Disaster Readiness and
Risk Reduction
Quarter 1 – Module 2:
Risk Factors Underlying
Disasters
What I Need to Know
This module is intended to help you understand the risk factors underlying disasters.
This course focuses on the application of scientific knowledge and the solution of
practical problems in a physical environment.
After going through this module, you are expected to:
1. identify the risk factors underlying disasters.
2. describe each Risk factors underlying disasters.
3. utilize the gained knowledge in real life situations to avoid harm and assure
safety.
4. appreciate the importance of understanding the risk factors underlying disasters
to mitigate the effects of disaster and practice mitigation measures as early as
necessary.
What I Know
Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet
of paper.
1. Which of the following is the process or condition, often development-related, that
influence the level of disaster risk by increasing levels of exposure and
vulnerability or reducing capacity?
a. risk factor
b. disaster risk
c. natural hazard
d. man-made hazard
2. Which of the following is NOT an element which causes disaster?
a. exposure
b. hazard
c. risk
d. vulnerability
2
3. Which of the following BEST describes hazard?
a. loss of life or injury naturally
b. a phenomenon or human activity
c. potentially damaging physical event
d. reduction of vulnerability and exposure
4. Which of the following risk factors BEST describes the cause of COVID-19
pandemic?
a. climate change
b. weak governance
c. globalized economic development
d. poorly- planned and managed urban development
5. It refers to the changes that can be attributed “directly or indirectly to
human activity altering the composition of the global atmosphere and
additionally to the natural climate variability observed over comparable
periods of time”?
a. deforestation
b. climate change
c. global warming
d. carbon footprint
6. How will reduction of the level of vulnerability and exposure be possible?
a. proper knowledge on disaster risk
b. potentially damaging physical even
c. increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazard
d. by keeping people and property as distant as possible from hazards
7. Which of the following risk factors affect with inequality?
a. poverty
b. climate change
c. weak governance
d. globalized economic development
8. Unwillingness to assume their roles and responsibilities in governing
disaster risk unit, falls under which of the following risk factors?
a. climate change
b. weak governance
c. poverty and inequality
d. environmental degradation
9. Which among the groups suffer more adverse effects when an earthquake
causing disaster occurs?
a. men and women
b. children and women
c. old persons and women
d. old persons and children
3
10. The occurrence of landslides in the Philippines is increasing. This
kind of disaster will fall under which of the following risks?
a. poverty and inequality
b. climate change and weak governance
c. climate change and environmental degradation
d. climate change and globalized economic development
11. The ages below are average years ranges affected by specific situations
happening as a disaster occurs. Which of the following age ranges are
“Most Stressed-Out” after a disaster according to Asian Disaster
Preparedness Center (ADPC)?
a. 16-20
b. 20-30
c. 30-40
d. 40-60
12. Which of the following risk factors is the result in an increased
polarization between the rich and poor on a global scale?
a. climate change
b. poverty and inequality
c. environmental degradation
d. globalized economic development
13. Which of the following is NOT a contributor to the worst outcomes
when a disaster happened?
a. displacement
b. can handle stress
c. death of someone close
d. massive loss of property
14. Who among the following groups of people are more likely to live in
hazard-exposed areas and are less able to invest in risk-reducing measures
based on most studies in Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC)?
a. middle class
b. senior citizens
c. young professionals
d. impoverished people
15. It is a risk factor that is both a driver and a consequence of disasters,
reducing the capacity of the environment to meet social and ecological
needs, what is it?
a. climate change
b. weak governance
c. poverty and inequality
d. environmental degradation
4
Lesson
Differentiating Risk Factors
1 Underlying Disaster
In this module, the learner will understand that disaster can bring about
many devastating effects. Upon identifying the risk factors underlying disaster, this
will provide ideas to mitigate the effects of disasters that can lead to death,
destruction of infrastructures, loss of livelihoods, and even non-physical events like
emotional and psychological aspects.
What’s In
At Risk…
Disaster can affect everyone. It does not discriminate between and among
social classes, gender, creed, race, and nationality. But certain risk factors put those
affected in a position where they will have graver or longer-lasting post-disaster
stress reactions. These aggravating factors contribute to evident differences in the
stress reactions of certain individuals with certain characteristics.
Activity 1.1:
Direction: Read the scenario below. Based on your understanding of disaster from
the previous module, enumerate or list down the risks that are reflected from the
text.
Gina, an 18-year-old resident of
Tacloban City, just got laid off from
her job as a sales clerk in a medium-
sized hardware store. She and her
siblings could barely survive each
day with their limited resources.
Then Typhoon Yolanda struck, it
killed her 2 younger sisters. Their
home was destroyed by the storm
surge. In her barangay alone, 2000
residents were killed, including her
childhood friends and former Composite Art Background:
playmates. Medico International (2013) Taifun-Nothilfe Philippinen
2013. Photograph. https://www.flickr.com/photos/
35576425@N08/11190702586 Licensed underCC BY-SA
2.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/?
ref=ccsearch&atype=rich
5
Guide Questions:
1. What risk/s can you identify from the news article?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. What do you think are the factors that affect the disaster risks from the preceding
article?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
What is It
RISK FACTORS
Disaster risk as defined in the first module, has three important elements
such as:
1. Exposure - the “elements at risk from a natural or man-made hazard event
(Quebral, 2016).
2. 2. 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.
3. 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).
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.
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
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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.
⚫ 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.
Magbool, Irfan, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, ADPC, 31 December 2012,
https://www.adpc.net/igo/contents/adpcpage.asp?pid=1266&dep=RIG
⚫ 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.
Magbool, Irfan, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, ADPC, 31 December 2012,
https://www.adpc.net/igo/contents/adpcpage.asp?pid=1266&dep=RIG
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. For most people, the expression “climate change” means
the alteration of the world’s climate that we humans are causing such as burning of
fossil fuels, deforestation and other practices that increase the carbon footprint and
concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. 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”
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, “Climate Change and Disaster Risk
Reduction”, September 2008
https://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/dra/vcp/documents/7607_Climate-Change-DRR.pdf
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
4
leads to increased risk from disasters, and in turn, natural hazards can further
degrade the environment.
Prevention Web. Editor, “Environmental Degradation”, Prevention Web. The Knowledge
Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, 12 November 2015
https://www.preventionweb.net/risk/environmental-degradation
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. Dominance and increase of wealth in certain regions and cities are expected
to have increased hazard exposure (Gencer, 2013).
Prevention Web. Editor, “Globalized Economic Development”, Prevention Web. The
Knowledge Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, 12 November 2015
https://www.preventionweb.net/risk/globalized-economic-development
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). The impact of disasters
on the poor can, in addition to loss of life, injury and damage, cause a total loss of
livelihoods, displacement, poor health, food insecurity, among other consequences.
Vulnerability is not simply about poverty, but extensive research over the past 30
years has revealed that it is generally the poor who tend to suffer worst from disasters
(DFID, 2004; Twigg, 2004; Wisner et al., 2004; UNISDR, 2009b).
Prevention Web. Editor, “Poverty and inequality”, Prevention Web.
The Knowledge Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, 12 November
2015 https://www.preventionweb.net/risk/poverty-inequality
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. Growing concentrations
5
of people and economic activities in many cities are seen to overlap with areas of
high-risk exposure.
Prevention Web editor, “Poorly planned and managed urban development “, Prevention Web. The
Knowledge Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, 12 November 2015
https://www.preventionweb.net/risk/poorly-planned-managed-urban-development
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.
Disaster risk is disproportionately concentrated in lower-income countries with weak
governance (UNISDR, 2015a). Disaster risk governance refers to the specific
arrangements that societies put in place to manage their disaster risk (UNISDR,
2011a; UNDP, 2013a) within a broader context of risk governance (Renn, 2008 in
UNISDR, 2015a). This reflects how risk is valued against a backdrop of broader social
and economic concerns (Holley et al., 2011).
Prevention Web. Editor, “ ”Prevention Web. The Knowledge Platform for Disaster Risk
Reduction. Nov. 12, 2015 https://www.preventionweb.net/risk/weak-governance
Certain factors are related to a survivor’s background and recovery is
hampered if survivors: were not functioning well before the disaster; have no
experience dealing with disasters; must deal with other stressors after the disaster;
have low self-esteem; feel uncared for by others; think they exercise little control over
what happens to them; and unable to manage stress.
More factors contributory to worse outcomes: death of someone close; injury
to self or family member; life threat; panic, horror, or similar feelings; separation
from family; massive loss of property; and displacement.
6
What’s More
Activity 1.3: What is the Risk Factor?
Direction: Analyze the given situation by identifying the correct risk factor. Write
only the letter that corresponds to your answer. To facilitate your task, accomplish
the given table below:
A. Climate Change
B. Environmental Degradation
C. Globalized Economic Development
D. Poverty and Inequality
E. Poorly planned and Managed Urban Development
F. Weak Governance
Situation Factor Underlying
Disaster
unwillingness to assume their roles and responsibilities
Weak Governance
in governing disaster risk department
rising sea levels Climate Change
cities located in low-altitude estuaries such as Marikina Poorly planned and
City, Philippines are exposed to sea-level rise and Managed Urban
flooding. Development
houses are built with lightweight materials Poverty and Inequality
Globalized Economic
effects in developing countries
Development
deforestation that can lead to landslide Environmental Degradation
global Warming Climate Change
garbage slide killed that over 200 people in an informal
Poverty and Inequality
settlement in Manila, the Philippines,
fragmented responsibilities for drought risk Poorly planned and Managed
management Urban Development
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Activity 1.4 Am I Ready?
Direction: Suppose you are invited by the SK Chairman in your barangay as a
resource speaker to your fellow age group during an Environmental Awareness
Activity and you were asked to give emphasis on the risk factors underlying disasters
so that young people will be equipped with knowledge on how to mitigate the effects
of a disaster. Have a concept in mind of how you are going to deliver the information.
Write down what you want to deliver to the audience. The given rubrics below will be
used for scoring.
Rubrics for creating a speech.
4 3 2 1
The speech is The speech is
The speech The speech is
on topic but on topic and
adheres to neither on topic
Content the the
the nor has
substance is substance is
theme/topic. substance.
satisfactory. fair.
Ideas and pieces
Some pieces
The speech is of information
of
very well seem to be
Organization Clear words information
organized randomly
of Thoughts are used. are not clear
and arranged and
and hard to
informative. improvement is
follow.
needed.
Cox, Janelle. "Writing Rubrics." ThoughtCo, Feb. 19, 2020, thoughtco.com/writing-
rubric-2081370.
Assessment
Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet
of paper.
1. Which of the following is the process or condition, often development-
related, that influence the level of disaster risk by increasing levels of
exposure and vulnerability or reducing capacity?
a. risk factor
b. disaster risk
c. natural hazard
d. man-made hazard
9
2. Which of the following is NOT an element which causes disaster?
a. exposure
b. hazard
c. risk
d. vulnerability
3. Which of the following BEST describes hazard?
a. loss of life or injury naturally
b. a phenomenon or human activity
c. potentially damaging physical event
d. reduction of vulnerability and exposure
4. Which of the following risk factors BEST describes the cause of COVID-
19 pandemic?
a. climate change
b. weak governance
c. globalized economic development
d. poorly- planned and managed urban development
5. It refers to the changes that can be attributed “directly or indirectly to
human activity altering the composition of the global atmosphere and
additionally to the natural climate variability observed over comparable
periods of time”?
a. deforestation
b. climate change
c. global warming
d. carbon footprint
6. How will reduction of the level of vulnerability and exposure be possible?
a. proper knowledge on disaster risk
b. potentially damaging physical even
c. increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazard
d. by keeping people and property as distant as possible from
hazards
7. Which of the following risk factors affect with inequality?
a. poverty
b. climate change
c. weak governance
d. globalized economic development
10
8. Unwillingness to assume their roles and responsibilities in governing
disaster risk unit, falls under which of the following risk factors?
a. climate change
b. weak governance
c. poverty and inequality
d. environmental degradation
9. Which among the groups suffer more adverse effects when an earthquake
causing disaster occurs?
a. men and women
b. children and women
c. old persons and women
d. old persons and children
10. The occurrence of landslides in the Philippines is increasing. This
kind of disaster will fall under which of the following risks?
a. poverty and inequality
b. climate change and weak governance
c. climate change and environmental degradation
d. climate change and globalized economic development
11. The ages below are average years ranges affected by specific situations
happening as a disaster occurs. Which of the following age ranges are
“Most Stressed-Out” after a disaster according to Asian Disaster
Preparedness Center (ADPC)?
a. 16-20
b. 20-30
c. 30-40
d. 40-60
12. Which of the following risk factors is the result in an increased
polarization between the rich and poor on a global scale?
a. climate change
b. poverty and inequality
c. environmental degradation
d. globalized economic development
13. Which of the following is NOT a contributor to the worst outcomes
when a disaster happened?
a. displacement
b. can handle stress
c. death of someone close
d. massive loss of property
11
14. Who among the following groups of people are more likely to live in
hazard-exposed areas and are less able to invest in risk-reducing
measures based on most studies in Asian Disaster Preparedness Center
(ADPC)?
a. middle class
b. senior citizens
c. young professionals
d. impoverished people
15. It is a risk factor that is both a driver and a consequence of disasters,
reducing the capacity of the environment to meet social and ecological
needs, what is it?
a. climate change
b. weak governance
c. poverty and inequality
d. environmental degradation
Additional Activities
Activity 1.5 Fill Me!
Direction: Supply the missing letters to complete the word/s that described
the various effects of disaster. Statements are provided as clues.
1. The elements at risk from a natural or man-made hazard event.
EXPOSURE _X__S__E
2. These are processes or conditions, often development-related, that
influence the level of disaster risk by increasing levels of exposure and
vulnerability or reducing capacity.
DISASTER RISK
D_S___E_ R___
12
3. The conditions determined by physical, social, economic, and
environmental factors or processes, which increase the susceptibility of a
community to the impact of hazard.
VULNERABILITY
_U_N__A__L__Y
4. Damage to both public and private infrastructures
INFRASTRUCTURE DAMAGE
I_F__S_R__T_R_ D__A_E
5. Many people must abandon their homes and seek shelter in other regions
which may cause large influx of refugees that disrupt accessibility of health
care and education, as well as food supplies and clean water
POTENTIAL DISPLACEMENT
P__E_T__L D_S__A__M_N_
13
