Disaster Risk Readiness

DISASTER
- “Desastre” which combination of two words “des” meaning ‘bad’ and “aster” meaning
“star.
- The “Dust Bowl” of 1934 created period of famine and drought in united states.
- In 1962, an avalanche on the slopes of an extinct volcanoes kills more than 4000 people
on Peru.
- April 15, 1912, the ship stuck on iceberg.
- MV WILHELM GUSTOFF a German cruise ship converted in hospital ships.
- The deadliest disaster happened in the Philippines.
- 1881 haiphong typhoon
- 20000 deaths
DISASTER RISK
- The potential loss of life, injury, or destroy and damage assets.
ELEMENTS OF DISASTER RISK
Hazard
- A process phenomenon or human activity that may cause injury.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF HAZARD
- Natural
- Quasi-Natural
- Technological
EXPOSURE
- Situation of people, housing, and other tangible human assets that located in hazard
prone areas.
VULNERABILITY
- The condition determined by physical, social, economic, and environmental factors.
ELEMENTS AT RISK AND EXPOSURE
A. PHYSICAL ELEMENTS
- Aspects of geography, location, place, and physical structures like in fractures.
B. SOCIAL ELEMENTS
- It includes demography, social groups, health, and well-being.
C. ECONIMIC ELEMENTS
- Belong in private and public sectors
D. ENVIRONMENTAL ELEMENTS
- Pertain to the natural resources or the misuse of public lands and waterways.
FACTORS OF VULNERABILITY
SOCIAL
-  Certain population groups may be more vulnerable than others. 
ENVIRONMENT
- Developing countries face more exposure and vulnerability compared to non-developing
countries.
Example:
 -  conversion of land to commercial land exposed more to earthquake, flash flood and other
hazard events.

ECONOMIC
- The susceptibility of individuals communities, business, and governments to absorb or
cushion the effects of a hazard events.
Example:
- Rural households are found to be more vulnerable than those in the urban due to the
greater number of people living in poverty) 

VOLCANOLOGIST CAN PREDICT ERUPTIONS

- If they have a through understanding of a volcano’s eruptive history, if they can install
the proper instrumentation on a volcano well in advance of an eruption, and if they can
continuously monitor and adequately interpret data coming from that equipment.

10 SIGNS OF INPENDING VOLCANIC ERUPTION

- Increase the frequency of volcanic quakes with rumbling sounds, occurrence of volcanic
tremors.
- Increased steaming activity; change in color of steam emission from white to gray due to
entrained ash.
- Crater glow due to presence of magma at or near the crater.
- Ground swells (or inflation), ground tilt and ground fissuring due to magma intrusion.
- Localized landslides, rockfalls and landslides from summit area which not attributable to
heavy rains
- Noticeable increase in the extent of drying up of vegetation around the volcano’s upper
slopes.
- Noticeable variation in the chemical content of spring, crater lakes within the vicinity of
the volcano.
- Drying up of springs/wells around the volcano
- Development of new thermal areas and/or reactivation of old ones; appearance of
solfatara.

VOLCANIC ERUPTION AND ITS HAZARD

LAHAR
- A lahar is a violent type of mudflow od debris flow composed of slurry of pyroclastic
material, rocky debris, and water. The material flows down from volcano, typically along
a river valley.
- Lahar flow in speeds that is comparable to fast streams of water. It is generated by a lot
of factors, but the primary agent is rain following eruption.
ASHFALL
- Extremely abrasive and mildly corrosive ashes released from volcanic crater often
conducts electricity when wet and does not dissolve in water is commonly refer to as ash
fall. When strong eruptions occur, the gases which are dissolved in magma, expand and
escape with great force into the air. This force can shatter solid rocks violently.
PYROCLASTIC FLOW
- When volcanic eruption occurs, a high-density mixture of hot and dry rock fragments and
hot gases flowing away in high speed from volcanic crater is called pyroclastic flow. (100
miles/hr) Pyroclastic flows exhibit high temperatures that can ignite fires and melt ice

BALLISTIC PROJECTILE
- Ballistic projectiles are rocks that an erupting volcano may hurl into the air. These blocks
and bombs travel like cannonballs and usually land within 2km of the vent (but can travel
as far as 5km, or even further, if the eruption is very explosive.
- It can also deposit in agricultural fields near volcanic vents, rendering these areas
unsuitable for agriculture.

VOLCANIC GASES
- Volcanic gases include water vapor, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur oxide,
hydrogen sulfide, chlorine, fluorine and helium. They may travel away from the volcano
as acid aerosols, as compounds that are absorbed by tephra. These gases bring danger due
to its temperature and very toxic that can damage skin, eyes and lungs of animals and
humans even in just short exposure.

LAVA FLOW
- When we say lava flow, it is the stream of molten rock that flows out of a volcano or
volcanic vent. Lava flows can be very fluid or very sticky. It has different temperatures
depending on its composition but usually ranging from 600°C -2000°.