Exposure and

Vulnerability
Chapter 2
DISASTER READINESS AND RISK REDUCTION
Vulnerability

• It is the characteristics and circumstances of a

community, system or asset that make it
susceptible to the damaging effects of
hazards.
• The degree of loss to a
given element at risk at
a certain severity
level.(UNDP)
Factors of Vulnerability

Demographic Factors
• Population density
• Age of population
• Distribution of population
Factors of Vulnerability

Dealing with After – Effects

• Insurance Cover
• Emergency Personnel
• Aid Request
Factors of Vulnerability

Socio – Economic Factors

• Wealth
• Education
• Nature of Society
• Understanding of the area
Factors of Vulnerability

Community Preparedness
• Building codes
• Scientific monitoring and early
warning system
• Communication networks
• Emergency Planning
The Types of Social

Vulnerability

Physical Vulnerability Environmental

Economic
Types of Vulnerability

• Physical Vulnerability
• It may be determined by aspects such as
population density levels, remoteness of a
settlement, the site design and materials
used for critical infrastructure and for
housing.
• United Nations International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).
Types of Vulnerability

• Social Vulnerability
• Refers to the inability of people,
organization and societies to withstand
adverse impacts to hazards due to
characteristics inherent in social
interactions, institutions and system of
cultural values.
Types of Vulnerability

• Economic Vulnerability
• The level of vulnerability is highly
dependent upon the economic status of
individuals, communities and nations.
• The poor are usually more vulnerable to
disasters because they lack the resources
to build sturdy structures and put other
engineering measures in place to protect
themselves from being negatively
impacted by disaster.
Types of Vulnerability

• Environmental Vulnerability
• Natural resources depletion and
resource degradation are key
aspects of environmental
vulnerability
Elements Exposed to Hazard

• Exposure refers to the element

at risk from a natural or man –
made hazard event.
Elements Exposed to Hazard

• Human beings;
• Dwellings or households and communities;
• Building structures;
• Public facilities and infrastructure assets;
• Public transport system;
• Agricultural commodities; and
• Environmental assets
Quantifying Vulnerability

• It is used in estimating how much mitigation

and preparedness measures will be applied.
• People: Ratio of casualties / injured to the
total population
• Buildings: Expressed as a repair cost or
degree of damage
Risk Factors

• Risk signifies the possibility of adverse

effects in the future.
• It is derived from the interaction of
social and environmental processes, from
the combination of physical hazard and
the vulnerabilities of exposed elements.
Philippine Exposure and
Vulnerabilities to Natural Disaster

• 8 out of 10 cities most exposed to

natural hazards are in the Philippines.
(Philippine Star, 2014)
• Study also found that of the 100 cities
with the greatest exposure to natural
hazard, 21 are in the Philippines, 16 in
China, 11 in Japan and 8 in Bangladesh.
10 World Cities Most at Risk

• Port Villa in Vanuatu

• Tuguegarao in Cagayan
• Lucena in Quezon
• Manila
• San Fernando Pampanga
• Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija
• Batangas
• Taipei
• San Carlos , Pangasinan
• Naga in Camarines sur
Philippine Vulnerability to
Natural Disaster

• The Philippines lies in the Pacific typhoon belt and we

are visited by an average of 20 typhoons every year.
• The rugged nature of our landscape makes our
communities very vulnerable to landslides, mudflows
and other disasters.
• Many of our areas are also at below sea level
• With one of the longest in the world at 32,400 km, we
have many areas that are vulnerable to storm surges.
• The Philippines is still a primary agricultural and
fishing economy.
Philippine Vulnerability to
Natural Disaster

• Natural hazard risk is compounded in the Philippines by

poor institutional and social capacity to manage,
respond and recover from natural hazard events.
• The Philippines is considered “high risk” in terms of the
country’s ability to manage and mitigate the impacts of
natural hazard and in part due to ‘entrenched
corruption and high levels of poverty’.
• Aside from being at risk to typhoons, the Philippines is
also at risk to volcanic, quakes and floods.
Chapter Assessment (COPY AND
ANSWER)
1. For a storm surge hazard, which is more
important to minimize, a building’s exposure or
its vulnerability?
2. Why are poor people more vulnerable to certain
natural hazard?
3. Explain the value of assessing vulnerabilities of
various elements at risk.
4. For a limited vulnerability assessment task
assigned to you by a city government, choose
four elements at risk that you will include.
Explain your choice.