Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction: Exposure and Vulnerability

These vocabulary flashcards cover the key terminology and concepts from the Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction lecture, including definitions of exposure, vulnerability types, and the disaster risk formula.

Exposure

Refers to people, property, systems, or other elements that are located in hazard-prone areas, and therefore subject to potential losses.

Vulnerability

The degree to which a system, community, or individual is likely to experience harm due to exposure to hazards, including physical weakness and social, economic, and political limitations.

Susceptibility

A concept involved in vulnerability defined as the tendency to be negatively affected by a hazard (e.g., weak infrastructure).

Capacity

The ability to resist, absorb, and recover from the impact of a hazard.

Political Factors of Vulnerability

Influences on vulnerability determined by government action or inaction, such as the implementation of protective infrastructure, access to social services, and development policies.

Economic Factors of Vulnerability

Vulnerability based on wealth; poverty is a strong predictor as poor households may build homes in hazardous areas and cannot afford disaster-resilient materials.

Social Factors of Vulnerability

Vulnerability related to education, security, and awareness; it increases when people lack knowledge of early warnings or when children and the elderly are left unprotected.

Physical Factors of Vulnerability

Factors where vulnerability increases due to high-density populations, houses made of weak materials, or settlements located in remote or coastal areas.

Environmental Factors of Vulnerability

The weakening of natural ecosystems, such as through deforestation or wetland destruction, which reduces a community's resilience.

Coping Capacity

The ability to face and recover from disasters using existing resources and skills, such as setting up temporary shelters or emergency food supplies.

Adaptive Capacity

The ability to adjust and transform in response to hazards over time, such as building earthquake-resistant homes or relocating from high-risk areas.

Resilience

The product of coping and adaptive capacities; the ability to bounce back after disaster strikes.

Disaster Risk Formula

$$\text{Risk} = \frac{\text{Hazard} \times \text{Exposure} \times \text{Vulnerability}}{\text{Coping Capacity}}$$

Hazard Mapping and Community Analysis

The use of hazard and vulnerability maps to identify high-risk zones, design evacuation plans, and allocate emergency resources.