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Risk and Vulnerability

The document discusses the concepts of risk and vulnerability in the context of disasters, defining vulnerability as the susceptibility of individuals or communities to harm from hazards, while risk is the potential loss associated with those hazards. It outlines various factors influencing vulnerability, including social, economic, physical, and political aspects, and categorizes vulnerability into physical, social, economic, and environmental types. Understanding and addressing both risk and vulnerability are essential for effective disaster risk management, which involves identifying hazards, assessing risks, developing mitigation measures, and building response capacity.

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3 views

Risk and Vulnerability

The document discusses the concepts of risk and vulnerability in the context of disasters, defining vulnerability as the susceptibility of individuals or communities to harm from hazards, while risk is the potential loss associated with those hazards. It outlines various factors influencing vulnerability, including social, economic, physical, and political aspects, and categorizes vulnerability into physical, social, economic, and environmental types. Understanding and addressing both risk and vulnerability are essential for effective disaster risk management, which involves identifying hazards, assessing risks, developing mitigation measures, and building response capacity.

Uploaded by

Karan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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RISK AND VULNERABILITY

(Also read the class PPT)


In the context of disasters, vulnerability refers to the degree to which a person, community, or
system is susceptible to harm from a hazard.

Risk, on the other hand, is the potential loss resulting from a hazard, considering its
probability and intensity, and the existing vulnerabilities. Essentially, vulnerability is a
characteristic of the affected entity, while risk is the combined outcome of the hazard and the
vulnerability.

VULNERABILITY

Vulnerability is defined as the degree of loss resulting from the potentially damaging
phenomena. The area may be called high or low vulnerable depending upon geological &
geographical and other factors.

This refers to the characteristics of a person, community, or system that make them
susceptible to harm from a hazard. It's the "weakness" or "flaw" that allows a hazard to
cause damage.

Vulnerability is the characteristic of a person or group and their situation that influences
their capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of a natural
hazard. (Wisner et.al, 2003) It is the reduced capacity of individual to cope with or recover
from hazardous events.

UNISDR (2004) states that vulnerability is determined by physical, social, economic and
environmental factors or processes, which increase the susceptibility of a community to the
impact of hazards.

Vulnerability can be influenced by a range of factors, including:

o Social factors: Poverty, inequality, lack of access to resources, discrimination,


and gender roles can all contribute to vulnerability.

o Economic factors: Lack of savings, dependence on a single industry, and limited


access to insurance can increase vulnerability.

o Physical factors: Location, building construction, infrastructure, and


environmental conditions can all impact vulnerability.
o Political factors: Lack of governance, corruption, and weak institutions can
hinder disaster preparedness and response, increasing vulnerability.

Types of Vulnerability

Vulnerability can be broadly divided into the following categories,

1. Physical Vulnerability – This is the vulnerability of an individual or assets and


infrastructures arising from physical components like settlements pattern, density ,
remoteness etc. . It may be further divided into-

a) Environmental – A person residing in a landslide prone zone

b) Anthropogenic – A person residing in an earthquake prone in seismically unsafe


construction

2. Social Vulnerability – This type of vulnerability arise due to the social standing of the
person. It can be further divided in

a) Caste

b) Social groups

c) Communal relations

d) Political affiliations

e) Education

f) Health

g) Age

h) Sex

3. Economic Vulnerability – Depends on the economic status of the individual. It is well


established that the poor communities are more vulnerable to hazards as compared to rich
communities, because they have fewer resources and limited capacity to prevent or cope up
with the impacts of disasters/hazards.

4. Environmental vulnerability – This type of vulnerability is mostly dependent of


natural resource depletion and resource degradation.
Inference: There are many aspects of vulnerability. Examples may include poor design and
construction of buildings, inadequate protection of assets, limited official recognition of
risks and preparedness measures, and disregard for wise environmental management.

RISK

This is the probability of a hazard causing loss, considering both the likelihood of the
hazard occurring and the potential consequences given the level of vulnerability. The word
risk is derived from the word ‘riscare’ meaning “run into danger”.Risk is a probability that
can be calculated.

The term risk is also used to refer to the expected losses from a given hazard to a given
element at risk, over a specified future time period.

Relationship between Vulnerability and Risk

o Vulnerability is a component of risk: A higher level of vulnerability means that


a hazard is more likely to cause significant damage or harm, increasing the risk.

o Risk assessment considers vulnerability: Understanding the vulnerabilities of a


community or system is crucial for accurately assessing the potential risks
associated with a particular hazard.

o Reducing vulnerability reduces risk: By addressing the factors that make a


community or system vulnerable, it's possible to reduce the overall risk
associated with hazards.

Need of Risk and Vulnerability in managing Disasters

In essence, understanding and addressing both vulnerability and risk is crucial for effective
disaster risk management. This involves:

 Identifying hazards and vulnerabilities:

This includes understanding the specific hazards that a community or system is exposed
to, as well as the factors that make them vulnerable.

 Assessing risk:

This involves quantifying the potential losses associated with a hazard, considering its
probability and intensity, and the existing vulnerabilities.
 Developing mitigation and preparedness measures:

This includes implementing measures to reduce vulnerability, improve resilience, and


strengthen preparedness for potential hazards.

 Building capacity for disaster response and recovery:

This involves developing the capacity to respond effectively to a disaster and to recover
from its impacts.

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