- a sudden, calamitous event, bringing great
damage loss, destruction and devastation to life
and property (Asian Disaster Preparedness Center
– ADPC, 2012).
- a serious disruption of the functioning of society,
causing widespread human, material or
environmental losses, which exceed the ability of
the affected people to cope, using their human
resources (Adelman, 2011).
- the probability that a community’s
structure or geographic area is to be
damaged or disrupted by the impact of
a particular hazard, on account of its
nature, construction and proximity to a
hazardous area (ADPC, 2012).
Natural Disasters
- These originate from the different “forces” of nature
(geological, meteorological, hydrometeorogical, and
biological).
Human-made Disasters
- These disasters occur due to people’s actions against
human, material and environment. These include
transport and industrial accidents, such as air and train
crashes, chemical spills, and building collapses.
Agricultural Diseases Thunderstorms and Landslide and Debris
and Pests Lightning Flow
Storm Surge Tornadoes Floods and Flash
Floods
El Niño Tsunamis
La Niña
Earthquakes Wildfires
Emergency Diseases
Hurricanes and Sinkholes
Tropical Storms Extreme Heat
Hazardous Materials Chemical Treat and
Biological Weapons
Power Service
Disruption and Cyber Attacks
Blackout
Nuclear Power Plant Exlposion
and Nuclear Blast
Civil Unrest
Radiological
Emergencies
The amount of exposure to the disaster is highly
related to risk of future mental problems. At highest
risk are those that go through the disaster
themselves. Next are those in close contact with
victims. At lower risk of lasting impact are those who
only had indirect exposure such as news of the
severe damage. Injury and life threat are the factors
that lead most often to mental health problems.
Almost always, women or girls suffer more negative
effects than do men or boys. Disaster recovery is
more stressful when children are present in the
home. Women with spouses also experience more
distress during recovery. Having a family member in
the home who is extremely distressed is related to
more stress for everyone.
Adults who are in the age range of 40 – 60 are likely
to be more distressed after disasters. The thinking is
that if one is in that age range, he/she has more
demands from job and family.
There is a strong body of evidence that these risk
factors can be made worse if the disaster occurs in
a developing country. Disasters in developing
countries, like the Philippines, have more severe
mental health impact than do disasters in
developed countries. This is true with less serious
disasters.
The support of others can be both a risk and a
resilience factor. Social support can weaken after
disasters. This may be due to stress and the need for
the members of the support network to get on their
own lives. Sometimes, the responses from other
disaster victims rely on for support are negative.
Several factors related to a survivor’s background and
resources are important for recovery from disaster.
Recovery is worse if survivors:
1. Were not functioning well before the disaster
2. Have had no experience dealing with disasters
3. Must deal with other stressors after the disaster
4. Have poor self-esteem
5. Think they are uncared for by the others
6. Think they have little control over what happens to them
7. Lack the capacity to manage stress
Other factors have also been found to predict worse
outcomes:
1. Bereavement
2. Injury to self or another family member
3. Life threat
4. Panic, horror, or feelings like that during the disaster
5. Being separated from family
6. Great loss of property
7. Displacement
One of the most immediate effects of natural
disasters is population displacement. When
countries are ravaged by earthquakes or other
powerful forces of nature like floods and super
typhoons, many people have to abandon their
homes and seek shelter to other regions. A large
influx of refugees can disrupt accessibility of health
care and education, as well as food supplies and
clean water.
Aside from the obvious immediate danger that natural
disasters present, the secondary effects can be just as
damaging. Severe flooding can result in stagnant water
that allows breeding of waterborne bacteria and
malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Dengue fever is another
serious health problem caused by mosquitoes. Without
emergency relief from international aid organizations
and others, death tolls can rise even after the
immediate danger has passed.
After natural disasters, food can often become scarce.
Thousands of people around the world go hungry as a
result of destroyed crops and loss of agricultural
supplies, whether it happens suddenly in a storm or
gradually in a drought. As a result, food prices rise,
reducing families’ purchasing power and increasing the
risk of severe malnutrition. The impacts of hunger
following an earthquake can be tremendous, causing
lifelong damage to children’s development.
Natural disasters can be particularly traumatic for
young children. Confronted with scenes of destruction
and deaths of friends and loved ones, many children
developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a
serious psychological condition resulting from extreme
trauma. Left untreated, children suffering from PTSD can
be prone to lasting psychological damage and
emotional distress.
An event, either human-made or
natural, becomes a disaster when
it is sudden or progressive, causing
widespred human, material or
environmental losses.
Areas/Locations Exposed to
Coastal Areas Storm Surge, Tsunami or Tidal Waves
Reclaimed Areas Flooding, Sinkhole
Near Fault Lines Earthquake
On foot of Denuded Mountains Mudslide/Landslide
Near Volcanoes (Danger Zones) Volcanic Eruption – pyroclastic
materials, lahar flow, lava flow, and
ash fall
River banks and Esteros Flooding, Flash Floods
Open Fields Thunderstorm, Hailstorm, Blizzard
Areas/Locations Exposed to
Near Oil Depots Oil Spill, Pollution
Near Mining Projects Toxic Waste – heavy metal, lead
mercury, nitric acid, etc
Near Chemical Plants Chemical fumes, chemical waste
Near Nuclear Plants Nuclear waste, possible technical
failure, leaks, or worse accidental
explosion
Near Factories Factory waste, Pollution
Unsafe Building Structure Fire
Public Places in Mega Cities Terrorism
- a phenomenon that can cause damage to physical
elements such as buildings, infrastructures, including
people and their properties, e.g. houses and
environmental sources of living. Physical effects are most
visible and quantifiable effects of a disaster.
- How many families are affected?
- How many houses are damaged or washed out?
- How many buildings collapsed or are damaged?
- How may roads, bridges, dams and other infrastructure
are damaged?
- What is the extent of damage in agricultural industry?
A disaster is regarded as an occurrence involving an
unexpected or uncontrollable event rather than a long –
term experience. 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 systems which have been less investigated.
Hence, one very important component of the recovery
phase, aside from relief services is debriefing or
psychological support system.
EMOTIONAL EFFECTS – COGNITIVE EFFECTS – impaired
shock, terror, irritability, concentration, impaired decision –
blame, anger, guilt, grief making ability, memory impairment,
or sadness, numbing, disbelief, confusion, nightmares,
helplessness, loss, of decreased self-esteem, decreased
pleasure derived from self – efficacy, self – blame, intrusive
familiar activities, thoughts, memories dissociation (e.g.
difficulty feeling happy, tunel vision, dramlike, or spacey
difficulty feeling loved. feeling)
PHYSICAL EFFECTS – fatigue, INTERPERSONAL EFFECTS –
exhaustion, insomnia, increased relational conflict,
cardiovascular strain, startle social withdraw, reduced
response, hyper arousal, relational intimacy, alienation,
increased physical pain, impaired work performance,
reduced immune response, decreased satisfaction,
headaches, gastrointestinal distrust, externalization of
upset, decreased appetite, blame, externalization of
decreased libido, vulnerability vulnerability, feeling
to illness. abandoned.
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
and ethnicity) and cultural settings (language, beliefs,
traditions, and customs). Hence, from 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 risk, resilience and vulnerability of those
affected.
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
consumption. One salient component of assessing
the impact of disaster from this view is defining
direct economic cost and indirect management.
From this view, natural disasters are commonly thought to be
less contentious than armed conflicts. Yet, a closer look
reveals that politics are deeply wedded to both the impact of
natural disaster and the subsequent delivery of humanitarian
assistance. Political considerations before, during, and after a
natural disaster can determine who is at most risk, who can
intervene, what actions will be taken, and who will benefit
from those actions. Government interventions should be
present in the following phases of DRRM : 1. Prevention, 2.
Mitigation, 3. Preparedness, and 4. Recovery.
Disasters not only reveal underlying social, economic, political
and environmental 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 of development stemming
from disasters and calls on the global community tp “intensify
our collective effort to reduce the number and effects of
natural hazards and man – made disasters”.