Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction Lesson 1 PDF

DISASTER READINESS AND RISK REDUCTION 1st Quarter Lesson 1 Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk  BASIC CONCEPT OF DISASTER Disaster Readiness or Preparedness - is a state in which individuals and groups of a community h...

DISASTER READINESS AND RISK REDUCTION 1st Quarter Lesson 1 Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk  BASIC CONCEPT OF DISASTER Disaster Readiness or Preparedness - is a state in which individuals and groups of a community have developed plans, allocated resources and established procedures to efficiently and effectively implement plans for the purpose of saving lives and help response and rescue operations when a disaster comes. Evacuation plans and stocking of basic commodities such as food and water are just examples of this. Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) is a Philippine institution, dedicated to provide information on the activities of national volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, as well as other specialized information and services primarily for the protection of life and property and in support of economic, productivity, and sustainable development. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophy- sical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) is the National Meteorological and Hydro- logical Services (NMHS) agency of the Philippines mandated to pro- provide protection against natural calamities. What is DISASTER?  A sudden, calamitous event, bringing great damage loss, destruction and devastation to life and property.  A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic, or environmental losses, which exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope, using its own resources.  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. Examples of Disasters which occurred in the Philippines: 1. Super Typhoon Yolanda. Wind strength of 360 km/hr. Sudden and an unexpected storm surge. Total Fatalities of 6,340 Entire city of Tacloban was flattened. Devastating human life, property and environment 2. Bohol Earthquake Magnitude of 7.2 with 12 km depth. Over 79,000 structures including homes, roads, churches, school, and public buildings were damaged of which 14,500 were totally destroyed, resulting in over 340,000 displaced people. Affected over 1.2 million people, 222 people died 976 were injured. 3. PhilSports Stadium Stampede/ULTRA/ stampede/Wowoee stampede A stampede that occurred in Pasig, Metro Manila, Philippines on February 4, 2006. Turned out to disastrous tragedy when there was a human-induced disturbance among the watching crowd. Killed 73 people and injured about 400. Types of Disaster : 1. NATURAL DISASTER  A major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the Earth like floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and other geologic processes. 2. MAN-MADE DISASTER  Occurs due to people's actions against human, material and environment either by accident or on purpose. These include transport and industrial accidents such as air and train crashes, chemical spills and building collapses. 3. TECHNOLOGICAL DISASTER  Occurs when there is breakdown of modern systems, equipment or engineering.  An event caused by a malfunction of a technological structure and/or some human error in controlling or handling the technology. Technological disasters can be considered a man-made disaster meaning there is an “identifiable cause” characteristic.  Includes power plant failure, cyber security breach When does a Natural Event Become a Hazard? Hazard – a source or a situation with the potential for harm in terms of human injury or ill health, damage to property and environment, or combination of these. You probably have gotten used to hearing news about typhoons, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions happening every now and then. Many of us might have also personally experienced disasters due to one or more of these natural events. A natural event becomes a hazard when it has the potential to cause harm to people, property, or the environment. A natural phenomenon that occurs in a populated area is a hazardous event.  Surely, it is not simply because we experience natural events so often. The occurrence of a disaster depends on the interplay between a natural phenomenon (that can turn into a hazard) and vulnerability of populations exposed (exposure and vulnerability). The question is: Can we prevent volcanic activities, earthquakes, typhoons and landslides from happening? Certainly we can not. However, natural events do not automatically become hazards, much less cause disasters. A natural event becomes a hazard if it poses threat with respect to elements at risk because these are along the potential path or within areas which can be affected. An event like a volcanic eruption or typhoon remains a natural event if it does not pose a threat to people, property, animals or crops. A natural event can be likened to a weak fence that could collapse even with just a slight push. It does not pose threat to anything or anybody if there is nothing or no one nearby. Once you park a car or stand right beside it, it becomes a hazard. The threat of damage or injury now exists. When does a Natural Event Become a Hazard? A disaster happens when the probable destructive agent, the hazard, hits a vulnerable populated area. A natural event like a volcanic eruption or tsunami that hits an uninhabited area does not qualify as a disaster. It becomes a disaster only if it hits vulnerable populations and properties; in short, there are victims. The Transformation of a Natural Event into a Disaster A natural event such as tsunami becomes a hazard if it poses a threat to people. A magnitude 6.5 earthquake is usually strong enough to generate tsunamis that could be destructive to nearby coastal areas. The tsunami waves that are about to hit a beach area with people, animals, trees and houses are considered as a hazard. After the tsunami hits the populated area, it is no longer just a hazard but a disaster with victims and destruction or damage all over the place.  Concept of Disaster Risk Disaster Risk – is the likelihood of a community, society, or system experiencing loss of life, injury, or damage to assets over a specific period of time. It refers to the expectation value of deaths injuries, and property losses that would be caused by a hazard. Recognizing that no two persons are alike guides us in relating with different kinds of people. In the same manner, no two disasters are alike. Some may have similarities, but appreciating their differences in terms of their nature and magnitude of triggering hazards, exposed elements at risk and vulnerabilities will help us deal with potential disasters. The risk associated with disasters can be estimated and this provides ways to compare past and future disasters. Risk - is the possibility that something bad or unpleasant (such as injury or a loss) will happen. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environment), often focusing on negative, undesirable consequences.  Vulnerability- Factors of the community that allow a hazard to cause a disaster. Or the result of a number of factors that increase the chances of a community being unable to cope with an emergency. Exposure - The degree to which the elements at risk are likely to experience hazard events of different magnitudes. The magnitude depends on: 1. The severity of the natural event 2. The quantity of exposure of the elements at risk which includes lives and properties (exposed element can refer to the number of people or structures within the exposed area) 3. Vulnerability level or quality of exposure. The risk of losing lives or causing injury to people and of losing or damaging property due to a hazard increases as the levels of exposure and vulnerability increase.  Disaster Risk = Hazard x Exposure x Vulnerability  If there is no hazard, then the risk is null (the same if population or vulnerability is null).  The occurrence of natural disasters cannot be prevented, but reducing exposure and vulnerability can minimize their impact. What are Disaster Risk Factors? Disaster Risk Factors - are variables that either aggravate or mitigate the effects of hazards, affecting the degree or scope of a disaster. Physical factors - would pertain to tangible objects or infra- structure, like the availability of fire exits, or the sturdiness of the building, or the presence or absence of objects that can harm you or help you, etc. Psychological factors - include state of mental capacity and health (are we dealing with babies, kids or adults?), percep-tion of self (self assessment of capability to respond to disasters, fear), etc. Socio-cultural factors -include religion, social status, traditions, perception by society, etc. Economic factors include Economic factors include assets and assets and liabilities, liabilities, income, economic class, etc. income, economic class, etc. Biological factors include flora and fauna in environ- ment, heath,dise- ases, etc. (Where are you located? In a mountainous area? Or in a city?) Political factors include government structure, diplomatic Political factors include government structure, diplomatic issues, etc. (If there’s issues, etc. (If there’s good governance there is no problem in good governance there is no problem in coping up with disaster risk.) coping up with disaster risk.)