Quarter 1 – Module 2:

Exposure and Vulnerability

What I Need to Know

Many climate change adaptation efforts aim to address the implications  of potential changes in the frequency, intensity, and duration of weather and climate  events that affect the risk of extreme impacts on human society. That risk is  determined not only by the climate and weather events (the hazards) but also by  exposure and vulnerability to these hazards. Therefore, effective adaptation and  disaster risk management strategies and practices also depend on a rigorous  understanding of the dimensions of exposure and vulnerability, as well as proper  assessment of changes in those dimensions.

This module is about the discussion on areas and locations exposed to  hazards, disaster from different perspective, and what does vulnerability means. It  consists of the following lessons:

• Lesson 1 – Areas and Locations Exposed to Hazards

• Lesson 2 – Disaster from Different Perspectives

• Lesson 3 – What is vulnerability?

Learning Objectives

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. Identify the different areas/locations exposed to hazards that may   lead to disaster

2. Analyze disaster from different perspectives (physical,  

 psychological, socio-cultural, economic, political, and biological). 3. Explain the meaning of vulnerability.

What I Know

Identify the following hazards as to natural or man-made. Write N for natural  and M for Man-made hazard.

_________ 1. Hailstorm

_________ 2. Earthquake

_________ 3. Oil Spill

_________ 4. Terrorism

_________ 5. Chemical Waste

_________ 6. Sinkhole

_________ 7. Storm Surge

_________ 8. Factory Waste

_________ 9. Tsunami

_________ 10. Pollution

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 What’s In

Natural disasters affect human life in different dimensions. Disasters  can cause displacement of population, health risks, food scarcity, and emotional  aftershocks.

What’s New

List 10 hazards in your house, your answers should be specific to certain  locations in the classroom (e.g. the shelf at the corner near the door can fall on  someone).

 What is it

• Exposed to Natural Hazards

• Exposed to Man-made Hazard

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What’s More

Based on you understanding of the discussion above, identify some  barangays/towns/cities in the Philippines that are exposed to hazard. Using a Table,  indicate what potential hazards these areas/locations are exposed to.

What I Have Learned

Make the statement complete by writing what have you learned from the  lesson.

I have learned that ______________________________________________.

What I Can Do

Based on your understanding of the discussion above, identify some  barangay/towns/cities in the Philippines that are exposed to hazard. Using a table,  indicate what potential hazards these areas/locations are exposed to.

 What’s In

In the previous lesson, we have discussed the areas/locations in the  Philippines that are exposed to different hazards. Communities in these areas  definitely need knowledge and awareness on disaster risk reduction and  management.

What’s New

Arrange the following letters to make it a one word, definitions of the word  are on the right side.

________________1. CEPITEVRESP -the capacity to view things in   their true relations or relative  

 importance.

__________________2. ITILPOLAC - interested in or active in politics __________________3. ONCEOCIM - relating to economics or the

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Economy

__________________4. LACIGOLOHCYSP - the study of the mind

__________________5. OICOS – LUCLARUT - common traditions, habits,  patterns and beliefs present in a  

population group.

 What is it

A disaster is a result of a vast ecological breakdown in the relation between  human; a serious or sudden event on such a scale that the stricken community  needs extraordinary efforts to cope with it, often with outside help or international aid.

Disaster is analyzed from different perspective as follows:

PHYSICAL PERSPECTIVE

From this view disasters is defined as a phenomenon that can cause damage  to the physical elements such as buildings, infrastructures, including people and their  properties, e.g. houses and environmental sources of living. Physical effects are the  most visible and quantifiable effects of a disaster. In considered in data recording.  Assessment of disaster is focused on the following questions:

 How many families are affected? (displacement, injury, death)  How many houses are damaged or washed out? (in case of super typhoons)  How many buildings collapsed or are damaged? (in case of an earthquake)

 How many roads, bridges, dams and other infrastructures are damaged? (in  case of floods, lahar flows and earthquakes)

 What is the extent of damage in agricultural industry? (crop, losses, damaged  fish cages, wash out rice fields, etc.)

PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE  

 Psychological research has shown that disasters can cause serious mental  health consequences for victims. These consequences take the form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and a variety of other disorders and symptoms  which have been less investigated. The more stress, defined in a variety of ways,  within the disaster, the more likely there are to be emotional consequences.

 In psychological context a disaster is regarded as an occurrence involving an  unexpected or uncontrollable event rather than a long-term experience. In other  word, a disaster is something that could happen within a hazard rather than the

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hazard itself. Hence, one very important component of the recovery phase, aside  from relief services is debriefing of psychological support system.  

Other psychological effects of a disaster are the following:

• Emotional effects: Shock, terror, irritability, blame, anger, guilt, grief or  sadness, numbing, helplessness, loss of pleasure derived from familiar  activities, difficulty feeling happy, difficulty feeling loved.

• Cognitive effects: impaired concentration, impaired decision-making  ability, memory impairment, disbelief, confusion, nightmares, decreased  self-esteem, decreased self-efficacy, self-blame, intrusive thoughts,  memories, dissociation, (e.g.,tunnel vision, dreamlike or ‘spacey’ felling).

• Physical effects: fatigue, exhaustion, insomnia, cardiovascular strain,  startle response, hyper arousal, increased physical pain, reduced immune  response, headaches, gastrointestinal upset, decreased appetite,  decreased libido, vulnerability to illness.

• Interpersonal effects: Increased relational conflict, social withdrawal,  reduced relational intimacy, alienation, impaired work performance,  decreased satisfaction, distract, externalization of blame, externalization of  vulnerability, feeling abandoned.

SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

What the people living at risk know and do about natural hazards and disaster  risks is mediated by a range of factors including social conditions (such as age,  gender, wealth, ethnicity) and cultural settings (language, beliefs, traditions,  customs). In most places people are also more or less exposed by information and  ideas coming from the “outside”—the world outside their own cultural setting. At the  same time, the field of natural hazards and disasters has developed its own debates,  framework, and notions such as vulnerability, resilience, and ‘risk’. But communities  may have different priorities and notions of natural hazards and disaster risk.  People’s socio-cultural background may affect their response to disasters at the  different stages of disaster management.

Hence, from the socio-cultural point of view, a disaster is analyzed based on  how people respond having as parameter their social conditions and cultural  settings. These two factors are important determinants of the degree of risk,  resilience and vulnerability of those affected. That is why some ethnic groups can  easily cope with disasters compared to other groups.

ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE

From an economic perspective, a natural disaster can be defined as a natural  event that causes a perturbation to the functioning of the economic system, with a  significant negative impact on assets, production factors, output, employment, and

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consumption. One salient component of assessing the impact of disaster impact  from this view is defining direct economic cost and indirect losses.

POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE

From this view, natural disasters are commonly thought to be less politically  contentious than armed conflicts. Yet, a closer look reveals that politics are deeply  wedded to both the impact of a natural disaster and the subsequent delivery f  humanitarian assistance. Political considerations before, during, and after a natural  disaster can determine who is most at risk, who can intervene, what actions will be  taken, and who will benefit from those actions. Some case studies demonstrate that  economic, social, and political factors can significantly amplify the devastating impact  of natural disaster.

Governmentality or deliverance of government services to constituents can be  plus or minus factor in disaster risk reduction and management. Government  interventions should be present in the following phases of Disaster Risk Reduction  and Management: 1) Prevention, 2) Mitigation, 3) Preparedness, and 4) Recovery.  Failure to do so adversely affects the capacity and opportunities of those affected to  cope with and recover from the impacts of disaster.

ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE

Disasters are not random an do not occur by accident. They are the  convergence of hazards and vulnerable conditions. Disasters not only reveal  underlying social, economic, political, and environment problems, but unfortunately  contribute to worsening them. Such events pose serious challenges to development,  as they erode hard-earned gains in terms of political, social and educational  progress, as well as infrastructure and technological development. The Millennium  Declaration recognizes the risk to development stemming from disasters and calls on  the global community to “intensify our collective efforts to reduce the number and  effects of natural hazards and man-made disasters”. Several studies have recently  highlighted the fact that investments in development are in jeopardy unless  precautionary action is taken toward reducing disaster risk. Yet few development  organizations adopt a precautionary approach in the design and management of  projects and fewer still recognize the role of environmental management in reducing  disaster risk.

What’s More

Give one example of each disaster from the different perspective.

1. Physical Perspective

2. Psychological Perspective

3. Socio-Cultural Perspective

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4. Economic Perspective

5. Political Perspective

6. Environmental Perspective

What I Have Learned

Direction: Read the newspaper article. Based on the details of the articles,  analyze its impacts from the different perspective enumerated below.

a. Physical Perspective

b. Psychological Perspective

c. Socio-Cultural Perspective

d. Economic Perspective

e. Political Perspective

f. Environmental Perspective

Surprise

Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Cruz said many people were caught by surprise  when water rose one meter (three feet) high in less than an hour, forcing people onto  roofs. “Most of them were already sleeping when floodwaters entered their homes.  This the worst flooding our city has experienced in years. “The national disaster  agency said it could not estimate crop and property damage because emergency  workers, including soldiers and police officers, were evacuating families and  recovering casualties. Benito Ramos, head of the NDRRMC told reporters Mindanao  residents were warned about the dangers posed by the storm days earlier but  elected not to move to safe areas. He said Mindanao was rarely visited by storms,  even as 20 major storms strike the Philippines annually, with the most hitting Luzon,  the largest and most populous island in the Southeast Asian archipelago. “We  expect huge damage, especially on agriculture,” Ramos said. Two of the three rivers  that flow into the port of Iligan had overflowed, he added, and a popular radio  commentator was among those killed. Other affected areas on Mindanao included  Bukidnon province, where 47 people died, while nine other people were killed  elsewhere on the island, Pang of the Red Cross said.

What I Can Do

Read an account of Super Typhoon Yolanda that struck Samar and Leyte in  2013. Analyze its impacts from the different perspectives enumerated below:

a. Physical perspective d. Economic Perspective b. Psychological Perspective e. Political Perspective

c. Socio-Cultural Perspective f. Environmental Perspective

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 What’s In

The severity of the impacts of disasters and other extreme weather and  climate events depends strongly on the level of vulnerability and exposure to these  events.

What’s New

If we are going to shake the table, which object would be affected the most by  shaking?

Why do you think it would be affected the most?

 What is it

Vulnerability is defined as “the characteristics and circumstances of a  community, system or asset that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a  hazard”. As indicated by United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction  (UNISDR), “there are many aspects of vulnerability arising from various physical,  social, economic, and environmental factors. Examples may include poor design and  construction of buildings, inadequate protection of assets, lack of public information  and awareness, limited official recognition of risks and preparedness measures, and  disregard for wise environmental management”.

Reasons Why Certain Sectors of Society are More Vulnerable to Disaster  than Others

Vulnerability can be seen as the result of a process in which various different  things cause a population to be more vulnerable. This can be split into demographic  and socio-economic. They can also be discussed through the level of community

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preparedness and the ability of a community to manage the after effects of a hazard  event.

1. Demographic Factors

Population Density – the more dense the population, the more efficient  a response should be, considering the number of people that might be affected by a disaster.

Age of Population – very old and very young populations are less  mobile and able to respond to hazard events well. This makes them more vulnerable  compared to others, and this requires more attention from the government and other  support agencies especially during emergency evacuation or relocation.

Distribution of population – regardless of density, populations may be  distributed differently within hazard area, e.g. elderly people on lower floors of  apartment buildings, or concentrations of highly vulnerable people in poorer areas of  a city.

2. Socio-economic factors

Wealth – low income populations are less likely to be well prepared.  Part of the preparation is having a Survival Kit that includes tools to be used,  emergency food stock and water that could last for at least 3 to 5 days. Poor families  will find a hard time to do such preparation due to lack of money to spend.

Education – Education programs such as the Metro Manila  Development Authority’s (MMDA) shake drill can instruct populations on how to deal  with hazard events, like the “Big One”- the anticipated 7.8 magnitude earthquake that  may strike Metro Manila anytime

Nature of Society – In highly centralized government structures,  efficient emergency response may be the result of careful planning and training of  personnel. However, it can also lead to bureaucracy and a lack of autonomous  decision making, which slows down distribution of relief goods and emergency  response efforts in case of extreme emergency.

Understanding of the area - Recent immigrants are likely to struggle to  cope with hazard effects compared to established popuplation. Understanding the  area is salient factor to be considered in Disaster Preparedness Planning, and this  will give greater advantage to the established or original settlers in a particular area  affected by disaster.

3. Community Preparedness

Building Codes – Rigoruos and applied building codes protect most  buildings from collapse during earthquakes. This should be seriously considered by  the government in the issuance of building permitsand licenses for land  development.

Scientific monitoring and early warning systems – Establised  monitoring system can prepare people for the onslaught of any kind of disaster

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Coomunication works – Countries with good quality widespread  communication networks allow messages to be quickly shared. Communication  plays a very important and crucial role in times of disaster. Communication Plan is a  very salient component of Emergency Planning that should not be left out.

Emergency Planning – Preparation is the key element of pervention.  Preparation for a disaster is embodied in an Emergency Plan. Where monitoring and  communication are in place, the emergency planning islikely to prepare a person or  a group (family) for such events and take action based on data, rather tha prediction.

4. Dealing with the after effects

Insurance cover – Another important aspect of preparation is how to  deal with the after effects of a disaster. Parts of their preparation, individuals  purchase insurance policies to mitigate their losses, thus preparing them better for  similar future events.

Emergency Personnel – These are trained for community  preparedness. The availability of such personnel will vary depending on the time of  day and location of the hazard event.

Aid Request – Outside help in the form of humanitarian aid is  necessary during disaster. However, it should be fast and efficient. Inefficiency and  mismangement of aids, especially foreign aids, will possibly result to further deaths  and loss of property. Foreign aids in the form of monetary andmaterial aid poured in  immediately after the onsluaght of Typhoon Yolanda.

What’s More

Explain what vulnerability means.

What I Have Learned

Answer the following questions:

1. What are the conditions that make you vulnerable?

2. Does vulnerability contributes to the adverse impacts of hazards to   the community?

3. If yes, why do you think so?

What I Can Do

Accomplish the following Table below. Identify the different elements that are  exposed to a particular hazard, and briefly state their vulnerabilities.

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Assessment

Multiple Choice Test: Choose the correct answer of your choice.

For numbers 1-5, identify what areas or locations are the following  hazards exposed to:

1. Earthquake

a. coastal areas b. reclaimed areas

c. near fault line d. near volcanoes (danger zone) 2. Oil Spill

a. Near mining projects b. Near oil depots

c. near chemical plants d. near nuclear plants

3. Flash Floods

a. open fields b. river banks and estero

c. near volcanoes (danger zone) d. Near factories

4. Storm Surge

a. coastal areas b. reclaimed areas

c. near fault line d. near volcanoes (danger zone) 5. Thunderstorm

a. open fields b. river banks and estero

c. near volcanoes (danger zone) d. Near factories

6. It is defined as a phenomenon that can cause damage to physical   elements such as buildings, infrastructures, including people and their  properties.

a. physical perspective b. psychological perspective c. Socio-cultural perspective d. Economic perspective 7. One salient component of assessing the impact of disaster impact from this   view is defining direct economic cost and indirect losses.

a. physical perspective b. psychological perspective c. Socio-cultural perspective d. Economic perspective

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8. A disaster is analyzed based on how people respond having as parameter   their social conditions and cultural settings.

a. physical perspective b. psychological perspective c. Socio-cultural perspective d. Economic perspective 9. A natural disasters are commonly thought to be less politically contentious   than armed conflicts. Politics are deeply wedded to both the impact of a   natural disaster and the subsequent delivery of humanitarian assistance. a. Psychological Perspective b. Socio-cultural perspective c. Political Perspective d. Physical perspective 10. Research has shown that disasters can cause serious mental health   consequences for victims. These consequences take the form of Post   Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and a variety of other disorders and   symptoms which have been less investigated.

a. physical perspective b. psychological perspective c. Socio-cultural perspective d. Economic perspective

Additional Activities

Conduct a simple research about Guadalupe Bridge in Edsa, Makati. Analyze  and explain why it is more vulnerable to earthquake as compared to other bridges in  Metro Manila.

Answers to Questions

Pre Test

Assessment

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-End of Module

References

Quebral, Villamor S, 2016. Disaster Readiness & Risk Reduction. Quezon City,  Metro Manila, Lorimar Publishing Inc.

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