Geographic Location

• The country lies within the Pacific Ring of Fire, a

horseshoe-shaped region around the Pacific Ocean
known for intense seismic and volcanic activity.

• The Philippines is situated in the path of typhoons

that form in the Pacific Ocean.

• Note that communities in archipelagic states are also

vulnerable to slow onset impacts of climate change
particularly sea-level rise.
• Disasters - 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 using its own resources.
• Hazards - a dangerous phenomenon, substance, human activity or condition that may
cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and
services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage.
• Risk – The combination of the probability of an event and its negative consequences.
• Exposure – People, property, systems or the other elements present in Hazard zone that
are thereby subject to potential losses.
• Vulnerability – The characteristics and circumstances of a community, system or asset
that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard.
• Capacity – The combination of all the strengths, attributes and resources available within a
community, society or organization that can be used to achieve agreed goals.
• A sudden calamitous event, bringing great damage, loss, destruction and devastation to
life and property (ADPC, 2012).

• The probability that a community’s structure or geographic area is to be damaged or

disrupted by the impact of a particular hazard, on account of its nature, construction
and proximity to a hazardous area (ADPC, 2012).

• 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 using its own
resources.
 • Exposure – People, property,
systems or the other elements
present in Hazard zone that are
• The UNISDR goes on to indicate: "Disasters are often
thereby subject to potential
described as a result of the combination of: the exposure
losses.
to a hazard; the conditions of vulnerability that are
• Vulnerability – The
present; and insufficient capacity or measures to reduce or
characteristics and
cope with the potential negative consequences.”
circumstances of a community,
system or asset that make it
susceptible to the damaging
effects of a hazard.
• Capacity – The combination of
all the strengths, attributes and
resources available within a
community, society or
organization that can be used to
achieve agreed goals.
 Hazards - a dangerous phenomenon, substance, human activity or condition that may
cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods
and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage.

• There are NO natural disasters – Only natural hazards.

1. NaturalHazards – These originate from the different forces of

nature (geological, meteorological, hydrometeorological and
biological).
2. Human-made Hazards – Occur due to people’s actions
against human, material and environment. These include
transport and building collapses. Terrorism is also categorized
as human-made disaster.
• There are NO natural disasters – Only natural hazards.

Natural Types of Disasters Human-Made & Technological Types of

Disasters
Tsunamis Cyber Attacks
La Nina Explosion
Emergency diseases Chemical Threat and biological weapons
Earthquakes Nuclear power plant and nuclear blast
El Nino Blackout
Extreme Heat Hazardous materials
Floods War
The factors of disaster risk are the variables in the • Exposure – People, property,
equations: systems or the other elements
present in Hazard zone that are
thereby subject to potential
losses.
• Vulnerability – The
characteristics and
circumstances of a community,
system or asset that make it
Exposure to Hazards (natural and anthropogenic); susceptible to the damaging
vulnerability to a hazard; coping capacity linked effects of a hazard.
• Capacity – The combination of
to the reduction, mitigation, and resilience to a
all the strengths, attributes and
community’s vulnerability. resources available within a
community, society or
organization that can be used to
achieve agreed goals.
1. CLIMATE CHANGE Disaster happens for many
reasons but four main factors
Climate change will create a new hazard such as glacier are contributing to the increase
melting, sea-level rise, and extreme weather events in of disaster risks:
proportions never seen before. This will aggravate the
existing disaster risks and vulnerabilities and expose • Climate Change,
millions of people never affected before around the world. • Rapid Urbanization,
• Poverty, and
• Environmental
Degradation.
RAPID AND UNPLANNED URBANIZATION

The rapid growth of cities, combined with climate change

and the urban population explosion, will create new
stresses for urban settlements and make city dwellers
increasingly vulnerable.

• Urbanization leads to reduced green spaces and

increased flood risks.
POVERTY AND INEQUALITY

Poverty and socio-economic inequalities are aggravating disaster factors. They not only
make poor people more vulnerable to disasters but they trap them in a vicious circle of
poverty.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION

Communities can all too often increase the probability and severity of disasters- by
destroying the forests, coral reefs, and wetlands that might have protected them.
LACK OF DISASTER EDUCATION AND MANAGEMENT

• People may not recognize the potential hazards in their environment, such as flood-prone areas,
landslide zones, or earthquake risks.
• Lack of understanding leads to unpreparedness, increasing vulnerability during disasters.
• Communities may lack knowledge about evacuation routes, emergency supplies, and safety
measures.
LACK OF ENVIRONMENT KNOWLEDGE AND EDUCATION

• Without knowledge of environmental risks, people may settle in hazard-prone areas such as
floodplains, landslide zones, or coastal regions susceptible to storm surges.
• A lack of understanding of weather patterns and environmental signs can result in communities
failing to prepare for impending natural events.
 What are the human effects of these underlying factors??

Loss of life Destruction of assets

INJURY Loss of service

DISEASES Damage to Property

Social, economic, and environment degradation

Negative effects on physical, mental and social well being

Describe the fear reactions of each person described below by rating it from 1 to 3
and noting 3 being the most fearsome feeling. Be able to answer the questions that
follow.

In extreme situation after an

earthquake, how would you describe
the feeling among the people’s ages?
MEDICAL EFFECTS

• The medical effects of disaster include traumatic injuries, emotional

stress, epidemic stress, and indigenous diseases.

• Health is an essential aspect of risk assessment in the context if

disasters. A society’s poor state of health and insufficient healthcare
are crucial drivers of vulnerability and, hence, of risk factors.
DAMAGE TO CRITICAL FACILITIES

• Widespread disasters can destroy or damage facilities that

may be critical not only in maintaining a safe environment
and public order but also in responding to the disaster.

• Among these are communication installations, electrical

generating and transmission facilities, hospitals, water
facilities (storage, purifications, and pumping), and other
public and private buildings.
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.
ECONOMIC IMPACT

• As a result of the destruction and damage to critical

facilities, especially to transportation and
communication facilities, disaster disrupts economies
as 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.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

• There is increasing evidence of global climate

change brought about by both human activity and
disasters. Although the long-range consequences are
hard to predict, more cyclonic storms, an increase in
both flooding and drought, and a trend towards
desertification cannot be ruled out.
• 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.
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL IMPACT

• As a large segment of the population in developing

countries consists of the poor, who are the most
vulnerable whenever disaster strikes, these countries
are the most affected.
• The poor are the most prone to disasters like
earthquakes and typhoons because of the structures
they live in which are unreinforced and poorly built.
These are also often located in marginal lands.
• When disasters happen, social and political
inequalities are usually exposed, which may lead to
major political and social changes.
 Physical Perspective of a Disaster

This perspective of a disaster basically the most often overt and observable. Disaster affects
physical elements such as buildings, infrastructures, houses, and other physical aspects of a community,
even the death of people.
 Psychological Perspective of a Disaster

The psychological effects of a disaster are a more difficult and

complex aspect of a disaster. Most often than not, physical aspect as
well as economic and others are more given emphasis to deal with in
the aftermath of a disaster, while psychological intervention or
seeking mental health is often taken for granted.

The psychological perspective of a disaster talks about the mental

challenges that disaster might bring to the impacted individuals in a
community or society. An example of this mental challenge is Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that
happens to a person who experienced or witnessed a traumatic event
such as accident, war, rape, and even a natural disaster
 Socio-cultural Perspective of a Disaster

By definition, Socio-cultural means a system with social and cultural factors that means common
habits, traditions, and beliefs present in a population group. As a perspective of a disaster, when a
society or community living in a very remote area tend to have limited access to information leading to a
lack of education about disaster risk preparedness thus, somehow, making them more vulnerable to
disaster.
 Economic Perspective of Disaster

From an economic perspective, disaster implies a loss of manpower, physical, and financial capital
that may result in the reduction of economic activity such as the production of goods and services.
 Political Perspective of a Disaster

At first glance, disaster is likely to be less political because all individuals, regardless of societal
status, may be affected by a disaster, but if we look closer, disaster is wedded with politics as to the
subsequent delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Furthermore, the disaster also tests the preparedness of the government when a disaster happens.
Unprepared governments tend to go into react mode when a disaster happens that may result in people
suffer due to slow and inadequate response.
 Biological Perspective of a Disaster

Disaster does not occur in an accident. It happens due to the combination of hazards and
vulnerabilities. Hazards that are not only coming from the disaster itself that is being caused by nature or
manmade. Hazards may also be biological specifically the emergence of organisms or agents that may
cause a new disease.
Write your answer in sentence form conveying an idea about a specified perspective of a disaster:

1. Physical Perspective
2. Economic Perspective
3. Psychological Perspective
4. Political Perspective
5. Socio-cultural Perspective
6. Biological Perspective