2 Exposure and Vulnerability

Disaster Readiness
and Risk Reduction

Chapter 2
Exposure and Vulnerability
Learning Objectives
• To describe how vulnerability affects risk
• To distinguish vulnerability from hazard,
exposure, disaster, and disaster risk
• To list elements at risk to hazards
• To determine the vulnerability of exposed
elements
• To explain the importance of developing
an inventory of elements at risk and
vulnerability
Disaster risk – the potential loss of life,
injury, or destroyed or damaged assets
Exposure – the state of being exposed to
something.
Risk – a situation involving exposure to
danger (Risk = Hazard x Exposure x
Vulnerability)
Vulnerable – susceptible to harm
Section 2.1
Various Elements
That May Be Exposed to Hazards:
Environmental, Social, and
Economic
Beyond People
People are not the only ones who can be affected

by hazards. Familiarizing yourselves with smaller
elements that are exposed to hazards is no
different from doing it with bigger things exposed
to bigger sources of danger.
Elements at Risk and Exposure
 Elements at risk are the people, properties, economic
activities, and private and public services potentially
threatened by a harmful event.
 Risk assessment involves the identification and
mapping of the elements at risk and the assessment
of vulnerability.
 As the risk model (Risk = Hazard x Exposure x
Vulnerability) shows, risk is also a function of
hazard.
 Hazard refers to the probability of occurrence
at a given magnitude.
 Exposed element can refer to the number of
people or structures within the exposed area.
Elements at Risk and Exposure
 The combination of both hazard and exposed
population provides the physical exposure:
PhExp = Hazard x Exposure
where:
PhExp = physical exposure for the affected area
Hazard = probability of occurrence of an event at
a given magnitude
Exposure = total population living in the affected
area for each event
Example of Physical Exposure Map
Dimensions of Exposure
and Vulnerability
• Social
 The social dimension of exposure and
vulnerability covers a wide range of concerns
including migration, social groups, health and
well-being, education, culture, institutions, and
governance aspects.
 Demography is the most important aspect.
 Population density maps are excellent indicators
of exposure and vulnerability.
and Vulnerability
• Environmental
 The physical aspects of exposure and
vulnerability refer to location and built structures.
 Detailed list of the physical elements exposed to
various hazards:
1. Essential Facilities
• educational facilities
• medical and healthcare facilities (e.g., hospitals and clinics)
• emergency response facilities (e.g., fire station, police station,
and shelters)
• government offices
• recreational or tourist facilities (e.g., hotels, resorts, parks,
public gardens, camping grounds, sporting areas, etc.)
• places of worship (e.g., churches or mosques)
• banks and financial centers
• markets and shopping centers
• cemeteries
and Vulnerability
2. Industrial and High Potential Loss Facilities and Facilities
Containing Hazardous Materials
• dams and ponds
• fuel reservoirs, pipelines, and pumps
• power (electric) generating plants and lines
• multi-purpose hydropower plants, water tanks, and lines
• food processing facilities
3. Transportation Lifelines
• highways, bridges, railway tracks, and tunnels
• bus facilities
• port and harbor facilities
• airport facilities and runways
4. Utility Lifelines
• potable water facilities, waste water facilities, pipelines, and
distribution lines
• oil and natural gas systems facilities, pipelines, and
distribution lines
• electric power facilities and distribution lines
• communication facilities (stations) and distribution lines
(cables and networks)
and Vulnerability
• Economic
 Among the economic effects of a hazard event
include business interruptions due to
accessibility problems, loss of jobs and access to
work, and loss of government income due to
inability of businesses and people to pay taxes at
a time when more funds are needed for relief and
rehabilitation.
 Disasters may also significantly affect the gross
domestic product (GDP)
Section 2.2
Vulnerability of Each
Exposed Element
Addressing Vulnerability
from Exposure
Recent earthquake, volcanic, and hydrometeorological
hazard events highlight the need to assess the
vulnerability levels of areas of the Philippines that are
exposed to these hazards. With this, resources
available can be made to work more efficiently to
reduce vulnerabilities. Such measures include
mitigation, prediction and warning, preparedness, and
building capacities to withstand and cope with
hazards. The root causes of vulnerability, such as
poverty and poor governance, must also be addressed
to sustain efforts to reduce vulnerability.
Factors of Vulnerability
• Social
 The most vulnerable populations are:
• people with disabilities
• children
• seniors
• medication-dependent individuals (e.g., diabetics
and schizophrenics)
• women, especially those who are single, single
parents, or the unemployed
• ethnic minorities, aboriginal or indigenous people
• homeless or “street people”
• incarcerated individuals
• marginalized groups (i.e., by society or the
community)
• Environmental
 Developing nations face more exposure and
vulnerability because of their relative inability to
adapt to changes and to create wealth that may
enhance resilience.
 Rapid urbanization in hazardous areas heightens
vulnerability to disaster risk.
 Increase in population will make it more difficult
for governments and citizens hard up for funds to
cope with the effects of hazard events.
 The increasing number of informal settlers forced
by circumstances to occupy areas at or close to
river systems, coastal areas, and steep hillsides
exposes more people to inundation and
landslides.
• Economic
 Economic vulnerability is the susceptibility of
individuals, communities, businesses, and
governments to absorb or cushion the effects of a
hazard event.
 Rural households are found to be more vulnerable
than those in urban environments because of the
greater number of those living in poverty, which is
tied to the more limited access to markets and
other services.
 Women are more vulnerable than men partly
because they lack access to livelihoods, coupled
with family responsibilities and reproductive role.
Quantifying Vulnerability
 Vulnerability can be expressed simply as a quantity
between 0 (lowest degree of vulnerability) and 1
(highest degree of vulnerability).
 For people, vulnerability can be measured as a ratio
of casualties or injured to the total population.
 For buildings, it can also be expressed as a repair
cost or as the degree of physical damage. When
dealing with a larger area, it may be measured in
terms of the proportion of damaged buildings.
Activity 1
OBJECTIVE: This activity will allow the students to

estimate vulnerability from empirical data on damaged
physical structures and be able to show how
vulnerability is used to assess potential loss from a
hazard event occurring in a built-up area.
Section Assessment
1. For a storm surge hazard, which is more important
to minimize, a building’s exposure or its
vulnerability? Explain.
2. What does 0 vulnerability to landslide hazard mean?
Cite examples of structures or communities in your
locality.
3. Why are poor people more vulnerable to certain
natural hazards (e.g., flood)?

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2 Exposure and Vulnerability

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Disaster Readiness

and Risk Reduction

People are not the only ones who can be affected

PhExp = Hazard x Exposure

OBJECTIVE: This activity will allow the students to

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