DRRR

MODULE 1
Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk
Ring of Fire a large Pacific Ocean region where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes
occur.
Disaster is "a sudden, calamitous occurrence that causes great harm, injury, destruction, and
devastation to life and property”
Republic Act 10121 also known as “An Act Strengthening the Philippine Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management System”.
Natural Disasters – a natural phenomenon is caused by natural forces, such as earthquakes,
typhoon, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, fires, tornados, and extreme
temperatures.
Hazard is a source or condition that has the potential to cause harm to humans in the form of
injury or illness, property damage, environmental damage, or a combination of
these.
A. natural hazard occurs when an extreme natural event is destructive to human life and
property.
B. Human-made hazards are caused by human activities. Unlike natural hazards, human-made
hazards can often be prevented.
Examples:
1. Technological/industrial disasters - Unregulated industrialization and inadequate safety
standards increase the risk for industrial disasters.
Examples: leaks of hazardous materials; accidental explosions; bridge or road collapses, or
vehicle collisions; Power cuts
2. Terrorism/Violence - the threat of terrorism has also increased due to the spread of
technologies involving nuclear, biological, and chemical agents used to develop
weapons of mass destruction.
Examples: bombs or explosions; release of chemical materials; release of biological agents;
release of radioactive agents; multiple or massive shootings; mutinies
3. Complex humanitarian emergencies - the term complex emergency is usually used to
describe the humanitarian emergency resulting from an international or civil war.
In such situations, large numbers of people are displaced from their homes due to
the lack of personal safety and the disruption of basic infrastructure including food
distribution, water, electricity, and sanitation, or communities are left stranded
and isolated in their own homes unable to access assistance.
Examples: conflicts or wars and Genocide the deliberate killing of a large group of people,
especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation.
RISK is defined as “the combination of the probability of an event and its negative
consequences”.
DISASTER RISK
- refers to the potential (not actual and realized) disaster losses, in lives, health status,
livelihoods, assets, and services which could occur in a community or society over some
specified future time period
- is the product of the possible damage caused by a hazard due to the vulnerability within a
community.
1. DISASTER A sudden calamitous event, bringing great damage, loss, destruction, and
devastation.
2. RING OF FIRE A path along the Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes and
frequent earthquakes.
3. CALAMITY An event causing great and often sudden damage or distress.
4. EARTHQUAKE Shaking of earth caused by waves moving on and below the earth's surface.
5. VOLCANIC ERUPTION When lava and gas are discharged from a volcanic vent.
6. PACIFIC OCEAN Largest and deepest of Earth's oceanic divisions.
7. TYPHOON Type of tropical cyclone, or severe tropical storm.
8. NATURAL DISASTER A natural event such as a flood, earthquake, or hurricane that causes
great damage or loss of life.
 9. DESTRUCTION A sudden or great misfortune or failure.
10.MAN-MADE DISASTER Caused by man are those in which major direct causes are
identifiable intentional or non-intentional human actions.

MODULE 2
RISK FACTORS
THREE IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF DISASTER RISK
1. Exposure - the “elements at risk from a natural or man-made hazard
event.
2. Hazard-a potentially dangerous physical occurrence, phenomenon or
human activity that may result in loss of life or injury, property damage,
social and
economic disruption, or environmental degradation.
3. Vulnerability - the condition determined by physical, social, economic
and
environmental factors or processes, which increase the susceptibility of a
community to the impact of hazard.

The following are also taken into consideration when risk factors
underlying
disaster are involved:
 Severity of exposure - which measures those who experience
disaster first-hand which has the highest risk of developing future
mental problems, followed by those in contact with the victims such as
rescue workers and health care practitioners and the lowest risk are
those most distant like those who have awareness of the disaster only
through news.
 Gender and Family - the female gender suffers more adverse
effects. This worsens when children are present at home. Marital
relationships are placed under strain.
 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.
 Economic status of country - evidence indicates that severe mental
problems resulting from disasters are more prevalent in developing
countries like the Philippines.
FACTORS WHICH UNDERLIE DISASTERS:
1. Climate Change
2. Environmental Degradation
3. Globalized Economic Development
4. Poverty and Inequality
5. Poorly planned and Managed Urban Development
6. Weak Governance
7. Geographical Location
 MODULE 3
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HAZARD AND DISASTER
A hazard is a dangerous situation or event that carries a threat to humans. A disaster
is an event that harms humans and disrupts the operations of society. Hazards can only
be considered disasters once it affected humans. If a disaster happened in an
unpopulated area, it is still a hazard.

The Human Effect of Natural and Man-Made Disasters

1. Displaced Populations
2. Health Risks
3. Food Scarcity
4. Emotional Aftershocks

Here are some ways on how to plan ahead of a disaster:

1. Check for hazards at home.
2. Identify safe place indoors and outdoors
3. Educate yourself and family members
4. Have Disaster kits/supplies on hand.
5. Develop an emergency communication plan.
6. Help your community get ready.
7. Practice the Disaster Preparedness Cycle

MODULE 4
THE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES OF DISASTER
1. PHYSICAL PERSPECTIVE Calamities are phenomena that cause great physical
damage in a community infrastructure, its people and their properties, e.g. houses
and environmental sources of living.
Effects of Physical Disasters
- Injuries
- Physical disabilities or illness
- Sanitation
- Damage in infrastructure
2. PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE Victims of disasters may suffer from Post-
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other serious mental health conditions,
which are not being given much attention to by the authorities or even by the
victims, themselves.
Psychological effects of a Disaster:
- distress hopelessness
 - intrusion/avoidance emotional effects
- hatred/revenge cognitive Effects
- dependence/insecurities physical Effects
- grief/withdrawn/isolation interpersonal effect
- guilt feeling helplessness
- lack of trust

3. SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE Filipinos are generally known as “matiisin”,

resourceful, helpful, optimistic, and prayerful. These characteristics are manifested
in the country’s recent fight against COVID19.
Socio-Cultural Effect of Disasters
- change in individual roles
- disruption of social relationships and personal connections
4. ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE Disasters affect the economic condition of a
community because they reduce local and international trade. It can also partially
or totally paralyze a country’s transportation system, just like what happened in
the COVID19 pandemic.
Economic Effects of Disasters
- loss of life
- unemployment
- loss of property
- loss of household articles
- loss of crops
- loss of public infrastructure
5. POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE Natural disasters are commonly thought to be less politically
argumentative than armed conflicts, yet a closer look shows that both the effects of a
natural disaster and the resulting distribution of humanitarian aid are profoundly linked to
politics.
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)
6. 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
Effects of Biological Disasters
- loss of lives
- public demobilization
- negative economic effect
- unemployment
- hunger

MODULE 5
Vulnerability
Vulnerability is a state of being at risk.
Republic Act 1012- known as ‘Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of
2010’, vulnerability is defined as the characteristics and circumstances of a
community, system or resource that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a
hazard.

MODULE 6
Factors affecting vulnerability of one’s community:
1. Population density near a hazard event.
 Population differs from population density.
 Population refers to the number of individuals inhabiting in a particular space at the
same time. If people are well distributed, there is lesser effect of disaster.
 Population density refers to the number of individuals living in an area in relation to
the size of an area. If population density is high, it means that the number of
individuals is high but the space is very small. In that case, if fire broke in that area,
there is little space for the population to escape quickly and easily. So, crowded
communities have higher vulnerability to hazards.
 The primary consideration is not the population size but the population density.
2. Capacity and efficiency to reduce Disaster Risk.
 Community that is less vulnerable has the capacity to reduce disaster risk because;
 It can provide accessibility and availability of services and facilities during
and after disaster.
 It has the ability to anticipate, adapt, and respond to possible disaster.
 Is it appropriate to say that The Philippines is less vulnerable to typhoon?
Nowadays, our country has advanced technology to predict super typhoon and
several municipalities already provided evacuation centers to provide temporary
housing for victims when disaster occur.

MODULE 7
DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF VULNERBILITIES
1. PHYSICAL VULNERABILITY
- It includes population density levels, place of a settlement, the site design and the
material s used for housing and infrastructure.
2. SOCIAL VULNERABILITY
- Happens due to inability of people, organization, and societies to prevent severe
effects from hazards because of the expected behavior in social interactions,
institutions, and system of cultural values.
3. ECONOMIC VULNERABILITY
- is based on the economic status of individuals, communities, and nations. The poorer
the country, the more vulnerable to disasters because they lack of funds of budgets to
build sturdy structures and put other engineering measures in place which protect
them from being affected by disaster.
4. SOCIOECONOMIC VULNERABILITY
- It is the combination of Social and Economic Vulnerability.
5. ENVIRONMENTAL VULNERABILITY
- Is caused by natural resources depletion and destruction. Organisms like humans,
animals, and plants are all dependent on the environment for survival.
6. QUANTIFYING VULNERABILITY
- Is used in estimating how much mitigation and preparedness measures will be applied.
THE PHILIPPINES HAS HIGH VULNERABILITY DUE TO THE FOLLOWING REASONS:
  It lies in the pacific typhoon belt and we are visited by an average of 20 typhoons
every year.
 Rugged nature of the landscape makes it vulnerable to landslide, mudflows, and
other disasters.
 It is an archipelagic country with many small islands where some areas are at below
sea level.
 It has the longest shoreline in the world at 32,400 km making it vulnerable to storm
surges.
 It is still a primary agricultural and fishing economy.
 With poor institutional and social capacity to manage, respond, and recover from
natural events.
 With high level of poverty
 Aside from typhoon, it is also at risk to volcanic eruptions, quakes, and floods.

MODULE 8
DEFINING HAZARD, VULNERABILITY AND RISK
HAZARD is a harmful condition, substance, human behavior or condition that can be cause loss
of life, injury or other health effects, harm to property, loss of livelihood and services, social and
economic disruption or damage to the environment.
EXPOSURE is the presence of elements at risk or chance of being harmed from a natural or
man-made hazard event.
VULNERABILITY means the characteristics and circumstances of a community, system, or
asset, that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard and inability of a community
to prevent, mitigate, prepare for and respond to hazardous events.
RISK implies the probability of possible adverse effects.
DISSASTER is a serious disruption to the functioning of a community or society which causes
widespread human, materials, economic or environmental losses that exceed the capacity of the
community or society concerned to cope with the use of their own resources.
DISASTER MITIGATION MEASURES are those that eliminate or reduce the impacts and risk of
hazards by means of proactive measures taken before an emergency or disaster takes place.

MODULE 9
Hazards can be categorized in different types:
1. Natural hazards - arise from natural processes in the environment.
Examples: earthquakes, tsunami, landslides, volcanic eruptions and floods
2. Quasi-natural hazards- arise through the interaction of natural processes and human
activities
Examples: pollution or desertification, smog and fog
3. Technological (or man-made) hazards- These arise directly as a result of human activities.
Examples: accidental release of chemicals, toxic and pesticides to floral and fauna.
 Module 11: Earthquake Hazards and Risk Reduction Methods
Earthquake Hazards refer to earthquake agents which have the potential to cause harm to vulnerable targets
which can either be humans, animals or even your environment.
The effects of an earthquake can be classified as:
• Primary effects are permanent features an earthquake can bring out.
Examples include fault scarps, surface ruptures, and offsets of natural or human-constructed objects.
• Secondary effects happen when ground movement results to other types of destruction.
Examples include landslides, tsunami, liquefaction and fire.

Most commonly used methods of reducing earthquake risks are as follows:

1. Effective recording and interpretation of ground motion
2. Constructing seismic hazard maps
3. Developing resistant structures

Module 12: Natural Signs of Impending Tsunami

natural signs of an impending tsunami

1. Feel an earthquake.
2. See ocean water disappear from beach, bay, river.
3. Hear an unusual roaring sound.

What should you do when a tsunami threatens?

1. Preparations before a tsunami:
a) If you live near or visit a coastal area, learn about the risk of a tsunami. Some at-risk communities have
maps with evacuation zones and routes.
b) Learn the signs of an impending tsunami.
c) Know and practice community evacuation plans and map out your routes from coming from your house,
work, and other areas.
d) Create a family emergency plan with all your family members.
2. During the event of a tsunami:
a) Protect yourself first from an earthquake if you are in a tsunami area. Do the Duck, Cover, and Hold.
Tsunamis generated in distant locations will generally give people enough time to move to higher
ground. For locally generated tsunamis, where you might feel the ground shake, you may only have a
few minutes to move to higher ground.
b) If there is a warning, either from the officials or a natural sign, move immediately to a safe place as high
and as far from the inland as possible.
c) If you are outside the tsunami hazard zone and a warning has been issued, stay where you are unless
officials tell you otherwise.
d) If you are in school and a tsunami warning has been issued, follow the advice of teachers and other
school personnel.
e) If you are at home and hear there is a tsunami warning, you should make sure your entire family is
aware of the warning. Move in an orderly, calm and safe manner to the evacuation site or to any safe
place outside your evacuation zone. Always follow the evacuation instructions of local emergency and
law enforcement authorities.

Module 13: Effects of Different Earthquake Hazards

Potential Earthquake Hazards

1. Ground Shaking caused by rapid vibration of the ground. It is produced by passing of seismic waves
beneath the structure that generate sudden slip on the fault. Ground shaking can damage, fall or collapse
buildings or structure resulted by shaking of grounds.
Ground shaking is measured in terms of the following:
a. velocity
b. acceleration
c. frequency
d. duration

2. Ground Rupture/ Ground Displacement is deformation on the ground that marks the intersection of
the fault with the earth’s surface.

Characteristics of Ground Rupture

a. Length - It depends on the magnitude of an earthquake. Earthquake with 6.5 magnitudes and above
will result to larger rupture.
b. Width - The deformation along the length of ground rupture also largely depend on the type of
faulting.
 Two types of Ground Ruptures
a. Vertical Displacement- occurs when one side of the ground goes up or down or both sides move with
one side going up and the other going down.
b. Horizontal Displacement- happens when there is lateral movement from side to side; one side goes to
left or right or both moves sideways in different directions.

3. Liquefaction is a transformation of the behavior of a body of sediments or soil form to liquid form
4. Tsunami is a series of waves caused by an earthquake under the sea. Wave’s height could be greater
than 5 meters. It is also known as tidal waves.
5. Earthquake-induced landslide is down slope movements of rocks and other debris commonly
triggered by strong shaking
6. Earthquake-Induced ground subsidence is the sinking or settling of the ground surface due to various
causes, such as extraction of ground water and natural gas, mining and earthquakes

Module 14: Interpret Earthquake Hazard Map

A hazard map is a map that highlights areas that are affected by or are vulnerable to a particular hazard. They
are typically created for natural hazards, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, flooding and tsunamis.
Hazard maps help prevent serious damage and deaths.

These components will also help you read and interpret a map in the future.
1. Compass rose - This will give you the proper direction. This is also called it “orientation.”
2. Title - It tells what the map is about.
3. Symbols - These are pictures instead of symbols.
4. Legend or Key - It explains the meaning of symbols and colour.
5. Colour - It highlights the important information to help interpret maps.
6. Scale - It shows the proportion of map to real life.

Module 15: Potential Volcano-Related Hazards

Volcanic hazards are observable facts that are arising due to volcanic activity such as eruption.
Volcanic eruption is one of the dangerous event that may happen because it results to different hazards such as:
Ballistic projectiles, Ash fall, Pyroclastic flows, Lava flows, Volcanic gases, Debris Avalanche or Volcanic
landslide and even Tsunami.

Various Volcanic-Related hazards

1. Ballistic projectile are rock fragments that are ejected from volcano’s mouth that are comparable to
cannonballs. These reach its projectile up to 5 kilometers or 3 miles.
Negative effect: Endanger life and property
2. Ash fall or Tephra fall are minute volcanic particles such as pulverized rock, minerals and silicon
which has fine to coarse grain. This is formed during explosive volcanic eruption when dissolve gages in
magma escape violently into the atmosphere.
Negative effects: Endanger life and property; kills organisms both on land and in water; causes
respiratory tract problem to human beings; ruins machines in the industries and aircrafts; can damage
also roofing at home, in addition to it break power and communication lines, ash, and very hot gases.
They flow very fast down in volcanic slopes.
3. Pyroclastic Flows contain a highly-density mix of hot lava blocks, pumice, ash and volcanic gases.
They move at very high speed down volcanic slopes, typical following valleys. It consists of two parts: a
lower (basal) flow of coarse fragments that moves along the ground, and a turbulent cloud of ash that
rises above the basal flow.
Negative effects: Pyroclastic flows can destroy anything on its path by direct impact. It burns sites with
hot rocks debris. It burns forest, farmlands, destroy crops and buildings.
4. Lava flows are streams of molten rocks that are poured or oozed from an erupting vent. Lava flows
rarely threaten human life because it moves slowly. It is mostly characterized as quite effusion of lava.
Negative effects: It may instigate other types of hazards such as pyroclastic flow. It damages the
properties, agricultural lands, and even human lives by burying, burning everything in their path.
5. Volcanic gases. Magma contains dissolve gases which provides the driving force that causes most
volcanic eruptions. As magma rises towards the surface and pressure decreases, gases are released from
the liquid portion of the magma (melt) and continue to travel upward and are eventually released into the
atmosphere.
Negative effects: These gases are all potentially hazardous to all living things as well as to agriculture
and property.
6. Debris Avalanche or Volcanic landslide massive collapse of a volcano, usually triggered by an
earthquake or volcanic eruption.
Negative effects: When a huge portion of the side of a volcano collapses due to slope failure, this results
to massive destruction.
7. Tsunami – sea waves or wave trains that are generated by sudden displacement of water (could be
generated during undersea eruptions or debris avalanches)
 Negative effects: An eruption that occurs near a body of water may generate tsunamis if the pyroclastic
materials enter the body of water and cause it to be disturbed and displaced forming huge waves.

Module 16: Signs of Impending Volcanic Eruption

Natural Signs Of An Impending Volcanic Eruption

1. Increase in the frequency of volcanic quakes with rumbling sounds; occurrence of volcanic tremors.
2. Increased steaming activity; change in color of steam from white to gray due to entrained ash.
3. Crater glow due to presence of magma at or near the crater.
4. Ground swells (or inflation), ground tilt and ground fissuring due to magma intrusion.
5. Localized landslides, rock falls and landslides from the summit area that are not attributed to heavy
rains.
6. Noticeable increase in drying up of vegetation around the volcano's upper slopes.
7. Increase in temperature of hot springs, wells (e.g. Bulusan and Canlaon) and crater lake (e.g. Taal) near
the volcano.
8. Noticeable variation in the chemical content of springs, crater lakes within the vicinity of the volcano.
9. Drying up of springs/wells around the volcano.
10. Development of new thermal areas and/or reactivation of old ones; appearance of solfataras (craters with
sulfur gas).

The parameters used to monitor volcanoes are:

1. Ground deformation – any surface changes on a volcano (subsidence/sinking, tilting, bulging); often use of
tiltmeters as well as satellite imaging which results to less exposure on the ground or safer for volcanologists.
However, interpretation needs field verification sometimes.
2. Seismic Activity – when magma rises, it breaks rock along the way. Thus, earthquakes are generated.
Monitoring of quakes/tremors is done by using a seismometer that determines which patterns of seismic waves
precede an eruption.
3. Gases – monitor types and rate of emission of different gases; Concentrations of gases are sometimes high
enough to create acid rain that kills vegetation around the volcano; collection of samples from vents directly
with the use of remote sensing instruments that identify and quantify the present gases
4. Sensory observations (by people living near volcano)
• Visual – intensified presence of steam; drying up of vegetation, wells/spring/lake; crater glow at the mouth of
the volcano
• Auditory – rumbling sounds are heard
• Olfactory – observed foul smell (usually rotten egg caused by sulfur) caused by presence of volcanic gases •
Tactile – ground movement/earthquake is felt.

Module 17: Different Volcano Hazard Maps

Seismic hazard is the hazard related with probable earthquakes in a particular area.

An active volcano is a volcano that has had at least one eruption during the past 10,000 years. An active
volcano might be erupting or dormant.
An erupting volcano is an active volcano that is having an eruption.
A dormant volcano is an active volcano that is not erupting, but supposed to erupt again.
An extinct volcano has not had an eruption for at least 10,000 years and is not expected to erupt again in a
comparable time scale of the future.