HOW AND WHEN

AN EVENT
BECOMES A
DISASTER?
 An event, either human-
made or natural, becomes a
disaster when it is sudden a
progressive, causing
widespread human, material
or environmental losses.
 A typhoon like Yolanda is a natural phenomenon. It became a disaster due
to several factors: its strength(290 km./hour) the storm surge it brought was
sudden and unexpected; and its devastating effect to human, material, and
environment. More than 7,000 people perished. The entire City of Tacloban
was literally flattened to the ground.
AREAS\LOCATIONS
EXPOSED TO
HAZARDS
 EXPOSED TO NATURAL HAZARDS
AREAS\LOCATION EXPOSED TO:

COASTAL AREAS Storm surge, tsunami or tidal waves

RECLAIMED AREAS Flooding, sinkhole
NEAR FAULT LINES Earthquake
ON FOOT OF DENUDED Mudslide\landslide
MOUNTAINS
 NEAR VOLCANOES (DANGER Volcanic eruption—pyroclastic material,
ZONES) lahar flow, lava flow and ash fall
RIVER BANKS AND ESTEROS Flooding, flash floods
OPEN FIELDS Thunderstorm, hailstorm, blizzard
 EXPOSED TO MAN-MADE HAZARD
AREAS\LOCATION EXPOSED TO:

NEAR OIL DEPOSITS Oil spill, pollution

NEAR MINING PROJECTS Toxic waste—heavy metal, lead, mercury,
nitric acid, etc.
NER CHEMICAL PLANTS Chemical fumes, chemical waste
NEAR NUCLEAR PLANTS Nuclear waste, possible technical failure,
leaks or worse accidental explosion
 NEAR FACTORIES Factory waste, pollution
UNSAFE BUILDING STRUCTURE Fire
PUBLIC PLACES IN MEGA CITIES Terrorism
 DISASTER FROM DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVES
A disaster is a result of a vast ecological
breakdown in the relation between humans
and their environment; a serious or sudden
event on such a scale that stricken community
needs extraordinary efforts to cope with it,
often without help or international aid.
PHYSICAL PERSPECTIVE
From this view disaster is defined as phenomenon that can cause damage to
physical elements such as buildings, infrastructures, including people and
their properties, e.g. houses an environmental resources of living. Physical
effects are the most visible and quantifiable effects of a disaster.
 In assessing the aftermath of a disaster, physical damages are
essentially considered in data recording. Assessment of disaster is
focused on the following common questions:
 How many families are affected? (displacement, injury, death)
 How many houses are damaged or washed out? ( in case of
super typhoons)
 How many buildings collapsed or are damaged? (in case of an
earthquake)
 How many roads, bridges, dams and other infrastructures are
damaged? (in case of floods, lahar flows, and earthquakes)
 What the extent of damaged in agricultural industry?(crop
losses, damaged fish cages, washed out rice fields, etc.)
PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
Psychological research has shown that disasters can cause serious mental
health consequences for victims. These consequences take the form of Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and a variety of other disorders and
symptoms which have been less investigated. The more stress, defined in a
variety of ways, within the disaster, the more likely there are to be emotional
consequences.
Other psychological effects of a disaster are the following:
Emotional effects: shock, terror, irritability, blame, anger, guilt,
grief or sadness, numbing, helplessness, loss of pleasure to derived
from familiar activities, difficulty feeling happy, difficulty feeling
loved.
Cognitive effects: impaired concentration, impaired decision-
making ability, memory impairment, disbelief, confusion,
nightmares, decreased self-esteem, decreased self-efficacy, self-
blame, intrusive thoughts, memories, dissociation (e.g., tunnel
vision, dreamlike or ‘spacey’ feeling).
Physical effects: fatigue, exhaustion, insomnia, cardiovascular
strain, startle response, hyper arousal, increased physical pain,
reduced immune response, headaches, gastrointestinal upset,
decreased appetite, decreased libido, vulnerability to illness.

Interpersonal effects: increased relational conflict, social

withdrawal, reduced relational intimacy, alienation, impaired work
performance, decreased satisfaction, distrust, externalization of
blame, externalization of vulnerability, feeling abandoned.
SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE
What that people living at risk know and do about natural hazards
and disaster risks is mediated by a range of factors including social
conditions(such as age, gender, wealth, ethnicity) and cultural
settings (language, beliefs, traditions, customs). In most places
people are also more or less exposed by information and ideas coming
from the “outside”—the world outside their own cultural setting.
 At the same time, the field of natural hazards and disasters has
developed its own debates, framework, and notions such as
vulnerability resilience, and ‘risk’.People’s socio-cultural
background may affect their response to disaster at the different
stages of disaster management.
Hence, from the socio-cultural point of view, a disaster is
analyzed based on how people respond having a parameter their
social conditions and cultural settings. These two factors are
important determinants of the degree of risk, resilience and
vulnerability of those affected. That is why some ethnic groups can
easily cope with disasters compared to other groups.
ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE
From an economic perspective, a natural disaster can be
defined as natural event that causes a perturbation to the
functioning of the economic system, with a significant negative
impact on assets, production factors, outcome employment and
consumption. One salient component of assessing the imp…
of disaster impact from this view is defining direct economic
cost and ind… losses.
 Direct economic cost is the value of what has been
damage or destroyed by a disaster. This should be seriously
considered in disaster risk management and assessment.
However, to get the whole picture ind… losses is crucial in
assessing disaster seriousness. This is done by evaluating
the main indirect consequences of a disaster. One example
is when a member of family losses a job due to isolation or
the workplace itself is affected value of losses is measured
vis-à-vis time period and salary including the p.. and
allowances.
POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE

From this view, natural disasters are commonly thought to be

less politically contentious than armed conflicts. Yet, a closer looks
reveals that politics are deeply wedded to both the impact of a
natural disaster and the subsequent delivery of humanitarian
assistance. Political considerations before, during, and after a
natural disaster can determine who is most at risk, who can
intervene, what actions will be taken, and who will benefit from
those actions. Some case studies demonstrate that economic, social,
and political factors can significantly amplify the devastating
impact of a natural disaster.
 Governmentality or deliverance or government services to
constituents can be a plus or minus factor in disaster risk reduction
and management, Government interventions should be present in
following phases of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management: 1.)
PREVENTION 2.) MITIGATION 3.) PREPAREDNESS, and 4.)
RECOVERY. Failure to do so adversely affects the capacity and
opportunities of those affected to cope with and recover from the
impacts of disaster.
ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE

Disasters are not random and do not occur by accident.

They are the convergence of hazards and vulnerable
conditions. Disasters not only reveal underlying social,
economic, political and environmental problems, but
unfortunately contribute to worsening them. Such events pose
serious challenges to development, as they erode had-earned
gains in terms of political, social and educational progress, as
well as infrastructure and technological development.
 The Millennium Declaration recognizes the risk to development
stemming from disasters and calls on the global community to
“intensify our collective efforts to reduce the number and effects of
natural hazards and man-made disasters”.
Several studies have recently highlighted the fact that
investments in development are in jeopardy unless precautionary
action is taken toward reducing disaster risk. Yet few development
organizations adopt a precautionary approach in the design and
management of projects and fewer still recognize the role of
environmental management in reducing disaster risk.