L7 | Disaster Risk Reduction

Disaster

Serious disruption of the functioning of a community involving widespread human, material, economic, or environmental losses and impacts.

Risk

Potential disaster losses in lives, health status, livelihoods, assets and services, which could occur in a particular community over some specified future time period.

Hazard

Dangerous phenomenon, substance, human activity that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods, economic disruption, or environmental damage.

Vulnerability

Characteristics of a community that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard.

Capacity

Combination of all the strengths, attributes, and resources available within a community that can be used to achieve agreed goals.

Political, economic, physical, social, environmental factors

Factors that can affect vulnerability of a community

Political will and commitment to developmental concerns, lack of access to resources, infrastructure, basic services and information

Political factors

Poverty, economic status, poverty eradication and creation of sustainable livelihoods

Economic factors

Access to suitable land, proper housing design, building materials and accessibility of emergency services, poor physical environment

Physical factors

Level of education, training, safety and security, information and awareness, cultural beliefs, traditional values, lack of awareness and access to information

Social factors

Scarcity of resources in a community

Environmental factors

Disaster risk reduction

Concept and practice of reducing disaster risks through analysis and management of the casual factors of disasters.

Prevention, mitigation, adaptation

Components of disaster risk reduction

Preparedness, relief, recovery

Components of disaster management

Prevention

Outright avoidance of adverse impacts of hazards and related disasters through actions taken in advance.

Mitigation

Lessening or limitation of the adverse impacts of hazards and related disasters.

Adaptation

Adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNFCCC

Preparedness

Knowledge and capacities developed by governments, professional response and recovery organizations, and individuals to effectively anticipate, respond to, and recover from the impacts of likely or current hazards.

Response

Provision of emergency services and public assistance during or immediately after a disaster to save lives, reduce health impacts, and ensure public safety and meet the basic subsistence needs of the people affected.

Recovery

Restoration and improvement where appropriate, of facilities, livelihoods of disaster-affected communities.

Social science, natural science, recent studies on disaster risk

Factors that contributed to the change of views in disaster

Community-based disaster risk management

Way of analyzing risks and conducting DRM that both originates from and is organized by local communities.

Hazard, Vulnerability and Capacity Assessments

Important process of CBDRM to identify vulnerable groups, what makes them vulnerable and how they are affected, assess their needs and capacities, and ensure that projects and policies address these.

Disaster prevention and mitigation, disaster preparedness, disaster response, disaster rehabilitation and recovery

Four themes in disaster risk reduction management framework

Prevention and mitigation, preparedness

Disaster risk reduction in national and local plans and programs (e.g. hazard and risk mapping)

Preparedness and response

Activities related to ensuring that people are prepared and response will be carried out efficiently and effectively.

Response, rehabilitation and recovery

Restoration of life lines and basic infrastructure; early recovery

Rehabilitation and recovery, prevention and mitigation

Long term recovery and prevention and mitigation—building back better

Water, food, tools, personal effects and hygiene kit, important family documents and money, first aid kit

Items in a disaster survival kit