A disaster occurs when a hazard impacts vulnerable people and communities. Factors such as climate change, underdevelopment, and unplanned urbanization exacerbate disaster risk by increasing hazards and vulnerability. Poverty increases vulnerability as poorer countries and communities lack resources to prepare for and cope with disasters. Disaster risk is dynamic and influenced by development failures that increase exposure and vulnerability to hazards over time.

1. Basic Concept of Disaster
and Disaster Risk

2. Disaster
 A disaster is a sudden, calamitous
event that seriously disrupts the
functioning of a community or society
and causes human, material, and
economic or environmental losses that
exceed the community’s or society’s
ability to cope using its own resources.
Though often caused by nature,
disasters can have human origins.

3. Disaster
(VULNERABILITY+ HAZARD ) / CAPACITY = DISASTER
A disaster occurs when a hazard impacts on
vulnerable people.
The combination of hazards, vulnerability and
inability to reduce the potential negative
consequences of risk results in disaster.
Source: International Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent

4. Aggravating Factors of
Disaster

5. Aggravating Factors of
Disaster
 Climate change ranks among the
greatest global problems of the 21st
century and the scientific evidence on
climate change is stronger than ever.
 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) released its Fourth
Assessment Report in early 2007, saying
that climate change is now unequivocal.
 It confirms that extremes are on the rise
and that the most vulnerable people,
particularly in developing countries, face
the brunt of impacts.

6. Aggravating Factors of
Disaster
 The gradual expected temperature rise
may seem limited (with a likely range
from 2 to 4 degrees Celsius predicted for
the coming century), however a slightly
higher temperature is only an indicator
that much more is awry.
 Along with the rising temperature, known
as global warming we experience:
◦ An increase in both frequency and intensity
of extreme weather events: more
prolonged droughts, floods, landslides, heat
waves, and more intense storms;

7. Aggravating Factors of
Disaster
◦ The spreading of insect-borne diseases such
as malaria and dengue to new places where
people are less immune to them;
◦ A decrease in crop yields in some areas due
to extreme droughts or downpours and
changes in timing and reliability of rainy
seasons;
◦ Global sea level rise of several cm per
decade, which will affect coastal flooding,
water supplies, tourism, fisheries etc. Tens of
millions of people will be forced to move
inland;
◦ Melting Glaciers, leading to water supply
shortages.

8. Aggravating Factors of
Disaster
 Climate change is here to stay and will
accelerate.
 Although climate change is a global issue
with impacts all over the world, those people
with the least resources have the least
capacity to adapt and therefore are the most
vulnerable.
 Developing countries, more particularly its
poorest inhabitants, do not have the means
to fend off floods and other natural disasters;
to make matters worse, their economies tend
to be based on climate/weather-sensitive
sectors such as agriculture and fishery, which
makes them all the more vulnerable.

9. Aggravating Factors of
Disaster
 Climate change is here to stay and will
accelerate.
 Although climate change is a global issue with
impacts all over the world, those people with
the least resources have the least capacity to
adapt and therefore are the most vulnerable.
 Developing countries, more particularly its
poorest inhabitants, do not have the means to
fend off floods and other natural disasters; to
make matters worse, their economies tend to
be based on climate/weather-sensitive sectors
such as agriculture and fishery, which makes
them all the more vulnerable.
 There are 139 developing countries in the
world, including the Philippines

10. Aggravating Factors of
Disaster

11. Aggravating Factors of Disaster:
Underdevelopment
 The vast majority of lives both lost and affected by
natural disasters come from developing countries,
underlining the link between poverty and vulnerability
to disaster.
 At the root of this disparity is poverty.
 People in wealthier countries have better access to
the kinds of resources that help both prevent natural
disasters becoming crises and to cope with them
when they do occur.
 The earth is a hazardous place and natural disasters
will continue to occur, but it is mainly in poorer
countries that they lead to humanitarian disasters.
 The vast majority of lives claimed by natural disasters
are in such countries and survivors often lose their
livelihoods in the aftermath and are forced into more

12. Aggravating Factors of Disaster:
Underdevelopment
 This is not purely down to economics, but also
‘age’ and ‘gender’ play a large part as does the
environment that people live in.
Developing countries
 Cause setbacks to long term economic and social
development of the country
 Lack of resources for early warning systems;
unplanned squatter developments are not
designed to withstand natural forces
 Inflicts massive casualties due to lack of relief
infrastructure and resources
 Forced to divert funds from development programs
to emergency relief and recovery

13. Aggravating Factors of Disaster:
Underdevelopment
The last mile
 Disasters are triggered by external hazards,
but they also stem from vulnerability;
people being in the wrong place without
protection.
 It is therefore vital that information extends
to communities to help them adopt
protective actions and engage people living
outside of the early warning systems.
 This is commonly known as ‘the last mile’,
which means that warnings often don’t
reach those who need them most.

14. Aggravating Factors of Disaster:
Underdevelopment
The last mile
 Poorer people are often marginalized socially,
politically and geographically and often may not
receive early warning of hazards.
 The relationship between underdevelopment and
disasters is made clear in the International
Federation Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
(IFRC) World Disaster Report 2009.
 Why does poverty mean vulnerability?
 If an area prone to natural hazards such as
flooding or earthquakes, there are various
measures that can be taken to prepare.

15. Aggravating Factors of Disaster:
Underdevelopment
 Early warning systems can be adapted; well
organized evacuation procedures can be
put in place; buildings can be designed and
built to withstand hazards; protective
barriers can be built to insure against rising
water levels.
 However, such projects require adequate
financial resources, effective government
and strong community links.
 A protection that developed countries
across the world benefit from, but a
safeguard rarely possible for poorer
nations.

16. Aggravating Factors of Disaster:
Underdevelopment
 Each year natural disasters occur across the
world and in recent years countries including
Haiti, Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, USA,
China, India, Iran, Turkey and Chile have all
suffered severely, with the loss of hundreds of
thousands of lives.
 The highest casualties can be seen in the
poorer nations of both Haiti and Indonesia.
 Rapid urbanization has led to poorer people
being marginalized from safe and legal areas in
many of these countries, forcing many to live in
high risk locations, such as flood plains, river
banks, steep slopes and reclaimed land.

17. Aggravating Factors of Disaster:
Underdevelopment
 In these unplanned squatter settlements, homes
are not built to withstand such natural forces.
 Many of these settlements lack even the most
basic infrastructure, such as health and fire
services and fresh water and sanitation.
 This leaves communities extremely at risk following
a natural disaster.
 A considerable incentive for rethinking disaster risk
as an integral part of the development process
comes from the aim of achieving the goals laid out
in the Millennium Declaration.
 The Declaration sets forth a road map for human
development supported by 191 nations.

18. Aggravating Factors of Disaster:
Underdevelopment
 Eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were
agreed upon in 2000, which in turn have been
broken down into 18 targets with 48 indicators for
progress.
 Most goals are set for achievement by 2015.
 The Millennium Development Goals have provided
a focus for development efforts globally however,
there remains little cause for celebration since
the Millennium Declaration was signed committing
governments to these goals
 While poverty has fallen and social indicators have
improved, most countries will not meet the
Millennium Development goals by 2015 and the
existing gap between rich and poor is widening.

19. Aggravating Factors of Disaster:
Underdevelopment
 Recently the campaigns on poverty have resulted
in key milestones on aid and debt relief.
 While positive, much more is needed if the MDGs
are to be realized.
 These efforts to reduce poverty are vital for
vulnerability reduction and strengthened resilience
of communities to disasters.

20. Aggravating Factors of
Disaster

21. Aggravating Factors of Disaster: Unplanned
Urbanization
 Today 50 % of the world population lives in urban
centers by 2030 this is expected to increase to
60%.
 The majority of the largest cities, known as Mega
Cities are in developing countries while 90% of the
population growth of developing countries will be
urban in nature.
 Migration from rural to urban areas is often trigged
by repeated natural disasters and lack of livelihood
opportunities.
 However, at the same time many mega-cities are
built in areas where there is a heightened risk for
earthquakes, floods, landslides and other natural
disasters.

22. Aggravating Factors of Disaster: Unplanned
Urbanization
 Many people living in large urban centers
such as slums lack access to improved
water, sanitation, security of tenure,
durability of housing, and sufficient living
area.
 This lack of access to basic services and
livelihood leads to increasing risk of
discrimination, social exclusion and
ultimately violence

23. Disaster Risk
 Disaster risk is expressed as the likelihood of loss
of life, injury or destruction and damage from a
disaster in a given period of time.
A man stands surrounded by the devastation wrought by Typhoon
Haiyan in the city of Tacloban
© Henry Donati/Department for International Development CC by
2.0

24. Disaster Risk
 Disaster risk is widely recognized as the
consequence of the interaction between a hazard
and the characteristics that make people and
places vulnerable and exposed.
RISK = HAZARD X EXPOSURE X VULNERABILITY
Disasters are sometimes considered external shocks,
but disaster risk results from the complex interaction
between development processes that generate
conditions of exposure, vulnerability and hazard
(UNISDR, 2009a).

25. Disaster Risk
 Disaster risk is therefore considered as the
combination of the severity and frequency of a
hazard, the numbers of people and assets exposed
to the hazard, and their vulnerability to damage
(UNISDR, 2015a).
 Intensive risk is disaster risk associated with low-
probability, high-impact events, whereas extensive
risk is associated with high-probability, low-impact
events.
 There is no such thing as a natural
disaster, but disasters often follow
natural hazards.

26. Disaster Risk
 The losses and impacts that characterize disasters
usually have much to do with the exposure and
vulnerability of people and places as they do with
the severity of the hazard event (UNISDR, 2013).
 Disaster risk has many characteristics. In order to
understand disaster risk, it is essential to
understand that it is:
◦ Forward looking the likelihood of loss of life,
destruction and damage in a given period of time
◦ Dynamic: it can increase or decrease according
to our ability to reduce vulnerability

27. Disaster Risk
 Invisible: it is comprised of not only the threat of
high-impact events, but also the frequent, low-
impact events that are often hidden
 Unevenly distributed around the earth: hazards
affect different areas, but the pattern of disaster
risk reflects the social construction of exposure and
vulnerability in different countries
 Emergent and complex: many processes,
including climate change and globalized economic
development, are creating new, interconnected
risks
 Disasters threaten development,
just as development creates
disaster risk.

28. Disaster Risk
 The key to understanding disaster risk is by
recognizing that disasters are an indicator of
development failures, meaning that disaster risk is
a measure of the sustainability of development.
 Hazard, vulnerability and exposure are influenced
by a number of risk drivers, including poverty and
inequality, badly planned and managed urban and
regional development, climate change and
environmental degradation (UNISDR, 2009a, 2011,
2013 and 2015a).

29. Disaster Risk
 Understanding disaster risk requires us to not only
consider the hazard, our exposure and vulnerability
but also society's capacity to protect itself from
disasters.
 The ability of communities, societies and systems
to resist, absorb, accommodate, recover from
disasters, while at the same time improve
wellbeing, is known as resilience.