Prepared by: Jerome A.

Bigael
Leyte Progressive High School
What is a “disaster” ?
The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
(UNISDR, 2004) defines disaster as “ a serious disruption of
the functioning of a community or a society causing
widespread human, material, economic, or
environmental losses, which exceed the ability of the
affected community or society to cope, using its own
resources”.
Disaster impacts may include loss of lives,
injuries, diseases, and other negative effects on
human physical, mental and social well-being,
together with damage to properties, destruction of
assets, loss of services, social and economic
disruption and environmental degradation.
Similarly, the World
Health Organization
(WHO, 2002) describes
disaster as “ any
occurrence that causes
damage, ecological
disruption, loss of human
life, deterioration of
health and health
services, on a scale
sufficient to warrant an
extraordinary response
from outside the affected
community or area”
Disaster causes a multidimensional impact affecting not
only the socioeconomic and political life, but also the
mental and cultural state of the affected area
(Srivastava 2010). It disrupts the people’s normal day-
to-day life such as school life, business activities, and
government services.
It brings to a condition which overpowers local capacity
(IJMES Quarentelly 1987)
Disasters are frequently described as a result of
the combination if (1) the exposure to a hazard;
(2) the conditions of vulnerability that are
present; and (3) insufficient capacity or measures
to reduce or cope with the potential negative
consequences (DepEd, DRR Manual 2008).

Hence in understanding disaster, it is necessary

to have a good grasp of the concepts of hazard,
vulnerability, and capacity.
The concept of Hazard
What is hazard?
A hazard is a situation or an
occurrence with capacity to
bring damages to lives,
properties and environment.
The United Nations
International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction or
UNISDR 2004 defines
hazard as “ 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
represent future threats and can have different origins:
natural ( geological, hydrometeorological, and
biological) or induced by human processes
(environmental degradation and technological hazards)
Types of Hazard
Natural Hazards
Human Made Hazards
Combination or Socionatural Hazards
Natural Hazards
Natural phenomena that pose threats or cause negative
impacts to people and property .
Examples are: Typhoon, storm surge, lahar floods, drought,
red tide, pestilence and fire.
 Human Made Hazards
• Includes
civil conflict, displacement due to
development projects, environmental degradation,
industrial technological hazards like leakage of toxic
wastes, oil spill, fish kills, nuclear, gaseous, chemical
contamination, famine, drought, fires and flood.
Combination or Socionatural
Hazards
Flooding and drought can fall under this
category if these are due to deforestation.
Most events are combinations of both
natural and human-made factors.
Typhoons are natural hazards that can
also cause flash floods. At the same time,
environmental degradation like excessive
and illegal logging can also be a cause of
flash floods.
• The
flash floods in Ormoc, Leyte in
1991 is an example.
Reflection Question:
½ crosswise
From the three (3) types of hazards, what
type of hazards can be prevented and can be
anticipated and why?
If we are going to shake the table, which object
would be affected the most by the shaking?

Why do you think it would be affected the most?

The three objects have been exposed to the same
hazard but did you notice different possible effects on
the mug, glass and bottle?
The mug, glass and bottle have intrinsic vulnerabilities
such as shape, thickness, and the material they are
made of aside from extrinsic vulnerabilities such as
location or distance from the edge of the table.
The mug, glass and bottle are elements-at-risk
that have different risk consequences as
determined by their particular vulnerabilities.
Choose 1 example of hazard
(i.e., flooding, environmental
degradation, etc.) and write an
article about the issue.

Explain your standpoint and

your analysis if it is
preventable or not. Explain
why it is preventable and how
it can be prevented.
Vulnerability
The concept of vulnerability
comes from many aspects,
specifically, those that arise
from various social, economic,
physical, and environmental
factors.
Examples may include
poor design and
construction of
buildings, inadequate
protection of assets and
lack of public awareness,
limited official
recognition of risks and
preparedness measures,
and disregard for wise
environmental
management.
Vulnerability
It is defined as a set of prevailing consequential
conditions, which adversely affect the community’s
ability to prevent, mitigate, prepare for and
respond to hazardous events.
Vulnerability is present in the community or
society even before a disaster happens. It precedes
disaster; contribute to its severity, impede disaster
response and may continue to exist long after a
disaster has struck.
Who are the so-called most Vulnerable sectors?
• Theyare the community members whose capacities are
low and not sufficient to withstand and overcome the
damaging and adverse effects of disasters
• Theyare composed of farmers, urban poor, laborers,
indigenous, people, person with disabilities, (PWD’s),
women, and children.
• Inaddition, they are the so-called abused sector and at
the lowest levels of the society.
 Who are the so-called less
vulnerable sectors?
• Theyare the community members whose capacities
start from their own ability to acquire material
resources; skills and trainings; and position in society.
• Thecapacities are higher than those in the vulnerable
sector to overcome the adverse effects of disasters.
• Theyare composed of professionals, small
entrepreneurs, and others similar to those who belong
to the higher levels of society.

• Their
role in disaster management activities is to
extend assistance and support to vulnerable sectors.
Who are the so called Not Vulnerable
Sectors?
• Sector
in the society having high position in the
community.
• Most of the time, they are the targets of the
vulnerable and less vulnerable sectors in advocacy
work in relating disaster issue to structure and
policies implemented by the government that are
the root causes of vulnerability of the community.
 Categories of Vulnerability
•3areas of vulnerability by Anderson and
Woodrow (1990)
• Physical or material vulnerability
• Social or Organizational vulnerability
• Attitudinal or motivational vulnerability
Physical/ Material Vulnerability
• Location or type of housing/building materials
• Land,
water, animals, capital, other means of
production.
• Infrastructureand services: roads, health facilities,
schools, electricity, communications, transport,
housing etc.
• Human capital: population, mortality, diseases,
nutritional status, literacy, numeracy, poverty levels.
• Environment factors: forestation, soil quality, and
erosion
Social/Organizational Vulnerability
• Family structure (weak/strong)
• Leadership qualities and structure
• Legislation
• Administrative structures and institutional
arrangements
• Decision-making structures
• Participation levels
• Divisions
and conflicts: ethnic, class caste, religion,
ideology, political groups, language groups, and
structures for mediating conflicts

• Degree of justice, equality, access to political

processes.
• Community organizations: formal; informal;
traditional; governmental; progressive.
• Relationship to government
• Isolation and connectedness
Attitudinal/Motivational Vulnerabilty
• Attitude toward change
• Sense of ability to affect their world, environment,
get things done
• Initiative
• Faith
• Religious beliefs
• Fatalism,
hopelessness, despondency,
discouragment
• Dependent/Independent (self reliant)
• Consciousness, awareness
• Cohessiveness, unity, solidarity,
cooperation
• Orientation toward past, present,
future.
Reflection Questions
• What are the conditions that make
you vulnerable?
• Doesvulnerability contributes to the
adverse impacts of hazards to the
community?
• If yes, why do you think so?
Study and Analyze the picture
• Answer the following questions on a ½
crosswise
1. What does the picture portray?
2. What can be considered as a form of
vulnerability?
3. What categories of vulnerability is
present in the picture or situation?