CHAPTER 1

• Concept of
Disasters
• Concept of
Disasters Risk
• Nature of Disasters
 CONCEPT OF DISASTER
• Disasters are a growing problem. They
are an increasing concern to
governments and an increasing part of
the UN's principal activities. In disaster-
prone countries, the UNDP's country
programmers are inevitably affected by
disasters.

• Disasters are non- routine events that

require non-routine responses.
Government and development
• Disasters hurt the poor and
vulnerable the most. Low-income
countries account for more than
70 percent of the world's disaster
"hotspots," and the world's poor,
one-third of whom live in multi-
hazard zones, are the most
vulnerable.
• Disasters are not totally discrete
events. Their possibility of
occurrence, time, place and
severity of the strike can be
 DISASTER RISK- 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.
• Thus, we can say that the risk of losing lives or
causing injury to people, and of losing or damaging
property due to a hazard increases as the levels of
exposure and vulnerability increase.
• This refers to the expected number of deaths and
injuries and value of property losses that would
result from a hazard.
Figure 1.2-1 shows how
• Disaster risk is expressed as a function of hazard, disasters develop this way.
exposure, and vulnerability (Disaster Risk =
function [Hazard, Exposure, Vulnerability.
• Risk assessment estimates
the impact that a hazard would
have on people, services,
facilities, and structures.
Individual map layers are
superimposed to come up with
a risk map. A risk map shows
the hazards, effects (physical,
social, and economic),
vulnerabilities of areas, and
Figure 1.2-2. Risk Assessment.
costs of damages. The
Estimating Disaster Risk
As the disaste34r risk model implies, the magnitude of
the disaster depends on the following: (1) the severity of
the natural event; (2) the quantity of exposure of the
elements at risk, which include lives and property; and
(3) vulnerability level or quality of exposure. The model
can thus be expressed as:

Disaster Risk = Hazard × Exposure × Vulnerability

The occurrence of natural
disasters like earthquakes
and volcanic eruptions
cannot be prevented, but
reducing exposure and
vulnerability can minimize
their impact.
Figure 1.2-3 shows how this
works.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF
DISASTERS
Types of Disasters
Disasters are mainly of two types:
1. Natural disasters. Examples include earthquakes, floods,
landslides, etc.
2. 2. Man-made disasters. Examples include war, bomb blasts,
chemical leaks, etc.
• Disasters are inherently unexpected or happen quickly with little or
no warning. As a result, disasters (both man-made and those
resulting from natural events) cause widespread death, injury, and
property damage. There is indeed truth to the saying that things that
can hurt you are things that you do not see coming.
• Disasters cannot be managed through normal
means. They require the immediate and effective
intervention of both national government agencies
(NGAs) and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) to
help meet the needs of 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 the national government to respond
and handle.
The following also characterize disasters:

• Knows no political boundaries

• Requires restructured and new responding organizations
• Creates new tasks and requires more people as disaster
responders
• Renders useless routine emergency response equipment and
facilities
• Worsens the confusion over the roles of people and organizations
• Exposes the lack of disaster planning, response, and coordination
• Inexperienced disaster organizations often fail to see their proper
roles
 EFFECTS OF DISASTERS
“COMMUNITY”
• The range of effect of disasters on a community
can be described across the social, built,
economic and natural environments.
• The four environments are mainly separations for
the purpose of functional responsibilities within
recovery-when working with communities in
recovery each environment should be coordinated
with all others.
• The importance of supporting the social
functioning of a community is fundamental to the
implementation of recovery activities in all other
environments, and to supporting the foundations
of community sustainability.
 EFFECTS OF DISASTERS
“INDIVIDUAL”
• Although the effect upon individuals and
households needs to be understood and
addressed, it is equally important to understand
the impact and disruption to the social capital and
connectedness of communities and the need to
support the restoration of communities to a
functioning state.
• Social well-being results when the essential
needs of the populace are met. Generally
speaking, social well-being occurs when income
levels are sufficient to cover basic needs, where
there is easy access to social, medical and
educational services, and where people are
 EFFECTS OF DISASTERS
“SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT”
• Effects on the social environment
include the disappearance of much
of what is once considered routine-
from simple, everyday things to the
loss of the communication network
that you are familiar with, such as
walking down the street and talking
to people. These impacts are often
intangible.
 EFFECTS OF DISASTERS
“BUILT ENVIRONMENT”
• The effects of a disaster on the built
environment depend on the disaster type,
scale, magnitude, duration and location of
impact. Within the built environment,
impacts may include:

a. loss of essential services, power, water,

food, fuel, sewerage, gas,
communications, internet.
b. loss of community infrastructure; for
example, public buildings, schools,
 EFFECTS OF DISASTERS
“BUILT ENVIRONMENT”
c. loss/damage/disruption of transport services
(for example, roads, air, marine and rail transport
infrastructure, facilities and assets), which has a
flow-on effect on the movement of people and
goods, and on transport and traffic management
on transport networks (for example, road and rail
closures, detours, vehicle permits and regulatory
services, passenger transport, road traffic
management systems)

d. loss of property (residential, rural, industrial,

public).
 EFFECTS OF DISASTERS
“ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT”
The effects of disaster on the economic
environment can be classified in terms of direct
and indirect impacts-that is, those that are
tangible and can normally have a dollar value
easily assigned, and those that are intangible.
Impacts on the economic environment may
include:
a. loss of livelihoods
b. disequilibrium, disorientation of service
providers (disasters are not a usual method of
doing business)
c. reduction in cash flow for some small
 EFFECTS OF DISASTERS
“ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT”
d. Loss of tourism activities

e. loss of employment opportunities for

some people, and creation of
employment opportunities for others

f. the impact of donated goods and

services on local economies (State
Government of Victoria, 2010).
 EFFECTS OF DISASTERS
“NATURAL ENVIRONMENT”
• The effects of disaster on the natural
environment that impact the community
may be a result of the disaster or they may
be a secondary impact or flow on from the
disaster response or recovery process.
• Examples include air quality, water quality,
land degradation and contamination, bio-
security, sense of place issues and impacts
on the natural environment (including
public lands and national parks) (State
Government of Victoria, 2010).
 PERSPECTIVE ON DISASTER- “Economic”
• Disasters can be seen as impediments to economic progress because they
can Perspectives on Disasters slow down business operations and
processes.

• They can account for the huge loss of capital returns and profits that affects
the nation's financial status. Disasters can also put pressure on the budget
planners for rebuilding and rehabilitation in order to retain the economic
stability of the country

• During the seven-year period wherein the country experienced disasters

caused by Typhoon Ondoy, the Bohol earthquake, the El Niño phenomena,
and a number of cases of flooding due to monsoon rains, the Philippine
government had to set aside billions of pesos to help affected communities
recover.
 PERSPECTIVE ON DISASTER- “Economic”
• During the typhoon season, the agriculture and fishery are usually the two
sectors that directly suffer in the Philippines. The agricultural losses brought
about by strong typhoons often affect the regular livelihood of farmers and
fishermen.

• In addition, planting new crops for the next season cannot be carried out, so
harvest would not be possible for the following year.

• The production and delivery of basic commodities (e.g., rice, coconuts, sugar,
and fish) from the sectors also get to be affected, which subsequently creates a
bigger demand. This in turn pressures other regions of the country to increase
their production of the commodities that leads to their raised production costs.
Due to production costs and high demand, prices of basic commodities also tend
to rise, which adds constraints to the budget of ordinary consumers.
 PERSPECTIVE ON DISASTER- “Psychological ”
• Disasters can be viewed as causes of mental and physical anguish.
The survivors have to face the day-to-day challenge of rising above
the tragedy of losing a loved one or seeing their dreams of a better
life shattered and moving on with their lives.

• Some people may find it more difficult than recuperating from the
physical injuries sustained from disasters. Psychological effects may
be in the form of the following:

• shock, depression due to loss of loved ones or home, post-traumatic

stress, and other long-term mental health conditions.
 PERSPECTIVE ON DISASTER- “Physical”
• Natural disasters may be seen as natural occurrences in the
earth. Geological changes happen due to the continuous
formation and destruction of the crust that result in the
formation of land, mountains, and ocean rifts.

• Despite the devastation that come with the geological

changes, humans have realized the need to adjust to the
changes when they happen.
 PERSPECTIVE ON DISASTER- “Sociocultural”
• Disasters may be seen as a factor that modifies the behavior of people in a society.
People's reaction to natural disasters has changed over the years. Before, they
stayed inside their homes during heavy rains, believing they were safe and
protected.

• Now people have realized that the frequency and magnitude of disasters have
acquired greater impact on their lives. Heavy rains are often accompanied by floods
that may cause landslides.

• They have realized that the longer they stayed inside their homes during a disaster,
the more likely that they might jeopardize their safety due to flooding.

• That is why some people have now added more floors to their homes or have
learned to evacuate to a higher ground during a typhoon. In the past, people would
 PERSPECTIVE ON DISASTER- “Political”
• The occurrence of a disaster can be viewed as an opportunity for corruption.
When Typhoon Yolanda hit the country in 2013, the existence of corruption in
government aggravated the plight of the survivors.

• Based on the report of the Commission on Audit (2014), several irregularities were
found in the distribution and handling of the financial aid from various local and
international donors.

• The misuse of government funds and inadequate preparations of government

agencies reduced the efficiency of the country to prepare and to provide the
immediate and long-term needs of the survivors.

• Based on the experiences, it is important for the government agencies to realize

their critical role in helping the people to cope and to recover from any disaster.
 PERSPECTIVE ON DISASTER- “Biological”
• The spread of certain diseases may be prevalent during a disaster.
An epidemic usually occurs due to poor hygienic conditions,
particularly in affected places and evacuation areas. Waterborne
diseases can be easily acquired by evacuees through drinking
water, bathing, and washing.

• Children who usually swim in floodwaters are at a great risk of

getting bacterial and viral infections like leptospirosis, which is
caused by the bacteria Leptospira, as spread through the urine of
infected animals (e.g., rats).