Unit II: Concept and Meaning of Disaster Risk and Vulnerability (PDF)

UNIT II: Concept and meaning of Disaster Risk and Vulnerability and its types UNIT III: Response to disaster, Importance of mitigation and preparedness, Relief and Rehabilitation during and post disasters Dr. Sumeet Ranjan Department of Zool...

UNIT II: Concept and meaning of Disaster Risk and Vulnerability and its types UNIT III: Response to disaster, Importance of mitigation and preparedness, Relief and Rehabilitation during and post disasters Dr. Sumeet Ranjan Department of Zoology  Risk (or more specifically, disaster risk) is the potential disaster losses (in terms of life, health status, livelihoods, assets and services) which could occur to a particular community or a society over some specified time period. It considers the probability of harmful consequences, or expected losses resulting from interactions between natural or human induced hazards and vulnerable conditions.  Risk can be calculated using the following equation: Risk = Probability of Hazard x Degree of Vulnerability. There are different ways of dealing with risk, such as: Risk Acceptance: decision to accept the possible consequences of a particular risk. Risk Avoidance: decision to avoid involvement in activities leading to risk realization. Risk Reduction refers to the application of appropriate techniques to reduce the risk occurrence and its consequences. Risk Transfer involves shifting of the burden of risk to another party. One of the most common forms of risk transfer is Insurance.  Hazard: It is any phenomenon or situation, which has the potential to cause disruption or damage to people, property, environment. E.g., Earthquake, Flood, Terror Attacks. When the disruptions or damage are severe, hazards become disasters. Hazards are the sources of risks. They create risks. PPT 3.4  Vulnerability It is a set of conditions which increase susceptibility (meaning chance of getting harmed) to physical, economic losses from the impact of natural disasters. Example: Post Offices located in flood zone are vulnerable to the risk of being harmed during floods PPT 3.5  Exposure The situation of people, infrastructure, production facilities, operative offices and other assets located in hazard prone areas. If more people and assets are exposed, higher is the vulnerability. PPT 3.6 Understanding Risk - The Risk Triangle Risk is a combination of the interaction of hazard, exposure and vulnerability, which can be represented by the three sides of a triangle. Risk Vulnerability PPT 3.7  If any of these sides increases, the area of the triangle increases, hence the amount of risk also increases Risk If any of the sides reduces, the risk reduces Vulnerability PPT 3.8 *VULNERABILITY Vulnerability describes the characteristics of a community, system or asset that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard. There are many aspects of vulnerability, arising from various physical, social, economic, and environmental factors. Examples may include: poor design and construction of buildings, inadequate protection of assets, lack of public information and awareness, limited official recognition of risks and preparedness measures, and disregard for wise environmental management. Vulnerability varies significantly within a community and over time 1. Physical Vulnerability may be determined by aspects such as population density levels, remoteness of a settlement, the site, design and materials used for critical infrastructure and for housing. Example: Wooden homes are less likely to collapse in an earthquake, but are more vulnerable to fire. 2. Social Vulnerability refers to the inability of people, organizations and societies to withstand adverse impacts to hazards due to characteristics inherent in social interactions, institutions and systems of cultural values. Example: When flooding occurs some citizens, such as children, elderly and differently-able, may be unable to protect themselves or evacuate if necessary.  3.Economic Vulnerability:The level of vulnerability is highly dependent upon the economic status of individuals, communities and nations The poor are usually more vulnerable to disasters because they lack the resources to build sturdy structures and put other engineering measures in place to protect themselves from being negatively impacted by disasters. Example: Poorer families may live in squatter settlements because they cannot afford to live in safer (more expensive) areas. 4. Environmental Vulnerability: Natural resource depletion and resource degradation are key aspects of environmental vulnerability. It can be best explained by Disaster Risk = Hazard × Vulnerability/Capacity The relationship between these four components, indicate that each of the three variables that define risk - the hazard, the elements exposed and their vulnerability are of equal value. Reducing any one or more of the three contributing variables will lessen the risk to a community. In reality, however, there is little opportunity to reduce the hazard component, therefore, only the vulnerability and the elements at risk will vary. When hazard and vulnerability are high, it will cause disaster but when capacity is present, it will decrease the impact. Hence, to reduce the risk of a disaster, 1) Decrease the vulnerability of the community; and 2) Increase the capacity of the community TERMINOLOGIES UNDRR-United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction It was formerly UNISDR(United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction)