Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction: Chapter 1

DISASTER 2. GENDER AND FAMILY- almost, always, women or

girls suffer more negative effects that do men or
- A sudden, calamitous event, bringing great damage, boys.
loss, destruction and devastation to life and property 3. AGE- adults who are in the age range of 40-60 are
-(Asian Disaster Preparedness Center- ADPC, 2012) likely to be more distressed after disasters.
- Its ORIGIN can be natural or of human origin 4. OTHER FACTORS SPECIFIC TO SURVIVOR- several
- From socio-cultural perspective, disaster is defined as factors related to a survivor’s background and
“a serious disruption of the functioning of society, resources are important for recovery from
causing widespread human, material or disaster. Recovery is worse if survivors:
environmental losses, which exceed the ability of the  Were not functioning well before the
affected people to cope, using their human disaster
resources” (Adelman, 2011)  Have had no experience dealing with
DISASTER RISK disasters
 Must deal with other stressors after the
- The probability that a community’s structure or disaster
geographic area is to be damaged or disrupted by the  Have poor self-esteem
impact of a particular hazard, on account of its nature,  Think they are uncared for by others
construction and proximity to a hazardous area-  Think they have little control over what
(ADPC, 2011) happens to them
- Signifies the possibility of adverse effects in the future  Lack the capacity to manage stress
- Derived from the interaction of social and
environmental processes, from the combination of Other factors have also been found to predict
physical hazards and the vulnerability of exposed worse outcomes:
elements.  Bereavement (death of someone close)
NATURE OF DISASTERS  Injury to self or another family member
 Life threat
- 2 types: NATURAL and HUMAN-MADE  Panic, horror, or feelings like that during the
- NATURAL DISASTERS- originate from the different disaster
forces of nature  Being separated from family
- HUMAN-MADE DISASTERS- occur due to people’s  Great loss of property
actions against human, material and environment.  Displacement (being forced to leave home)
These include transport and industrial accidents, such 5. DEVELOPING COUNTRIES- there is a strong body
as, air and train crashes, chemical spills and building of evidence that these risk factors can be made
collapses. worse if the disaster occurs in a developing
country.
TYPES OF DISASTERS 6. LOW OR NEGATIVE SOCIAL SUPPORT- the
HUMAN-MADE AND support of others can be both a risk and a
NATURAL TYPES resilience factor.
TECHNOLOGICAL TYPES
 Agricultural diseases and  Hazardous materials EFFECTS OF NATURAL DISASTERS ON HUMAN LIFE
pests  Power service
 Storm surge disruption and blackout The following are common effects of disaster identified by
 Drought and water
 Nuclear power plant some studies on disaster risk and management:
shortage
 Earthquakes
and nuclear blast
 Radiological 1. DISPLACED POPULATIONS- one of the most
 Hurricanes and tropical immediate effects of natural disasters is population
storm emergencies
 Chemical threat and displacement.
 Landslide and debris flow
 Thunderstorms and biological weapons 2. HEALTH RISK- aside from the obvious immediate
lightning  Cyber attacks danger that natural disasters present, the secondary
 Tornadoes  Explosion effects can be just as damaging.
 Tsunamis  Civil unrest 3. FOOD SCARCITY- after natural disasters, food often
 Wildfires becomes scarce.
 Sinkholes 4. EMOTIONAL AFTERSHOCKS- natural disasters can be
 Emergency diseases particularly traumatic for young children. Confronted
(pandemic influenza) with scenes of destruction and the deaths of friends
 Extreme heat
and loved ones, many children develop post-
 Floods and flash floods
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a serious
 La Niña
psychological condition resulting from extreme
trauma. Left untreated, children suffering from PTSD
RISK FACTORS UNDERLYING DISASTER can be prone to lasting psychological damage and
emotional distress.
- A number of factors make it more likely that those
affected will have more severe or longer-lasting stress HOW AND WHEN AN EVENT BECOMES A DISASTER?
reactions after disasters.
- An event, either human-made or natural, becomes a
1. SEVERITY OF EXPOSURE- the amount of exposure
disaster when it is sudden or progressive, causing
to the disaster is highly related to risk of future
widespread human, material or environmental losses.
mental problems.
- Typhoon Yolanda, typhoon Ondoy, WoWowie
Stampede

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 Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction: Chapter 1

2. PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE- psychological

*Conduct a research or present a paper of some events in the research has shown that disasters can cause serious
Philippine context that turned to a disaster. Classify such events mental health consequences for victims.
whether they are natural or human-made. - These consequences take the form of PTSD and a
AREAS/ LOCATIONS EXPOSED TO HAZARDS variety of other disorders and symptoms which have
been less investigated.
EXPOSED TO NATURAL HAZARDS - The more stress, defined in a variety of ways, within
Areas/ Locations Exposed to: the disaster, the more likely there are to be emotional
Coastal areas Storm surge, tsunami or tidal waves consequences.
Reclaimed areas Flooding, sinkhole - One very important component of recovery phase,
Near fault lines Earthquake aside from relief services is debriefing or
On foot of denuded Mudslide/Landslide psychological support system.
mountains - OTHER PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF A DISASTER ARE
Near volcanoes (danger Volcanic eruption- pyroclastic THE FOLLOWING:
zones) materials, lahar flow, lava flow and ash
EMOTIONAL EFFECTS
fall
River banks and esteros Flooding, flash floods COGNITIVE EFFECTS
Open fields Thunderstorm, hailstorm, blizzard PHYSICAL EFFECTS
EXPOSED TO MAN-MADE HAZARDS INTERPERSONAL EFFECTS
Areas/ Locations Exposed to:
Near oil depots Oil spill, pollution 3. SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE- what the people
Near mining projects Toxic waste—heavy metal, lead, living at risk know and do about natural hazards and
mercury, nitric acid, etc disaster risks in mediated by a range of factors
Near chemical plants Chemical fumes, chemical waste including social conditions (such as age, gender,
Near nuclear plants Nuclear waste, possible technical wealth, ethnicity) and cultural settings (language,
failure, leaks, or worse accidental beliefs, traditions, customs).
explosion 4. ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE- from an economic
Near factories Factory waste, pollution
perspective, a natural disaster can be defined as a
Unsafe building Fire
natural event that causes a perturbation to the
structures
functioning of the economic system, with a significant
Public places in mega terrorism
cities negative impact on assets, production factors,
output, employment and consumption.
- One salient component of assessing the impact of
DISASTER FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES disaster from this view is defining direct economic
cost and indirect losses.
A disaster is a result of a vast ecological breakdown in the 5. POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE- politics are deeply wedded
relation between humans and their environment; a serious or to both the impact of a natural disaster and the
sudden event on such a scale that the stricken community subsequent delivery of humanitarian assistance.
needs extraordinary efforts to cope with it, often with outside - Political considerations before, during and after a
help or international aid. natural disaster can determine who is most at risk,
DISASTER IS ANALYZED FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AS who can intervene, which actions will be taken, and
FOLLOWS: who will benefit from those actions.
- Governmentality or deliverance of government
1. PHYSICAL PERSPECTIVE- from this view disaster is services to constituents can be a plus or minus factor
defined as a phenomenon that can cause damage to in disaster risk reduction and management.
physical elements such as buildings, infrastructures, - Government interventions should be present in the
including people and their properties, e.g. houses and following phases of Disaster Risk Reduction and
environmental sources of living. Management: 1) Prevention, 2) Mitigation, 3)
- Most visible and quantifiable effects of disaster Preparedness, and 4) Recovery
- In assessing the aftermath of a disaster, physical 6. ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE- disasters are not
damages are essentially considered in data recording. random and do not occur by accident.
- Assessment of disaster is focused on the following - They are convergence of hazards and vulnerable
common questions: conditions.
Displacement, - The Millennium Declaration recognizes the risk to
How many families are affected?
injury, death development stemming from disasters and calls on
In case of super the global community to “intensify our collective
How many houses are damaged?
typhoons efforts to reduce the number and effects of natural
How many buildings collapsed or are In case of an hazards and man-made disasters”.
damaged? earthquake - Several studies have recently highlighted the fact that
In case of investments in development are in jeopardy unless
How many roads, bridges, dams and floods, lahar precautionary action is taken toward reducing
other infrastructures are damaged? flows and disaster risk.
earthquakes
Assignment: Read an account of Super Typhoon Yolanda
Crop losses,
that struck Samar and Leyte in 2013. Analyze its impacts
damaged fish
What is the extent of damage in from the different perspectives: A) Physical B)
cages, washed
agricultural industry? Psychological C) Socio-cultural D) Economic E) Political F)
out rice fields,
Environmental
etc.
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