Introduction to Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction

Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM)

● Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction is anchored to Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management (DRRM)
● DRRM saves lives
● By studying this course, we are doing DRRM
○ We are increasing the community’s capacity

Management
● Procedure
○ DRRM needs to be put into practice (especially by each Filipino living here in
this country)

The Importance of DRRM (Disaster Risk Reduction Management)

● To make the community PREPARED for any kinds of HAZARDS and DISASTERS by
being PROACTIVE
● PREPARATION entails
1. Increasing CAPACITY (response) by lowering VULNERABILITY and
DISASTER RISK of the community.
a. Inverse relationship between capacity and vulnerability
b. Planning
2. Focusing on MITIGATING the effects of disasters.
3. Developing RESILIENCE (rehabilitation and recovery) during and/or after
disasters.
a. We become resilient when we increase our capacity

Why is DRRM important in the Philippines?

● The Philippines’ Geographic Vulnerability

The Philippines’ Geographic Vulnerability

● 7641 islands (DENR, 2017)
● Surrounded by water
○ Prone to tropical cyclones (typhoons)
○ Prone to thunderstorms
○ South west monsoon and north east monsoon winds
● Prone (vulnerable) to the following:
○ Climatological and hydrometeorological activities (enumerated in the previous
bullet)
○ Geological activities
■ Earthquakes
■ Volcanic eruption
■ Happens because Philippines is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire
● Climatological hazards: extreme temperature (drought)
○ El niño phenomenon is a climatological anomaly which is a result of on-going
climate change
 ■ To much dryness, drought, evaporation (very powerful typhoons)
○ La niña is too much water– rain, flooding

“The Philippines was fourth in the world among the countries hit by the highest number of
disasters over the past 20 years, according to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk
Reduction (UNISDR, 2015)

(Worst) Natural Disasters in the Philippines

1. Super typhoon Haiyan (yolanda)
a. Tacloban, Leyte is a coastal area
b. PAGASA kept giving warnings about the violent winds of Yolanda but people
ignored them
i. Providing warning is part of capacity (ex. Signal 1)
c. Storm surge wiped out Tacloban
d. Fatalities: 6340
e. Missing: 1061
f. Damages: $2.86 B
2. Worst earthquake
a. On July 16, 1990, an earthquake that registered 7.7 on the Richter scale,
killed 1,700 people, injured 3,000 individuals and displaced 148,000 more in
Luzon. Among the cities that sustained the worst damages were Baguio,
Dagupan, and Cabanatuan
i. Lack of Preparation
3. Worst fire
a. On March 18, 1996, a fire at Ozone disco along Timog Avenue in Quezon
City left 150 people dead and 90 others seriously injured. Around 350 young
Filipinos were inside the bar when the fire struck. It was considered the worst
nightclub fire since a blaze killed 164 people in Southgate, Kentucky in 1997.
i. Lack of Preparation (structural integrity → no fire exits, only one
entrance)
ii. It is very important that we become aware, and recognize the
vulnerabilities around us

(Worst) Man-made Disaster in the Philippines

● In July 12, 200, nearly 500 garbage scavengers who were living literally at the
Payatas dumpsite in Quezon City, were buried alive under tons of garbage when a
50-foot garbage mountain collapsed on their makeshift houses at the height of
torrential rains
○ Scavengers were vulnerable because of poverty, overpopulation, and
condition/area of where their houses are located

Synthesis
Importance of DRRM
Why is proactivity (proactive) better than reactivity (reactive)?
● Proactivity is better because it ensures that there will not be a pattern of repetitive
disasters
● It is better to prepare beforehand rather than responding more (especially in the
context of a third world country)