Disaster

Readiness and
Risk Reduction
  A dangerous phenomenon, substance,
human activity or condition that may cause
loss of life, injury or other health impacts,
Hazard property damage, loss of livelihoods and
services, social and economic disruption or
environmental damage.
  A serious disruption of the functioning of a
community or a society involving
widespread human, material, economic, or
Disaster environmental losses and impacts which
exceeds the ability of the affected
community or society to cope using its own
resources.
Types of Hazard

 Natural Hazards – These originate from the

different ‘forces’ of nature. Natural hazards such
as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons and
cyclones affect many countries in Asia particularly
in the Philippines.
Types of Hazard

 Man-made Hazards – These originate from

people’s actions against human, material and
environment. These include transport and
industrial accidents such as road, maritime, and
aircraft accidents, oil or chemical spill, and
building collapses. Terrorism is also categorized as
man-made hazard.
Types of Natural Hazard
 Floods
 Tsunami
 Cyclone
 Storm surge
 Hurricane
 Typhoon
 Earthquake
 Volcanic Eruptions
 Landslides and Avalanches
 Limnic eruption
 La Niña
Man-made and Technological types of
Hazards
 Road accidents
 Maritime accidents/shipwrecks
 Aircraft accidents
 Bridge or dam failure
 Oil spill
 Tower collapses
 Atomic bombings/nuclear test
 Epidemic
 Warships
 Terrorism
Exposed to Natural Hazard
Exposed to Man-made Hazards
Risk Factors
Underlying
Disasters
Severity of Exposure

 The amount of exposure to the disaster is highly

related to the risk of future mental problems. At
highest risk are those that go through the disaster
themselves. Next are those in close contact with
the victims. At lower risk of lasting impact are
those who only had indirect exposure, such as
news of the severe damage.
Gender and Family

 Disaster recovery is more stressful when children

are present in the home. Women with spouses
also experience more distress during recovery.
Having a family member in the home who is
extremely distressed is related to more stress for
everyone. Marital stress has been found to
increase after disasters. Also, conflicts between
family members or lack of support in the home
make it harder to recover from disasters.
Age

 Adults who are in the range of 40 – 60 are likely to

be more distressed after disasters. The thinking is
that if one is in that age range, he / she has more
demands from job and family. Research on how
children react to natural disasters is still limited
at this point in tie. In general, children show
more severe distress after disasters than adults
do. Higher stress in the parents is related to
worse recovery in children.
Developing Countries

 There is a strong body of evidence that these risk

factors can be made worse if the disaster occurs
in a developing country. Disasters in developing
countries, like Philippines, have more severe
mental health impact than disasters in developed
countries. This is true even with less serious
disasters.
 EFFECTS OF NATURAL
DISASTERS ON HUMAN LIFE
Displaced Populations
 When Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991,
thousands of families in Zambales
and Pampanga were displaced. Their
communities were ravaged by lahar
flow that turned these communities
into “wilderness”
Health Risk
 Severe flooding can result in stagnant
water that allows breeding of
waterborne bacteria and malaria
carrying mosquitoes. Dengue fever is
another serious health problem
caused by mosquitoes.
Food Scarcity

 After natural disasters, food often becomes

scarce. Thousands of people around the world go
hungry as a result of destroyed crops and loss of
agricultural supplies, whether it happens
suddenly in a storm or gradually in a drought.
Emotional Aftershocks

 Natural disasters can be particularly traumatic for young children.

Confronted with scenes of destruction and the deaths of friends and
loved ones, many children develop post – traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD), a serious psychological condition resulting from extreme
trauma.
Activity 1 : Identifying Impacts of
Hazards
Role Play

 1. This activity is meant for the learners to think independently and their
quick analysis on the impacts of certain hazards according to specific
locations.
Map of Locations
and Suggested
Scenarios
Guidelines