Disaster readiness and risk reduction

(drrr)
 Why is there a need to
study Disaster Readiness
and Risk Reduction?
Basic concepts of disaster and disaster risk

 When does a natural event become a hazard?

A natural event can be likened to a weak concrete fence
that could collapse even with just a slight push. It does
not pose a threat to anything or anybody if there is
nothing or no one nearby. Once you park a car or stand
right beside it, it becomes a hazard. The threat of
damage, injury, and even death now exists.
 When does a NATURAL
EVENT become a HAZARD?
A natural event can be likened to a weak
concrete fence that could collapse even
with just a slight push. It does not pose
a threat to anything or anybody if there
is nothing or no one nearby. Once you
park a car or stand right beside it, it
becomes a hazard. The threat of
damage, injury, and even death now
exists.
 When does a HAZARD
becomes a DISASTER?
A disaster happens when the
probable destructive agent, the
hazard, hits a vulnerable populated
area. A natural event like the
volcanic eruption or tsunami
which hits an uninhabited area
does not qualify as a disaster.
 The transformation of natural event into a disaster.
A natural event such as a tsunami becomes a hazard if it poses a
threat to people. A magnitude 6.5 earthquake is usually strong
enough to generate tsunamis that could be destructive to nearby
coastal areas. The tsunami waves that are about to hit a beach
area with people, animals, trees and houses are considered as a
hazard. After the tsunami hits the populated area, it is no longer
a hazard but a disaster with victims and destruction or damage
all over the place.
Disaster risk

 Refers to the expectation

value of deaths, injuries and
property losses that would be
caused by a hazard.
ELEMENTS OF DISASTER RISK

 HAZARD
 Earthquakes, torrential rains, storms, etc.
 VULNERABILITY
 Resistance against natural hazards
 EXPOSURE
 People, property
 Hazard are potentials for
damage to man and his
environment that may result
from the occurrence of natural
events.
 Characteristics of hazard
 Magnitude---is the measure of strength and an indication of how destructive an event can be.
 Intensity---a number describing the severity of an earthquake in terms of its effects on the earth’s
surface.
 Volcanic explosivity index---measures the relative explosiveness of eruptions based mainly on
visual observations.
 Mercalli scale and Rossi Forrel scale—are measures of earthquake intensity.
 Speed of onset---pertains to how predictable a hazard is and how much lead time is allowed by
it.
 Duration---how long the hazard affects an area
 Probability of occurrence---the probability of a hazard to occur at a certain period of the year
based from its last occurrence.
 Frequency---how often an event occurs.
 Return period---frequency is expressed in terms of return period.
GEOLOGIC HAZARDS
EARTHQUAKE
HAZARDS
GROUND SHAKING
GROUND RUPTURE
EARTHQUAKE-INDUCED LANDSLIDE
TSUNAMIS
 Earthquake hazards
 Earthquake Hazards refer to earthquake agents which have
the potential to cause harm to a vulnerable targets which can
either be humans, animals or even your environment.
The effects of an earthquake can be classified as primary or
secondary.
• Primary effects are permanent features an earthquake can
bring out. Examples include fault scarps, surface ruptures,
and offsets of natural or human-constructed objects.
• Secondary effects happen when ground movement results
to other types of destruction. Examples include landslides,
tsunami, liquefaction and fire.
 GROUND SHAKING
 Also known as vibration is what we feel when energy built up by the
application of stress to the lithosphere is released by faulting during an
earthquake.
 disruptive up-down and sideways movement or motion experienced
during an earthquake.
 This can be caused by the following:
 Large man-made explosions
 Volcanic eruptions
 Landslides
 Earthquake
 Earthquake
vibrations/
ground shaking
How are earthquake vibrations generated?

 Sudden slippage along a fault zone.

 Elastic rebound theory
 Suggest that elastic strain energy
builds up in the deforming rocks on
either side of the fault.
 The elastic energy released is transported
by seismic waves that travel throughout
the earth. We feel these seismic waves as
vibrations.
3 Types of Seismic Waves
 Body waves
P waves
S waves
 Surface waves
 Body waves
 These waves travel below the surface of the
earth.
 Primary waves (P-waves)/ compressional waves
 Secondary waves (S-waves)/
shear wave
P and S waves radiate out from the rupturing
fault.
Compressional / P-waves

 The waves travel horizontally along its

length as parts of it compress or spread
apart.
Secondary waves (S-waves)/
shear wave
 The waves travel side to side.
The movement of the waves
is up and down.
 How is ground shaking measured?

 The strength of ground shaking

is measured in terms of
velocity, acceleration,
frequency content of the
shaking and how long the
shaking continues. This can be
done through the use of
different devices e.g., A seismograph is a device used to record the
motion of the ground during an earthquake.
seismograph.
 Activity: Earthquake Comic Strip

 Create a 12-box comic

strip which encourages
people to appreciate the
value of knowing
earthquake hazards and
risk reduction. You are
certainly allowed to go
beyond 10 boxes if you
want. The rubric below
will serve as your guide
and your teacher’s basis
for rating your output.
 Ground Rupture
 displacement on
the ground due
to movement of
fault .
 Ground Rupture
 Are earthquake
faults that have
reached the
surface.
A. This will be experienced by areas where fault passes
through (note not all cracks on the ground that people see after
a strong earthquake are faults, some may just be surficial
cracks because of ground failure)
B. The movement may have vertical and horizontal component
and may be as small as less than 0.5 meters (Masbate 1994
earthquake) to as big as 6 meters (16 July 1990 Earthquake).
HOW TO ESCAPE A TSUNAMI

 Bring only a survival kit with you at all

times. One’s priority is safety. The idea is to
get out as quickly as possible with your
family.
 Once the designated evacuation center is
reached, stay there until advised by
authorities when it is safe to leave.
HOW TO ESCAPE A TSUNAMI

 Take only escape routes that are safe from

tsunami waves and floods. Stay away from
washed out roads to avoid being exposed to
landslides and other secondary effects of
tsunami.
 If escape is too late, cling on to floating
objects to prevent drowning. Stay alert at all
times.
How are ground ruptures formed?
 The lithosphere breaks when its strength is
overcame by the large amount of stress applied
(earthquake).
 When an earthquake is strong enough, faulting
initiated at depths may breach the earth’s
surface to form ground rupture.
Active faulting
 As plate positions and stress directions change,
younger faults form but many of the older faults
are reactivated when the applied stress is large
enough to overcome resistance along fault planes.
These faults are called active faults as they have
been found to have moved under the current stress
field and have caused earthquakes during historical
times in the recent geological past.
 Types of faults

 Normal fault
 Involves mainly downward
movement of the ground across
the fault called the hanging wall.
The hanging wall is a block on the
right side of the fault.
 Types of faults

 Thrust fault
 Involves mainly
upward movement
of the hanging wall.
 Types of faults

 Strike-slip fault
 Involves
dominantly
horizontal shifting
of the ground.
 Liquefaction
 Happens when saturated
soil substantially loses
strength and stiffness in
response to an applied
stress such as shaking
during an earthquake.
 Types of liquefaction

 Flow failure
 This occurs on
liquefiable slope
material with
steepness greater
than 3 degrees.
 Types of liquefaction

 Lateral spreading
 Blocks or the broken
pieces of the flat or very
gentle ground (less than 3
degrees) above a liquefied
zone move laterally
 Types of liquefaction

 Oscillation
 Due to the flat or nearly flat surface,
the ground is unable to spread and
instead oscillates like a wave/ water
and wet sand are ejected through the
fissure that form conical-shaped
mounds of sand at the surface (sand
blows).
 Types of liquefaction

 Loss of bearing strength

 Loss of strength sediments
resulting in tilting of houses
and floating of buoyant
structures that are anchored
on the liquefiable soil.
 MITIGATING LIQUEFACTION
 HAZARD
Constructing a liquefaction-
resistant structure
 Construct hazard zone maps to
identify areas potentially subject to
liquefaction
 Building Mat Foundation to
increase a foundation’s rigidity.
 Removing liquefiable soil and
replacing these with materials that
are more firm.
 Earthquake-induced Landslide

 Happens when the

ground is released
from a strong grip, it
yields to the pull of
gravity and must
come down.
 Landslides caused by
earthquake.
 Why does landslides occur?
 Removal of support
 Ground water (pore water) pressure
 Volcanic eruptions
 Intense rainfall
 Snowmelt
 Human interventions
 Earthquakes
Removal of support
Ground water (pore water)
pressure
Volcanic eruptions
Intense rainfall
Snowmelt
Human interventions
Earthquakes

Powerful Japan quake sets off landslide, minor injuries (Update)

Phys.org
Types of landslide
 Topples
 Rock falls
 Slides
 Lateral spreads
 Flows
 Complex slides
Topples
 Occur when a
massive part of
very steep slopes
break loose and
rotate forward
Rock falls
 Involves chunks of
detached rock that
fall freely for some
distance or bounce
and roll down the
slope
Slides
 Involve large
blocks of bedrock
that break free and
slide down along a
planar or curved
surface
Lateral spreads
 Affect gentle slopes
with less than 10
degrees inclination.
Slope material loses
cohesion through
liquefaction caused by
the shaking during
earthquakes.
Flows
 Involves downslope motion
of fine grained clay, and
fine sand made mobile by
water saturation. These
flows include mudflows
and earthflows and are
common during the rainy
season.
Complex slides
 Are
combinations of
two or more
types of
movement.
 Factors affecting occurrence of landslide
 Intact rock strength
 Mass weathering grade
 Spacing of joints
 Orientation of joints
 Width and continuity of joints
 Infill
 Water flow
World’s
Largest
Tsunami
 Japanese term which Tsunamis
means HARBOR
WAVES. Regardless
of the origin, all
tsunamis are triggered
by powerful events
that caused sudden
displacement of large
volumes of water.
 Tsunami generation
 A tsunami may
occur when ocean
water is displace
suddenly causing the
formation of waves
that reach the shore
in large heights.
 Tsunami generation
 Tsunamis can be
generated provided
that faulting occurs
at the sea bottom.
 Tsunami Run-up and Inundation
 Upon reaching the shore, tsunami waves will break
and reach heights far exceeding the normal sea
level, thus potentially causing inundation in coastal
areas. Tsunami wave heights could reach tens of
meters above the normal sea level.
Causes of Tsunami
 Besides earthquake, tsunamis can
also be caused by the following:
 Landslide
 Volcanic eruption
 Meteorite impact
 HOW TO ESCAPE A TSUNAMI

 Take the occurrence of an earthquake as a

natural alerting mechanism. Once its
tsunamigenic nature is confirmed, prepare to
vacate areas close to the shore and head towards
high ground right away. Large earthquakes
occurring offshore indicate close proximity.
This requires immediate evacuation.
 HOW TO ESCAPE A TSUNAMI
 Always keep a radio or other sources
of information. Warnings and
advisories should be taken seriously
by those living closely to the shore.
 Bring a survival kit with you at all
times. The kit must include first aid
items, water, canned goods or other
kinds of non-perishable items,
flashlight with extra battery, whistle,
and a communication device.
HOW TO ESCAPE A TSUNAMI

 Bring only a survival kit with you at all

times. One’s priority is safety. The idea is to
get out as quickly as possible with your
family.
 Once the designated evacuation center is
reached, stay there until advised by
authorities when it is safe to leave.
HOW TO ESCAPE A TSUNAMI

 Take only escape routes that are safe from

tsunami waves and floods. Stay away from
washed out roads to avoid being exposed to
landslides and other secondary effects of
tsunami.
 If escape is too late, cling on to floating
objects to prevent drowning. Stay alert at all
times.
Volcanic hazards

 Harmful Volcanic gases to avoid during volcanic

eruption
 Carbon dioxide
 Sulfur dioxide
 Hydrochloric acid
 Hydrogen sulfide
 fluorine
Pyroclastic flows

 Are hot mixtures of fresh lava,

gas, rock, pumice and ash that
move down the sides of a
volcanic crater at high speeds
during an eruption.
 Tephra falls and Ballistic projectiles

 Tephra falls
 Refers to volcanic rock and lava materials that are
ejected into the air by explosions or carried upward by
eruption column's hot gases or lava fountains.
 Ballistic projectiles
 Are special kind of tephra. These follow the projectile
path as these are forced out of the vent at steep angles
like cannon ball. Ballistic projectiles consist of bombs,
blocks and lapilli.
 Types of tephra falls and ballistic projectiles

 Pele’s tears

 Pele’s hair

 Pumice

 scoria
Lahars
 Is a process wherein wet cement-
like mixture of volcanic material
and water flows down the slopes
of a volcano.
Volcanic debris avalanche

 Are landslides that occur in

volcanic slopes.