DISASTER
VULNERABILITY
DEFINITION & CONCEPT
IVAN REGIS ARCENA
GRADE 12 STEM-URIEL
VULNERABILITY IN DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES
According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies (2019) vulnerability in this context can be defined as
the diminished capacity of an individual or group to anticipate, cope
with, resist and recover from the impact of a natural or man-made
hazard.
Vulnerability refers to the inability (of a system or a unit) to
withstand the effects of a hostile environment (Wikipedia,2019).
The characteristics 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.
WHAT IS VULNERABILITY ?
Vulnerability describes the characteristics and circumstances of a
community, system or asset that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of
a hazard. There are many aspects of vulnerability, arising from various
physical, social, economic, and environmental factors.
WHAT IS VULNERABILITY ?
According to UNESCO/UNDRO (1982) Definitions of Hazard & Risk
Terminology-
Vulnerability (V) is the degree of loss to a given element or set of elements
at risk resulting from the occurrence of a hazardous phenomenon of a given
magnitude. It is expressed on a scale from 0 (no damage) to 1 (total loss).
KEY CONCEPT OF VULNERABILITY ?
Vulnerability = Exposure + Resistance + Resilience
Exposure: at risk property and population
Resistance: Measures taken to prevent, avoid or reduce loss
Resilience: Ability to recover prior state or achieve desired
post-disaster state
EXAMPLE OF VULNERABILITY ?
The people of the Eastern part of
Philippines are more vulnerable to
typhoons because of:
-High Exposure of Typhoon
-Low Resistance (lack of proper
management)
-Low Resilience (Economic limitation)
WHAT MAKES PEOPLE VULNERABLE?
Some definitions of vulnerability have included exposure in
addition to susceptibility to harm. However, it is now understood that
exposure is separate to the ‘susceptibility’ element of vulnerability
since it is possible to be exposed, whilst at the same time not
susceptible to natural hazards.
Despite some divergence over the meaning of vulnerability, most
experts agree that understanding vulnerability requires more than
analysing the direct impacts of a hazard. Vulnerability also concerns
the wider environmental and social conditions that limit people and
communities to cope with the impact of hazard (Birkmann, 2006).
TYPES OR SECTORS OF VULNERABILITY ?
There are four (4) main types of vulnerability:
1. Physical Vulnerability:
Meaning the potential for physical impact on the physical environment – which can be
expressed as elements-at-risk (EaR). The degree of loss to a given EaR or set of EaR
resulting from the occurrence of a natural phenomenon of a given magnitude and expressed
on a scale from 0 (no damage) to 1 (total damage)”.
May be determined by aspects
such as population
levels, density remoteness
settlement, the of
site, adesign and
materials used for critical
infrastructure and for housing
(UNISDR).
TYPES OR SECTORS OF VULNERABILITY ?
2.Economic Vulnerability:
The potential impacts of hazards on economic assets and processes (i.e.
business interruption secondary effects such as increased poverty and job loss)
Vulnerability of different economic sectors.
The poor are usually more vulnerable to disasters because they lack the
resources to build sturdy structures and put other engineering measures in place to
protect themselves from being negatively impacted by disasters.
TYPES OR SECTORS OF VULNERABILITY ?
3.Social Vulnerability:
Refers to the inability of people, organizations and societies to withstand
adverse impacts to hazards due to characteristics inherent in social interactions,
institutions and systems of cultural values. It includes aspects related to levels of
literacy and education, the existence of peace and security, access to basic human
rights, systems of good governance, social equity, positive traditional values,
customs and ideological beliefs and overall collective organizational systems
(UNISDR).
Example- When flooding occurs some citizens, such as children, elderly and
differently-able, may be unable to protect themselves or evacuate if necessary.
TYPES OR SECTORS OF VULNERABILITY ?
4. Environmental Vulnerability:
Natural resource depletion and resource degradation are key aspects of
environmental vulnerability. Example: Wetlands, such as the Caroni Swamp, are
sensitive to increasing salinity from sea water, and pollution from storm water
runoff containing agricultural chemicals, eroded soils, etc.
WHY DOES VULNERABILITY MATTER?
By including vulnerability in our understanding of disaster risk,
we acknowledge the fact that disaster risk not only depends on the
severity of hazard or the number of people or assets exposed, but
that it is also a reflection of the susceptibility of people and
economic assets to suffer loss and damage.
HOW DO WE REDUCE VULNERABILITY?
Approaches to vulnerability reduction include:
Implementing building codes
Insurance and social protection (risk )
Emphasising economic diversity and resilient livelihoods
Knowledge and awareness raising
Preparedness measures
WHAT IS RISK ?
The probability that a community’s
structure or geographic area is to be damaged
or disrupted by the impact of a particular
hazard, on account of their nature,
construction, and proximity to a hazardous
area.
Risk is a function of threats exploiting
vulnerabilities to obtain, damage or destroy
assets. Thus, threats (actual, conceptual, or
inherent) may exist, but if there are no
vulnerabilities then there is little/no risk.
KEY CONCEPT OF RISK
Hazard x Vulnerability
= Disaster Risk
Capacity
