DRRRM

Basic Concept of Disaster and Disaster Risk

Disaster
- is "a sudden, calamitous occurrence that causes great harm, injury, destruction, and
devastation to life and property”.
- It disrupts the usual course of life, causing both physical and emotional distress such as
an intense feeling of helplessness and hopelessness.
- A preceding definition of disaster stresses that two elements are affected – life (whether
human or animal) and property.
- The effects vary – it maybe a minor damage (like broken windows and doors), major
damage (like torn rooftops, collapsed walls), total destruction (like completely
destroyed houses and structures rendering them useless and inhabitable) and the worst
scenario, it can lead to death. (Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, ADPC, 2012)

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 2008), disaster is “a serious
disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material,
economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected
community or society to cope using its own resources”.
Any adverse episode or phenomenon can exploit a vulnerability in the affected population
or community to create damage and this awareness will form the basis for an adequate
intervention.

Meanwhile, the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction defines
disaster as a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving
widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the
ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources.

Disasters are often a result of the combination of: the exposure to a hazard; the conditions
of vulnerability that are present; and insufficient capacity or measures to reduce or cope with the
potential negative consequences.

Its impacts may include loss of life, injury, disease and other negative effects on human
physical, mental, and social wellbeing, together with damage to properties, destruction of assets,
loss of services, social and economic disruptions, and environmental degradation.

The damage caused by disaster cannot be measured. It also differs with the kind of
geographical location, climate, earth’s specific characteristics, and level of vulnerability. These
determining factors affect generally the psychological, socio – economic, political, and ethnical
state of the affected area.
Classification of Disasters:

Disasters can be divided into 2 large categories:

A. Natural Disasters
- a natural phenomenon is caused by natural forces, such as earthquakes, typhoon,
volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, fires, tornados, and extreme temperatures. They can be
classified as rapid onset disasters and those with progressive onset, such as droughts
that lead to famine. These events, usually sudden, can have tremendous effects.

B. Man-made
- Disasters caused by man are those in which major direct causes are identifiable
intentional or non-intentional human actions.

Subdivided into three categories:

1. Technological/industrial disasters
- Unregulated industrialization and inadequate safety standards increase the risk for
industrial disasters.

EXAMPLE: leaks of hazardous materials; accidental explosions; bridge or road

collapses, or vehicle collisions; Power cuts

2. Terrorism/Violence
- the threat of terrorism has also increased due to the spread of technologies involving
nuclear, biological, and chemical agents used to develop weapons of mass destruction.

EXAMPLE: bombs or explosions; release of chemical materials; release of biological

agents; release of radioactive agents; multiple or massive shootings; mutinies

3. Complex humanitarian emergencies

- the term complex emergency is usually used to describe the humanitarian emergency
resulting from an international or civil war. In such situations, large numbers of people
are displaced from their homes due to the lack of personal safety and the disruption of
basic infrastructure including food distribution, water, electricity, and sanitation, or
communities are left stranded and isolated in their own homes unable to access
assistance.

EXAMPLE: conflicts or wars and Genocide the deliberate killing of a large group of
people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation
 Risk and Disaster Risk

Risk

- has various connotations within different disciplines. In general, risk is defined as “the
combination of the probability of an event and its negative consequences” (UNISDR,
2009). The term risk is thus multidisciplinary and is used in a variety of contexts. It is
usually associated with the degree to which humans cannot cope (lack of capacity) with
a situation (e.g. natural hazard).

- refers to the potential (not actual and realized) disaster losses, in lives, health status,
livelihoods, assets, and services which could occur in a community or society over some
specified future time period.

Disaster risk

- is the product of the possible damage caused by a hazard due to the vulnerability within
a community. It should be noted that the effect of a hazard (of a particular magnitude)
would affect communities differently (Von Kotze, 1999:35).

- It can also be determined by the presence of three variables: hazards (natural or

anthropogenic); vulnerability to a hazard; and coping capacity linked to the reduction,
mitigation, and resilience to the vulnerability of a community.

Risk Factors Underlying Disasters

RISK FACTORS

Disaster risk as defined in the first module, has three important elements such as:
1. Exposure
- the “elements at risk from a natural or man-made hazard event (Quebral, 2016).

2. Hazard
- a potentially dangerous physical occurrence, phenomenon or human activity that may
result in loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption, or
environmental degradation.

3. Vulnerability
- the condition determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or
processes, which increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazard (Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United nation, FAO 2008).
Reduction of the level of vulnerability and exposure is possible by keeping people and property as
distant as possible from hazards. We cannot avoid natural events from occurring, but we can
concentrate on addressing the reduction of risk and exposure by determining the factors causing
disasters.

Risk Factors
- are processes or conditions, often development-related, that influence the level of disaster
risk by increasing levels of exposure and vulnerability or reducing capacity.

The following are also taken into consideration when risk factors underlying disaster are involved:
1. Severity of exposure
- which measures those who experience disaster firsthand which has the highest risk of
developing future mental problems, followed by those in contact with the victims such as
rescue workers and health care practitioners and the lowest risk are those most distant like
those who have awareness of the disaster only through news.

2. Gender and Family

- the female gender suffers more adverse effects. This worsens when children are present
at home. Marital relationships are placed under strain.

3. Age
- adults in the age range of 40-60 are more stressed after disasters but in general, children
exhibit more stress after disasters than adults do.

4. Economic status of country

- evidence indicates that severe mental problems resulting from disasters are more
prevalent in developing countries like the Philippines. Furthermore, it has been observed
that natural disasters tend to have more adverse effects in developing countries than do
man caused disasters in developed countries.

Factors which underlie disasters:

1. Climate Change
- can increase disaster risk in a variety of ways – by altering the frequency and intensity of hazards
events, affecting vulnerability to hazards, and changing exposure patterns. For most people, the
expression “climate change” means the alteration of the world’s climate that we humans are
causing such as burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and other practices that increase the carbon
footprint and concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This is in line with the official
definition by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that
climate change is the change that can be attributed “directly or indirectly to human activity that
alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate
variability observed over comparable time periods”
2. Environmental Degradation
- changes to the environment can influence the frequency and intensity of hazards, as well as
our exposure and vulnerability to these hazards. For instance, deforestation of slopes often
leads to an increase in landslide hazard and removal of mangroves can increase the damage
caused by storm surges (UNISDR, 2009b). It is both a driver and consequence of disasters,
reducing the capacity of the environment to meet social and ecological needs. Over
consumption of natural resources results in environmental degradation, reducing the
effectiveness of essential ecosystem services, such as the mitigation of floods and landslides.
This leads to increased risk from disasters, and in turn, natural hazards can further degrade
the environment.

3. Globalized Economic Development

- It results in an increased polarization between the rich and poor on a global scale. Currently
increasing the exposure of assets in hazard prone areas, globalized economic development
provides an opportunity to build resilience if effectively managed. By participating in risk
sensitive development strategies such as investing in protective infrastructure, environmental
management, and upgrading informal settlements, risk can be reduced. Dominance and
increase of wealth in certain regions and cities are expected to have increased hazard
exposure (Gencer, 2013).

4. Poverty and Inequality

- Impoverished people are more likely to live in hazard exposed areas and are less able to
invest in risk-reducing measures. The lack of access to insurance and social protection means
that people in poverty are often forced to use their already limited assets to buffer disaster
losses, which drives them into further poverty. Poverty is therefore both a cause and
consequence of disaster risk (Wisner et al., 2004), particularly extensive risk, with drought
being the hazard most closely associated with poverty (Shepard et al., 2013). The impact of
disasters on the poor can, in addition to loss of life, injury and damage, cause a total loss of
livelihoods, displacement, poor health, food insecurity, among other consequences.
Vulnerability is not simply about poverty, but extensive research over the past 30 years has
revealed that it is generally the poor who tend to suffer worst from disasters (DFID, 2004;
Twigg, 2004; Wisner et al., 2004; UNISDR, 2009).

5. Poorly planned and Managed Urban Development

- A new wave of urbanization is unfolding in hazard-exposed countries and with it, new
opportunities for resilient investment emerge. People, poverty, and disaster risk are
increasingly concentrated in cities. The growing rate of urbanization and the increase in
population density (in cities) can lead to creation of risk, especially when urbanization is rapid,
poorly planned and occurring in a context of widespread poverty. Growing concentrations of
people and economic activities in many cities are seen to overlap with areas of high-risk
exposure.

6. Weak Governance
- weak governance zones are investment environments in which public sector actors are unable
or unwilling to assume their roles and responsibilities in protecting rights, providing basic
services and public services. Disaster risk is disproportionately concentrated in lower-income
countries with weak governance (UNISDR, 2015a). Disaster risk governance refers to the
specific arrangements that societies put in place to manage their disaster risk (UNISDR,
2011a; UNDP, 2013a) within a broader context of risk governance (Renn, 2008 in UNISDR,
2015a). This reflects how risk is valued against a backdrop of broader social and economic
concerns (Holley et al., 2011).
Certain factors are related to a survivor’s background and recovery is hampered if survivors:
were not functioning well before the disaster; have no experience dealing with disasters; must
deal with other stressors after the disaster; have low self-esteem; feel uncared for by others; think
they exercise little control over what happens to them; and unable to manage stress.

More factors contributory to worse outcomes: death of someone close; injury to self or family
member; life threat; panic, horror, or similar feelings; separation from family; massive loss of
property; and displacement.

Disasters and Its Effects

disaster

- is a damaging event that occurs suddenly and involves loss of life and property. It can be of
two types, natural and man-made.

Natural disasters

- can destroy a whole community in an instant. Examples of natural disasters are volcanic
eruptions, tsunamis, earthquakes, and typhoons which are destructive to people's lives.

Man-made disasters
- on the other hand, are caused by human beings. Some of the man-made disasters are
bomb explosions, terrorism, wars, leakage of poisonous chemicals, pollutions, industrial
accidents, and epidemics. They are identified as man- made disasters because they
happen due to human actions and not by natural forces.

What is the difference between hazard and disaster?

A hazard is a dangerous situation or event that carries a threat to humans. A disaster is an
event that harms humans and disrupts the operations of society. Hazards can only be considered
disasters once it affected humans. If a disaster happened in an unpopulated area, it is still a
hazard.

The Human Effect of Natural and Man-Made Disasters

1. Displaced Populations
- One of the most immediate effects of natural disasters is population displacement. When
countries are ravaged by earthquakes or other powerful forces of nature, many people
need to abandon their homes and seek shelter in other regions. A large influx of refugees
can disrupt accessibility of health care and education, as well as food supplies and clean
water.
2. Health Risks
- Aside from the obvious immediate danger that natural disasters present, the secondary
effect can be just as damaging. Severe flooding can result in stagnant water that allows
breeding of waterborne bacteria and malaria carrying mosquitoes. Without emergency
relief from international aid organizations and others, death tolls can rise even after the
immediate danger has passed.

3. Food Scarcity
- The aftermath of natural disasters affects the food supplies. Thousands of people around
the world are hungry because of destroyed crops and loss of agricultural supplies, whether
it happens suddenly in a storm or gradually in a drought. As a result, food prices rise
reducing families’ purchasing power and increasing the risk of severe malnutrition or
worse. The impacts of hunger following an earthquake, typhoon or hurricane can be
tremendous, causing lifelong damage to children’s development.

4. Emotional Aftershocks
- Natural disasters can be particularly traumatic for young children. Confronted with scenes
of destruction and the deaths of friends and loved ones, many children develop post-
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a serious psychological condition resulting from extreme
trauma. Left untreated, children suffering from PTSD can be prone to lasting psychological
damage and emotional distress.

Disasters from Different perspectives

The Different Perspectives of Disaster

1. Physical perspective
- Calamities are phenomena that cause great physical damage in a community
infrastructure, its people and their properties, e.g. houses and environmental sources of
living. These cited effects of a disaster can be easily measured and the most common.

- Natural disasters generally affect the physical infrastructural facilities, agricultural

productivity and even lead to loss of life and cause damage to property. Various factors
influence the effects of a disaster on a country among them are the magnitude of the
disaster, the geography of the area affected, and the recovery efforts directed towards
reducing the immediate effects of a disaster.

Effects of Physical Disasters

- Injuries
- Physical disabilities or illness
- Sanitation
- Damage in infrastructure
2. Psychological Perspective
- Victims of disasters may suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and
other serious mental health conditions, which are not being given much attention to
by the authorities or even by the victims, themselves. (This may be sensitive
statement)
Disasters are mostly unpredictable, which leave the victims in a state of shock.

- They tend to deny the loss and try to escape from reality. Being in a denial state
makes the victims more vulnerable to stress, anxiety, and other different maladaptive
reactions. Death of a closed one also leaves the victim in a state of insecurity
because the sense of love, attachment and belongingness are deprived.

Psychological effects of a Disaster:

- distress
- hopelessness intrusion/avoidance emotional effects
- hatred/revenge cognitive Effects
- dependence/insecurities physical Effects
- grief/withdrawn/isolation interpersonal
effect guilt feeling
- helplessness lack of trust

3. Socio-cultural Perspective
- Filipinos are generally known as “matiisin”, resourceful, helpful, optimistic, and prayerful.
These characteristics are manifested in the country’s recent fight against COVID19.Due
to the National Health Emergency, Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) prevailed in
the whole country.

- A lot of people temporarily lost their jobs, some people stranded in different regions,
repatriated OFWs were held in different quarantine facilities in Metro Manila, and all
people were restricted to go out of their homes for months. As a result, most Filipino
families would rely on government’s help for them to get by. However, limited resources
and aids from the government make people find possible ways to survive amid the
pandemic.

- These traits help a lot of Filipinos to survive the challenge of COVID19 in the country. To
people who are used to natural calamities like typhoons, flash floods, and volcanic
eruptions most citizen would find contentment with what they have at the moment. The
culture of “malalampasan din natin ‘to...” belief and “ bahala na and Diyos” syndrome
give hope to most Filipino in the midst of a disaster. Such perspective helps a lot
especially those who belong to the marginalized sector to be hopeful and continue
fighting against any challenge at hand. Their belief that a help from someone or from
God would arrive at a time they most needed. It also helps most people survive a lot of
oddities in life.

Socio-Cultural Effect of Disasters

- change in individual roles
- disruption of social relationships and personal connections
4. Economic Perspective
- Disasters affect the economic condition of a community because they reduce local
and international trade. It can also partially or totally paralyze a country’s
transportation system, just like what happened in the COVID19 pandemic.
Implementation of a partial and total shut down of local business operations result to
a lot of people losing means of living.

Economic Effects of Disasters

- loss of life
- unemployment
- loss of property loss of household articles
- loss of crops
- loss of public infrastructure

5. Political Perspective
- Natural disasters are commonly thought to be less politically argumentative than
armed conflicts, yet a closer look shows that both the effects of a natural disaster and
the resulting distribution of humanitarian aid are profoundly linked to politics.

- Just as vulnerability to disasters is mediated by the political system of a country,

disasters can have major consequences for political stability and political legitimacy
(Hörhager, July 2017. Since agencies of government have a significant role to play in
directing disaster preparedness, prevention and recovery. Social systems establish
vulnerability to natural disasters and governments are often considered to be
responsible for the disaster effects.

Political Effects of a Disaster

- People who have trust in political institution will assess the government’s risk
assessments as credible and accept their hazard policies (Johnson 1999)
- Low level of trust in public institutions therefore means that citizens may
ignore the recommendations and disregard the information provided by these
institutions (McCaffey 2004).
- If individuals are confident that they will receive sufficient aid from the
government when a disaster occurs, they might not be motivated to take
measures on their own (King and Kang 2000).

6. Biological Perspective
- The disturbing effects caused by a prevalent kind of disease or virus in an epidemic or
pandemic level is known as biological disaster.

(a) Epidemic Level: Biological disaster affects large numbers of people within a
given community or area. Ex: Dengue.
(b) Pandemic Level: Biological disaster affects a much large region, sometime
spanning entire continents or the globe ex. Swine Flue
Biological disasters can wipe out an entire population at a short span of time.

Example of it is the COVID19 pandemic which infected millions in less than a month and left
thousands of deaths in the same duration. Viral respiratory infections can lead to anything from
a mild cough that lasts a few weeks or months to full-blown persistent wheezing or asthma
(Martin, 2020). He added that when there is a severe respiratory infection, recovery can be
prolonged with a general increase in shortness of breath— even after normal lung function
returns. Since COVID19 is a respiratory disease, the public is advised by health authorities to
do health precaution to prevent social contamination. Examples are: observing physical
distancing, appropriate washing of the hands, wearing of mask at all times once outside of
one’s home, and boosting one’s immune system.

COVID19 patients who have strong immune system can likely soon recover from the disease.
Also, those who follow the health precaution strictly have less chance of being infected. As
such, the effects of a biological disaster can be reduced.
Effects of Biological Disasters
- loss of lives
- public demobilization
- negative economic effect
- unemployment
- hunger

Vulnerability

Vulnerability Defined

- Vulnerability is a state of being at risk. According to Republic Act 10121 also known as
‘Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010’, vulnerability is defined
as the characteristics and circumstances of a community, system or resource that make it
susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard. With all the identified hazard at home,
there is a possibility that some family members might be susceptible or prone to the
accident due to the presence of hazard.

- 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

HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL HAZARDS

The Philippines being located in the Southeast Asia

is considered very vulnerable to natural hazards and
disasters, which include typhoons, earthquakes,
floods, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and fires that
affect the country and its inhabitants.
Surrounding the Pacific Ocean basin is a circular
arm of active volcanoes known as the “Pacific Ring
of Fire” in which most of the volcanoes in the
Philippines are part of. Continental plate activities
around this area result to volcanic eruptions and
tsunamis in the country.

National Disaster Management Plan of 2016 stated that…

HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL
- is a process or phenomenon of atmospheric, hydrological or oceanographic nature that
may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods
and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage.

Hydrometeorological hazards include:

1. Typhoon 5. Storm Surge
2. Thunderstorm 6. El Niño
3. Flood 7. La Niña
4. Flashflood

Hydrometeorological conditions lead to other hazards such as landslides, fires,

plagues, epidemics and in transport and dispersal of toxic substances and volcanic
eruption material.
Signs of Impending Hydro-meteorological Hazards

A. Tropical cyclone
- also called typhoon or hurricane, an intense circular storm that originates
over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric
pressure, high winds, and heavy rain.

Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) stated

that…
WEATHER FORECAST
 - is a scientific estimate of future weather condition, wherein a weather condition is a state of
the atmosphere at a given time expressed in terms of the most significant variables. In the
Philippines, cloudiness, rainfall and wind are the weather parameters with significant
variation, and therefore of interest to the forecast users.
How is a Weather Forecast Made?
Weather forecasting is done by a Meteorologist; he/she must know about the existing weather
condition over a large area. The accuracy of forecast decision is based on forecasting tools
known as the Weather Map.

The weather map displays the air pressure, wind, temperature, and humidity distribution trends at
various atmospheric rates. There are two forms, namely the surface map and the upper-air maps,
of the basic weather map. Weather forecasting comprises of 5 steps as follow:

1st Step: Observation

A meteorologist forecasts weather decision through surface observations at least every three
hours over land and sea, and upper air stations at least every twelve hours.

Meteorological satellites, geostationary and polar orbiting, take pictures of the cloud imagery of
the atmosphere. These satellites take pictures of the cloud formations of the earth every hour,
and continually, respectively.

Weather radars are also used to track the position of the atmosphere within radar range. A
numerical weather prediction is fed to the computer which analyzes data as programmed and
makes a time integration of physical equations.

2nd Step: Collection and Transmission of Weather Data

Collection and Transmission of Weather Data are condensed into coded figures, symbols and
numerals are transmitted via radiophone, teletype, facsimile machine or telephone to designated
collection centers for further transmission to the central forecasting station. Weather satellite
images are transmitted to receiving stations on the ground while radar measurements are
transmitted through a local communication network to forecast centers.

3rd Step: Plotting of Weather Data

Observations on land and sea are plotted on charts of surface or mean sea level, which are
prepared four times a day. Once the coded messages have been received, they are decoded,
and each set of observations is plotted over the respective areas or regions in symbols or
numbers on weather charts. Observations of radiosonde, theodolite, aircraft, and satellite wind
are plotted on top-level charts that are prepared twice daily.

4th Step: Analysis of Weather Maps, Satellite and Radar Imageries and Other Data
 Current weather maps are analyzed through different weather charts namely SURFACE (MSL)
CHART, where data plotted on this weather map are analyzed isobarically. This means the
same atmospheric pressure at different places are interconnected with a line taking into
consideration the direction of the wind; UPPER AIR CHARTS, data plotted on this weather map
are analyzed using streamline analysis; NUMERICAL WEATHER PREDICTION MODEL
OUTPUT, the computer-plotted weather maps are analyzed manually so that weather systems
like cyclones and anticyclones are located; and MONITOR WEATHER CHARTS, plotted cross-
section data, rainfall charts and 24 hour pressure change charts are analyzed to determine wind
wave movement, rainfall distribution and atmospheric pressure behavior.

5th Step: Formulation of the Forecast

Upon completion of review of all available meteorological information / data, the preparation of
forecasts follows. The first and one of the preliminary steps is to determine the position of the
various weather systems and the actual weather over a given area as accurately as the data
permits.

B. THUNDERSTORM
- This is a powerful, short-lived weather disturbance, almost always associated with lightning,
thunder, dense clouds, heavy rain or hail, and fast, roaring winds. Thunderstorms occur
when layers of dry, moist air rise to cooler regions of the atmosphere in a broad, rapid
updraft.

Thunderstorm forms through 3 stages

1. CUMULUS STAGE
- Cumulus Stage where the sun heats the Earth's surface during the day and warms the air
around it.

2. MATURE STAGE
- A cumulus cloud becomes very large, where the water therein becomes large and heavy,
and raindrops begin to fall through the cloud when the rising air can no longer hold them
up.

3. DISSIPATING STAGE
- After 30 minutes, thunderstorm begins to dissipate, this occurs when the downdrafts in the
cloud begins to dominate over the updraft. Since warm moist air can no longer rise, cloud
droplets can no longer form.

C. FLOOD & FLASHFLOOD

Flood

- is a high-water stage in which water overflows its natural or artificial banks onto normally
dry land, such as a river inundating its floodplain. The effects of floods on human well-
being range from unqualified blessings to catastrophes.

Here are the main types of floods to look out for:

 1. Inland flooding
- is the technical name for ordinary flooding that occurs in inland areas, hundreds of miles from
the coast.

2. Flash floods
- are caused by heavy rain or the sudden release of water over a short period of time. The
name "flash" refers to their fast occurrence and also to their raging torrents of water that move
with great speed. Flash floods are also caused by heavy precipitation in a short period of
time, usually less than 6 hours.

3. River flooding
- occurs when water levels in rivers, lakes, and streams rise and overflow onto the surrounding
banks, shores, and neighboring land.

4. Coastal flooding
- is the inundation of land areas along the coast by seawater.

5. Urban flooding - occurs when there is a lack of drainage in an urban (city) area

D. STORM SURGE

- Storm surge or "Daluyong ng Bagyo" in the Philippine system where the irregular sea-level
rise during tropical cyclone or "bagyo" occurs. When the tropical cyclone reaches the coast,
powerful winds force the ocean water over the coastal low-lying areas, which can lead to
flooding.

- PAGASA takes many technological considerations into account when forecasting the negative
impacts of a storm surge. For storm surge prone communities, the most important
considerations are the strength of the tropical cyclone; the height of the surge, and the
community located in the low-lying area.

The infographic below discusses the STORM SURGE WARNING LEVELS,

E. EL NIÑO & LA NIÑA

EL NIÑO

- means The Little Boy, or Christ Child in Spanish. El Niño was originally recognized by
fishermen off the coast of South America in the 1600s, with the appearance of unusually warm
water in the Pacific Ocean. The name was chosen based on the time of year (around
December) during which these warm waters events tended to occur.

- The term El Niño refers to the large-scale ocean-atmosphere climate interaction linked to a
periodic warming in sea surface temperatures across the central and east-central Equatorial
Pacific.

LA NIÑA

- means The Little Girl in Spanish. La Niña is also sometimes called El Viejo, anti-El Niño, or
simply "a cold event."

- La Niña episodes represent periods of below-average sea surface temperatures across the
east-central Equatorial Pacific. Global climate La Niña impacts tend to be opposite those of El
Niño impacts. In the tropics, ocean temperature variations in La Niña also tend to be opposite
those of El Niño.

El Niño and La Niña: What Are They?

Both El Niño and La Niña are opposite results of ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation), the same
phenomenon. They are an oscillation in temperatures between the Eastern Equatorial Pacific
region's atmosphere and ocean, roughly between the International Dateline and 20 degrees
west. Building up between June and December, El Niño is caused by a change in wind patterns.
Here, after Asia's summer monsoons, the Pacific Trade Winds struggle to replenish. The moist
air contributes to an oscillation between the colder and warmer waters, resulting in warmer than
average ocean temperatures.

El Niño & La Niña Affect Health Conditions

Extreme climatic conditions are characterized by the El Niño phenomenon; high temperature
rises with a little rainfall, and extremely heavy rainfall occurs at the opposite end. According to
the Philippines Department of Health, El Niño effects health such as diseases related to water
scarcity or shortage like diarrhea and skin diseases; Red Tide Blooms also known as Paralytic
shellfish poisoning and disorders associated with high temperatures: heat cramps, heat
exhaustion, exertional heat injury and heat stroke.

La Niña is a weather phenomenon characterized by unusually cold ocean temperature in the

Equatorial Pacific which causes increased numbers of tropical storms in the Pacific Ocean.
 According to the Philippines Department of Health, La Niña effects Health through Disease
related to contaminated water due to flooding, such as acute gastroenteritis, typhoid fever,
cholera and hepatitis A; Disease related to wading in floodwaters contaminated with urine of
infected animals, such as leptospirosis; Disease brought by mosquitoes, such as dengue and
malaria; Accidents and injuries such as contusions, lacerations, fractures, electrocution.

Vulnerabilities of Different Elements Exposed to Hazards

Vulnerabilities of different elements are determined due to its exposure to particular and specific
hazard.

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, UP Visayas buildings were totally destroyed during the
super typhoon Yolanda in 2008 leaving the structure totally damaged. Another example is the
decreased in population density like what happened in Baguio during the 1990 earthquake in
North Luzon when a lot of people were injured and died.

Social vulnerability
- happens due to inability of people, organization, and societies to prevent severe effects from
hazards because of the expected behavior in social interactions, institutions, and system of
cultural values. For example, during typhoon the line of communications were cut off when
cell sites shutdown or disruption of transport system due to 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.

economic vulnerability
- is based on the economic status of individuals, communities, and nations. The poorer the
country, the more vulnerable to disasters because they lack the funds or budgets to build
sturdy structures and put other engineering measures in place which protect them from being
affected by disasters. So, we can say that Philippines is more vulnerable to an event such as
earthquake compared to Japan. Though both countries are exposed to earthquake hazard
because both are located in the Pacific ring of fire, but due to differences in economic status,
Japan is more resilient because of its ability to afford changes in architectural and engineering
designs of building and infrastructures to make them less vulnerable to earthquake. Another
example is the Covid-19 pandemic wherein the most affected are those who belong to low
income and informal workers.

- Social and economic vulnerability can be combined also known as socioeconomic

vulnerability.

Environmental vulnerability
- is caused by natural resources 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 absence of trees which may cause landslide
and flashfloods. 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 severity
of their effects. Vulnerability can be expressed as: 0 = lowest degree of vulnerability and 1 as
the highest degree. Vulnerability of people is the ratio of casualties or injured to the total
population. Vulnerability of buildings is expressed as a repair cost or degree of damage.

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.
• Rugged nature of the landscape makes it vulnerable to landslide, mudflows, and other disasters.
• It is an archipelagic country with many small islands where some areas are at 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 primary agricultural and fishing economy.
• With poor institutional and social capacity to manage, respond, and recover from natural hazard
events.
• With high level of poverty
• Aside from typhoon, it is also at risk to volcanic eruptions, quakes, and floods.

Effects of Hazard, Exposure and Vulnerability to Disaster Risks

Hazard
- is a harmful condition, substance, human behavior or condition that can cause loss of life, injury or
other health effects, harm to property, loss of livelihood and services, social and economic
disruption or damage to the environment. Any risk which is imminent is threat.

Exposure

- is the presence of elements at risk or chance of being harmed from a natural or man-made hazard
event. Elements include the individuals, households or communities, properties, buildings and
structures, agricultural commodities, livelihoods, and public facilities, infrastructures and
environmental assets present in an area that are subject to potential damage or even losses. The
more a community is exposed to hazard factors, the higher is the disaster risk or higher chance
disaster occurrence.

Vulnerability
- means the characteristics and circumstances of a community, system, or asset, that make it
susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard and inability of a community to prevent, mitigate,
prepare for and respond to hazardous events.

Risk

- implies the probability of possible adverse effects. This results from the interaction of social and
environmental systems, from the combination of physical danger, and exposed item vulnerabilities.

Disaster
- is a serious disruption to the functioning of a community or society which causes widespread
human, material, economic or environmental losses that exceed the capacity of the community or
society concerned to cope with the use of their own resources. It results from the mix of hazards,
risk conditions and inadequate capability or measures.

Exposure and vulnerability

- on the other hand, are distinct. A certain community can be exposed but it does not mean that it is
vulnerable. Buildings and structures in Japan are exposed to earthquake, but they are not vulnerable
since their architectural and engineering designs are earthquake proof or resistant. However, to
become vulnerable, it must be exposed to hazard first.

Exposure to hazard can make a community vulnerable. But not all communities that are exposed to
hazard can be considered vulnerable. Vulnerability depends on the preparedness and readiness to a
hazard of the community. It depends mostly on how they mitigate, respond, and recover. If a certain
community has the ability to reduce the vulnerability by reducing the risk, the said community is already
considered as less vulnerable or resilient.

Types of Hazards and Its Various Impact

Physical elements Population

Buildings: Urban land use, construction Density of population, distribution in space, distribution in
types, building height, building age, total time, age distribution, gender distribution, handicapped,
floor space, replacement costs. income distribution

Monuments and cultural heritage

Essential facilities Socio-economic aspects

Emergency shelters, Schools, Hospitals, Organization of population, governance, community

Fire Brigades, Police, organization, government support, socio-economic
levels. Cultural heritage and traditions.

Transportation facilities Economic activities

Roads, railway, metro, public transportation Spatial distribution of economic

systems, harbor facilities, airport facilities. activities, input-output table, dependency, redundancy,
unemployment, economic production in various sectors.
Life lines Environmental elements

Water supply, electricity supply, gas Ecosystems, protected areas, natural parks,
supply, telecommunications, mobile environmentally sensitive areas, forests, wetlands,
telephone network, sewage system. aquifers, flora, fauna, biodiversity.

CONCEPT OF HAZARD

hazard is a potential source of harm with the capacity to damage lives, properties, and the environment.
According to UNISDR (2004), hazard is a potentially damaging physical event, phenomenon or human
 activity that may cause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption, or
environmental degradation.

Hazards can include latent conditions that may represents future threats and can have different origins that
could be natural or man-made event.
Some examples of hazards are earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, cyclones, floods, landslides, and other related
events.

TYPES OF HAZARDS
NATURAL HAZARD
(Philippines is situated in the Pacific area and the Ring of fire which made it prone to natural hazards.)

naturally occurring physical phenomena caused either by rapid or slow onsent events
Definition that harms human and property which affects the economy of the nation

Types of Geological Hazards (“ge” Biological Hydrometeorological

Natural – Earth) (“bios” – life) Hazards
Hazard (“hydro”- water ;
“meteoros” – sky)

- occurs in the - process or phenomenon - related to atmospheric,

Definition movement of the
Earth’s tectonic plate
- Considered as normal
hazards and their
process occur as
irregular events with
direct interaction with
the environment.
- earthquake, landslide, -
Examples volcanic eruptions,
tsunamis, liquefication,
ballistic projectiles
(rocks from an
erupting volcano)
of organic origin hydrological or
conveyed by biological oceanographic in nature
vectors/agents,
including exposure to - can potentially cause loss
pathogenic of life and damage
microorganisms, toxins
property and disrupt
and bioactive
substances normal living conditions
and provisions for
services
ebola virus, flu virus, - flood, cyclones, tornadoes,
rabies wildfires, hailstorms,
thunderstorms, coastal
erosion, soil erosion

HUMAN-INDUCED HAZARDS
(These are the results of inadequately managed-human-induced hazards.)
-threats having elements of human intent, negligence, error and involving a failure of
Definition system
Types of
Manmade Technological Hazard Environmental Socio-economic, political,
Hazards Hazard security hazards

-gives little or no warning
to precede the incident -
Definition originate from industrial
accidents, dangerous
procedures, infrastructure
failures of certain human
-events that pose a threat
from the surrounding
environment encompassing
the broad spectrum of
acute and chronic effects of
industrial, agricultural and
- caused by criminal and
human violence which pose
threat to the security of a
great number of people and
may be motivated by political
or economic reasons
 activities which may cause
the loss of life or injury,
property damage, social
and economic disruption
or environmental
degradation.
naturally occurring
microorganism, chemicals
and radiation in our soil,
water, air, food and wastes.

VARIOUS IMPACT OF HAZARDS

The impact of various hazard varies in its individual event, severity, and duration so it won’t
be easy to identify its short-term and long-term effects. The longer the situation, the longer people
in the area would suffer. For most cases, those who are not affected and capable reach out and
assist so the affected areas and people can recover right away from the impact of hazards.

COMMON LONG-TERM IMPACT OF HAZARD

TYPE OF IMPACT EXAMPLES
- death of people
- destruction and loss of vital infrastructure like
Physical Impact transport system, roads, bridges, power lines
and communication lines
- widespread loss of housing
- grief and psychological trauma marital conflicts
- depression due to loss of loved ones and
- properties
Psychological Impact
- chronic anxiety among children affected

- displacement of population loss of cultural

- identity forced adoption of new sets of culture
Socio-cultural Impact
- ethnic conflicts
- loss of job due to displacement loss of harvest
- and livestock loss of farms, fish cages, and
- other sources of living
Economic Impact
- loss of money and other valuable jewelries,
furniture, and
appliances
- loss of forest due to forest fires
- loss of fresh water due to salination (intrusion
of salt water to fresh water sources)
Environmental Impact
- disturbances of biodiversity
- loss of natural rivers and other tributaries

- epidemic to people flora and fauna

chronic and permanent illness due to nuclear
Biological Impact - radiation
 - mental disorder developed from consumption
of contaminated foods

- proliferation of different viral and bacterial

diseases

SIGNS OF IMPENDING VOLCANIC ERUPTION

What are the natural signs of an impending volcanic eruption?

Volcanic hazards
- are observable facts that arise due to volcanic activity such as eruption. These have potential threats,
for seeable crises that directly affect to human beings, animals, properties, infrastructure, tourism, and
even political stability to mention some within a specific period of time.

Volcanic eruption
- is one of the dangerous events that may happen because it results to different hazards such as:
Ballistic projectiles, Ash fall, Pyroclastic flows, Lava flows, Volcanic gases, Debris Avalanche or Volcanic
landslide and even Tsunami.

VARIOUS VOLCANIC-RELATED HAZARDS:

1. BALLISTIC PROJECTILE
- Ballistic projectile are rock fragments that are ejected from volcano's mouth that are comparable
to cannonballs. These reach its projectile up to 5 kilometers or 3 miles.

Negative effect: Endanger life and property

2. ASH FALL OR TEPHRA FALL

- are minute volcanic particles such as pulverized rock, minerals and silicon which has fine to
coarse grain. This is formed during explosive volcanic eruption when dissolve gages in magma
escape violently into atmosphere. the

Negative effect: Endanger life causes respiratory tract problem to human beings;

3. PYROCLASTIC FLOWS
- contain a highly-density mix of hot lava blocks, pumice, ash and volcanic gases. They move at
very high speed down volcanic slopes, typical following valleys. It consists of two parts: a lower
(basal) flow of coarse fragments that moves along the ground, and a turbulent cloud of ash that
rises above the basal flow (Quebral 2016).

Negative effect: It burns sites with hot rocks debris.

4. LAVA FLOWS
- These are streams of molten rocks that are poured or oozed from erupting vent Lava flows rarely
threaten human life because it moves slowly. It is mostly characterized as quite effusion of lava
(Quebral 2016).

Negative effect: It damages the properties, agricultural lands, and even human lives.
5. VOLCANIC GASES
- Magma contains dissolve gases which provides the driving force that causes most volcanic
eruptions. As magma rises towards the surface and pressure decreases, gases are released from
the liquid portion of the magma (melt) and continue to travel upward and are eventually released
into the atmosphere (Quebral 2016).

Negative effect: Potentially hazardous to all living things

6. DEBRIS AVALANCHE OR VOLCANIC LANDSLIDE

- Massive collapse of a volcano, usually triggered by an earthquake or volcanic eruption (DRRR,
TG, 2017).

Negative effect: When a huge portion of the side of a volcano collapses due to slope failure,
this results to massive destruction (DRRR, TG 2017).

7. TSUNAMI
- Sea waves or wave trains that are generated by sudden displacement of water (could be
generated during undersea eruptions or debris avalanches) (DRRR, TG 2017).

Negative effect: Cause it to be disturbed and displaced forming huge waves (DRRR, TG 2017).

1. INCREASE IN THE FREQUENCY OF VOLCANIC QUAKES WITH RUMBLING SOUNDS:

CCCURRENCE OF VOLCANIC TREMORS
- Volcanic earthquakes serve as an early warning sign for an impending eruption, as well as well as
a marker for the location of a moving magma and sudden rise of gases. Earthquakes are caused
by the magma breaking through rocks or by moving through rock cracks. On the other hand,
volcanic tremor is a long-lasting rhythmic signal associated with magma in motion that can last for
minutes or days

2. INCREASED STEAMING ACTIVITY:

CHANGE IN COLOR OF STEAM FROM WHITE TO GRAY DUE TO ENTRAINED ASH

- Steam occurs mostly on active volcanoes. Presence of steam signals that magma is lying
relatively close to the surface of the volcano. Steam is produced when groundwater and magma
or any ignited fragment of rock interacts. Meanwhile, ash is one of the fragments of magma
produced when magma is ejected with great force. Presence of ashes signals that the magma is
being ejected violently.

3. CRATER GLOW DUE TO PRESENCE OF MAGMA AT OR NEAR THE CRATER

- Crater glow can be observed when the magma finally reaches the surface, and thus referred as
lava.

4. GROUND SWELLS (ORINFLATION), GROUND TILT ANDGROUND FISSURING DUE TOMAGMA

INTRUSION
- Moving magma, gases, and other volcanic fluids tend to cause the surface of the Earth to bulge
upward (inflate) or spread apart which can eventually lead to ground fissuring or cracking.

5. LOCALIZED LANDSLIDES. ROCKFALLS AND LANDSLIDES FROMTHE SUMMIT AREA THAT

ARENOT ATTRIBUTED TO HEAVYRAINS
- Landslide is the movement of rocks and soil influenced by the force of gravity, strength of the
material, and steepness of a volcano. As magma rises together with volcanic gases, rocks are
altered weakened.
6. NOTICEABLE INCREASE INDRYING UP OF VEGETATIONARCUND THE VOLCANO'S
UPPERSLOPES
- As the magma rises, the temperature of the volcano also increases. The heat brought by the
rising magma if high enough, can dry up the vegetation.

7. INCREASE IN TEMPERATURE OF HOT SPRINGS, WELLS (E.G. BULUSAN AND CANLAON) AND
CRATER LAKE (E.G. TAAL) NEAR THE VOLCANO
- Again, as the magma rises, the temperature of the volcano also increases. The heat brought by
the rising magma influences and causes the temperature of the springs, wells, or lake to increase.
8. NOTICEABLE VARIATION IN THE CHEMICAL CONTENT OF SPRINGS, CRATER LAKES WITHIN
THE VICINITY OF THE VOLCANO
- Groundwater deep within the surface of the volcano interacts with magma, volcanic gases, host
rocks, and even with other water coming from springs, lakes, wells. Presence of certain
compounds signals the presence of magma such as magmatic carbon dioxide, or high helium
isotopes.

9. DRYING UP OF SPRINGS/WELLS AROUND THE VOLCANO

- As mentioned, rising magma generates quakes and tremors which may cause ground
deformation (cracks or fissures) on the surface. This may cause the water from springs or well to
recede and seep through these cracks. Also, as the magma rise, the temperature of the surface of
the volcano also increases and if high enough, may cause the drying up of the springs and wells.

10. DEVELOPMENT OF NEW THERMAL AREAS AND/OR REACTIVATION OF CLD ONES:

APPEARANCE OF SOLFATARAS (CRATERS WITH SULFUR GAS)
- Development of new thermal areas and/or reactivation of old ones signals the active movement of
magma within the volcano as it interacts with groundwater or rocks. Therefore, it is important to be
able to observe warning signs of volcanic unrest so that people can evacuate in time, and
minimize injuries and casualties. It is therefore important to be able to monitor a volcano's activity,
and this is normally done with the aid of different tools or instruments to monitor the different
parameters.

THE PARAMETERS USED TO MONITOR VOLCANCES ARE:

1. Ground deformation
- any surface changes on a volcano (subsidence/sinking, tilting, bulging); often use of tiltmeters as
well as satellite imaging which results to less exposure on the ground or safer for volcanologists.
However, interpretation needs field verification sometimes.

2. Seismic Activity
- when magma rises, it breaks rock along the way. Thus, earthquakes are generated. Monitoring of
quakes/tremors is done by using a seismometer that determines which patterns of seismic waves
precede an eruption.

3. Gases
- monitor types and rate of emission of different gases;

- Concentrations of gases are sometimes high enough to create acid rain that kills vegetation
around the volcano; collection of samples from vents directly with the use of remote sensing
instruments that identify and quantify the present gases

4. Sensory observations (by people living near volcano)

 Visual
- intensified presence of steam; drying up of vegetation, wells/spring/lake; crater glow at the mouth
of the volcano

 Auditory
 - rumbling sounds are heard• Olfactory - observed foul smell (usually rotten egg caused by sulfur)
caused by presence of volcanic gases

 Tactile
- ground movement/earthquake is felt