Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction - Modules 1-4

These vocabulary flashcards cover the fundamental definitions and concepts regarding hazards, risks, disasters, and their perspectives as outlined in the Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction modules.

Hazard

A dangerous phenomenon, substance, human activity or condition that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage.

Risk

The likelihood or possibility that an area (or section of population) will be negatively affected by a hazard.

$$Threat \times Vulnerability \times Cost$$

Risk Equation

Threat

The frequency with which a hazard can hit the area.

Vulnerability

The weakness of an area towards a particular hazard.

Cost

The human factor of the hazard, where a greater number of humans and property results in greater risk.

Disaster

Any event that causes widespread human, economic, and environmental losses or impacts that seriously disrupt the normal functioning of a community.

Natural Disasters

Catastrophic events with atmospheric, geological, and hydrological origins that cause fatalities, property damage, and social environmental disruption.

Man-made Disasters

Disasters resulting from human intent, negligence, or error, which can be both intentional and unintentional.

Primary Effects

Effects that occur as a result of the process itself, such as flooding or loss of life directly from a typhoon.

Secondary Effects

Situations resulting from primary effects, such as the disruption of electrical and water services due to damage from a typhoon.

Tertiary Effects

Effects not experienced while the disaster is taking place but felt sometime after, such as disrupted production of agricultural crops caused by flood.

Physical Perspective

Includes visible or tangible materials, whether natural or man-made, which have been affected by a disaster.

Psychological Perspective

Refers to the people’s emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal reactions to difficulties such as shock, terror, and anxiety.

Sociocultural Perspective

Centers on the response of people to emergency situations and how religions, customs, attitudes, and social support influence recovery.

Economic Perspective

Focuses on the disruption of economic activities, destruction of assets, and effects on factors like $GDP$ growth rates and indebtedness levels.

Political Perspective

Deals with how government services are used to reduce loss or damage by preparing for and preventing disasters.

Biological Perspective

Takes into consideration the potential for infectious or communicable diseases after a disaster takes place.

Concept of Vulnerability (IFRC)

The diminished capacity of an individual or group to anticipate, cope with, resist, and recover from the impact of a natural or man-made hazard.

Population Density

The number of individuals living in an area in relation to the size of an area.

Concept of Exposure

The elements at risk from a hazard event, including individuals, properties, building structures, and environmental assets subject to potential losses.

Physical Element (Exposure)

Tangible or visually seen elements such as landscapes, inhabitants, buildings, and measurable factors like population density.

Socioeconomic Elements (Exposure)

The manner of social interactions and institutional systems, including communication, transportation, and delivery of basic services exposed to hazards.

Environmental Elements (Exposure)

Ecosystems and natural processes exposed to hazard events, often impacted by human activities like overgrazing or deforestation.

Natural Hazards

Hazards that result from earth’s natural processes, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

Secondary Hazard

Hazards that are a consequence of other hazards, such as landslides or tsunamis resulting from an earthquake.

Technological Hazards

Man-made hazards such as radiation leaks or the toxicity of land due to pesticides.

Quasi-natural Hazards

Hazards resulting from the interaction of natural processes and human activities, such as smog or desertification.

Geologic Hazards

Extreme natural events in the crust of the earth, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and landslides.

Hydrologic Hazards

Extreme events associated with water occurrence, movement, and distribution, including droughts and flooding.

Atmospheric Hazards

Natural hazards where processes operating in the atmosphere are mainly responsible.

Biological Hazards

Biological substances that pose a threat to the health of living organisms, such as microorganisms, viruses, or toxins.

Hazard Profiling

The process of predicting possible disasters by analyzing magnitude, frequency, duration, and causality effects.

Magnitude

The assessment of a hazard's scale using measurements from scientific instruments, such as earthquakes above $5.0$ or floods reaching $1.0\,meter$.

Frequency

The number of times a hazard occurs in an area in a year, which indicates the area's proneness to specific hazards.

Pacific Ring of Fire

An area surrounding the basin of the Pacific Ocean where $90\,percent$ of the world's earthquakes occur.

Philippine Fault Zone (PFZ)

A series of interrelated faults that cut across the Philippines from northwestern Luzon to southern Mindanao.

Typhoon Belt

A region in the Western Pacific Basin where the Philippines is located, causing an average of $20$ typhoons to hit the country annually.