BRYAN R.

CAPANGPANGAN
Guro sa Filipino
Concept of Disaster
Disaster is a dangerous situation or threat from
natural or man-made events that disrupt the
functions of individuals in a community. This could
mean death, damage to resources, and loss of
property. Thus, a community under disaster might
need assistance to recover. Disasters occur when a
hazard is exposed to a vulnerable community.
A hazard is a threat to life, environment, or property. A hazard
can be considered a disaster if it poses an actual harm to life and
environment. It can be classified based on its origins: natural and
man-made.
Natural hazards are caused by an abrupt or slow onset of
naturally occurring phenomena which can be biological,
geological, hydrological, meteorological, and climatological in
origin.
Man-made hazards are caused by human activities and occur
near human settlements. Pollution, industrial, and transport
accidents, conflicts (war and terrorism), and technological
structures are some examples of man-made hazards.
The failure to withstand the impacts of hazards is called
vulnerability . For example, a town located near an active
volcano is more vulnerable to a volcanic eruption compared to a
town located far from the volcano.

The impacts of a disaster can be reduced if proper mitigation

measures are done. Mitigation refers to the act of preventing or
minimizing the effects of a disaster by introducing precautionary
measures before it strikes a community.
Your goal is to disseminate information in the community on how to
prepare for a disaster. Your role is an active member of your local
community. Your audience is all the residents of your local
community. The given situation is a local government sponsored
poster-making contest on disaster preparedness. The local
government’s program on disaster risk reduction management
includes information dissemination. The local officials will display
all the contest entries before evaluating and choosing the winner.
The winning poster will be reproduced and posted on strategic
common places in the community, where majority of the residents
can view and read the poster.
The poster will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
● concept and data
- important information on disaster preparedness are correctly
shown
● creativity and design
- organization of data is neat, and easy to understand
- lay out and choice of font, images, colors, and sizes are
pleasantly eye-catching
- overall design aids in understanding the message of the poster
● language
- the words chosen are correctly stated
- technical terms are described in layman language
- easy to read and understand by the audience
Concept of Disaster Risk
Disaster risk is defined by United Nations
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
(UNISDR) as “the combination of the probability of
an event and its negative consequences.” This
includes severity of hazard, number of damage to
people and resources, and their
vulnerability to damage.
● Hazard – any phenomenon that can potentially
cause damage to life, property, or environment.
● Exposure – any element (people, property, or
system) that is present in a hazard and is prone to
potential loss.
● Vulnerability - feature of a community that makes
them prone and exposed to the negative impacts of
hazard.
To understand disaster risks,
one must also consider the
community’s capacity to protect
itself against disasters. The
ability of a community to
withstand, accommodate, and
recover from a disaster is called
resilience.
Disaster Risk Factors
There are several factors that affect the degree of disaster risk in a community.
These factors can intensify or lessen the effects of disaster. These factors can
be classified into physical, psychological, socio-cultural, economic, and
biological aspects.
● Physical – This includes the concrete objects in a community that can help or
harm an individual during a disaster. Examples are availability of fire exits during
a fire, sturdiness of infrastructure or the ability of a building to withstand
earthquakes.
● Psychological – It includes the mental state of an individual, like the ability of
an individual to respond to a disaster and fear.
● Socio-cultural – This includes traditions, religion, and social statuses in
society. Examples include community folklore, presence of bayanihan system,
etc.
● Economic – This includes resources in the community and the income source
of individuals such as farming and employment.
Disaster Risk Reduction
Disaster risk reduction aims to decrease the risk level in
communities. It implements policies and measures to
control potential risks like poor urban and rural planning,
poverty, and poor government and local capacities.
Disaster risk reduction is implemented in order to:
● reduce vulnerability to life, property, or environment to an
existing hazard;
● reduce degree of exposure to hazards; and
● increase preparedness through proper mitigation
procedures.
Thank you!