DRRR-Prelims PDF

Understanding Disasters and Hazard life, and disrupts the normal functioning of a Risks community or society. Disaster is an event that causes widespread Disaster Risk destruction, damage, or loss of life, often resulting in a signifi...

Understanding Disasters and Hazard life, and disrupts the normal functioning of a Risks community or society. Disaster is an event that causes widespread Disaster Risk destruction, damage, or loss of life, often resulting in a significant disruption of normal Disaster risk refers to the likelihood of a life or the functioning of a community or natural or man-made disaster occurring in a society. specific area, as well as the potential impacts such a disaster could have on the population, According to the Food and Agriculture property, and the environment. Organization (FAO, 2008), a disaster is defined as: Disaster risk is typically evaluated based on "A serious disruption of the functioning of a the following factors: community or society involving widespread human, material, economic, or environmental  Frequency: How often hazards losses and impacts, which exceeds the occur. ability of the affected community or society to  Severity: The level of damage a cope using its own resources." hazard can cause.  Vulnerability: The susceptibility of Disasters can be natural (e.g., earthquakes, people, infrastructure, and systems hurricanes) or man-made (e.g., industrial to a hazard’s impact. accidents, chemical spills).  Resilience: The ability of a community to prepare for, respond The Philippines: A Country Prone to to, and recover from a disaster. Natural Disasters Elements of Disaster Risk The Philippines is a country located in Southeast Asia that is highly prone to natural 1. Hazard: A natural or human-induced disasters. Situated in the Pacific Ring of event with the potential to cause Fire, an area known for high seismic and harm, such as an earthquake, flood, volcanic activity, the Philippines also faces or cyberattack. frequent typhoons, floods, and landslides 2. Exposure: The presence of people, since it’s near the Pacific Ocean. The property, or infrastructure in a country experiences regular earthquakes, hazardous area. volcanic eruptions, and typhoons (tropical 3. Vulnerability: The susceptibility of a cyclones), which cause significant damage to community or region to harm from a communities and infrastructure. hazard. This includes factors like infrastructure quality, population When Does a Natural Event Become a density, and access to resources. Hazard? 4. Capacity (Supplemental Element): The ability of a community or region A natural event becomes a hazard when it to prepare for, respond to, and has the potential to cause harm or damage recover from a disaster. to people, property, or the environment. Deeper Understanding of Exposure When Does a Hazard Become a Disaster? Exposure refers to the proximity or presence A hazard becomes a disaster when it results of people or things to a hazard. Various in widespread destruction, damage, loss of elements can be exposed to hazards:   People: Workers in certain  Environmental Conditions: Places industries, such as construction, that have soil erosion or deforestation manufacturing, and healthcare, are are more likely to suffer from landslides at a higher risk of exposure to or floods. chemicals, noise, and radiation.  Buildings and Infrastructure: Social Vulnerability Structures such as homes, office buildings, and bridges can be  Population Density: Areas with lots of exposed to hazards like flooding, fire, people can be more vulnerable due to or earthquakes. overcrowding, lack of resources, or poor  Natural Resources: Farms, forests, infrastructure. and other natural resources can be  Inequality: People who are poor, exposed to hazards like pests, elderly, disabled, or children may drought, and wildfires. struggle more to prepare for or recover  Electronic Systems: Computers, from disasters. networks, and other electronic  Community Support: Communities systems can be exposed to hazards with strong social networks can better like cyberattacks, viruses, and power support each other, while those without outages. may struggle more.  Business Operations: Companies may be exposed to hazards such as Economic Vulnerability market fluctuations, regulatory changes, and economic downturns.  Income and Jobs: People who rely on  Supply Chains: Supply chains can agriculture or low-paying jobs may lose be exposed to hazards like port their livelihoods more easily during a strikes, natural disasters, and disaster. logistical disruptions.  Access to Resources: Communities with fewer resources (like money, food, Deeper Understanding of Vulnerabilities or healthcare) are more vulnerable to the impacts of a disaster. Vulnerabilities refer to how easily a  Insurance and Support: If people don’t community, infrastructure, or system can be have insurance or government help, harmed by a hazard. It depends on different they might struggle to recover financially factors that make people, places, or things after a disaster. more or less likely to suffer from the impacts of a disaster. Health Vulnerability  Healthcare Access: Areas with fewer Key Factors of Vulnerability: hospitals or medical workers may face more serious health problems during or Physical Vulnerability after a disaster.  Health Conditions: People with  Buildings and Infrastructure: Poorly ongoing health issues may be more built homes or roads are more likely to affected by a disaster and find it harder be damaged in events like earthquakes to recover. or floods.  Location: Areas near the coast or on floodplains are more vulnerable to floods, tsunamis, and storms. Institutional Vulnerability Basic Concepts of Hazards  Weak Government or Emergency Hazards refer to the potential for damage to Services: If the government or humans and their environment that may emergency responders are unprepared result from the occurrence of natural events, or unable to act quickly, people become such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, more vulnerable. floods, or storm surges. An event becomes a  Lack of Preparedness: If a community hazard when it threatens people and their doesn’t have a disaster plan or early surroundings. warning system, it’s more likely to be severely impacted. Types of Hazards Cultural and Psychological Vulnerability 1. Geological Hazards: Caused by geological processes, such as  Cultural Beliefs: Some cultural earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, practices might help or hinder a landslides, and tsunamis. community’s ability to prepare for a 2. Hydro-Meteorological Hazards: disaster. Caused by weather and water-  Psychological Readiness: People who related events, such as floods, don't believe a disaster will happen or droughts, storms, and heat waves. don’t understand the risks might not 3. Biological Hazards: Arising from take necessary precautions. living organisms, such as pathogens, pests, or harmful animals. Technological Vulnerability 4. Societal Hazards: Human-induced hazards resulting from industrial  Dependence on Technology: accidents, conflicts, and human Communities or businesses that rely behavior. Some man-made hazards, heavily on technology can be more such as cyberattacks or industrial vulnerable if systems like power grids or accidents, can also trigger other communication networks fail during a types of hazards, such as disaster. environmental disasters or economic disruptions. Environmental Vulnerability Characteristics of Hazards  Environmental Damage: If natural resources are damaged (like forests or  Frequency: How often a hazard wetlands), it makes people more occurs. It can be rare, occasional, or vulnerable to things like floods or frequent. landslides.  Severity: The extent of damage or  Climate Change: Changes in the harm a hazard can cause. It can be climate can make some areas more classified as minor, moderate, or vulnerable to extreme weather events severe. like storms or droughts.  Predictability: The ability to forecast or anticipate when a hazard will occur and its potential severity.  Spatial/Temporal Extent: The area and duration of a hazard. It can be local, regional, or global, and can last from hours to years.   Complexity: The degree to which a · Epicenter: The point on the Earth's hazard involves multiple interacting surface directly above the focus. It usually components or factors. feels the strongest shaking.  Interconnection: The extent to which a hazard is linked to or · Fault: A crack in the Earth's surface where dependent on other hazards or the earthquake happens. systems. · Seismic Waves: Waves that carry energy Impacts of Hazards through the Earth. They cause the shaking. Hazards can have various types of impacts: · P-waves: Fast waves that move in a back-and-forth motion.  Physical: Damage to buildings, infrastructure, and the environment,  S-waves: Slower waves that move including landslides, flooding, and side-to-side or up-and-down. power outages.  Economic: Loss of income, · Surface Waves: Slower waves that travel employment, and productivity, as on the Earth's surface and cause the most well as damage to businesses and damage. industries.  Social: Loss of life, injuries, · Aftershocks: Smaller earthquakes that displacement, and disruption to happen after the main one. social networks and community cohesion. · Tectonic Plates: Large pieces of the  Environmental: Damage to natural Earth's surface that move, causing resources, ecosystems, and earthquakes at their edges. ecological processes.  Psychological: Trauma, stress, and mental health issues resulting from exposure to a hazard or its aftermath. Magnitude VS Intensity  Public Health: Illnesses, injuries, and fatalities, such as the spread of · Magnitude: How strong the earthquake is, diseases or exposure to toxic based on the energy it releases. It’s the substances. same everywhere.  Technological: Damage to equipment, systems, and networks, · Intensity: How much shaking you feel and as well as disruptions to critical how much damage it causes. It can be infrastructure. different depending on where you are.  Political: Changes in government policies, regulations, and leadership In short: due to a hazard's aftermath.  Magnitude is about the earthquake's size. Parts of an Earthquake  Intensity is about how much it is felt and how much damage it causes. · Focus: The spot inside the Earth where the earthquake starts.