Chapter 4
aftermath of a disaster to assist
What is a Disaster?
- It is a natural or man-made hazard
that results in negative events such
as the destruction of possessions,
properties, or the environment.
There are also casualties resulting
from disasters.
Five Reasons why There is an Increasing
Number of People affected by Disasters in
the World
1. Rapid Population Growth
2. Concentration of Populations in
High-Risk Areas
3. Capital Development
4. Man-made Destruction
5. Growing Poverty
Categories of Severity
1. Accident (Individual)
2. Emergency (Limited)
3. Disaster (Widespread)
4. Catastrophe (Collapse)
Key Concepts
● Risk - the probability that a disaster
will occur
● Hazard - the specific nature of a
threat.
● Vulnerability - the inability to
withstand, protect oneself, or
recover rapidly from a potentially
damaging event.
● Prevention - measures designed to
avert a potential hazard.
● Preparedness - measures that
ensure an effective disaster
response.
● Mitigation - measures that reduce
the harmful effects of a disaster.
● Response - actions taken in the
victims and to rehabilitate society.
Situations in the Philippines
Contributing factors that make disaster
happen and cause severe damages:
● Poverty and Marginalization
○ Malnutrition
○ Poor health
○ Inadequate basic services:
water, sanitation, drainage,
light, education
○ Unemployment, low wages
● Resource Depletion
○ Forest denudation
○ Soil erosion
○ Genetic erosion
○ Marine pollution
○ Agrochemicals
Air and water pollution
These factors lead to the following:
● Human-made Disasters
○ Flood
○ Civil War
● Natural Forces
○ Typhoons
○ Drought
○ Torrential rains with flooding
○ Earthquakes
○ Volcanic Terrain
Summary:
● There are five reasons why there is
an increasing number of people
affected by disasters in the world.
1. Rapid population growth
2. Concentration of populations
3. Capital development
4. Man-made destruction
5. Growing poverty
● Natural Disasters
a. Earthquakes/Tsunamis
b. Landslides
 c. Typhoons Assessment / Reporting on Preparedness
● Human-Made Disasters A. Medical / Nutritional Situation
a. Air and Water Pollution - Major disasters often result in
b. Industrial Accidents food shortage, nutritional
c. Fire inadequacies, and increased
d. Civil Disturbances malnutrition especially
e. War among vulnerable groups of
f. Poverty people. In the initial stages of
g. Bomb Threats disasters, acute food
h. Accidents shortage and instability are
● Categories of Severity common and the victims are
a. Accident totally dependent on food
b. Emergency aid.
c. Disaster B. Agricultural Situation
d. Catastrophe - Every year natural disasters,
● Key Concepts such as hurricanes, floods,
1. Risk fires, earthquakes, and
2. Hazard tornadoes, challenge
3. Vulnerability agricultural production
4. Prevention because agriculture relies on
5. Preparedness the weather, climate, and
6. Mitigation water availability to thrive. It
7. Response is easily impacted by natural
● Factors that make disaster happen events and disasters.
in the Philippines C. Structural Stability
1. Poverty and - Structural measures are any
Marginalization:malnutrition, physical construction to
poor health, inadequate reduce or avoid possible
basic services, and impacts of hazards, or the
unemployment application of engineering
2. Resource Depletion: forest, techniques or technology to
denudation, soil erosion, achieve hazard resistance
genetic erosion, marine and resilience in structures or
pollution, agrochemicals, air systems.
and water pollution - Non-structural measures are
● These factors can lead to: measures not involving
1. Human-Made Disasters: physical construction which
Flood and civil war use knowledge, practice or
2. Natural Forces: typhoons, agreement to reduce disaster
drought, torrential rains with risks and impacts, in
flooding, earthquakes, and particular through policies
volcanic terrain and laws, public awareness
raising, training and
education.
D. Relief Operation Capabilities
- Disaster relief operations
typically involves a series of
steps including establishment
of communication
infrastructures, performing
search and rescue
operations, and providing
any needed first aid services.
Disaster networks can be
classified as disaster
mitigation networks and
disaster relief networks
E. Established Lines of Communication
- During and after a disaster,
effective communications
must coordinate response
efforts in order to limit
secondary morbidity and
disease. Organizations must
communicate early and
frequently with multiple
stakeholders to prevent panic
and implement an orderly
response plan. The
government and other
decision makers need to
know what response efforts
are ongoing, and what type
of further assistance is
required where in order to
coordinate relief.
F. Established Data Collection Points
- Simply collecting data in
disasters often presents its
own set of barriers.
Sometimes the data just do
not exist, or tools to collect
information have to be
recreated or are too clunky
for mobile research studies,
or curated databases are not
made available to open
audiences. To address
pieces of this, data collection
could often be legitimately
framed as disaster
epidemiology, with an
expected impact on public
health practice, which may
remove some of the
administrative challenges
often encountered.
G. Established Format of Reporting
- When a disaster strikes, the
most important story that
journalists can tell their
audiences in the first
instance will be about safety
-– what they should do to
ensure they are safe, where
they can go if they need help,
and who they should listen
to.
- In describing what has
happened, where, how and
why, journalists may need to
take complex scientific
information and explain it in a
way that broad audiences will
understand.
H. Established Confirmation /
Verification Procedures
- When disaster is coming
before the government
announce it in public they
going to make sure the
information nag location
where the typhoon or a
certain disaster will hit that’s
why there are only specific
people who are allowed to
establish conformations
about the Disaster coming.
I. Established Authority for Releasing
Reports
- National institutional
arrangements for
 preparedness should clearly
designate who can authorize
the release of warnings to
the public, what
organizations should be
notified, and the procedures
to be followed. Standard
warning formats and
elements should be prepared
in advance, and appropriate
means or systems for issuing
the warning should be
determined, based on the
nature of the imminent
hazard event. These systems
should be consistent for all
hazards.
Summary:
- Before a disaster occurs, we should
know what are the ways we could
help ourselves and the people
surrounding us because the time in
which a disaster will occur is
unpredictable. Hence, we should
always be ready.
Relief Operations
1. Disaster times are emergency
situations, so during this times,
certain operational qualities of the
key players are needed:
● Cool and unbiased
assessment: analysis of
reporting
● Swift and decisive action:
knowledge of resources,
procedures, coordination
● Balanced respone
● Leadership (faster, better,
leading, not restrictive)
● Discipline for operational
reliability
● Resource management
● Rehabilitation already
envisaged/planned
● Planning already
accomplished
2. Food relief:
- relief is the enemy of
rehabilitation. It can destroy
self-sufficiency,
neighborhood relations,
self-help initiative, eating
habits, agriculture, and
marketing channels.
- Four ways food relief can be
distributed
a. General food
distribution
b. Mass feeding
c. Supplementary
feeding (schools,
hospitals, evacuation
centers)
d. Intensive or
therapeutic feedings
(hospital, etc, only)
3. Food for work:
- Based on experience, people do not
want to be parasites. The food for
work program offers a dignified way
by which disaster victims can help
themselves.
- The programs offer temporary
employment to
economically-challenged residents
and encourage them to participate in
community tasks in exchange for
food or cash.
Summary:
1. There are certain characteristics
needed from key players /
volunteers
2. Food relief
3. Food for Work program
Emergency Plan
- Process by which an individual or
community prepares in order to
minimize the effect of a calamity
How to Build your Emergency Plan
- “Prevention is better than cure”
- Know what disaster is in your way
- Have your emergency supply kit on
standby
- Secure your important documents
- Contact in case of emergency
- Identify safe places
Disaster Rehabilitation / Construction and
Recovery
- It is to restore and improve facilities,
livelihood and living conditions and
organizational capacities of affected
communities, and reduced disaster
risks in accordance with the “building
back better” principle
How to Help
1. Physical well being.
2. Socio-psychological well being.
3. Economic well being.
Disaster Prevention and Mitigation
- Avoid hazards and mitigate their
potential impacts by reducing
vulnerabilities and exposure and
enhancing capacities of communities
LGU approved Preemptive Measures
1. Constant reliable update
2. NDMRRC text alerts
3. Early evacuation and relocation for
affected communities
4. Eliminating possible debris
Summary:
- Natural calamities may not be
unavoidable, it is still possible to
minimize its repercussions.
- Examples are as follows:
● Emergency Plan
● News or text alerts
● Evacuation
● Eliminating obstructions
Disaster Preparedness
- A guide to help us be better
prepared for disasters
- Principles
a. Risk must be recognized
b. Vulnerability must be
recognized
c. There must be mitigation
strategies in place
d. System for preparedness
must be ready
- Effective Warning Message
● Language used is clear and
simple
● Content is consistent
● It is convincing
● Community or site specific
● Includes information about
the technical consequences
● Repetitiveness
- Land-Use Planning (Risk Zoning)
● Surveying different areas
such as mountainsides
● Developing rational plans for
urban centers
● Identifying areas for nature
conservation measures such
as reforestation
● Building codes for structure,
especially those in areas that
are at risk
- Public Awareness
● Mitigation Awareness -
explains about the causes,
 possible effects, and
mitigating strategies
● Preparedness Awareness -
explains what and how it will
happen, and what you should
and shouldn't do
● Emergency Response
Awareness - explains what to
do next

Summary:
- The following can serve as a guide
to be better prepared for disasters:
1. Principles
2. Effective Warning Message
3. Land-Use Planning (Risk
Zoning)
4. Public Awareness