common; the Philippines has experience; and 3. appreciate the sig...

Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk MELC: EXPLAIN THE MEANING OF DISASTER At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to: 1. understand the meaning of disaster; 2. justify different kinds of disasters that are common; the Philippines has experience; and 3. appreciate the significance of knowing disaster risks and how it may affect one’s life.  DISASTER “A disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that seriously disrupt the functioning of a community or society and causes human material and economic or environmental losses that exceed the community’s or society’s ability to cope using its own resources.” International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies “Disasters are natural or man-made emergencies that cannot be handled by affected communities who experience severe danger and incur loss of lives and properties causing disruption in its social structure and prevention of the fulfillment of all or some of the affected community’s essential functions.” Disaster Risk Reduction Resource Manual DISASTER RISK The probability that a community’s structure or geographic area is to be damaged or disrupted by the impact of a particular hazard, on account of its nature, construction and proximity to a hazardous area. (ADPC – Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, 2012) ELEMENTS OF DISASTER RISK Hazard – any phenomenon that can potentially cause damage to life, property, or environment. Exposure – any element (people, property, or system) that is present in a hazard and is prone to potential loss. Vulnerability – the likelihood that assets will be damaged or destroyed when exposed to a hazardous event. NATURE/ORIGIN OF DISASTERS  NATURE OF DISASTERS NATURAL DISASTERS – These originate from the different “forces” of nature (geological, meteorological, hydrometeorological and biological) - Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, and cyclones  NATURE OF DISASTERS HUMAN-MADE DISASTERS -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, building collapses and terrorism. TYPES OF DISASTERS NATURAL TYPES OF DISASTERS Agricultural diseases and pests Storm surge Drought and water shortage – El Niño Earthquake Hurricanes and tropical storms Landslide and debris flow NATURAL TYPES OF DISASTERS Thunderstorms and lightning Tornadoes ¤ Floods Tsunamis ¤ La Niña Wildfires Sinkholes Emergency diseases (pandemic influenza) HUMAN-MADE & TECHNOLOGICAL TYPE OF DISASTERS Hazardous materials Power service disruption and blackout Nuclear power plant and nuclear blast Radiological emergencies Chemical threat and biological weapons Cyber attacks Explosion Civil unrest RISK FACTORS UNDERLYING DISASTERS  DISASTER RISK FACTORS A number of factors make it more likely that those affected will have more severe or longer-lasting stress reactions after disasters. These risk factors are summarized in a study made by ADPC (Asian Disaster Preparedness Center), 2012.  Risk Factors are processes or conditions, often development-related, that influence the level of disaster risk by increasing levels of exposure and vulnerability or reducing capacity. The following are also taken into consideration when risk factors underlying disaster are involved: 1. Severity of exposure Injury and life threats are the factors that led most often to mental health problems. Studies have looked at severe natural disasters and the findings show that at least half of the survivors suffer from distress or mental health problems that need clinical care. 2. Gender and family The female gender suffers more adverse effects. This worsens when children are present at home. Marital relationships are placed under strain. Conflicts between family members or lack of support in the home make it harder to recover from disasters. 3. Age Adults in the age range of 40-60 are more stressed after disasters but in general, children exhibit more stress after disasters than adults do. 4. Low or negative social support Social support can weaken after disasters. This may be due to stress and the need for members of the support network to get on with their own lives. 5. Economic status of the country Developing countries are more vulnerable to natural disasters because people live in areas at high risk from natural disasters (e.g., unsafe urban areas), the housing is poorly built and can be easily damaged in the event of a disaster, countries are not equipped with early warning systems, and they have few assets and a weak social safety network to help them cope with disasters. FACTORS WHICH UNDERLIE DISASTERS 1. Climate change -can increase disaster risk in a variety of ways – by altering the frequency and intensity of hazards events, affecting vulnerability to hazards, and changing exposure patterns. For most people, the expression “climate change” means the alteration of the world’s climate that we humans are causing such as burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and other practices that increase the carbon footprint and concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. 2. Environmental degradation Changes to the environment can influence the frequency and intensity of hazards, as well as our exposure and vulnerability to these hazards. For instance, deforestation of slopes often leads to an increase in landslide hazard and removal of mangroves can increase the damage caused by storm surges 3. Globalized Economic Development It results in an increased polarization between the rich and poor on a global scale. Currently increasing the exposure of assets in hazard prone areas, globalized economic development provides an opportunity to build resilience if effectively managed. By participating in risk- sensitive development strategies such as investing in protective infrastructure, environmental management, and upgrading informal settlements, risk can be reduced. Dominance and increase of wealth in certain regions and cities are expected to have increased hazard exposure 4. Poverty and Inequality Impoverished people are more likely to live in hazard- exposed areas and are less able to invest in risk-reducing measures. The lack of access to insurance and social protection means that people in poverty are often forced to use their already limited assets to buffer disaster losses, which drives them into further poverty. The impact of disasters on the poor can, in addition to loss of life, injury and damage, cause a total loss of livelihoods, displacement, poor health, food insecurity, among other consequences. 5. Poorly planned and Managed Urban Development People, poverty, and disaster risk are increasingly concentrated in cities. The growing rate of urbanization and the 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. Growing concentrations of people and economic activities in many cities are seen to overlap with areas of high-risk exposure. 6. Weak Governance Weak governance zones are investment environments in which public sector actors are unable or unwilling to assume their roles and responsibilities in protecting rights, providing basic services and public services. Disaster risk is disproportionately concentrated in lower-income countries with weak governance. Disaster risk governance refers to the specific arrangements that societies put in place to manage their disaster risk within a broader context of risk governance. DISASTERS AND ITS EFFECTS  DISPLACED POPULATION When countries are ravaged by earthquakes or other powerful forces of nature like floods and super typhoons, many people have to abandon their homes and seek shelter in other regions  HEALTH RISKS One consequence of disaster is the threat to the population’s health. Many consequences of a disaster such as the following contribute to the degradation of the population’s health. presence of stagnant water which allows breeding of waterborne bacteria and malaria-carrying mosquitoes lack of clean water  FOOD SCARCITY Food becomes very limited after an occurrence of a disaster. Consequences of disaster that contribute to limited food supply are as follows: damaged farms damaged farm to market roads the high price of a limited food supply lack of buying capacity of disaster victims  PSYCHOLOGICAL The devastating impacts of disaster can be traumatic for any person who has experienced it. Exposure to deaths and catastrophe can be unforgettable to anyone especially to children. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious psychological condition from extreme trauma that should be addressed as early as possible to prevent a long-term emotional distress. DISASTER FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES  PHYSICAL PERSPECTIVE From this view, disaster is defined as a phenomenon that can cause damage to physical elements such as buildings, infrastructures, including people and their properties. Physical effects are the most visible and quantifiable effects of a disaster. In assessing the aftermath of a disaster, physical damages are essentially considered in data recording.  Effects of Physical Disasters Injuries Physical disabilities or illness Sanitation Damage in infrastructure  PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE Psychological research has shown that disasters can cause serious mental health consequences for victims. In psychological context, a disaster is regarded as an occurrence involving an unexpected or uncontrollable event rather than a long-term experience. One very important component of the recovery phase, aside from relief services is debriefing or psychological support system.  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. Cognitive effects: Impaired concentration, impaired decision-making ability, memory impairment, confusion, nightmares, decreased self-esteem, intrusive thoughts, dissociation.  Physical effects: Fatigue, exhaustion, insomnia, cardiovascular strain, startle response, hyper arousal, 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, trust, externalization of blame, externalization of vulnerability, feeling abandoned.  SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE Socio-cultural factors refer to the social and cultural dimension of the community. These may pertain to the religion, social hierarchy, cultural values, traditions, perception of the society about disasters, social and cultural identity, etc.  From the socio-cultural point of view, a disaster is analyzed based on how people respond having as parameter their social conditions and cultural settings. These two factors are important determinants of the degree of risk, resilience and vulnerability of those affected. Socio-Cultural Effect of Disasters change in individual roles disruption of social relationships and personal connections  ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE From an 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. One salient component of assessing the impact of disaster from this view is defining direct economic cost and indirect losses.  Economic Effects of Disasters unemployment loss of property loss of household articles loss of crops loss of public infrastructure  POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE Public policies are established and implemented by the people in authority. How local officials mitigate, prepared, responded, and recovered from disasters is directly related to how emergency management and disaster policy is created and implemented. Political Effects of a Disaster People who have trust in political institution will assess the government’s risk assessments as credible and accept their hazard policies (Johnson 1999) Low level of trust in public institutions therefore means that citizens may ignore the recommendations and disregard the information provided by these institutions (McCaffey 2004).  If individuals are confident that they will receive sufficient aid from the government when a disaster occurs, they might not be motivated to take measures on their own (King and Kang 2000).  BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE The disturbing effects caused by a prevalent kind of disease or virus in an epidemic or pandemic level is known as biological disaster. (a) Epidemic Level: Biological disaster affects large numbers of people within a given community or area. Ex: Dengue. (b) Pandemic Level: Biological disaster affects a much large region, sometime spanning entire continents or the globe. Ex: Swine Flue Biological disasters can wipe out an entire population at a short span of time.  Effects of Biological Disasters loss of lives public demobilization negative economic effect unemployment hunger GENERALIZATION: Disasters come in different forms and intensity. Nobody knows when it will strike and how will it happen. Therefore, everybody must know how to determine possible disasters and anticipate possible damages in order to prepare oneself from the potential harms that it may cause to people and the community.