Unit 1- Basic Concept of

Disaster and Disaster Risk

DRR – Grade 12
Unit 1- Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk
Lesson 1- Understanding the Concept of Disaster
Lesson 2- The Concept of Disaster Risk
Lesson 3- Nature of Disasters
Lesson 4- Effects of Disaster on One’s Life
Lesson 1- Understanding the Concept of Disaster
Disaster Defined
Disaster pertains to anything that disrupts the normal functioning of people, events, and
circumstances.
It may be predicted or unpredicted.
Predicted calamities like typhoon become a disaster when its effect could no longer be
controlled and disturbs people, damage properties and unsettles events.
Unpredicted calamities are more disastrous because people wouldn’t know when these
calamities would have struck a place, a person, or a thing. Examples of these disasters are
lightning, earthquake and tsunami.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, 90% of disasters around the world is
believed to be caused by weather-climate or water-related hazards.
The Formula of Disaster
To understand the Occurrence of disasters, a formula was developed to simplify its concept.
The occurrence of disaster is presented by the International Federation of Red Cross and it is shown by the words in
the box below:
(VULNERABILITY + HAZARD) = DISASTER
CAPACITY

A disaster occurs when a hazard impacts on vulnerable people.

Disaster is the result of the combination of vulnerability and hazard. The result of which will be mitigated by the
capacity. Capacity pertains to the capability of the people to reduce its risk or to mitigate its devastating effects.
Vulnerability pertains to the weakened capability of a person or group of persons to prepare, manage, and recover
from the impact of a natural or man-made disaster.
The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction also defined vulnerability as a condition resulting
from physical, social, economic, and environmental process factors or processes, which increases the susceptibility of
a community to the impact of a hazard.
 SAMPLE APPLICATION OF VULNERABILITY
1. A community of barangay which is not knowledgeable in disaster risk reduction and
management is a vulnerable victim of disaster.
2. A member of the family who refused to evacuate from the house, despite repeated warnings
from the Office of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management is a vulnerable victim of flood
or landslide.

Hazard pertains to any condition or circumstances that endangers a person, thing or

situation. Hazard could be classified as man-made or natural. Natural hazards include:

1. Geologic hazards like earthquake and floods;

2. Atmospheric hazards like droughts and thunderstorms.
Natural hazards are hazards that may occur naturally, but don’t fall in to either
of the categories above. These include insect infestations and disease
epidemics.
Capacity pertains to the ability of the individual or group or the community as a
whole to mitigate the effects of hazards or causes of disaster.
It could be determined that reducing vulnerability, decreasing hazard in the
community, and strengthening the capacity of the people is the key towards
diminishing the effects of disasters.
Lesson 2- The Concept of Disaster Risk
Definition of Disaster Risk
Risk is caused by hazards. Risk is the assessed damage to a person
or property as a result of hazard. Risk that is caused by man-made
or natural disasters is called disaster risk. It is the result of hazard,
exposure and vulnerability.
Disaster risk may be simplified using the formula below:
Hazard + Exposure + Vulnerability = Disaster Risk
As defined above, disaster risk has a direct relationship with hazards,
exposure and vulnerability, with all three combined. This means that
as hazard or exposure or vulnerability increases, disaster risk also
increases.
Exposure is another variable to disaster risk as stated by the
simplified formula above. This means that a person or property
exposed to disaster likewise increases disaster risk. For instance,
those who are living near active volcanoes are exposed elements
during volcanic eruption and those who are living at the shorelines
are exposed elements to tsunami.
Reducing Disaster Risk
Below are the recommended measures to reduce disaster risk:
1. Lessen the rate of vulnerability by empowering people in disaster risk reduction.
2. Keep exposure away from hazard by relocating people and property.
3. Develop disaster preparedness. The conduct of drills like free drills, earthquake
drills, and other emergency drills may help mitigate the effect of disasters
through enhanced preparation of the vulnerable community.
4. Empower the people. This is possible through conducting information drive and
seminars to communities which are exposed to disasters.
 Risk Factors Underlying Disaster
The Voluntary Organizations in Cooperation in
Emergencies, a non-governmental organization (NGOVOICE)
and an active humanitarian aid worldwide, assists European
Organizations on times of disasters. The organization
identified dome underlying factors which increase disaster,
and are needed to be addressed in order to reduce overall
risk. These include:
1. Environmental problems such as:
A. Declining ecosystems

This pertains to environmental degradation due to the exploitation

of our natural resources like rivers and mountains. Some disastrous
events in the country like flash floods are believed to have been
caused by our declining ecosystem.
B. Social
Social aspect of risk factors may pertain to apathy of the
people towards disaster preparedness.
Lack of concern of some Filipino people in disaster
preparedness is another underlying factor which increases
disaster.
Filipinos’ apathy may be a result of the “Bahala Na” attitude
which makes people react only during the occurrence of disaster
and not prevent its possible occurrence.
C. Economic Vulnerabilities

Lack of financial capability of the concerned

authorities to fund disaster information drive or the
cost-effective thinking of builders makes them
susceptible to disasters.
 D. Climate Change

This is also known as the change in the pattern of weather for an

extended period of time. El Niño and La Niña are considered as
results of climate change.
Climate change is not only one of the environmental issues in
the Philippines, it is, in fact, a global concern. Climate change affects
weather and the weather systems, breaking ice in the North and
South Pole and changes the height of tides in our oceans. These
changes increase the risk factors in disasters.
2. Human Factor such as:

A. Unplanned Urbanization
This is believed to be a threat to ecological balance and may cause severe flooding in
the city or municipality.

Migration is seen as one of the factors of unplanned urbanization.

Migration from rural to urban areas may be due to natural disasters, livelihood
opportunities in the city or lack of livelihood opportunities in the place where migrants
originated. However, people who migrate, not knowing the geographical location of the
city, build their houses in areas where there is a risk for earthquakes, floods, landslides and
other natural disasters.
B. Under-development/Poverty

Due to poverty, people become more vulnerable to

disaster which increases the risk factor underlying disasters
when they build homes along the rivers and other waterways
or in the dumpsite making them more prone to diseases,
which is also a kind of disaster.
 Lesson 3: Nature of
Disasters
 Disasters pertain to anything that is either expected or
unexpected, but is considered to be distressing. Disaster
brings mental and emotional anxiety and stress that affect
any person including children and adults.
 Types of Disasters

According to Adelman and Gray in their book, “The Nature of Disasters”, there are basically two
different types of disasters: natural and man-made.
Examples of natural disasters:
● Earthquakes
● Hurricanes
● Floods

Examples of man-made disasters:

● Airplane crashes
● Major chemical leaks
● Nuclear reactor accidents
● Terrorist attacks
● Wars
 Natural Disasters

Natural Disasters pertains to any act of nature which results to

stressing effects to life and property. Natural disasters can either be
redicted or unpredicted. Typhoons and volcanic eruption are
xamples of predicted natural disasters while earthquake and
ndslides are examples of unpredicted natural disasters. Natural
sasters may not only be the natural process of the environment, it
ay also be the result of some human activities like illegal logging and
ining.
.A
1. A tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.9 earthquake devastates the Moro
Gulf on the
2. southern island of Mindanao on August 16, 1976, killing between 5,000 and
8,000 people.
3. Tropical Storm Thelma unleashes flash floods on the central city of Ormoc
on Leyte island
on November 15, 1991, killing more than 5,100.
4. Typhoon Bopha smashes into the main southern island of Mindanao on
December 3,
2012. Rarely hit by cyclones, the region suffers about 1,900 people dead or
missing.
5. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake strikes the mountain resort of Baguio city and
other areas of
the northern Philippines on July 16, 1990, killing 1,621 people.
5. Typhoon Ike hits the central islands on August 31, 1984, killing 1,363 people.

6. Taal volcano, about 60 kilometres (30 miles) from Manila, erupts on January 30, 1911, killing
about 1,300 people living in nearby villages.

7. Mayon volcano in the far east of the country erupts on February 1, 1814, burying the nearby
town of Cagsawa with ash and rock and killing about 1,200 people.

8. An entire mountainside collapses on the village of Guinsaugon on the central island of Leyte
on February 17, 2006, killing 1,126.

9. Typhoon Washi hits the northen part of Mindanao island on December 16, 2011, killing at
least 1,080 people.

10. Floods and landslides unleashed by Typhoon Trix kill 995 people in the Bicol region of the
main island of Luzon on October 16, 1952.
 Man-made disasters are stressful events caused directly and
primarily by human action. It is also called human-made or
human-caused disasters.
 Incidence of man-made disasters in the Philippines

1. Tubbataha Reef damage caused by the USS guardian

2. Oil Spills
This disaster is generally caused by human neglicence in which petroleum
hydrocarbon is carelessly discharged in the waters or on land. Oil spill on
waters kills marine animals by depriving them of oxygen and light. Oil spill on
land causes pollution which may get into our water system and may cause
serious health problems.
3. The Rizal Day bombings
Date: December 30, 2000
Place: Metro Manila
Number of Casualties – 22 dead and hundreds suffered from non-fatal
injuries
 
 
Lesson 4: Effects of Disaster on One’s Life
 
Earthquakes, landslides, typhoons, tsunamis and other disasters greatly affect
lives and properties. Aside from damaged crops, houses, drainage, buildings, and
others, other unperceived long term effects of disaster are psychological,
emotional, social and economic effects.
I. Psychological Effects of Disaster

When a person lives through a disaster, physical,

mental and emotional health can be disturbed. These are
normal reactions to disasters.

Signs and symptoms of psychological effects of

disasters:
1. Fear
This may be characterized by fear of the dark, of
being alone or of some things.

2. Shock
Any victim of disaster under the stage of shock may
show irregularity in breathing, nausea and confusion.
3. Grief
A victim of disaster may show extreme sadness by crying
and sighing due to the effect of the event.

4. Irritability
A victim of disaster may display sudden burst of anger. The
person may also get easily frustrated by small events like noisy
surroundings and lack of basic need like food and water.
II. Emotional Effects of Disaster

Emotional effects of disaster may be shown through the acts

of victims/survivors or through the words they utter. Some of the
emotional effects are the following:
1. Feeling of guilt with the thought that had he/she have
done something, he/she may not have lost a member of
the family.
2. Feeling of dissatisfaction from the support coming from
the family, neighbors, friends, or even from the
government.
3. Feeling of bitterness for those who survived the disaster or
for those who were not actually affected by it.
III. Physical Effects of Disasters
The following are some manifestations of physical
effects of disasters:
1. Physical sickness like headaches, fever, cough and
others
2. Change in appetite
3. Poor sleeping condition
4. Constipation
IV. Social Effects of Disasters
Social effects of disaster may be displayed by children
or even adolescents. Some of the social effects of disaster
are the following:
1. Loss of interest in the activity previously enjoyed by the victim/survivor.
Children may display loss of interest with his/her favorite toys or games while
adults may display loss of interest on his/her job or hobbies.

2. Family may be rebuilt.

Even broken homes come together in times of disaster. Relatives with a
long-time argument may even forget the issue of the past and immediately come
to the rescue of the relative in need.

3. Circle of friends will expand.

A simple thought of lending a blanket or slipper in times of disaster is a
gesture to start another friendship which will then expand the social group.
V. Economic Effects of Disasters
Disasters will generally affect the economy of the country,
specifically that of the family. These effects may be
characterized by:
1. Loss of job of a family member
2. Loss of business by the merchants
3. Damaged bridges, buildings and roads, which will be
repaired by the government at the expense of the country’s
budget
4. Forfeiture of investments from other countries
5. Decline of tourism industry due to damaged sceneries
 Other economic effects of disaster:
1. Agricultural damage brought by typhoons may result to shortage in
the supply of major agricultural products in the country like rice,
vegetable, and fruits.
2. Collapsed building in high urban areas may result to loss of jobs and
other sources of income.
3. Disasters may also result in the loss of livelihood like poultry industry
being infested by plague or those which were carried away by flash
floods.
 What are the general effects of disaster to people?
Generally, the effects of disaster to people are the following”
1. Loss of life
2. Injury
3. Damage to and destruction of property
4. Damage to and destruction of subsistence and cash crops
5. Disruption of production
6. Disruption of lifestyle
7. Loss of livelihood
8. Disruption of essential services
9. Damage to national infrastructure and disruption of governmental system
10. National economic loss
11. Sociological and psychological after-effects
Coping with the effects of disasters
There are many ways to cope with disaster. With the different effects
of disasters, it requires that coping mechanisms also vary. However,
there are general ways on how to cope and manage the effects of
disasters. These are the following:
1. Take care of yourself.
Remember that there are still family members who need your support. To be
able to provide support, you must take care of yourself.
2. Encourage open communication and support.
Talking about your feelings and emotions will lessen the sadness brought by the
disaster.
3. Be brave.
Remember that when family members open their thoughts, they are hoping for
you to provide them with the support they need. So when they cry, try not to cry.
Show bravery.
4. Be a good listener.
Listen to the members of the family as they express their fears and concerns but try to
embark on them courage and hope.
5. Carry on with your routine.
Go back to school or regular work. Practice eating and sleeping on time. Avoid discussing
about the event and avoid watching violent movies.
There are also positive attributes which may help in the faster recovery after a disaster.
These are the following:
1. Belief in God
2. Optimism
3. Confidence
4. Wisdom