VULNERABILITY

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF VULNERABILITY?

▪ According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Vulnerability refers to the “level of loss to
each element should a hazard of a given severity occur.” Different factors determine the likelihood and severity of damage
to a given hazard, factors such as the physical capacity of infrastructures & social awareness to vulnerabilities just to
name a few.
▪ The International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) also defined Vulnerability as “the diminished capacity of an
individual or group to anticipate, cope up with, resist and recover from the impact of a natural or man-made hazard.”
HOW CAN WE ASSESS OUR VULNERABILITY?
According to UNISDR (2017), “there is no single method for assessing Vulnerability.” As matter of fact, methods
are usually divided into different dimensions or factors, from local to global and from physical to environmental factors
SOCIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND ECONOMIC FACTORS OF VULNERABILITY
SOCIAL FACTOR. Certain population groups may be more vulnerable than others. An example is those very
young and old age groups who are more exposed to most hazards compared to any other age group.
▪ In this pandemic time, have you noticed that in most community quarantine, the only age group who are allowed
to go outside are those between 22 – 59 years old while those under and beyond that age group are prohibited to go
outside of residence – unless if they are independently living or no one to ask assistance because they are more vulnerable
to getting an infection?
▪ People with medical conditions, pregnant, and the likes are also being discouraged to go outside as they are
more vulnerable to infection.
▪ People with disabilities, homeless or street people are also more vulnerable to hazards.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTOR. Developing nations are more vulnerable and are more exposed to hazards than
developed nations because of their limited ability to adapt to changes.
▪ Disregarding wise environmental management may also rise the vulnerability to disaster.
▪ Rapid urbanization in hazardous areas heightens vulnerability to disaster risk.
ECONOMIC FACTOR. Economic vulnerability is the susceptibility of individuals, communities, businesses, and
governments to absorb or cushion the effects of a hazardous event.
▪ Rural households are said to be more vulnerable to disaster risk than those in an urban environment because of
the greater number of population and are always subject to poverty.
ELEMENTS OF VULNERABILITY
Physical vulnerability includes population density levels, place of a settlement, the site design, and materials used
for infrastructure and housing. When hazardous events occur, normally physical elements are severely damaged.
For example, almost 40,000 houses in Marikina City were submerged in floodwater during the super typhoon
Ulysses last November 12, 2020, leaving the houses damaged.
Social vulnerability happens due to the inability of people, organizations, and societies to prevent severe effects
from hazards because of the expected behavior in social interactions, institutions, and systems of cultural values.
For example, is a decrease in population density like what happened in Baguio during the 1990 earthquake in
North Luzon when a lot of people were injured and died. Communications were cut off when cell sites shutdown or
disrupted of transport system due to the inability of small vehicles to pass through the flooded areas or unpassable roads
and bridges. With some difficulties in the delivery of services such as relief goods and medicines, a lot of problems
occurred like shortage of food and spread of infectious diseases. Therefore, when social elements were exposed to hazard,
these may lead to disruption of normal processes and activities in the community and economic vulnerability can be
combined also known as socioeconomic vulnerability.
Environmental vulnerability is caused by natural resource depletion and destruction. Organisms like humans,
animals, and plants are all dependent on the environment for survival. Human activities like deforestation, burning of
fossil fuels, and kaingin affect the natural abilities of the environment to protect itself from any natural hazard due to the
absence of trees which may cause landslides and flash floods. Sometimes the effects are irreversible. Quantifying
vulnerability is used in estimating how much mitigation and preparedness measures will be applied. Computation is based
on the previous hazard events and the severity of their effects.
 The Philippines has high vulnerability due to the following reasons: It lies in the Pacific typhoon belt and we are
visited by an average of 20 typhoons every year. The rugged nature of the landscape makes it vulnerable to landslides,
mudflows, and other disasters. It is an archipelagic country with many small islands where some areas are below sea level.
It has the longest shoreline in the world at 32,400 km making it vulnerable to storm surges. It is still a primarily
agricultural and fishing economy. With poor institutional and social capacity to manage, respond, and recover from
natural hazard events. With a high level of poverty Aside from typhoons, it is also at risk of volcanic eruptions, quakes,
and floods.