Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

Title Overview of Disaster Management

Subject SCD 108 – Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management
Time duration 3 Hours
Overview Enter overview
Learning Outcomes 1. Define and describe disaster management, hazard, emergency,
disaster, vulnerability, and risk.
2. Distinguish between an emergency and a disaster situation.
3. Identify and describe the types of natural and non-natural disasters.
4. List and describe the main hazards to which your region is, or may
be, vulnerable.
Materials  Hand-outs
 Videos
Activities and procedures Reading

Topic 1: Overview of Disaster Management

1.1 Introduction to Disaster
Introduction
All communities are vulnerable to disasters, both natural and man-made. It is an experience of
many that the aftermath left behind by disaster whether cause by unexpected events. Natural or man-made
calamities not only destroys livelihoods, properties, and lives, but also brings about heightened
insecurities, instability and uncertainty. When communities have low adaptive capacities, this makes them
more vulnerable to other hazards that exploit post-disaster chaotic environments.

The recent spate of events has shown that the frequent occurrence of disasters in the
country has prevented the Philippine Government to reduce the incidence of poverty and reduce the
number of people and assets vulnerable to natural disasters based on the Assessment of DRRM at the
Local Level, Commission on Audit 2014. That is why, disaster is considered the greatest challenge to
development. Egeland (2006) pointed out that it is a big challenge to the poorer countries, disaster could
wipe out years of their development and it will take years to bring it back.

Therefore, it is pertinent to treat disaster management as a part of the developmental process and
not as an isolated event that takes place only when a disaster strikes. All disaster management
phases and methods have to be mainstreamed into the larger development process. First and
foremost, it is important to understand the concepts:
The first question that crosses our minds is what exactly is a disaster.

1. Disaster - A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society at

any scale due to hazardous events interacting with conditions of exposure,
vulnerability and capacity, leading to one or more of the following: human,
material, economic and environmental losses and impacts.
The effect of the disaster can be immediate and localized, but is often widespread and
could last for a long period of time. The effect may test or exceed the capacity of a
community or society to cope using its own resources, and therefore may require
assistance from external sources, which could include neighbouring jurisdictions, or those
at the national or international levels.

2. Hazard- A process, phenomenon or human activity that may cause loss of life,
injury or other health impacts, property damage, social and economic disruption
or environmental degradation. Hazards may be natural, anthropogenic or socio
natural in origin. Natural hazards are predominantly associated with natural
processes and phenomena. Anthropogenic hazards, or human-induced hazards,
are induced entirely or predominantly by human activities and choices. This term
does not include the occurrence or risk of armed conflicts and other situations of
social instability or tension which are subject to international humanitarian law
and national legislation. Several hazards are socionatural, in that they are
associated with a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors, including
environmental degradation and climate change.
3. Vulnerability- The conditions determined by physical, social, economic and
environmental factors or processes which increase the susceptibility of an
individual, a community, assets or systems to the impacts of hazards.
4. Risk - Is the probability that loss will occur as the result of an adverse event, given the
hazard and the vulnerability”.
Risk (R) can be determined as a product of hazard (H) and vulnerability (V). i.e. R = H x V
5. Disaster Management - The organization, planning and application of measures
preparing for, responding to and recovering from disasters.
Disaster management may not completely avert or eliminate the threats; it focuses on creating
and implementing preparedness and other plans to decrease the impact of disasters and “build
back better”. Failure to create and apply a plan could lead to damage to life, assets and lost
revenue.
(Source: UNDRR)

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Contributing Factors to Vulnerability

Types of Vulnerability Characteristics

Tangible/Material People – lives, health, security, living conditions
(easy to see; value easily determined)
Property – services, physical property loss, loss of use
Economy – loss of products and production, income
Environment – water, soil, air, vegetation, wildlife
Intangible/Abstract Social structures – family and community relationships
(difficult to see; value difficult to determine)
Cultural practices – religious and agricultural
Cohesion – disruption of normal life
Motivation – will to recover; government response
Poverty People who are already in a depressed state are less
able to recover. Some people are even more vulnerable
– pregnant women, children and the disabled.
Population growth Population has grown dramatically over the past
decade
Rapid urbanisation Growing concentration around the capital.

Transition in cultural practices Increase in sub-standard housing in more heavily

populated urban areas. Changes in traditional coping
mechanisms – declines in self-reliance, food
conservation and preservation, warning systems etc.
Environmental degradation As resources are consumed, vegetation cover
removed, water polluted and air fouled, a country is
more vulnerable to a disaster.
Lack of awareness and information When people and government officials are unaware or
lack information about disaster management, they fail
to take appropriate actions.
Civil Strife and unrest Resources are consumed, people are in a stressed
situation, and transportation is restricted.
Geographical isolation Island countries are disadvantaged by their relative
remoteness, particular their limited access to schools,
health and cash.
Political uncertainties/instability Changing government policies, changing personnel in
the national focal point, economic weakness all can
contribute to an effective national disaster
management programme.

Distinguishing between an emergency and a disaster situation

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An emergency and a disaster are two different situations:

 An emergency is a situation in which the community is capable of coping. It is a situation generated by

the real or imminent occurrence of an event that requires immediate attention and that requires
immediate attention of emergency resources.
 A disaster is a situation in which the community is incapable of coping. It is a natural or human-caused
event which causes intense negative impacts on people, goods, services and/or the environment,
exceeding the affected community’s capability to respond; therefore the community seeks the assistance
of government and international agencies.

Types of natural and non-natural disasters

Disasters are often classified according to their:

a causes – natural vs. human

b speed of onset – sudden vs. slow

A. CAUSES

1 Natural Disasters

These types of disaster naturally occur in proximity to, and pose a threat to, people, structures or
economic assets. They are caused by biological, geological, seismic, hydrologic, or meteorological
conditions or processes in the natural environment (e.g., cyclones, earthquakes, tsunami, floods,
landslides, and volcanic eruptions).

a Cyclones, Hurricanes or Typhoons

Cyclones develop when a warm ocean gives rise to hot air, which in turn creates convectional air currents.
Cyclones occur when these conventional air currents are being displaced. The term hurricane/typhoon is a
regionally specific name for a “tropical cyclone”. In Asia they are called ‘typhoons’; in the Indian and
Pacific Oceans they are called ‘cyclones’; and over the North Atlantic and Caribbean Basin, they are
called ‘hurricanes’.

Tropical warning procedures:

1. Small crafts and fishing boats: approx 25-35mph winds.

2. Wind advisory for the public: approx. 25-35mph winds.

3. Gale watch: when a mature tropical cyclone has a significant probability to threaten a part of the country
within 48 hours.

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 4. Gale force warning: issued when wind speeds are expected to reach gale force intensity of (34-47knots)
within the next 24 hours.
5. Storm watch: if a post tropical cyclone disturbance is a notable to threat to an area or the entire country
within a 24 to 48 hour timeframe, a storm watch statement would be included with the gale warning.
6. Storm warning: issued every three (3) hours when the average wind speeds are expected to reach storm
force intensity of 48-63 knots within the next 12 to 24 hours.
7. Cyclone watch: issued when tropical cyclone winds is expected to reach cyclone force winds of above 63
knots (or 70 mph) in 24 to 48 hours.
8. Cyclone warning: issued every three (3) hours, when wind speeds are expected to exceed 63 knots within
the next 12 to 24 hours.

c Earthquakes

An earthquake is a trembling or shaking movement of the earth’s surface, resulting from plate movements
along a fault-plane or as a result of volcanic activity. Earthquakes can strike suddenly, violently, and
without warning at any time of the day or night. The following terminologies are associated with
earthquakes: epicentre, fault, magnitude and seismic waves.

For practical purposes, earthquakes are usually defined by their magnitude (or quantitative energy
released) which is measured using a logarithm scale of 1 – 10. This logarithm scale is referred to as the
Richter scale. The magnitude is determined by analysing seismic data obtained from seismometers.

The intensity of an earthquake is measured using the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) Scale, which is
determined qualitatively by physical observations of the earthquake’s impact.

d Tsunami
A tsunami is an ocean wave generated by a submarine earthquake, volcano or landslide. It is also known
as a seismic sea wave, and incorrectly as a tidal wave. Storm Surge (Also known as “Daluyong ng Bagyo”)
is the abnormal rise in sea level that occurs during tropical cyclones or “bagyo”. It is caused by strong winds
and low atmospheric pressures produced by tropical cyclones. As the tropical cyclone approaches the coast,
strong winds push the ocean water over the low-lying coastal areas, which can lead to flooding. This makes
storm surges very dangerous.

e Floods

This phenomenon occurs when water covers previously dry areas, i.e., when large amounts of water flow
from a source such as a river or a broken pipe onto a previously dry area, or when water overflows banks
or barriers.

Floods can be environmentally important to local ecosystems. For example, some river floods bring
nutrients to soil such as in Egypt where the annual flooding of the Nile River carries nutrients to

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otherwise dry land. Floods can also have an economic and emotional impact on people, particularly if
their property is directly affected. Having a better understanding of what causes flooding can help people
to be better prepared and to perhaps minimize or prevent flood damage.

f Landslides

The term landslide refers to the downward movement of masses of rock and soil. Landslides are caused
by one or a combination of the following factors: change in slope gradient, increasing the load the land
must bear, shocks and vibrations, change in water content, ground water movement, frost action,
weathering of shocks, removal or, or changing the type of vegetation covering slopes.

Landslide hazard areas occur where the land has certain characteristics which contribute to the risk of the
downhill movement of material. These characteristics include:

i A slope greater than 15 percent.

ii Landslide activity or movement occurred during the last 10,000 years.
iii Stream or wave activity which has caused erosion, undercut a bank or cut into a bank to cause the
surrounding land to be unstable.
iv The presence or potential for snow avalanches.
v The presence of an alluvial fan which indicates vulnerability to the flow of debris or sediments.
vi The presence of impermeable soils, such as silt or clay, which are mixed with granular soils such as
sand and gravel.

Landslides can also be triggered by other natural hazards such as rains, floods, earthquakes, as well as
human-made causes, such as grading, terrain cutting and filling, excessive development, etc. Because the
factors affecting landslides can be geophysical or human-made, they can occur in developed areas,
undeveloped areas, or any area where the terrain has been altered for roads, houses, utilities, buildings,
etc.

1 Human-Made Disasters

These are disasters or emergency situations of which the principal, direct causes are identifiable human
actions, deliberate or otherwise. Apart from “technological disasters” this mainly involves situations in
which civilian populations suffer casualties, losses of property, basic services and means of livelihood as a
result of war, civil strife or other conflicts, or policy implementation. In many cases, people are forced to
leave their homes, giving rise to congregations of refugees or externally and/or internally displaced
persons as a result of civil strife, an airplane crash, a major fire, oil spill, epidemic, terrorism, etc.

B. SPEED OF ONSET

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2 Sudden onset: little or no warning, minimal time to prepare. For example, an earthquake, tsunami, cyclone,
volcano, etc.
3 Slow onset: adverse event slow to develop; first the situation develops; the second level is an emergency; the
third level is a disaster. For example, drought, civil strife, epidemic, etc.

References:
1. Virtual University for the Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC)
Commonwealth of Learning (COL), 1055 West Hastings Street, Suite 1200, Vancouver, Canada
2. Introduction to Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Education, UNESCO. 2010
3. United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

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