Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction Study Guide

Grading Breakdown:
- Written Works: $25\%$
- Performance Tasks: $50\%$
- Quarterly Exam: $25\%$
Detailed Subject Requirements:
- Written Tasks:
  - 1. Hazard Map Development
  - 2. Risk Assessment Table Creation
  - 3. Fire Evacuation Plan Design
  - 4. Biological Landslide Prevention (Growing a plant specifically for soil stabilization)
  - 5. Official Proposal for a Community Risk Management Program
- Summative Tests:
  - Long Quiz 1: Consists of $30$ items.
  - Long Quiz 2: Consists of $30$ items.
- Performance Task Deliverables:
  - 1. Early Warning Device prototype or model.
  - 2. Community Disaster Risk Management Program implementation or documentation.
  - 3. Complication Portfolio containing all compiled written works.
- Term Exam: A comprehensive terminal examination at the end of the period.

Definition of Disaster: A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic, or environmental losses and impacts. A disaster occurs when these impacts exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources.
Definition of 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.
Definition of Disaster Risk: The potential loss of life, injury, or destroyed/damaged assets which could occur to a system, society, or a community in a specific period. It is determined probabilistically as a function of hazard, exposure, vulnerability, and capacity.
The Disaster Risk Formula: $\text{Disaster Risk} = \frac{\text{Hazard} \times \text{Exposure} \times \text{Vulnerability}}{\text{Capacity}}$

Exposure: The specific situation of people, infrastructure, housing, production capacities, and other tangible human assets located in hazard-prone areas.
- Crucial Principle: If a hazard occurs in an area of no exposure, then there is no risk.
Vulnerability: A condition or set of conditions that reduces people’s ability to prepare for, withstand, or respond to a hazard. It is essentially the susceptibility to a hazard.
Capacity: The combination of resources, skills, and attributes that a community, organization, or society has available to manage and reduce disaster risks.
The Intersection Model (What turns a hazard into a disaster?):
- Disaster risk is not determined by the size and type of hazard alone; it is the intersection of Hazard, Exposure, and Vulnerability.
- Hazard Examples: Hurricane intensity, earthquake magnitude, heatwave severity, precipitation extremes, and drought periods.
- Exposure Examples: Population density, coastal populations, the presence of people in the direct path of the hazard.
- Vulnerability/Resilience Examples: Earthquake-proof housing, seawalls, access to resources, good governance, resilient agriculture, and poverty levels. High vulnerability (e.g., poverty) increases risk, while high resilience (e.g., seawalls or early warning systems) decreases it.

Both typhoons were significant meteorological events, but their outcomes differed based on interaction with human elements.
Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda): Resulted in a catastrophic disaster because it hit heavily populated areas at its highest strength.
Key Insight: Disasters are not naturally occurring; they are a combination of natural factors (the hazard) and non-natural factors (human exposure and vulnerability).

Hazard: A typhoon characterized by heavy rain and strong winds.
Vulnerability Factors: Many houses constructed from light materials prone to wind damage; poor drainage systems preventing quick floodwater recession.
Capacity Factors: Most households have low income, limiting their ability to strengthen homes, store emergency supplies, or recover post-disaster.
Interaction: The combination of a high-intensity hazard with high vulnerability and low capacity results in significantly high Disaster Risk.

Disaster risk factors are conditions or processes that increase the likelihood or severity of a disaster. They are categorized as follows:

1. Physical Factors:
- Focuses on tangible objects and infrastructure.
- Key Considerations: Availability of fire exits, sturdiness of buildings.
- Examples: Adherence to building codes, regular facility maintenance, and use of suitable equipment for work.
2. Psychological Factors:
- Focuses on the state of mental health and capacity, and the perception of self.
- Key Considerations: Self-assessment of the ability to respond to disaster, and the differing needs of babies, children, and adults.
- Examples: Work-life balance, self-esteem, self-worth, fear, and anxiety.
3. Socio-cultural Factors:
- Focuses on religion, social status, traditions, and societal perceptions.
- Examples: Ethics, values, education levels, social impact, and population dynamics.
4. Economic Factors:
- Focuses on financial standing and resources.
- Examples: Assets and liabilities, income levels, cost of living, financial status, and the general state of the economy.
5. Political Factors:
- Focuses on government structure and administrative stability.
- Examples: Coordination between government agencies, governance quality, laws, and the protection of rights.
6. Biological Factors:
- Focuses on the flora, fauna, and health of the environment.
- Examples: Biodiversity loss, excessive hunting, exploitation of natural habitats, and the occurrence of epidemics or pandemics.