Module 3: Basic Concepts of Disaster and Disaster

Risk
Objectives:

1. Explain the meaning of disaster;

2. Differentiate the risk factors underlying
disaster;
3. Describe the effects of disaster in one’s
life;
4. Explain how and when an event becomes
a disaster;
5. Analyze disaster from different
perspectives (physical, psychological,
socio-cultural, economic, political,
biological);
 Every year, millions of people around
the world are affected by either human caused
or natural disasters.

 Disasters take in different forms, like

volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods,
hurricanes, tornados, or fires. In a disaster,
people face the danger of death or physical
injury. They may also lose their home,
possessions, and community where they live in.

 Disasters can caused a full range of

mental and physical reactions. Those affected
may also react to problems that occur after the
event, as well as to triggers of the trauma.
Is a storm a hazard
or a disaster?
Typhoon Belt
 Is
defined as “a sudden, calamitous
event, bringing great damage, loss,
destruction and devastation to life
and property”
( Asian Disaster Preparedness Center – ADPC, 2012)

 It can be natural or of human origin.

1.Agricultural diseases and pests
Natural
2. Building collapses
Human-made
3. Chemical spills
Human-made
4. Cyber Attacks
Human-made
5. Drought
Natural
6. Earthquakes
Natural
7. Emergency disease (pandemic influenza)
Natural
8. Extreme heat
Natural
9. Explosion
Human-made
10. Volcanic Eruptions
Natural
11. Floods and Flash Floods
Natural
12. Landslide and debris flow
Natural
13. Sinkholes
Natural
14. Tsunamis
Natural
15. Wildfires
Natural
 Natural – These originate from the different
“forces” of nature
(geological, meteorological, hydro meteorological and
biological).
A natural hazard is a natural phenomenon that
might have a negative effect on humans or
the environment. Natural hazard events can be
classified into two broad
categories: geophysical and biological. Geophysical
hazards encompass geological and meteorological
phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, wildfires, cyclonic
storms, floods, droughts, avalanches and landslides.
Biological hazards can refer to a diverse array
of disease, infection, infestation and invasive
species.
Biological hazards, also known as biohazards,
refer to biological substances that pose a threat to
the health of living organisms, primarily that of
humans. This can include samples of
a microorganism, virus or toxin (from a biological
source) that can affect human health. It can also
include substances harmful to other animals.
Example:
Outbreaks of epidemic diseases
Plant or animal contagion
Insect or other animal plagues
infestation
It includes internal earth processes such as:
earthquakes
volcanic activity and emissions

Related geophysical processes such as

mass movements
landslides
rockslides
surface collapse
debris mudflows
Hydrometeorology is a branch
of meteorology and hydrology that studies the
transfer of water and energy between the land
surface and the lower atmosphere.

Natural processes or phenomena of

atmospheric, hydrological or oceanographic
nature that may cause the loss of life or injury,
property damage, social and economic
disruption or environmental degradation.
Natural Disasters
 Storm surge is the abnormal rise in
seawater level during a storm, measured as
the height of the water above the normal
predicted astronomical tide. The surge is
caused primarily by a storm’s winds pushing
water onshore.
 A drought is a natural disaster of below-
average precipitation in a given region, resulting in
prolonged shortages in the water supply, whether
atmospheric, surface water or ground water. A
drought can last for months or years, or may be
declared after as few as 15 days

Most people think of a drought as a period

of unusually dry weather that persists long enough
to cause problems such as crop damage and water
supply shortage. But because dry conditions
develop for different reasons, there is more than
one definition of drought.
 "Drought is caused by not only lack of
precipitation and high temperatures but by
overuse and overpopulation."
Meteorological drought
is specific to different regions,
depending on the amount of yearly
precipitation that's average for that
area.

Agricultural drought
accounts for the water needs of
crops during different growing stages.
For instance, not enough moisture at
planting time may hinder germination,
leading to low plant populations and a
reduction in yield.
Hydrological drought
refers to persistently low water volumes
in streams, rivers and reservoirs. Human
activities, such as drawdown of reservoirs, can
worsen hydrological droughts. Hydrological
drought is often linked with meteorological
droughts.

Socioeconomic drought
occurs when the demand for water
exceeds the supply. Examples of this kind of
drought include too much irrigation or when
low river flow forces hydroelectric power plant
operators to reduce energy production.
An earthquake (also known as
a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of
the surface of the Earth, resulting from the
sudden release of energy in
the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic
waves .

Seismic waves are waves of energy that travel

through the Earth's layers, and are a result
of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, magma
movement, large landslides and large man-
made explosions that give out low-frequency
acoustic energy.
"Tropical" refers to the geographical origin of
these systems, which form almost exclusively
over tropical seas.
"Cyclone" refers to their winds moving in a
circle, whirling round their central clear eye, with
their winds blowing counterclockwise in
the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in
the Southern Hemisphere

Hurricanes are tropical storms that form over the

North Atlantic Ocean and Northeast Pacific.
Cyclones are formed over the South Pacific and
Indian Ocean.
Typhoons are formed over the Northwest Pacific
Ocean
 A landslide is defined as the movement
of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a
slope. Landslides are a type of "mass wasting,"
which denotes any down-slope movement of
soil and rock under the direct influence of
gravity.
 A thunderstorm is a series of sudden
electrical discharges resulting from atmospheric
conditions. These discharges result in sudden
flashes of light and trembling sound waves,
commonly known as thunder and lightning.

Thunder is the sound produced by the rapid

heating of air by a lightning strike.

Lightning is a huge electrical discharge that

flows between clouds, from a cloud to air, or from
a cloud to the ground.
Tornadoes are vertical funnels of rapidly
spinning air.
A tsunami is a series of waves caused by
earthquakes or undersea volcanic eruption
A wildfire or wildland fire is a fire in an area
of combustible vegetation occurring in rural
areas.
 Sinkholes are common where the rock
below the land surface is limestone, carbonate
rock, salt beds, or rocks that can naturally be
dissolved by groundwater circulating them. As the
rock dissolves, space and caverns develop
underground.
An influenza pandemic is a global outbreak of a new
influenza A virus. Pandemics happen when new (novel)
influenza A viruses emerge which are able to infect
people easily and spread from person to person in an
efficient and sustained way.
Temperatures that hover 10 degrees or more above
the average high temperature for the region and
last for several weeks are defined as extreme
heat.
Flood: An overflow of water onto normally dry land. The
inundation of a normally dry area caused by rising water in an
existing waterway, such as a river, stream, or drainage ditch.
Ponding of water at or near the point where the rain fell.
Flooding is a longer term event than flash flooding: it may last
days or weeks.

Flash flood: A flood caused by heavy or excessive rainfall in a

short period of time, generally less than 6 hours. Flash floods
are usually characterized by raging torrents after heavy rains
that rip through river beds, urban streets, or mountain
canyons sweeping everything before them. They can occur
within minutes or a few hours of excessive rainfall. They can
also occur even if no rain has fallen, for instance after a levee
or dam has failed, or after a sudden release of water by a
debris or ice jam.
La Niña is sometimes referred to as the cold
phase of ENSO and El Niño as the warm phase of
ENSO. These deviations from normal surface
temperatures can have large-scale impacts not
only on ocean processes, but also on
global weather and climate.
 Human-made and
Technological Disasters
 Human-made disasters – These
disasters occur due to people’s
actions against human, material and
environment.
 A number of factors make it more
likely that those affected will have more
severe or longer-lasting stress reactions
after disasters.
The amount of exposure to the disaster is
highly related to risk of future mental
problems.
o At high risk are those that go through the
disaster themselves.
o Next are those in close contact with victims.
o At lower risk of lasting impact are those who
only had indirect exposure, such as news of
the severe damage.
o Injury and life threat are the factors that
lead most often to mental health problems.
Disaster recovery is more stressful when the
following are present in the home
• Women or girls
• children
• Women with spouses also experience more
distress during recovery
• Having a family member in the home who is
extremely distressed
• Marital stress has been found to increase after
disasters
• conflicts between family members or lack of
support in the home make it harder to recover
from disasters.
Adults who are in the age range of 40-60 are
likely to be more distressed after disasters.
Recovery is worse if survivors:
 Were not functioning well before the disaster
 Have had no experience dealing with
disasters
 Must deal with other stressors after the
disaster
 Have poor self esteem
 Think they are uncared for by others
 Think they have little control over what
happens to them
 Lack the capacity to manage stress
 Bereavement (Death of someone close)
 Injury to self or another family member
 Life threat
 Disastersin developing countries , like
Philippines, have more severe mental health
impact than do disasters in developed
countries.
The support of others can be both a
risk and a resilience factor.
1. Displaced Populations
2. Health Risk
3. Food Scarcity
4. Emotional Aftershocks
 An event, either human-made or natural,
becomes a disaster when is sudden or progressive,
causing widespread human, material or environmental
losses.
Example:
A typhoon like Yolanda is a natural phenomenon.
It became a disaster due to several factors:
o Its strength (290 km./hour); the storm surge it
brought was sudden and unexpected; and its
devastating effect to human, material, and
environment.
o More than 7,000 people perished.
o The entire City of Tacloban was literally falttened to
the ground.
 Another example is Typhoon Ondoy that
struck the country in 2009. The Philippines is
visited by typhoons on the average of 20 every
year. Hence, typhoons are considered as natural
events in this country.
However, Typhoon Ondoy turned into a
disaster because of the amount of precipitation
brought by its torrential rains that lasted for
several days causing floods and flash floods in
Metro manila. Thousand of houses were
submerged in flood water. Hundreds of shelters
along river banks and steros were washed out.
Power and water supplies were cut of for several
weeks. Hundreds of lives perished.
 A television program like Wow Wowie, hosted by
Willie Revillame, a popular singer-comediane was a
common social event in the Philippine entertainment
world.

It became so popular that thousands of fans

flock to ULTRA (a huge event venue during that time) to
watch the noon time variety show every day, except
Sundays.

That event turned out to a disastrous tragedy

when there was a human-induced disturbance among
the watching crowd that caused a stampede. Many
spectators were hurt and some even died which led to
the dissolution of said TV program.
That’s all for now