Basic Concept of Disaster and

Disaster Risk
Disaster
 A disaster is a sudden, calamitous
event that seriously disrupts the
functioning of a community or society and
causes human, material, and economic or
environmental losses that exceed the
community’s or society’s ability to cope
using its own resources. Though often
caused by nature, disasters can have
human origins.
Disaster
(VULNERABILITY+ HAZARD ) / CAPACITY = DISASTER

A disaster occurs when a hazard impacts on

vulnerable people.

The combination of hazards, vulnerability and

inability to reduce the potential negative
consequences of risk results in disaster.

Source: International Federation of Red Cross and

Red Crescent
Aggravating Factors of Disaster
Aggravating Factors of Disaster
 Climate change ranks among the
greatest global problems of the 21st century
and the scientific evidence on climate change
is stronger than ever.
 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) released its Fourth
Assessment Report in early 2007, saying that
climate change is now unequivocal.
 It confirms that extremes are on the rise
and that the most vulnerable people,
particularly in developing countries, face the
brunt of impacts.
Aggravating Factors of Disaster
 The gradual expected temperature rise may
seem limited (with a likely range from 2 to 4
degrees Celsius predicted for the coming
century), however a slightly higher
temperature is only an indicator that much
more is awry.
 Along with the rising temperature, known as
global warming we experience:
◦ An increase in both frequency and intensity of
extreme weather events: more
prolonged droughts, floods, landslides, heat waves,
and more intense storms;
Aggravating Factors of Disaster
◦ The spreading of insect-borne diseases such
as malaria and dengue to new places where
people are less immune to them;
◦ A decrease in crop yields in some areas due to
extreme droughts or downpours and changes in
timing and reliability of rainy seasons;
◦ Global sea level rise of several cm per decade,
which will affect coastal flooding, water supplies,
tourism, fisheries etc. Tens of millions of people
will be forced to move inland;
◦ Melting Glaciers, leading to water supply
shortages.
Aggravating Factors of Disaster
 Climate change is here to stay and will accelerate.
 Although climate change is a global issue with
impacts all over the world, those people with the
least resources have the least capacity to adapt
and therefore are the most vulnerable.
 Developing countries, more particularly its
poorest inhabitants, do not have the means to
fend off floods and other natural disasters; to
make matters worse, their economies tend to be
based on climate/weather-sensitive sectors such
as agriculture and fishery, which makes them all
the more vulnerable.
Aggravating Factors of Disaster
 Climate change is here to stay and will accelerate.
 Although climate change is a global issue with
impacts all over the world, those people with the
least resources have the least capacity to adapt and
therefore are the most vulnerable.
 Developing countries, more particularly its poorest
inhabitants, do not have the means to fend off
floods and other natural disasters; to make matters
worse, their economies tend to be based on
climate/weather-sensitive sectors such as
agriculture and fishery, which makes them all the
more vulnerable.
 There are 139 developing countries in the world,
including the Philippines
Aggravating Factors of Disaster
Aggravating Factors of Disaster: Underdevelopment
 The vast majority of lives both lost and affected by natural
disasters come from developing countries, underlining the
link between poverty and vulnerability to disaster.
 At the root of this disparity is poverty.
 People in wealthier countries have better access to the
kinds of resources that help both prevent natural disasters
becoming crises and to cope with them when they do
occur.
 The earth is a hazardous place and natural disasters will
continue to occur, but it is mainly in poorer countries that
they lead to humanitarian disasters.
 The vast majority of lives claimed by natural disasters are
in such countries and survivors often lose their livelihoods
in the aftermath and are forced into more extreme levels
of poverty.
Aggravating Factors of Disaster: Underdevelopment
 This is not purely down to economics, but also ‘age’ and
‘gender’ play a large part as does the environment that
people live in.
Developing countries
 Cause setbacks to long term economic and social
development of the country
 Lack of resources for early warning systems; unplanned
squatter developments are not designed to withstand
natural forces
 Inflicts massive casualties due to lack of relief
infrastructure and resources
 Forced to divert funds from development programs to
emergency relief and recovery
Aggravating Factors of Disaster: Underdevelopment
The last mile
 Disasters are triggered by external hazards, but
they also stem from vulnerability; people being
in the wrong place without protection.
 It is therefore vital that information extends to
communities to help them adopt protective
actions and engage people living outside of the
early warning systems.
 This is commonly known as ‘the last mile’, which
means that warnings often don’t reach those
who need them most.
Aggravating Factors of Disaster: Underdevelopment
The last mile
 Poorer people are often marginalized socially, politically
and geographically and often may not receive early
warning of hazards.
 The relationship between underdevelopment and
disasters is made clear in the International Federation
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) World
Disaster Report 2009.
 Why does poverty mean vulnerability?
 If an area prone to natural hazards such as flooding or
earthquakes, there are various measures that can be
taken to prepare.
Aggravating Factors of Disaster: Underdevelopment
 Early warning systems can be adapted; well
organized evacuation procedures can be put in
place; buildings can be designed and built to
withstand hazards; protective barriers can be
built to insure against rising water levels.
 However, such projects require adequate
financial resources, effective government and
strong community links.
 A protection that developed countries across
the world benefit from, but a safeguard rarely
possible for poorer nations.
Aggravating Factors of Disaster: Underdevelopment
 Each year natural disasters occur across the world
and in recent years countries including Haiti,
Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, USA, China, India, Iran,
Turkey and Chile have all suffered severely, with the
loss of hundreds of thousands of lives.
 The highest casualties can be seen in the poorer
nations of both Haiti and Indonesia.
 Rapid urbanization has led to poorer people being
marginalized from safe and legal areas in many of
these countries, forcing many to live in high risk
locations, such as flood plains, river banks, steep
slopes and reclaimed land.
Aggravating Factors of Disaster: Underdevelopment
 In these unplanned squatter settlements, homes are not
built to withstand such natural forces.
 Many of these settlements lack even the most basic
infrastructure, such as health and fire services and fresh
water and sanitation.
 This leaves communities extremely at risk following a
natural disaster.
 A considerable incentive for rethinking disaster risk as
an integral part of the development process comes
from the aim of achieving the goals laid out in
the Millennium Declaration.
 The Declaration sets forth a road map for human
development supported by 191 nations.
Aggravating Factors of Disaster: Underdevelopment
 Eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were
agreed upon in 2000, which in turn have been broken
down into 18 targets with 48 indicators for progress.
 Most goals are set for achievement by 2015.
 The Millennium Development Goals have provided a
focus for development efforts globally however, there
remains little cause for celebration since the Millennium
Declaration was signed committing governments to
these goals
 While poverty has fallen and social indicators have
improved, most countries will not meet the Millennium
Development goals by 2015 and the existing gap
between rich and poor is widening.
Aggravating Factors of Disaster: Underdevelopment

 Recently the campaigns on poverty have resulted in key

milestones on aid and debt relief.
 While positive, much more is needed if the MDGs are
to be realized.
 These efforts to reduce poverty are vital for
vulnerability reduction and strengthened resilience of
communities to disasters.
Aggravating Factors of Disaster
Aggravating Factors of Disaster: Unplanned
Urbanization
 Today 50 % of the world population lives in urban
centers by 2030 this is expected to increase to 60%.
 The majority of the largest cities, known as Mega Cities
are in developing countries while 90% of the population
growth of developing countries will be urban in nature.
 Migration from rural to urban areas is often trigged by
repeated natural disasters and lack of livelihood
opportunities.
 However, at the same time many mega-cities are built in
areas where there is a heightened risk for earthquakes,
floods, landslides and other natural disasters.
Aggravating Factors of Disaster: Unplanned
Urbanization

 Many people living in large urban centers such

as slums lack access to improved water,
sanitation, security of tenure, durability of
housing, and sufficient living area.
 This lack of access to basic services and
livelihood leads to increasing risk of
discrimination, social exclusion and ultimately
violence
Disaster Risk
 Disaster risk is expressed as the likelihood of loss of life,
injury or destruction and damage from a disaster in a
given period of time.

A man stands surrounded by the devastation wrought by Typhoon Haiyan

in the city of Tacloban
© Henry Donati/Department for International Development CC by 2.0
Disaster Risk
 Disaster risk is widely recognized as the consequence
of the interaction between a hazard and the
characteristics that make people and places vulnerable
and exposed.

RISK = HAZARD X EXPOSURE X VULNERABILITY

Disasters are sometimes considered external shocks, but

disaster risk results from the complex interaction
between development processes that generate conditions
of exposure, vulnerability and hazard (UNISDR, 2009a).
Disaster Risk
 Disaster risk is therefore considered as the combination
of the severity and frequency of a hazard, the numbers
of people and assets exposed to the hazard, and their
vulnerability to damage (UNISDR, 2015a).
 Intensive risk is disaster risk associated with low-
probability, high-impact events, whereas extensive risk is
associated with high-probability, low-impact events.

 There is no such thing as a natural disaster,

but disasters often follow natural hazards.
Disaster Risk
 The losses and impacts that characterize disasters
usually have much to do with the exposure and
vulnerability of people and places as they do with the
severity of the hazard event (UNISDR, 2013).
 Disaster risk has many characteristics. In order to
understand disaster risk, it is essential to understand
that it is:
◦ Forward looking the likelihood of loss of life,
destruction and damage in a given period of time
◦ Dynamic: it can increase or decrease according to
our ability to reduce vulnerability
Disaster Risk
 Invisible: it is comprised of not only the threat of high-
impact events, but also the frequent, low-impact events
that are often hidden
 Unevenly distributed around the earth: hazards
affect different areas, but the pattern of disaster risk
reflects the social construction of exposure and
vulnerability in different countries
 Emergent and complex: many processes, including
climate change and globalized economic development,
are creating new, interconnected risks
 Disasters threaten development, just
as development creates disaster risk.
Disaster Risk
 The key to understanding disaster risk is by recognizing
that disasters are an indicator of development failures,
meaning that disaster risk is a measure of the
sustainability of development.
 Hazard, vulnerability and exposure are influenced by a
number of risk drivers, including poverty and inequality,
badly planned and managed urban and regional
development, climate change and environmental
degradation (UNISDR, 2009a, 2011, 2013 and 2015a).
Disaster Risk
 Understanding disaster risk requires us to not only
consider the hazard, our exposure and vulnerability but
also society's capacity to protect itself from disasters.
 The ability of communities, societies and systems to
resist, absorb, accommodate, recover from disasters,
while at the same time improve wellbeing, is known as
resilience.