CO QAH + MELC LW

HANDOUT No. 2
Course Outline & Quality Assured
Handouts paired with MELC- Based in DISASTER READINESS AND RISK
Learner’s Worksheet REDUCTION

MELC:
5. Explain the meaning of vulnerability (DRRR11/12-Ic-8)
6. Explain why certain sectors of society are more vulnerable to disaster than others (DRRR11/12-Ic-9)
Semester: 2 Week No. 2 Day: 1-4

Topic 1: Concept on Vulnerability

In this handout, you will be able to explain the meaning of vulnerability. Aside from being able to
explain the meaning of vulnerability, you will also be able to apply the concepts in real-life. Knowing the
meaning of the word itself will let you use your knowledge to handle situations when vulnerability became
the primary considerations of the community when it comes to exposure, prevention, mitigation, and
recovery from a particular hazard.

VULNERABILITY is defined as “the characteristics and circumstances of community, system or

asset that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard”. As indicated by United Nations
International Strategy For Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), “there are many aspects of vulnerability arising
from various physical, social, economic, and environmental factors.”

The International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) defines vulnerability as “the diminished capacity
of an individual or group to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of a natural or man-
made hazard.” The concept is relative and dynamic. Vulnerability is most often associated with poverty, but
it can also arise when people are isolated, insecure, and defenceless in the face of risk, shock or stress.

Republic Act 10121 otherwise known as the “Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Act of 2010” defines vulnerability as “characteristics and circumstances of a community,
system or asset that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard. Vulnerability may arise from
various physical, social, economic, and environmental factors such as poor design and construction of
buildings, inadequate protection of assets, lack of public information and awareness, limited official
recognition of risks and preparedness measures, and disregard for wise environmental management.”

To determine people’s vulnerability, two

questions need to be asked:

 to what threat or hazard are they

vulnerable?
 what makes them vulnerable to that threat
or hazard?

(Photo grabbed from David Paul Morris site davidpaulmorris.com)

Vulnerability can determine the ability of a person or a group to predict, cope with, resist and
recover from the effects of a natural or human-induced threat. As vulnerability increases, it means that the
population is at greater risk of suffering from a severe natural danger.

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 Vulnerability is also situation specific. This means that if a specific province is prone to
earthquake, it does not mean that all localities on that province is vulnerable to it. The vulnerability of
different towns or cities or even provinces differ in the way they prepare for the hazard and the amount and
type of resources they have in order prevent and manage it. To lessen vulnerability means to make the
community prepared and ready for the possible damaging effect of the hazard. This further means that to
make the community less vulnerable, it must be resilient. So, to develop resiliency at home, you should first
identify the hazards and be prepared all the time for the possible outcome and respond immediately.

Moreover, it is also hazard specific. A community that is vulnerable to earthquake hazard does
not necessarily mean that it is also vulnerable to typhoons. Hazards have different traits that can influence
the disasters possible to happen.

There are various factors that must be considered to assess the level of vulnerability of an area
or community. These factors can affect one another or can lead to other factors.

• Proximity of a hazard event. An area frequented by a certain hazard predisposes it to high

vulnerability. An earthquake, as an example of a hazard, is more likely to happen in the Philippines than in
Brazil because the Philippines is situated along the Pacific Ring of Fire where frequent seismic activities
occur. Hence, this fact already puts the Philippines in a vulnerable situation for seismic-related events. In
the same manner, houses, buildings, and other structures become vulnerable to flooding if they are built on
floodplains.

• Population density near a hazard event. Population differs from population density.
Population refers to the number of individuals inhabiting a particular space at the same time. If people are
distributed evenly in an area, the impact of a disaster may be reduced to a minimum. On the other hand,
population density refers to the number of individuals crowd in one portion of a place, there is little space
and time to escape from hazard. For example, when fire (hazard) breaks out in a congested slum area, it
spreads quickly and easily because of the lack of spacing in between the houses. Thus, crowded
communities have high vulnerability to hazards. The primary consideration is not the population size but the
population density.

• Capacity and efficiency to reduce disaster risk. The capacity of a community to reduce
disaster risk includes the accessibility and availability of services and facilities that help in preparing for or
during disasters. The availability of these resources would result in the ability of a community to anticipate,
adapt, and respond to the changes in socio-ecological and economic impacts that are usually experienced
after disaster.

• Building codes and disaster policies. Buildings and other structures may increase disaster
risk. When they fall or collapse due to a hazard such as an earthquake, they can cause injury and even loss
of lives. Thus, in the design and construction of buildings, possible hazards should be considered.

Topic 2: Reasons Why Certain Sectors of the Society are More Vulnerable to Disaster than
Others

Vulnerability can be seen as the result of a process in which various different things cause a
population to be more vulnerable. These can be split into demographic and socio-economic. These can also
be discussed through the level of community preparedness and the ability of a community to manage the
after effect of a hazard event.

1. DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS

POPULATION DENSITY – The more dense

the population, the more efficient a response should be,
considering the number of people that might be
affected by a disaster. Densely populated cities like
Manila and Quezon City require some amount of
education on disaster preparedness, government
support and relief operations in the event of a disaster.

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 https://bit.ly/3qGYTHa

AGE OF POPULATION – Very old and very young populations are less mobile and are not able to
respond to hazard events well. This makes them more vulnerable compared to others, this requires more
attention from the government and other support agencies especially during emergency evacuation
relocation.
DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION - Regardless of density, populations may be distributed differently
within the hazard area, e.g., elderly people on lower floors of apartment buildings, or concentrations of highly
vulnerable people in poorer areas of a city. This must be seriously considered in human settlement planning
and relocation activities of the government.

2. SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS

WEALTH – Low income populations are less likely

to be well prepared. Part of preparations is having a
Survival Kit that includes tools to be used, emergency food
stock and water that could last for at least 3 to five days.
Poor families will find a hard time to do such preparation
due to lack of money to spend.
EDUCATION – Education programs such as the
Metro Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA) shake drill
can instruct populations on how to deal with hazard events,
like the “Big One” – anticipated 7.8 magnitude earthquakes
that may strike Metro Manila anytime. https://bit.ly/3qzBfwd
NATURE OF SOCIETY – In highly centralized
government structures, efficient emergency response may be the result of careful planning and training of
personnel. However, it can also lead bureaucracy and a lack of autonomous decision making, which slow
down distribution of relief goods and emergency response efforts in case of extreme emergency.

3. COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS

BUILDING CODES - Rigorous and applied building codes protect most buildings from collapse
during earthquakes. This should be seriously considered by the government in the issuance of building
permits and licenses for land development.

SCIENTIFIC MONITORING AND EARLY WARNING SYSTEM – Established monitoring system can
prepare people for the onslaught of any kind of disaster. The coming of super Typhoon Yolanda was
forecasted by PAGASA.

COMMUNICATION NETWORK - Countries with

good quality and widespread communication networks
allow messages to be quickly shared. Communication
plays a very important and crucial role in times of
disaster. Communication Plan is a very salient
component of Emergency Planning that should not be
left out.
EMERGENCY PLANNING - Preparation is the
key element of prevention. Preparation for a disaster is
embodied in an Emergency Plan. Where monitoring and
communication are in place, the emergency planning is
likely to prepare a person or a group (Family) for such
events and take action based on data, rather than
prediction.
https://bit.ly/3lYzBAO
4. DEALING WITH THE AFTER-EFFECTS

INSURANCE COVER – Another important aspect of preparation is how to deal with the aftereffects
of a disaster. Disasters, like earthquakes and typhoons, normally inflict damages to life, property and even to
environmental sources of living. Part of their preparation, individuals purchase insurance policies to mitigate

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their losses, thus preparing them better for similar future events.
EMERGENCY PERSONNEL – These are trained for community preparedness. The availability of
such personnel will vary depending on the time of day and location of the hazard event. The Philippines,
being a developing country and prone to different types of disaster should take into consideration the training
of more emergency personnel as part of disaster risk mitigation, reduction and management.

AID REQUEST - Outside help in the form of

humanitarian aid is necessary during a disaster.
However, it should be fast and efficient. Inefficiency
and mismanagement of aids, especially foreign aids,
will possibly result to further deaths and loss of
property. Foreign aids in the form of monetary and
material aid poured in immediately after the onslaught
of typhoon Yolanda.

https://bit.ly/33Y0QFh

According to the UNISDR, there are four types of vulnerability:

1. PHYSICAL VULNERABILITY – May be determined by aspects such as population density levels,

remoteness of a settlement, the site, design and materials used for critical infrastructure and for housing
United Nations International Strategy For Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

Example: a. Wooden homes are less likely to collapse in an earthquake but are more vulnerable to fire.
b. Houses built with light materials may not be a problem during an earthquake, but maybe totally
damaged by a super typhoon.

2. SOCIAL VULNERABILITY
Refers to the inability of people, organizations and societies to withstand adverse impacts to hazards
due to characteristics inherent in social interaction, institutions and system of cultural values.
When flooding occurs some citizens, such as children, elderly and persons with disability (PWD) may
be unable to protect themselves or evacuate if necessary. Educated and well informed are more likely to
survive when disaster strikes. There would be lesser casualty in communities, with emergency plans backed
up by emergency personnel as compared to those without.

3. ECONOMIC VULNERABILITY
The level of vulnerability is highly dependent upon the economic status of individuals, communities,
and nations. The poor are usually more vulnerable to disaster because they lack the resources to build
sturdy structures and put other engineering measures in place to protect themselves from being negatively
impacted by disaster.
Poorer families may live in squatter settlements because they cannot afford to live in safer (more
expensive) areas. In Metro Manila the so-called “urban poor” build their shanties or improvised houses along
riverbanks and esteros, making them prone to flash floods. Light materials that build their homes make them
exposed to fire hazards as well.

4. ENVIRONMENTAL VULNERABILITY
Natural resource depletion and resource degradation are key aspects of environmental vulnerability.
This is one aspect that both communities and government must be sensitive about.
Wetlands, such as Agusan Marsh, are sensitive to increasing salinity from sea water, and pollution
from storm water runoff containing agricultural chemicals, eroded soils, etc. Deforestation of mountains due
to illegal logging is the main cause of landslides and mudflows like what happened in Ormoc, Leyte (1994)
and the recent flooding in some parts of Luzon due to typhoon Ulysses.

REFERENCES

‌Bueza, Michael. “The Role of LGUs, Local Councils during Disaster”,December 6, 2014. Accessed May 20,
2020. https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/44026-role-lgu-local-councilsdisaster.

Campanero, Nida S., and Egargo, Veronica N. “Correlates of Vulnerability: A Quantified Study of People’s
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 Vulnerability on the Impact of Super Typhoon Yolanda in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, Philippines.”
Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research 3, no. 9 (2017), Accessed May 20, 2020.pp416–432.

Commission on Audit (COA), nd. Disaster Management practices in the Philippines: An assessment.
Philippines: Commission on Audit. Accessed May 20, 2020.

Desire G. Estrada,Ph.D., Disasters: What you should know and what you should do, St. Agustine
publications, Inc. and Desire G. Estrada, 2016

GOVPH. “Executive Order No. 335, s. 1941: GOVPH.” April 1, 1941. Accessed May 20, 2020.
http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1941/04/01/executiveorder-no-335-s-1941/.

Mylene D.G. Oliva, Diwa Senior High School Series: Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction Module,
Philippines, Diwa Learning System, Inc. 2016

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (NDRRM). 2011. The National Disaster Risk Reduction
and Management Plan (NDRRMP).Philippines: NDRRMP, Department of Interior and Local
Government (DILG). Accessed May 20, 2020.

Republic Act No. 10121. Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010. Manila,
Philippines: Congress of the Philippines. Accessed May 20, 2020.
http://www.mdrrmc.gov.ph/attachments/article/45/Republic_Act_10121.pdf

Villamor S. Quebral, Ed.D., Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction for Senior High School, Philippines,
Lorimar Publishing Inc.,2016

“What Is Vulnerability? - IFRC.” 2020. Ifrc.org. 2020. https://www.ifrc.org/en/what-we-do/disaster-

management/about-disasters/what-is-a-disaster/what-is-vulnerability/#:~:text=Vulnerability%20in
%20this%20context%20can,concept%20is%20relative%20and%20dynamic.

CO QAH + MELC LW

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 LEARNING WORKSHEET No. 2
Course Outline & Quality Assured Handouts paired with
MELC- Based Learning Worksheet in DISASTER READINESSS AND RISK
REDUCTION

Name: _________________________________ Grade & Section: _________________________

Teacher: _______________________________ Date Submitted: __________________________

MELC 5. Explain the meaning of vulnerability(DRRR11/12-Ic-8)

Topic 1: What is Vulnerability?

Semester: 2 Week No. 2 Day:1-4

Worksheet No:1.1 Title: Meaning of Vulnerability Day: 1

Directions: Since being safe and protected is the number one GOAL of every family, let us conduct an
ocular inspection of your house and backyard to ensure your family’s safety against hazards and disasters.
Tour around your house including the backyard if possible and assess if there is/are hazards observed in
your house.

Follow the steps below:

1. Make a list of all the hazards that you will be observed.
2. Determine what could be the possible events that may put you and your family at risks.
3. Who among the family members are prone or susceptible to the listed hazards?
4. Identify the reasons why that member of the family is vulnerable.

Susceptible family Reason of

Hazards Possible events
member/s (Exposure) Vulnerability

Guide Questions:
1. Based on your assessment from the tour that you made, how will you define vulnerability in your own
words?
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________

2. After knowing the hazards in your house, what is your plan of action to avoid harm?
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________

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 Worksheet No: 1.2 Title: Vulnerability Day: 2

Directions: Read the short story and answer the questions that follow.

Mel and Ciole are both students at Calbayog City National High School. Due to the
forecasted typhoon the night before, some waited for the announcement of suspension of classes.
Unfortunately, there was no announcement. Mel, a STEM student decided to go to school bringing his
books, notebooks, and laboratory materials. On the other hand, Ciole, also a STEM student decided to go
to school bringing not only her books, notebooks, and laboratory materials but also flashlight, whistle and
some supplies of food and water. Due to bad weather, the school janitor blocked off the entrances and
exits because the grounds are flooded. So, Mel and Ciole were stranded in a covered court near the school.
Both were trying to call their family, but the signal’s down.
1. Who do you think is more vulnerable? Mel or Ciole? Why do you think so?
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________

2. If you are going to base your definition of vulnerability on the story given, how will you define it?
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________

3. In the story, what were the actions taken by the student that made her less vulnerable to the
flood? What is the reason why the other student became more vulnerable?
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________

4. Could it be possible that though both students are exposed to hazard, they can have different
level of vulnerability? Explain how.
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________

MELC 6: Explain why certain sectors of society are more vulnerable to disaster than others
(DRRR11/12-Ic-9)

Topic 2: Why Certain Sectors of the Society are more Vulnerable to Disaster than others?

Worksheet No:2 Title: Certain Sectors Vulnerabilities Day: 3-4

Directions: Read the given situation then answer the questions that follow.

You are the Mayor of the City of Calbayog. Your disaster response team is deployed, and you
have your radio with you. Reports are streaming-in for assistance and relief goods in some barangays.
Mobile patrols are having a difficult time going around in some areas due to inaccessible roads because of
flooding and landslides. At the same time, some barangays are heavily populated so there was a shortage of
response vehicles to assist the victims and deliver relief goods to the evacuation area.

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 1. Based on the given scenario, explain the possible problems being faced by some barangays why
and what makes them susceptible to such effects of a natural hazard? Give three (3) possible
problems.
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________

2. Suggest three (3) possible solutions based on your identified possible problems to lessen the effect
of hazard to those vulnerable.
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________

3. In this kind of situation, what do you think is/are the responsibility of the Local government? National
government?
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________

Prepared by: DULCE LUATON-MONTANO, RN, LPT, MMEM

CCNHS