D.R.R.R.

11

Quarter 3
Self-Learning Module 2
Risk Factors Underlying Disasters
 LESSON

Tropical Storm "Ketsana," locally known as "Ondoy," swept across metro

Manila and parts of Central Luzon on Saturday, September 26, 2009, and brought
a month's worth of rain in just 12 hours. The waters rose so fast that people living
in low lying areas were caught unaware and had to stay on the roofs of their houses
to avoid being swept away by the floods.

Why are disasters happening? What are the different underlying factors that
lead to this kind of disaster? What can we do to avoid or minimize these factors?
 FIGURE 1

Aftermath of
Tropical Storm
Ondoy at Ortigas
Extension, Pasig
City. At least 140
died from the
storm, and more
than 450,000
people have been
displaced and
have sought
shelter in
schools,
churches and
other evacuation
shelters.
[Link]=http%3A%2F%[Link]%2Funiversal%2Fsite_graphics%2Fblogs%2Fbigpicture%2F
ketsana_09_30%2Fk15_20519531.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%[Link]%2Fbigpicture%2F2009%2F09%2Ftyphoon_k

Disaster happens for many reasons but four main factors are contributing to
the increase of disaster risks: Climate Change, Rapid Urbanization, Poverty, and
Environmental Degradation.

1. CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change will create a new hazard such as glacier melting, sea-level rise,
and extreme weather events in proportions never seen before. This will aggravate the
existing disaster risks and vulnerabilities and expose millions of people never affected
before around the world.
The facts:

In its Fourth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change (IPCC) predicted that by 2100:
• Sea level will rise by between 18cm and 59cm; sea-level rise, coupled with
coastal storms, will increase the risks of flooding and threaten protective
ecosystems. Oceans will become more acidic and warmer.
• Tropical cyclones (including typhoons and hurricanes) will become more
intense, with higher peak wind speeds and heavier precipitation, as tropical sea
surface temperatures increase.
• Increased drought in some regions will lead to land degradation, crop damage,
and reduced yields; livestock deaths and wildfire risks will increase, and
people dependent on agriculture will face food and water shortages,
malnutrition, and increased disease, with many being forced to migrate.
• Greater rainfall in some areas will trigger more floods and landslides, with
consequent disruption to agriculture, urban settlements, commerce, and
transport.
 • As temperatures rise, glaciers melt, increasing the risk of lake bursts and
disastrous floods; as mountain glaciers recede, farmers and towns downstream
that depend in the summer months on glacial meltwater will increasingly be at
risk.

2. RAPID AND UNPLANNED URBANIZATION

The rapid growth of cities, combined with climate change and the urban
population explosion, will create new stresses for urban settlements and make city
dwellers increasingly vulnerable.

The Facts:
✓ According to UN-HABITAT, up to 3,351 cities around the world are located in
low-lying coastal zones that may be affected by rising sea levels. Six out of the
10 largest cities are also located along seismic fault lines.
✓ Eight of the 10 most populous cities on the planet are vulnerable to
earthquakes; 6 of the 10 are vulnerable to floods, storm surges, and tsunamis.
✓ Ineffective land-use planning, inadequate enforcement of building codes,
and faulty construction standards put millions at risk.
✓ By 2015, 33 cities will have at least 8 million residents; of these, 21 are in
coastal areas and particularly vulnerable to meteorological hazards driven
by climate change (e.g. Dhaka, Shanghai, Manila, Jakarta, and Mumbai).
✓ Cities with weak governance and small and medium-sized urban areas are
more vulnerable to disasters as they have weaker capacities to manage urban
growth, deforestation, and destruction of coastal systems.

3. Poverty
Poverty and socio-economic inequalities are aggravating disaster factors. They
not only make poor people more vulnerable to disasters but they trap them in a
vicious circle of poverty.

The Facts
➢Disasters hit poor people the hardest. It is not only true in developing countries
but also in developed countries. Extensive research shows the poor are more
likely to occupy dangerous, less desirable locations, such as flood plains, river
banks, steep slopes, and reclaimed land because the price is cheaper. Poor
people tend to live in a poorly built and unprotected building that will be the
first to collapse in any disaster.

➢Disasters affect poor countries and poor communities disproportionately. The

World Bank reports that: “This disproportionate effect on developing countries
has many explanations. Lack of development itself contributes to disaster
impacts, both because the quality of construction often is low and building
 codes, and registration processes, and other regulatory mechanisms are
lacking, as well as numerous other development priorities displace attention
from the risks presented by natural events” ( Hazards of Nature, Risks to
Development, World Bank 2006).

➢Disasters have long-term consequences on poor people as they have fewer

means to recover. Poor people not only lose their family members, houses, the
main source of income and livelihoods when disasters happen but also become
more vulnerable to future disasters.

4. Environmental Degradation
Communities can all too often increase the probability and severity of
disasters• by destroying the forests, coral reefs, and wetlands that might have
protected them.

The facts
Forests once covered 46 percent of the Earth’s land surface – half of these have
disappeared; only one-fifth of the Earth’s forests remain undisturbed.
Coral reefs are home to one-fourth of all marine species; 60 percent of coral
reefs could be lost in the next 20-40 years.
The expansion of deserts and the degradation of land threaten nearly
one-quarter of the planet’s land surface; more than 250 million are directly
affected by desertification and 1 billion are at risk.
Global warming could be accompanied by widespread species loss, ecosystem
damage, flooding of human settlements, and greater frequency and severity of
other disasters due to vulnerability to natural hazards.

Why we should protect the environment?

Wetland and forest ecosystems function as natural sponges that absorb and
slowly release surface water, rain, snowmelt, groundwater, and floodwater. The
destruction of such natural buffers can put tens of thousands at risk.
Mangroves, dunes, and reefs, for example, act as natural physical barriers that
protect communities from coastal hazards. As they disappear, communities become
at greater risk of flooding. Likewise, deforestation makes flooding more severe
because slopes stripped of tree cover are less able to hold water. As a result, soil
erosion lowers the productivity of farmland, amplifies drought, and eventually leads
to desertification.
 ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 1 – Differentiate the Risk Factors

Gather information from news and internet resources about the four risk
factors underlying disaster, and then describe its effects and possible mitigating
plans.

RISK FACTORS UNDERLYING

EFFECTS MITIGATING PLANS
DISASTER
Maintain and
Glaciers melting,
EXAMPLE: strengthen coastal wave
sea-level rise, and
Climate Change barriers, river levees,
extreme weather
floodways, and flood
events.
ponds.
Climate Change
Rapid Urbanization
Poverty
Environmental Degradation

ACTIVITY 2 - Checklist of Plans and Mitigations that can be Done to Reduce the
Risk Factors of Underlying Disaster

The first column of the table below is the list of things we can do personally
to reduce the risk of the underlying factors of disaster and our local government can
prioritize. Rate the entries in column 1 with the level of priority to reduce the risk
factors underlying any disaster. Please put a check (√) mark on the column which
corresponds to your evaluation.

For your guide, use the following codes:

SCALE VERBAL INTERPRETATION

5 Very Highly Priority (VHP)

4 Highly Priority (HP)
3 Moderately Priority (MP)
2 Slightly Priority (SP)
1 Not Priority (NP)

Accomplish the table below and seek for the help and opinion of your adult
household companion or any Barangay officials (if possible). Discuss with him/her
what are the different plans and mitigations the local officials are currently
implementing here in Pasig City or in your Barangay. Always remember to respect
the ideas he/she will share with you.
 Table 1. Checklist of Plans and Mitigations that can be Done to Reduce
the Risk Factors of Underlying Disaster

Plans and Mitigations that can be Done to Reduce 5 4 3 2 1

the Risk Factors of Underlying Disaster VHP HP MP SP NP
1. Make disaster risk reduction a national and local
priority, with strong institutions to implement decisions.
2. Build mechanisms that will get people out of harm’s way
of a hazard and prepare shelters to protect them when
they are forced to move.
3. Incorporate climate risks in infrastructure projects,
especially in hospitals, schools, and water supplies.
4. Have adequate drainage systems to avoid flooding.
5. Maintain and strengthen coastal wave barriers, river
levees, floodways, and flood ponds.
6. Set up early warning systems that reach all people, in
time for appropriate action, and accompany the
warnings with helpful advice.
7. Plan urbanization and avoid building in risk areas.
Avoid the development of slums, offering safe lands to
low-income families. Integrate seismic risk assessment
in the construction of buildings in areas exposed to
earthquakes.
8. Involve people at risk by educating them on disaster risk
reduction and in making their neighborhoods safer; this
effectively empowers people and increases their capacity
to respond to a disaster.
9. Protect communities by installing early warning
systems. Make warnings more effective with regular
drills and increase community ability to foresee, prepare
for, and cope with disasters.
10. Give poor communities access to financial mechanisms
to protect houses and incomes.
11. Establish urban development programs that reduce
the creation of slums in risk areas and prevent the
growth of housing on dangerous slopes or flood plains.
Provide the poor with access to safe lands.
12. Involve the poorest communities in building their
capacity to resist disaster since they have most to lose,
and to give them a greater political stake in the
community.
13. Give the poorest people full access to early warning
systems, preparedness measures, and at the same
time access to financial mechanisms that can help
them protect their homes, health, and livelihoods.
14. Develop micro-finance mechanisms that include micro-
credit, micro-savings, and micro-insurance --
instruments that help reduce poverty by also reducing
vulnerability to natural hazards.
15. Identify and protect natural buffers such as forests,
wetlands, and coral reefs. Restore forests and plant
mangroves to shield communities from hazards such
as storm surge, coastal flooding, and tropical storms.
 VALUING
AVTIVITY 3 –Infographics / Poster Making
Draw an infographic or a poster with three activities that will promote a
mitigating plan that can be done to reduce the risk factors underlying disaster and
write a two-sentence explanation for each.

MITIGATING PLANS

POSTTEST

DIRECTIONS: Circle the best answer for each of the following questions.
1. Which factor underlying disasters that we can reduce risk through establishing
urban development programs that lessen the creation of slums in risk areas,
prevent the growth of housing on dangerous slopes or flood plains, and provide
the poor with access to safe lands?
A. Climate Change C. Environmental Degradation

B. Poverty D. Rapid and Unplanned Urbanization

2. Which of the following are consequences associated with climate change?
A. The ice sheets are declining, glaciers are in retreat globally, and our oceans
are more acidic than ever
B. Surface temperatures are setting new heat records about each year more
extreme weather like droughts, heatwaves, and hurricanes
C. Global sea levels are rising at an alarmingly fast rate — 18 centimeters in
the last century alone and going higher.

D. All three consequences above are associated with climate change.

3. Which is NOT a factor contributing to the increase of disaster risks?

A. Urbanization C. Climate Change

B. The planting of trees D. Over-exploitation of species

4. Which of the following is NOT a problem caused by environmental degradation?

A. Loss of biodiversity

B. Hurting the economy

C. The harming of many indigenous peoples

D. They are all problems caused by environmental degradation

5. What factor that contributes to the increase of disaster risks that refers to the
quality of construction and building codes is low, and other regulatory
mechanisms are lacking, as well as numerous other development priorities are
displaced?
A. Climate Change C. Poverty

B. Environmental Degradation D. Rapid and Unplanned Urbanization