Alfred Benjamin D.C.

Cariño
12-Allied Health and Sciences
Good day everyone. I am Alfred Benjamin D.C. Cariño and today I am going to be your speaker
about the risk factors underlying disasters. So first what is a disaster? Disasters are serious disruptions
to the functioning of a community that exceeds its capacity to cope using its own resources. Therefore,
disaster is a sudden unfortunate event that can happen in our lives. Disasters can be caused by natural,
and man-made as well as various factors that influence the exposure and vulnerability of a community.
So, there are two classifications of disasters, natural and man-made disasters. First, let’s identify the
natural disaster. A natural disaster is a natural phenomenon is caused by natural forces. They can be
geophysical, hydrological, climatological, meteorological, and biological. First, let’s have an example like
here in the Philippines. One of the most occurrence disasters in the Philippines is typhoons we all know
that the Philippines is surrounded by bodies of water. A typhoon is a giant, rotating storm that brings
wind, rain, and destruction. The other examples are earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, drought,
etc… The second classification of disaster is man-made disasters. A man-made disaster is an event that
is caused by humans and occurs in or close to human settlements. They include complex emergencies,
conflicts, industrial accidents, transport accidents, environmental degradation, and pollution. Those are
the two classifications of disasters.
So let’s continue on our topic. First, what is a risk factor, it is the processes or conditions, often
development-related, that influence the level of disaster risk by increasing levels of exposure and
vulnerability or reducing capacity. There are 3 important elements in risk factors; Exposure is the
situation of people, infrastructure, housing, production capacities, and other tangible human assets
located in hazard-prone areas. Second is the hazard, it is the 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. Lastly is vulnerability, it is the inability to resist a
hazard or to respond when a disaster has occurred. For instance, people who live on plains are more
vulnerable to floods than people who live higher up. There are also some that have been taken into
consideration when risk factors underlying disasters are involved. First is the severity of exposure that
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 the news. Second, gender and family say that the female gender suffers more adverse
effects. This worsens when children are present at home. Marital relationships are placed under strain.
Next is age, it also says that the 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. And lastly, the economic status of the
country is the evidence that indicates that severe mental problems resulting from disasters are more
prevalent in developing countries, like our country the Philippines, because it is always hit by a typhoon
and earthquake. Furthermore, it has been observed that natural disasters tend to have more adverse
effects in developing countries than do man-caused disasters in developed countries.
So now our next topic is factors that underlie disasters. First is climate change, by altering the
frequency and intensity of hazards events, affecting vulnerability to hazards, and changing exposure
patterns it can increase the disaster risk in a variety of ways. An example is pollution that is caused by
humans, humans are not aware that some of the natural disasters come from our pollution. Second is
environmental degradation, it is the changes to the environment that can influence the frequency and
intensity of hazards, as well as our exposure and vulnerability to these hazards. Examples of this are
pollution, deforestation, soil degradation, and more hazards such as floods, and landslides are the
consequences of it. In short, we humans that caused this to our planet. Next is globalized economic
development, which increased the polarization of the rich and poor on a global scale. Currently
increasing the exposure of assets in hazard-prone areas, globalized economic development provides an
opportunity to build resilience if effectively managed. As the new global economy facilitated the
dominance of certain regions, cities, and groups in the world economy, it also fostered the
marginalization of others. The poverty and inequality created by this polarized new world order and the
economy are expected to have changed or increased vulnerability from disasters. At the same time,
dominance and increase of wealth in certain regions and cities are expected to have increased hazard
exposure. More assets and more expensive assets may be built-in hazard-prone areas. Next is poverty
and inequality, impoverished people are more likely to live in hazard-exposed areas and are less able to
invest in risk-reducing measures. Vulnerability is not simply about poverty, but extensive research over
the past 30 years has revealed that it is generally the poor who tend to suffer worst from disasters.
Impoverished people are more likely to live in hazard-exposed areas and are less able to invest in risk-
reducing measures. The lack of access to insurance and social protection means that people in poverty
are often forced to use their already limited assets to buffer disaster losses, which drives them into
further poverty. Poverty is therefore both a cause and consequence of disaster risk, particularly
extensive risk, with drought being the hazard most closely associated with poverty. The impact of
disasters on the poor can, in addition to the loss of life, injury and damage, cause a total loss of
livelihoods, displacement, poor health, food insecurity, among other consequences. Next is poorly
planned and managed urban development, a new wave of urbanization is unfolding in hazard-exposed
countries and with it, new opportunities for resilient investment emerge. People, poverty, and disaster
risk are increasingly concentrated in cities. The growing rate of urbanization and the increase in
population density (in cities) can lead to the creation of risk, especially when urbanization is rapid, poorly
planned, and occurring in a context of widespread poverty. Growing concentrations of people and
economic activities in many cities are seen to overlap with areas of high-risk exposure. And lastly is
weak governance, which are investment environments in which public sector actors are unable or
unwilling to assume their roles and responsibilities in protecting rights, providing basic services, public
services, and ensuring that public sector management is efficient and effective. These “government
failures” lead to broader failures in political, economic, and civic institutions that are referred to as weak
governance. Weak governance is a driver of disaster risk and is linked to many other risk drivers such as
poverty and inequality, poorly planned urban development, and globalized economic development. To be
most effective in reducing disaster risk, an integrated systems approach to governance, featuring strong
coordination across sectors and a delegation of responsibilities to the local level is needed.
In order for us to reduce this disaster, we need good governance for effective risk reduction in
most vulnerable places, to ensure the safety of our own community, and can make a good decision. I
hope you learn something and enjoy it, Thank you.