Republic of the Philippines NORTHWEST SAMAR STATE UNIVERSITY Main Campus, Calbayog City

A Report on the Subject

Safety Engineering

Reporters: ALBERTO F. DOROJA, CE HENDRIX R. ORTEGA, CE

is an evolving area of disaster risk management aimed at risk elimination or reduction by intervening in the vulnerability of a community, of an area, of infrastructure, etc.

The systematic management of administrative decisions, organization, operational skills and capacities to implement policies, strategies and coping capacities of the society and communities to lessen the impacts of natural hazards and related environmental and technological disasters. This comprises all forms of activities, including structural and non-structural measures to avoid (prevention) or to limit (mitigation and preparedness) adverse effects of hazards

Components - Activities Risk Identification - Hazard and Vulnerability Studies Risk Reduction - Prevention and Mitigation Risk Transfer - Insurance and Risk Financing Preparedness, Response - Forecasting, dissemination of warnings, implementing preparedness measures Recovery - Rehabilitation and Reconstruction

Who must be involved? Multi-sectoral, multidisciplinary strategic users which include a broad range of Disaster Risk Management stakeholders. Governmental and nongovernmental organizations at
Community, National and Regional levels,

National Disaster Organisations Professional Associations. Lending Institutions Insurance Companies

Hazard A hazard is a potentially damaging physical event, natural phenomenon or human activity that may cause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation.

Hazards may have different origins: Natural (geological, hydrometeorological and biological) or Induced by human processes (environmental degradation and technological hazards).

There are three categories of natural hazards: Hydro-meteorological, geological and biological.. 1. Hydro-meteorological hazards are natural processes or phenomena of an atmospheric, hydrological or oceanographic nature. 2. Geological hazards are natural earth processes or phenomena that include internal earth processes of tectonic origin as well as external processes such as mass movements.

Tropical waves and depressions Tropical Storms Hurricanes Storm surges Torrential rains Floods Tsunamis Droughts

severe offshore storm developing in tropics: a severe storm that develops offshore over tropical seas with less than hurricane force winds but with the ability to develop into a hurricane.

high wind: a wind of above 119 km/74 mi per hour, classified as force 12 or above on the Beaufort scale.

rise in level of coastal water: a rise in sea level above the usual tide level as a hurricane or other intense storm moves over water, causing flooding when the storm comes ashore..

Intense rain: intense or abundant rain.

water covering previously dry area: a very large amount of water that has overflowed from a source such as a river.

large ocean wave: a large destructive ocean wave caused by an underwater earthquake or another movement of the Earth's surface.

period of dry weather: a long period of extremely dry weather when there is not enough rain for the successful growing of crops or the replenishment of water supplies.

Volcanic eruptions Landslides Mud flows Earthquakes

Vulcanic outburst: a sudden outburst. violent release of material: the violent ejection of material such as gas, steam, ash, or lava.

sudden collapse of land: the collapse of part of a mountainside or cliff so that it descends in a disintegrating mass of rocks and earth mass of loosened rock and earth: a disintegrating mass of rock and earth that suddenly descends from a mountainside or cliff.

flowing mud: a fast-moving downhill flow of mud and soil loosened by rainfall.

shaking of Earth's crust: a violent shaking of the Earth's crust that may cause destruction to buildings and results from the sudden release of tectonic stress along a fault line or from volcanic activity.

Vulnerability The condition determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes, which increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards.

Resilience Resilience is the capacity of a system, community or society potentially exposed to hazards to adapt, by resisting or changing in order to reach and maintain an acceptable level of functioning and structure.

Risk The probability of harmful consequences, or expected losses (deaths, injuries, property, livelihoods, economic activity disrupted or environment damage) resulting from interactions between natural or humaninduced hazards and vulnerable conditions.

Acceptable Risk Refers to the specific value of damage a community is willing to assume.

Disaster A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources.

Components Risk Identification Risk Reduction Risk Transfer Preparedness, Alert, Response Recovery

Activities Hazard and Vulnerability Studies Prevention and Mitigation Insurance /Risk Financing Forecasting, dissemination of warnings, implementing preparedness measures Rehabilitation and Reconstruction

Risk identification is the systematic use of available information to determine the probability of certain adverse events occurring and the related consequences.

Hazard data collection and mapping identification, dimensioning, frequency of the hazard Vulnerability assessments identification of who (population) and what (infrastructure) are vulnerable to the hazard Risk assessments determining the expected loss from a hazardous event Post-disaster assessments

Risk reduction is an evolving area of disaster risk management aimed at risk elimination or reduction by intervening in the vulnerability. In other words, risk reduction involves clear and explicit effort to avoid the occurrence of disasters. Risk reduction comprises two components: Prevention and Mitigation.

Activities to provide outright avoidance of the adverse impact of hazards and the means to minimize related environmental, technological and biological disasters.

Structural and non-structural measures undertaken to limit the adverse impact of natural hazards, environmental degradation and technological hazards.

Physical measures Socio-economic measures Environmental measures Post-disaster measures

Preventable Hazards Oil Spill Toxic waste contamination Industrial pollution Landslide Flooding

Hazards which can be mitigated Oil spill Toxic Waste Contamination Industrial pollution Landslide Flooding

Hazards whose impacts can be mitigated Earthquake Hurricane Volcanic eruption Landslide Flooding

Risk Transfer refers to instruments that share/hedge economic risks before losses occur.

Budget self-insurance Market Insurance and Reinsurance Public asset coverage Risk pooling and diversification Risk financing

Budget self-insurance is the measure taken by individual property owners to allocate a modest yearly budget for improvement, maintenance and selected retrofit investments for their property (buildings, land, infrastructure) which helps to reduce future expected losses in the event of a disaster.

Market insurance is the mechanism by which losses are stabilised through pre-payment in the form of regular premium payments.

Public asset coverage financing is the process by which governments seek to finance the reconstruction of damaged critical public assets. Usually this comes from annual budgets, but needs to be augmented by outside sources.

Diversification of the risk pool is done by banking with others from other geographic areas or industries which can help reduce insurance premiums for all participants.

A cat bond is a bond that is purchased by investors which transfers risks to the global capital market.

Risk transfer ensures that funds are readily available to rectify the damage or replace the facility, should a loss occur. It does not reduce actual vulnerability. As a result, risk transfer mechanisms should always be implemented in support of, rather than as a replacement for, broad disaster risk reduction initiatives, such as improved building practices and land use planning.

Activities and measures taken in advance to ensure effective response to the impact of hazards, including the issuance of timely and effective early warnings and the temporary evacuation of people and property from threatened locations.

A formal declaration of the near or imminent occurence of a hazard. This information should lead emergency organisations to activate previously established mechanisms, and the population to take specific precautions

The provision of assistance or intervention during or immediately after a disaster to meet the life preservation and basic subsistence needs of those people affected. It can be of an immediate, short-term, or protracted duration.

Recovery Decisions and actions taken after a disaster with a view to restoring or improving the predisaster living conditions of the stricken community, while encouraging and facilitating necessary adjustments to reduce disaster risk.

Rehabilitation This is the transition period that begins during response to re-establish temporary critical basic services in the short-term. Reconstruction Reconstruction is the process of infrastructure repair, restoration of the production system, and resumption of the populations normal life pattern.

Pre-Disaster Risk Identification Risk Reduction Prevention and Mitigation Risk Transfer Preparedness

Post-Disaster Response Recovery - Rehabilitation and Reconstruction

Direct Damage: Direct damage is all damage sustained by immovable assets and inventories of finished and semi-finished products, raw materials, other materials and spare parts.

This is damage to the flows of goods that cease to be produced or the services that cease to be provided during a period of time beginning almost immediately after the disaster and possibly extending into the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase.

Natural events such as earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes and floods, within the context of expanding population and economic growth in the Caribbean Region, pose a growing threat to national and regional development strategies.

Natural hazards can delay future development due to the loss of resources. They may also cause a shift of scarce resources earmarked for development projects to emergency response and reconstruction following the events.

They can also depress the investment climate. Proactive Disaster Risk Management, which involves priority investment in mitigation and prevention, must be an essential strategy for sustainable development in the Caribbean Region.

DEVELOPMENT REALM

Development

NEGATIVE REALM

can increase vulnerability

Development can reduce vulnerability

POSITIVE REALM

Disaster can set back development

Disaster can provide development opportunities

DISASTER REALM

Components

Activities

Risk Identification
Risk Reduction Risk Transfer Preparedness, Alert, Response Recovery

Hazard and Vulnerability Studies Prevention and Mitigation

The conceptual framework of elements considered with the possibilities to minimize vulnerabilities and disaster risks throughout a society, to avoid (prevention) or to limit (mitigation and preparedness) the adverse impacts of hazards, within the broad context of sustainable development.

Risk awareness and assessment including hazard analysis and vulnerability/capacity analysis; Knowledge development including education, training, research and information; Public commitment and institutional frameworks, including organizational, policy, legislation and community action; Application of measures including environmental management, land-use and urban planning, protection of critical facilities, application of science and technology, partnership and networking, and financial instruments; Early warning systems including forecasting, dissemination of warnings, preparedness measures and reaction capacities.

There are five categories of Disaster Risk Reduction measures: Physical Socio-economic Environmental Management and institutional and Post disaster.

Physical Risk Reduction Measures Physical risk reduction measures are structural and non- structural measures that are undertaken to help avoid or alleviate the damage and losses that result from hazards.

Structural measures refer to any physical construction to reduce or avoid possible impacts of hazards, which include engineering measures and construction of hazard-resistant and protective structures and infrastructure. Examples Construction; Strengthening of facilities; Altering of the environment

Non-structural measures refer to policies, awareness, knowledge development, public commitment, and methods and operating practices, including participatory mechanisms and the provision of information, which can reduce risk and related impacts.

Examples: Engineering design such as designing for vibration, lateral loads, wind loads, load surcharges, flood resistance; Physical development plans that identify land use zones that are developable and those that are hazard prone; Development regulations (design standards, building codes);

Socio-economic risk reduction measures are those that are designed to address gaps and weaknesses in the systems whereby communities and society as a whole prepare to respond to disaster events.

Examples: Build awareness of hazards and vulnerabilities at the community level Create community mutual assistance networks Develop employment protection programs

Environmental Risk Reduction measures Environmental risk reduction measures are those that are designed to protect existing, or rehabilitate degraded, environmental systems that have the capacity to reduce the impact of natural hazards.

Examples: Policies and programmes such as development control or environmental impact assessments that reduce or eliminate the effect of human activities on the environment; Physical measures that restore or fortify damaged environmental systems such as mangrove replanting, coral reef protection, reforestation of critical watersheds or restoration of degraded river courses;

Institutionalising disaster risk reduction requires: Education, training and professional competence, access to information and political will. The professional training of engineers, planners, economists, social scientists and other managers to include hazards and disaster risk reduction within their normal area of competence. Information is a critical element in planning for disaster risk reduction.

Reconstruction and rehabilitation work during the post-disaster period determines the capability of the system to weather future hazards. The recovery period can be seen as a window of opportunity for implementing a comprehensive disaster risk reduction programme.

Active Risk Reduction Measures Active Measures are those used by the authorities to promote desired actions by offering incentives. These measures are often associated with development programmes in areas of low income.

Tax exemptions and other incentives for those who fulfill planning regulations such as adoption of the building code; Economic assistance (grants and preferential loans); Subsidies on safety equipment, safer building materials, etc; Provision of financial opportunities for the construction of key facilities: safer buildings, shelters, refuge points, storage; Training and education; Public information dissemination and awareness raising; Promotion of voluntary insurance; and Creation of community organizations.

Advantages: - May produce better results because they:

- Tend to promote a safety culture

- Do not rely on the economic capacity of the

community - Do not rely on enforcement by local authorities

Disadvantage:

- More costly require large budgets, skilled workforce and extensive administration

Passive measures are those used by the authorities to prevent undesired actions, as for example controls and penalties (as opposed to incentives). However, these actions are usually more appropriate for wellestablished local authorities in areas with higher incomes.

Land use regulations; Requirements to conform with building design codes; Checking compliance of controls on site; Not approving the construction of utilities and infrastructure in areas where development is undesired; Imposing court proceedings, fines, closure orders on offenders; and Compulsory insurance.

Risk awareness and assessment including hazard analysis and vulnerability/capacity analysis; Knowledge development including education, training, research and information; Public commitment and institutional frameworks, including organizational, policy, legislation and community action; Application of measures including environmental management, land-use and urban planning, protection of critical facilities, application of science and technology, partnership and networking, and financial instruments; Early warning systems including forecasting, dissemination of warnings, preparedness measures and reaction capacities.

Risk reduction reduces vulnerability Reduced vulnerability reduces impact of future hazardous events Reduced impact means quicker recovery Quicker recovery allows return to development activities

Vulnerability assessments are systematic examinations of population, buildings, infrastructure and selected geographic areas to identify who, what and where are susceptible to damage from the effects of natural hazards.

Determine vulnerable elements Determine the elements that are vulnerable to the hazard: population, neighborhoods, or environmental zones. Identify critical facilities such as: Shelters, schools, hospitals, clinics and fire stations; Lifelines such as water, sewerage, telecommunications, energy and gas systems; Housing; Historical buildings and archaeological sites.

Determining characteristics of vulnerable population: number of residents; health condition; socio-economic characteristics.

level of knowledge on risk issues; resilience shown by the community; participation in the design, test and planning execution.

THE END THANK YOU