Mindanao State University
Marawi Campus
College of Public Affairs
Department of Community Development
Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Title Introduction to Disaster Management
Subject SCD 108 – Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Time duration 3 Hours
Learning Outcomes 1. Define the various phases of the disaster management cycle.
2. Explain the importance of disaster mitigation.
3. Describe how disaster management can be integrated into public
policy.
4. Explain the global framework on DRR and its relevance to
Sustainable Development
5. Explain how planning and design of infrastructure should take into
account the vulnerability of the communities.
Materials ● Hand-outs
● Videos
Activities and procedures Reading
Topic 2: Introduction to Disaster Management
1.1 DRRM Profile of the Philippines
1.2 Global and National Frameworks and Declarations on Disaster Risk Reduction
1.3 Overview of SD
1.4 Relevance of DRRM to Sustainable Development
1.5 Managing Disasters: What is Disaster Management
1.6 Introduction to Disaster Management Cycle
1.7 Disaster Management Cycle: Phase 1 - Mitigation
Introduction
Disaster management is an enormous task. They are not confined to any particular location,
neither do they disappear as quickly as they appear. Therefore, it is imperative that there is
proper management to optimize efficiency of planning and response. Due to limited resources,
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collaborative efforts at the governmental, private and community levels are necessary. This
level of collaboration requires a coordinated and organized effort to mitigate against, prepare
for, respond to, and recover from emergencies and their effects in the shortest possible time.
1.1 DRRM Profile of the Philippines (Please watch the video)
1.2. Global Global and National Frameworks and Declarations on Disaster Risk Reduction
In 1987, the General Assembly of United Nations declared the 1990s to be the ‘International
Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction’ (IDNDR), with the objective of reducing deaths,
property damage, and social and economic disruption caused by natural disasters such as
earthquakes, windstorms, tsunamis, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, wildfires,
grasshopper and locust infestations, drought and desertification, and other hazards of natural
origin, especially in developing countries.
As a consequence of the World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction held in Yokohama,
Japan, in 1994 Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action for a Safer World was developed and
adopted in the conference. The conference’s focus was to review the outcomes of the activities
and planning activities for the remaining decade. The strategy is based on 10 principles, which
highlight the significance of risk assessment and disaster prevention and preparedness as vital
to national planning. It emphasises the role of early warning, need of the participation of
communities at risk including each community’s most vulnerable people, especially in
developing countries. Thus, Yokohama conference induced a shift from not just limiting to a
science oriented approach for effective disaster prevention but also to include socioeconomic
aspects as they are the main drivers to determining societal vulnerability.
When the IDNDR ended in 1999, the UN General Assembly established the secretariat of the
United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) to facilitate the
implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) in order to
mainstream the focus on vulnerability to hazards and disaster risk into the major policy
frameworks.
In 2005, the UN General Assembly convened a second World Conference on Disaster Risk
Reduction (WCDRR) in Kobe, Japan, to observe the progress obtained in implementing the
1994 Yokohama Strategy and also to share good practices and lessons learnt. The review of
the Yokohama Strategy acknowledged that there is increase, if not universal, in the
understanding and recognition among countries that disaster risk reduction is essential for
sustainable development. It also emphasised the importance of multisectoral and multi-
stakeholder approaches for building resilience, reducing vulnerabilities and hazard impacts
through enhancing national and local capacities (UN, 2005).
pg. 2
One of the important outcomes of the WCDRR in Kobe was the adoption of Hyogo Framework
for Action (HFA) 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities; a ten year
strategy for stronger commitment to the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). The framework was
adopted by 168 countries shifting the paradigm for disaster risk management from post disaster
response to a more comprehensive approach that would also include prevention and
preparedness measures. With the adoption of HFA, the United Nations General Assembly
tasked UNISDR with supporting its implementation and also monitoring its progress, which is
entirely dedicated to DRR. The HFA strived to achieve an expected outcome of substantial
reduction of disaster losses, in lives and in the social, economic and environmental assets of
communities and countries by 2015 (UNISDR, 2005).
All these activities are working towards developing preparedness, response, recovery,
prevention, and preparedness and mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of disasters.
Hyogo Framework of Action
Strategic Goals:
1. Effective integration of disaster risk reduction in to sustainable development policies, planning
and programming at all levels
2. Development and strengthening of institutions, mechanisms, and capacities at all levels, in
particular at the community level
3. Systematic incorporation of risk reduction approaches into the design and implementation of
emergency preparedness, response, and recovery programs.
Priorities for action:
1. Ensuring disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional
basis for implementation
2. Identifying, assessing and monitoring disaster risks and enhancing early warning
3. Using knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all
levels
4. Reducing the underlying risk factors
5. Strengthening disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels.
(United Nations, 2015)
The implementation of HFA has resulted in cooperation agreements and joint plans of action in
all regions of the world, including one legally binding regional instrument, and in the creation of
important tools such as the Global Platform and the Global Assessment Report (UNESCAP,
2011). The period after adoption of HFA at UN WCDRR has been significant in terms of
realisation of vulnerabilities of communities. The HFA implemented by different partnerships and
collaboration informed more on the concepts of resilience, vulnerability, exposure as
components of disaster risks. It has also led to understanding of comprehensive approaches
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like hazard assessment, vulnerability analysis, and capacity development directly addressing
these components (Surjan et al., 2011). The HFA also underscores the relationship between
reducing disaster risk and achieving broader development challenges such as the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) (UNISDR & UNESCAP, 2012).
To accelerate the HFA and other DRR efforts by UN, World Bank established Global Facility
for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) in 2006 to help the developing countries to
understand and reduce their vulnerabilities to natural hazards by enhancing their capacity for
disaster prevention, emergency preparedness, response, and recovery. GFDRR is supported by
34 countries and nine international organisations and provides grant financing, technical
assistance, training and knowledge sharing activities to mainstream disaster and risk
management in policies and strategies (UNISDR, 2008).
The third UN WCDRR in 2015 in Sendai, Japan led to the adoption of The Sendai Framework
for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) (2015-2030), which is the successor to the Hyogo
Framework for action (HFA) (2005-2015). The SFDRR is a 15-year, voluntary, non-binding
agreement which seeks to bring about ‘the substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in
lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental
assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries’ (UNISDR, 2015). The SFDRR set
out a more ambitious agenda than HFA, builds on the achievements of HFA and was adopted
by 187 member states. It calls for a historic shift from an emphasis on disaster
management to addressing disaster risk management. It focuses on the underlying drivers
of disaster risk, such as poorly planned urban growth in areas subject to flooding, landslides,
earthquakes, cyclones, and the effects of climate change. The SFDRR advocates an approach
that is people-centred and preventive, and promotes the proactive management of disaster risk
over the reactive management of disasters (UN, 2015).
The SFDRR outlined seven global targets and four priority actions to evaluate the global
progress towards the framework. The focus of priority actions listed out in the SFDRR includes
enhancing the understanding of disaster risk in all its dimensions of vulnerability, capacity,
exposure, hazard characteristics, environment; public, private investment in structural and non-
structural measures; to strengthen disaster preparedness for more effective response
(Wahlström, 2015). 7
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has also placed disaster risk
reduction at the centre of climate change debate in its publication for policy makers on
managing risks of extreme events and disasters. The report provides insights into how disaster
risk management and adaptation may assist vulnerable communities to better cope with climate
change, and experience of wide range of options to reduce exposure and vulnerability and
improve resilience to climate extremes. Options include early-warning systems, innovations in
insurance coverage, improvements in infrastructure and the expansion of social safety nets
(IPCC, 2012).
Similarly, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have also embedded disaster risk
resilience in nine out of its 17 goals for sustainable development. However, several states have
pg. 4
called for the need for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) to be mainstreamed across poverty
reduction, gender equality, education, health, food security, governance, cities, peace and
security, agriculture, water and sanitation, energy, ecosystems, and technology transfer.
Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030
Targets of the Framework:
1. Substantially reduce global disaster mortality by 2030
2. Substantially reduce the number of affected people globally by 2030
3. Reduce direct disaster economic loss in relation to global gross domestic product by 2030
4. Substantially reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic
services, among them health and educational facilities, including through developing their
resilience by 2030
5. Substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction
strategies by 2020
6. Substantially enhance international cooperation to developing countries through adequate
and sustainable support to complement their national actions for implementation of the
framework by 2030
7. Substantially increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems
and disaster risk information and assessments to the people by 2030.
Priority actions:
1. Understanding disaster risk
2. Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk
3. Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience
4. Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to “Build Back Better” in
recovery, rehabilitation and rehabilitation.
(United Nations, 2015)
DID YOU KNOW?
If an earthquake strikes a desert that is uninhabited by human beings, it would not cause
direct and immediate damage to the society and thus, would not be termed as a disaster.
pg. 5
1.3 Overview of Sustainable Development (Please watch the video)
1.4 Relevance of DRRM to Sustainable Development
As per the Brundtland Commission Report, 1987, ‘development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs is
sustainable’. It contains within it two key concepts: the concept of ‘needs’, in particular the
needs of the poor; and the idea of ‘limitations’ imposed by the state of technology and social
organization on the environment’s ability to meet these needs. The main objective of
sustainable development is to prevent the acts of nature from becoming disasters. Development
that is sustainable will not disturb its environs beyond reasonable levels. It is based on socio-
cultural development, political stability, economic growth and ecosystem protection, which all
relate to disaster risk reduction.
1.5 Managing Disasters: What is Disaster Management
Concepts to Remember
Disaster risk management: The systematic process of using administrative directives,
organizations, and operational skills and capacities to implement strategies, policies and
improved coping capacities in order to lessen the adverse impacts of hazards and the possibility
of disaster. (UNISDR, 2009)
Capacity: The combination of all the strengths, attributes and resources available within a
community, society or organization that can be used to achieve agreed goals. (UNISDR, 2009)
Community Based Disaster Risk Management: Community-based Disaster Risk
Management (CBDRM) is a process in which communities engage with the identification,
analysis, mitigation, monitoring and evaluation of disaster risks in order to reduce their
vulnerabilities and enhance their capacities (ADPC, 2003)
Disaster management: The organization and management of resources and responsibilities for
dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in particular preparedness, response and
recovery in order to lessen the impact of disasters.
Disaster risk: The potential disaster losses, in lives, health status, livelihoods, assets and
services, which could occur to a particular community or a society over some specified future
time period. (UNISDR, 2009)
pg. 6
Resilience: The ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb,
accommodate to and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner,
including through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions.
(UNISDR, 2009)
Disaster management as an activity involves measures to:
Reduce the risks associated with disasters through timely measures, short-term and long-
term policies
Provide required assistance to communities during and after the disasters; and
Ensure rapid and sustained recovery and rehabilitation after the occurrence of disasters
The new vision adopted for disaster management focuses on:
Preparedness rather than post-crisis management
Coordinated participatory approach
Technology upgradation and deployment
Information as a tool of disaster management
Recognition of linkages between disasters and development
Connecting specific programmes for management of natural disasters
Forecasting and warning using latest technology; and
Disaster management as a continuous and integrated part of development process
1.6 Introduction to Disaster Management Cycle
Disaster Management Cycle
Disaster management is a cyclical process; the end of one phase is the beginning of
another (see diagram below), although one phase of the cycle does not necessarily have to
be completed in order for the next to take place. Often several phases are taking place
concurrently. Timely decision making during each phase results in greater preparedness,
better warnings, reduced vulnerability and/or the prevention of future disasters. The
complete disaster management cycle includes the shaping of public policies and plans that
either addresses the causes of disasters or mitigates their effects on people, property, and
infrastructure.
The mitigation and preparedness phases occur as improvements are made in anticipation of
an event. By embracing development, a community’s ability to mitigate against and prepare
for a disaster is improved. As the event unfolds, disaster managers become involved in the
immediate response and long-term recovery phases.
The diagram below shows the Disaster Management Cycle.
pg. 7
FIGURE 3: DISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE
1. Mitigation: Measures put in place to minimize the results from a disaster. Examples:
building codes and zoning; vulnerability analyses; public education.
Mitigation means any action taken to minimize the extent of a disaster or potential
disaster. Mitigation can take place before, during or after a disaster, but the term is most
often used pro-actively to refer to actions against potential disasters. Mitigation
measures are structural and also non-structural. Structural measures are measures that
can be easily seen or perceived such as strengthening of buildings, disaster-resistant
construction, and erection of infrastructure. The non-structural measures are intangible
in nature. These cannot be easily quantified, but are very important such as generation
of awareness, education and training, insurance and adherence to the rules and by-
laws.
2. Preparedness: Planning how to respond. Examples: preparedness plans;
emergency exercises/training; warning systems.
pg. 8
Preparedness entails activities and measures taken in advance to ensure effective response to the
impact of hazards, including the issuance of timely and effective early warnings, preparation of
emergency plans, maintenance of inventories, at-risk planning and temporary evacuation of
people and property from threatened locations. It involves measures that enable governments,
community and individuals to respond rapidly to disaster situations and effectively cope with
them.
3. Response: Initial actions taken as the event takes place. It involves efforts to
minimize the hazards created by a disaster. Examples: evacuation; search and
rescue; emergency relief.
Response can be of an immediate, short-term, or protracted duration. For example, search and
rescue of the affected people and provision of food, temporary shelter and medical care to the
persons affected by the disaster are some common areas of intervention after a disaster. Response
involves strategies and ways that can help to reduce the level of suffering and mitigate the
distress, so as to bring the affected people out from the shock and trauma of suddenly losing their
loved ones and their means of livelihood. Further, the main objective of relief is to assist the
affected persons to start their normal activities again.
4. Recovery: Returning the community to normal. Ideally, the affected area should be
put in a condition equal to or better than it was before the disaster took place.
Examples: temporary housing; grants; medical care.
1.7 Disaster Management Cycle: Phase 1 - Mitigation
Disaster Mitigation
Mitigation refers to all actions taken before a disaster to reduce its impacts, including
preparedness and long-term risk reduction measures. Mitigation activities fall broadly into two
categories:
Structural mitigation – construction projects which reduce economic and social impacts
Non-structural activities – policies and practices which raise awareness of hazards or
encourage developments to reduce the impact of disasters.
Mitigation includes reviewing building codes; vulnerability analysis updates; zoning and land-use
management and planning; reviewing of building use regulations and safety codes; and
implementing preventative health measures. (World Development Report, 1998) Mitigation can
also involve educating businesses and the public on simple measures they can take to reduce
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loss or injury, for instance fastening bookshelves, water heaters, and filing cabinets to walls to
keep them from falling during earthquakes. Ideally, these preventative measures and public
education programmes will occur before the disaster.
The primary focus of disaster management is to prevent disasters wherever possible or to
mitigate those which are inevitable. Four sets of tools that could be used to prevent or mitigate
disasters include:
a Hazard management and vulnerability reduction
b Economic diversification
c Political intervention and commitment
d Public awareness
The first two apply exclusively to disasters caused by natural phenomena while the latter are
used to mitigate any other hazards.
Mitigation strategies
Two aspects of mitigation include:
1 Hazard identification and vulnerability analysis and
2 Various mitigation strategies or measures.
Hazard identification and vulnerability analysis
A hazard can cause the full range of natural disasters, major man-made incidents, and resource
crises that become the concern of the entire community, not just emergency management
personnel. The ideal is for communities to be prepared at all times for all types of hazards. In
practical terms however, this is not possible. Preparedness for one hazard or disaster may
increase your risk to another. For example, structures designed to withstand hurricane force
winds may incur or cause greater damage if there is an earthquake. The more logical solution
would be to adapt best practices as much as possible for the most likely scenario.
But what about the hazards associated with our 21st-century lifestyle such as chemical spills,
ecological disasters, explosions, major transportation accidents? Mitigation involves addressing
both natural and man-made hazards, different as they are in many respects. A crucial first step
in
mitigation is deciding which hazards have the greatest potential to affect your jurisdiction.
The most critical part of implementing a mitigation strategy is a full understanding of the nature
of the threat as the hazards faced vary between locations and from hazard to hazard. Most
countries are prone to at least some combination of hazards and all face the possibility of
pg. 10
technological disasters as industrial development progresses. The effects these hazards are
likely to have and their potential damage is dependent on the risks, the people, their livelihoods
and the existing infrastructure. For any particular location, therefore, it is critical to know which
hazards are the most likely.
Furthermore, targeting mitigation efforts relies heavily on correctly assessing vulnerability.
Vulnerability assessment can also be extended to social groups or economic sectors: People
who rent houses rely on a landlord to repair any damage and are more likely to be rendered
homeless in the event of a disaster. Correctly identifying the groups of tenants and establishing
rights of tenure and landlords’ obligations to repair may reduce the number of people rendered
homeless in the event of a disaster. Similarly, food growers sending their produce to market
through a single mountain pass will be unable to sell their produce if the pass is blocked.
Developing an alternative route to market will reduce disruption of the agricultural sector. Thus,
building or constructing a number of routes is very important because in a time of disaster it will
be easier for the affected group or community to employ alternatives.
Mitigation strategies or measures
● Adjusting normal development programmes to reduce losses. For instance, varieties of
crops that are more wind, flood or drought resistant can often be introduced in areas prone to
floods, drought and cyclones.
● Economic diversification. In areas where the principal or sole source of the income may be
threatened, attempts should be made to diversify the economy and introduce the economic
activities that are less vulnerable. Diversification is extremely important where economies are
dependent on a single cash crop.
● Developing disaster resistant economic activities. Some economic activities are relatively
unaffected by disasters. For instance, situating warehouses in flood plains may be more
appropriate than manufacturing plants in the same location. Coconut palms could be more
suitable than other fruit trees in cyclone-prone coastal areas. Efforts should be made to
identify and encourage the development of enterprises that are less vulnerable to the
hazards.
Considerations
a. Operations
To maintain operations during a disaster, ensure that a backup generator is available in case of
power failure and that a battery-operated radio is at hand as well as a back-up supply of critical
goods/needs – a continuous supply if at all possible.
b. Critical Information and Communication
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Ensure that there is a backup copy of all critical information – namely employee data, customer
list, production formulas, a list of software and hardware and logon and passwords – in an
accessible yet safe place; regularly update the backup copy of all files.
c. Insurance
Ensure that all critical assets, including business interruption are insured and be aware of the
content of the insurance policy.
d. Infrastructure planning
e. Mitigation Activities at Home
Homes can be destroyed by high winds. Flying debris can break windows and doors, allowing
high winds and rain into your house. High winds can also cause weaker places in your home to
crumble. Strengthening vulnerable areas such as roofs, exterior doors, windows, and garage
doors; clearing debris from possibly affected areas; and building a safe room in your home can
all contribute to personal mitigation strategies. It is also very important to encourage people to
learn more about other protective measures that fall within the purview of their local building
code.
Additionally, in areas that are prone to strong winds, there is a need for a number of other
measures to be considered such as engineering structures to withstand wind forces; including
wind load requirements in building codes; planting windbreaks; planning forestry areas upwind
of towns; and the provision of wind-safety buildings, for example providing strong village halls
for community shelter in vulnerable settlements.
Disasters and developments are closely related. Disaster can both destroy development
initiatives and create development opportunities. Development schemes can both
increase and decrease vulnerability. Thus, links between disaster and development must
be taken into account for sustainable socio-economic development.
At the same time, disasters often provide opportunities for development. They can improve the
atmosphere in favour of change and create a rationale to establish development programmes
such as job training, housing construction and land reform. However, poor management of the
relief and rehabilitation responses may have severe negative implications for development for
years to come, and may even increase vulnerability to future hazards.
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