Concept of

Disaster
Lesson 1
First Quarter
DRRM 12
 Presentation Objectives

At the end of this presentation you will:

a. Explain the meaning of disasters;
b. Differentiate the risk factors underlying
disasters;
c. Describe the effects of disasters on one’s life;
d. Explain how and when an event becomes a
disasters and
e. Analyze disaster from the different perspectives
(physical, sociocultural, economic, political and
biological).
 What is a disaster?
Existence of disaster is predefined when:
 there is specific amount of losses such as
the number of houses burned, people killed
or injured
A certain predefined threshold is breached
(trigger to a certain contingency measure
is reached)
There is a significant geographical change
with regard to “normal conditions”
(earthquake, typhoon)
 What is a disaster?
The International Decade of Natural Disaster
Reduction (IDNDR) after certain program
forum proceedings was published, have
culminated a globally accepted definition as:
DISASTER – a serious disruption of the
functioning of a community or a society
involving widespread human, material, or
environmental losses and impacts, which
exceeds the ability of the affected community
to cope using its own resources.
 What is a disaster?
hazard– 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.
 What is a disaster?
Disaster risk– potential disaster losses
in terms of lives, health status, livelihood,
and/or assets and services which could
occur to a particularcommunity or a
society over some specified future time
period.
 What is a disaster?
Disaster and hazard is interrelated. A
disaster happens when the probable
destructive agent, the hazard, hits a
vulnerable populated area. A natural
event like a volcanic eruption or a tsunami
which hits an uninhabited area does not
qualify as a disaster.
In short, a hazard can become a disaster only
if it hits a vulnerable population and
properties.
 What is a disaster?
Key Elements of Disaster:
A. Serious Disruption – any disaster that is
capable of abruptly interrupting the
natural or normal processes happening
in an environment.
- Living things, including people are affected
when their survival or growth is gravely
affected.
 What is a disaster?
Key Elements of Disaster:
B. Widespread losses and impacts– the
magnitude or extent by which living
things or people receive the event after
it has occurred. Can be in the form of:
- Physical losses ( monetary, property,
number of injury or death)
- Emotional losses ( death of a loved one)
 What is a disaster?
Key Elements of Disaster:
C. Ability to cope using one’s resources-
when a disaster strikes, people make
use of resources that they have or are
easily accessible for them to use.
Without these resources, their ability to
return to a life of normalcy may be
delayed, or may not happen at all.
 What is a disaster?
The UNISDR further defines disasters as a
result of the combination of:
a. The exposure to hazard;
b. The conditions of vulnerability that are
present;
c. The insufficient capacity or measure to
reduce or cope with the potential
negative consequences
 What is a disaster?
Characteristics of Disasters
Knows no political boundary
Requires restructured and new
responding organizations
Creates new tasks and requires more
people as disaster responders
 What is a disaster?
Characteristics of Disasters
Renders inutile routine emergency
response equipment and facilities
Worsens confusion in understanding
roles of people and organizations
Exposes lack of disaster planning,
response and coordination.
Disasters as Social
Constructions
Hurricane Katrina, 2005
 What is a disaster?
impacts of Disaster:
 Loss of life
 Injury
 Disease
 Adverse effects on the physical, mental and
social well being of living things especially humans
 Damage to property
 Destruction of assets
 Loss of services
 Social and economic disruption
 Environmental degradation
 Disaster from different
perspective
PHYSICAL – Extent of damage
to physical properties or the
alteration of the natural
environment or changes in
climate and weather pattern

Example: collapse of buildings

due to earthquake
landslide due to heavy
rains brought by a typhoon
 Disaster from different
perspective
PSYCHOLOGICAL – extent of
damage to humans and
animals who are
psychologically scarred
after dealing with disaster
in their lives

Example: Exhibition of PTSD

(Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder)
 Disaster from different
perspective
ECONOMIC – impact on
commerce and
trade of a
community or area
Example:damaged
farms and sources
of food
food shortage
 Disaster from different
perspective
SOCIOCULTURAL affects
the values of those who
are living in a community
or area. Social and
cultural activities of
people living in some
unique communities are
altered
Example: Residents of often
flooded urban
communities own rafts or
boats
 Disaster from different
perspective
POLITICAL – plays a role in
fostering unity or
disunity among political
players. It plays a role
in the speedy dispatch
of humanitarian
assistance

Example: paralyzed
government operations
 Disaster from different
perspective
ENVIRONMENTAL – as
disasters cannot be
anticipated nor predicted,
people who are not ready
or trained to identify and
tackle factors prevent
them from returning to
normal life.
Example: change in livelihood
(fishing communities to
tourism)
 Areas or locations
exposed to hazards

Areas/Locations Potential Hazards

Coastlines, beaches, Tidal waves, storm surges, tsunami
islands
Riverbanks, esteros Flooding, flashfloods, landslides
Reclaimed lands, valleys Sinkholes, earthquakes
Faultline zones Earthquakes
Open fields Thunderstorms, tornadoes, hailstorms,
grass fires
Zones near volcanoes Volcanic eruptions
Mountainous areas Landslides, mudslides, forest fires
 Areas or locations
exposed to hazards

Areas/Locations Potential Hazards

Urban areas, mega-cities Terrorist attacks, fires
Unsafe buildings and Fires, structural collapse
houses
Industrial zones, factories Pollution, chemical contamination
Nuclear power plants Nuclear leaks/meltdown, radioactive
contamination
Mining areas Leakage of toxic wastes and chemicals,
collapse
Oil depots Oil spillage and leaks (riverside areas)
 Wrap Up
• A disaster is a serious disruption occurring over
a short or long period of time that causes
widespread human, material, economic or
environmental loss which exceeds the ability of
the affected community or society to cope using
its own resources.
• A hazard can be defined as a potentially
damaging physical event, social and economic
disruption or environmental degradation.
 Wrap Up
• A Hazard is a threat. A future source of danger. It
has the potential to cause harm to
• People - death, injury, disease and stress
• Human activity – economic, educational etc.
• Property - property damage, economic loss
• Environment - loss fauna and flora, pollution, loss
of amenities.
Some examples of hazards are earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, cyclones, floods, landslides,
and other such events