Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk PDF

Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600 Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786; SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEER...

Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600 Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786; SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND 442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268 Email: [email protected]; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph MATHEMATICS LESSON ONE Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk BASIC CONCEPT OF DISASTER AND DISASTER RISK Outline: Concept of Disaster Nature and Effects of Disaster Concept of Disaster Risk Learning Objectives: explain the meaning of disaster; describe the effects of disasters on one’s life; explain how and when an event becomes a disaster; and identify areas/locations exposed to hazards that may lead to disasters; and analyze disaster from different perspectives (physical, psychological, sociocultural, economic, political, and biological). BASIC CONCEPT OF DISASTER AND DISASTER RISK I. CONCEPT OF DISASTER - A disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that seriously disrupts 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 (IFRC). - A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope up using its own resources. - The occurrence of a disaster depends on the interplay between a natural phenomenon that can turn into a hazard and the vulnerability of population exposed - exposure and vulnerability (Cargullo, 2019). WHEN DOES A NATURAL EVENT BECOME A HAZARD? A natural event such as a tsunami becomes a hazard if it poses a threat to people. A natural event can be likened to a weak concrete fence that could collapse even with just a slight push. It does not pose a 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, injury, and even death now exists. WHEN DOES A HAZARD BECOME A DISASTER? A disaster occurs when a hazard impacts vulnerable people (IFRC). A disaster happens when the probable destructive agent, the hazard, hits a vulnerable populated area (Cargullo,2019). 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. Lesson 1: Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk Compiled and edited by: Lamsis, JJJ Updated August 2024 Page 1 of 4  Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600 Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786; SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND 442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268 Email: [email protected]; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph MATHEMATICS LESSON ONE Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk II. NATURE AND EFFECTS OF DISASTERS A. Characteristics of Disasters - Disasters are inherently unexpected or come quickly with little or no warning. As a result, disasters cause widespread death, injury, and property damage. - Disasters cannot be managed through normal means. This requires immediate and effective intervention of both national government agencies (NGAs) and non-government organizations (NGOs) to help meet the needs of the victims. - Disasters create demands beyond the capacity of a government. During a disaster, the situation is usually beyond the capabilities of local government units (LGUs) or national governments to respond and handle. - When the President declares a state of emergency, response and recovery programs should be formulated and implemented both by the public and non-government entities. B. Impacts of Disasters 1. Medical Effects - Include traumatic injuries, emotional stress, epidemic diseases, and Indigenous diseases 2. Damage to critical facilities – widespread disasters can destroy or damage facilities (such as communication installations, electrical generating and transmission facilities, hospitals, water facilities - storage, purifications, and pumping, and other public and private buildings) that may be critical not only in maintaining a safe environment and public order but also in responding to the disaster 3. Disruption of transportation – during the initial stages of a disaster, almost all surface means of transportation within a community are disrupted by broken bridges and roads and streets that are rendered impassable by landslides or floods. The restricted mobility of vehicles makes rescue and other emergency operations doubly difficult. 4. Economic impact – normal business operations and other economic activities are curtailed. People must also leave their jobs and devote their time to disaster-related activities, such as search and rescue, or to caring for survivors. 5. Global environmental change – there is increasing evidence of global climatic change brought about by both human activity and disasters. The changes could result in a wide range of more hazards such as wildfires and mudslides, reduced productivity in the oceans, and weakened immune systems of people and animals. 6. Social and political impact – when disasters happen, social and political inequities are usually exposed, which may lead to major political and social changes. III. CONCEPT OF DISASTER RISK The risks associated with disasters can be estimated and can be expressed either quantitatively or in relative terms. This provides a way of comparing past and future disasters. THE ELEMENTS OF DISASTER RISK When more people encroach on hazardous areas and urban centers continue to grow along the path of hazard events, the magnitude of disasters is expected to increase. The risk of Lesson 1: Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk Compiled and edited by: Lamsis, JJJ Updated August 2024 Page 2 of 4  Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600 Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786; SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND 442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268 Email: [email protected]; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph MATHEMATICS LESSON ONE Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk losing lives or causing injury to people and of losing or damaging property due to a hazard increases as the levels of vulnerability increase. It refers to the expectation value of deaths, injuries and property losses that would be caused by a hazard. Disaster risk is expressed as a function of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability (Disaster Risk = function [Hazard, Exposure, Vulnerability]). It seeks not only to express the chance of the disaster happening but also to quantify the impact. Figure 1.2-1. Disaster risk is expressed as a function of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. Disaster Risk = Hazard x Exposure x Vulnerability RISK ASSESSMENT Risk assessment estimates the impact that a hazard would have on people, services, facilities, and structures. A risk map tells you the hazards, effects (physical, social, and economic), vulnerabilities of areas, and costs of damage. The magnitude of the disaster depends on: 1. The severity of the natural event 2. The quantity of exposure of the elements at risk which includes lives and properties 3. Vulnerability level or quality of exposure The model can be expressed as: 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 like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions cannot be prevented, but reducing exposure and vulnerability can minimize their impact. Figure 1.2-2. Minimizing Disaster Risk Reduction through Reduction of Exposure and Vulnerability. Mitigation and preparedness measures will result in the reduction of vulnerability and thus, in disaster risk. The area of overlap of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability is smaller compared with that in Figure 1.2-1. Lesson 1: Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk Compiled and edited by: Lamsis, JJJ Updated August 2024 Page 3 of 4  Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600 Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786; SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND 442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268 Email: [email protected]; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph MATHEMATICS LESSON ONE Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk The level of vulnerability and exposure can be reduced by keeping people and property away as far as possible from hazards. Relocating people to reduce vulnerability and exposure, however, is not a simple matter of imposing it to be followed blindly by those who are affected. Relocation must come hand in hand with other mitigation and preparedness measures whenever possible. People are resistive to relocation and it is quite a challenge uprooting and moving them to other places. This would mean giving up their homes, land, and even jobs. The most vulnerable are the poor who are forced to live in unsafe places near volcanoes, flood-prone sites, and steep hillsides. People tend to turn a blind eye as they are comforted by the fact that the risk of death is lower compared with that of accidents. People remain in places previously hit by a disaster thinking that after a large magnitude event occurs comes a period that is safe from another event, which is not always true. Some natural events tend to cluster in time. Estimates of return periods give us a false notion that events are cyclic, but in reality, these are just averages. Often, people consider the risks more acceptable than facing the curse of starvation away from the very productive fertile volcanic soils or river flood plains. REFERENCES: Cargullo, D. ( 2019) DRRR - Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. (n.d.). What is a disaster? Retrieved August 25, 2024, from https://www.ifrc.org/what-disaster Rimando, R. E., Belen, J. G. (2016) Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction, Rex Bookstore, Inc. Serapio, M. P. (2016) Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction, Mindshapers Co., Inc. Lesson 1: Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk Compiled and edited by: Lamsis, JJJ Updated August 2024 Page 4 of 4