Basic Concept of Disaster

and Disaster Risk

Prepared by: Mateo T. Tadong, LPT
What is Disaster?

 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.
What is Disaster?

 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”.
 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.
Classification of Disasters:
Disasters can be divided into 2 large categories:

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

 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
 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
Three categories:

 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).
 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
Risk Factors

Disaster risk as defined has three important elements such as:

 Exposure - the “elements at risk from a natural or man-made hazard
event (Quebral, 2016).
 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.
 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).
Risk Factors

 Reduction of the level of vulnerability and exposure is possible by

keeping people and property as distant as possible from hazards. We
can not 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.
Risk Factors

The following are also taken into consideration when risk factors
underlying disaster are involved:
 Severity of exposure - which measures those who experience
disaster first-hand 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.
 Gender and Family - the female gender suffers more adverse
effects. This worsens when children are present at home. Marital
relationships are placed under strain.
Risk Factors

 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.
 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.
 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”
Factors which underlie disasters:

 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.
Factors which underlie disasters:

 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.
Factors which underlie disasters:

 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).
Factors which underlie disasters:

 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.
Factors which underlie disasters:

 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.
 That’s all for today!
Stay safe and healthy!
Thank You and God bless!