Risk Factors Underlying

Disasters

Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction

This lesson is intended to help you
understand the risk factors
underlying disasters. This course
focuses on the application of
scientific knowledge and the
solution of practical problems in a
physical environment.
 Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the
chosen letter on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Which of the following is the process or condition, often development-related, that

influence the level of disaster risk by increasing levels of exposure and vulnerability or
reducing capacity?
a. risk factor
b. disaster risk
c. natural hazard
d. man-made hazard
2. Which of the following is NOT an element which causes disaster?
a. exposure
b. hazard
c. risk
d. Vulnerability
3. Which of the following BEST describes hazard?
a. loss of life or injury naturally
b. a phenomenon or human activity
c. potentially damaging physical event
d. reduction of vulnerability and exposure
4. Which of the following risk factors BEST describes the cause of COVID-19
pandemic?
a. climate change
b. weak governance
c. globalized economic development
d. poorly- planned and managed urban development
5. It refers to the changes that can be attributed “directly or indirectly to human
activity altering the composition of the global atmosphere and additionally to the
natural climate variability observed over comparable periods of time”?
a. deforestation
b. climate change
c. global warming
d. carbon footprint
6. How will reduction of the level of vulnerability and exposure be possible?
a. proper knowledge on disaster risk
b. potentially damaging physical even
c. increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazard
d. by keeping people and property as distant as possible from hazards
7. Which of the following risk factors affect with inequality?
a. poverty
b. climate change
c. weak governance
d. globalized economic development
8. Unwillingness to assume their roles and responsibilities in governing disaster
risk unit, falls under which of the following risk factors?
a. climate change
b. weak governance
c. poverty and inequality
d. environmental degradation
9. Which among the groups suffer more adverse effects when an earthquake
causing disaster occurs?
a. men and women
b. children and women
c. old persons and women
d. old persons and children
10. The occurrence of landslides in the Philippines is increasing. This kind of
disaster will fall under which of the following risks?
a. poverty and inequality
b. climate change and weak governance
c. climate change and environmental degradation
d. climate change and globalized economic development
11. The ages below are average years ranges affected by specific
situations happening as a disaster occurs. Which of the following age
ranges are “Most Stressed-Out” after a disaster according to Asian
Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC)?
a. 16-20
b. 20-30
c. 30-40
d. 40-60
12. Which of the following risk factors is the result in an increased
polarization between the rich and poor on a global scale?
a. climate change
b. poverty and inequality
c. environmental degradation
d. globalized economic development
13. Which of the following is NOT a contributor to the worst outcomes
when a disaster happened?
a. displacement
b. can handle stress
c. death of someone close
d. massive loss of property
14. Who among the following groups of people are
more likely to live in hazard-exposed areas and are
less able to invest in risk-reducing measures based
on most studies in Asian Disaster Preparedness
Center (ADPC)?
a. middle class
b. senior citizens
c. young professionals
d. impoverished people
15. It is a risk factor that is both a driver and a
consequence of disasters, reducing the capacity of
the environment to meet social and ecological
needs, what is it?
a. climate change
b. weak governance
c. poverty and inequality
d. environmental degradation
Lesson
1

Differentiating Risk Factors

Underlying Disaster
In this lesson, the learner will understand that disaster can bring
about many devastating effects. Upon identifying the risk factors
underlying disaster, this will provide ideas to mitigate the effects of
disasters that can lead to death, destruction of infrastructures, loss
of livelihoods, and even non-physical events like emotional and
psychological aspects.
At Risk…
Disaster can affect everyone.
It does not discriminate between
and among social classes, gender,
creed, race, and nationality. But
certain risk factors put those
affected in a position where they
will have graver or longer-lasting
post-disaster stress reactions.
These aggravating factors
contribute to evident differences in
the stress reactions of certain
individuals with certain
characteristics.
 Activity 1.1: Direction: Read the scenario below. Based on your understanding
of disaster from the previous module, enumerate or list down the risks that
are reflected from the text.

Gina, an 18-year-old resident of

Tacloban City, just got laid off from
her job as a sales clerk in a medium-
sized hardware store. She and her
siblings could barely survive each day
with their limited resources. Then
Typhoon Yolanda struck, it killed her 2
younger sisters. Their home was
destroyed by the storm surge. In her
barangay alone, 2000 residents were
killed, including her childhood friends
and former playmates.
Identified Risks:
1. __________________________________
2. __________________________________
3. __________________________________
4. __________________________________
5. __________________________________
Activity 1.2 Identifying Risk
Factors

Direction: Read the news

article about an earthquake.
After you have read the article,
answer the guide questions.
 6.4-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes
Southern Philippines
MANILA • A strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake shook the southern Philippines
yesterday, sending frightened residents fleeing from buildings, officials and
eyewitnesses said. The quake struck off the coast of the southern town of Manay at
3.16 pm at a depth of 14km, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology
(PHIVOLCS) said in a statement. While there were no immediate reports of serious
destruction, the institute said it expects the earthquake to have caused some
damage. A lot of people ran from their homes because a lot of items were falling
inside," The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) is a service
institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) that is principally
mandated to mitigate disasters that may arise from volcanic eruptions, earthquakes,
tsunami and other related geotectonic phenomena. PHIVOLCS science researcher John
Deximo said. The Philippines lies on the so-called Ring of Fire, a vast Pacific Ocean
region where many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. At least two people
were killed and scores injured when a 6.5-magnitude quake struck the central
Philippines in July last year. The most recent major quake to hit the Philippines was in
2013, when a 7.1-magnitude quake left more than 220 people dead and destroyed
historic churches in the central islands.
Guide Questions:
1. What risk/s can you identify from the news
article?
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
__________________________________________
2. What do you think are the factors that affect the
disaster risks from the preceding article?
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
__________________________________________
 RISK FACTORS
Disaster risk as defined in the first module, has three important elements such
as:
1. Exposure - the “elements at risk from a natural or man-made hazard event
(Quebral, 2016).
2. 2. Hazard-a potentially dangerous physical occurrence, phenomenon or
human activity that may result in loss of life or injury, property damage, social and
economic disruption, or environmental degradation.
3. Vulnerability - the condition determined by physical, social, economic and
environmental factors or processes, which increase the susceptibility of a community to
the impact of hazard (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United nation, FAO
2008).
Reduction of the level of vulnerability and exposure is possible by keeping
people and property as distant as possible from hazards. We can not avoid natural
events from occurring, but we can concentrate on addressing the reduction of risk and
exposure by determining the factors causing disasters.
Risk Factors are processes or conditions, often development-related, that influence the
level of disaster risk by increasing levels of exposure and vulnerability or reducing
 The following are also taken into consideration when risk
factors underlying disaster are involved:
⚫ Severity of exposure - which measures those who
experience disaster first-hand which has the highest risk of developing future
mental problems, followed by those in contact with the victims such as rescue
workers and health care practitioners and the lowest risk are those most
distant like those who have awareness of the disaster only through news.
⚫Gender and
Family - the female
gender suffers more
adverse effects. This
worsens when children
are present at home.
Marital relationships are
placed under strain.
⚫ Age - adults in the
age range of 40-60
are more stressed
after disasters but in
general, children
exhibit more stress
after disasters than
adults do.
⚫Economic
status of
country - evidence
indicates that severe mental
problems resulting from
disasters are more prevalent
in developing countries like
the Philippines. Furthermore,
it has been observed that
natural disasters tend to have
more adverse effects in
developing countries than do
man-caused disasters in
developed countries.
Factors which underlie disasters:
1. Climate Change - can
increase disaster risk in a variety of ways – by
altering the frequency and intensity of hazards
events, affecting vulnerability to hazards, and
changing exposure patterns. For most people,
the expression “climate change” means the
alteration of the world’s climate that we
humans are causing such as burning of fossil
fuels, deforestation and other practices that
increase the carbon footprint and
concentration of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere. This is in line with the official
definition by the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that
climate change is the change that can be
attributed “directly or indirectly to human
activity that alters the composition of the
global atmosphere and which is in addition to
natural climate variability observed over
comparable time periods”
2. Environmental
Degradation - changes to the
environment can influence the frequency and
intensity of hazards, as well as our exposure and
vulnerability to these hazards. For instance,
deforestation of slopes often leads to an increase in
landslide hazard and removal of mangroves can
increase the damage caused by storm surges
(UNISDR, 2009b). It is both a driver and consequence
of disasters, reducing the capacity of the environment
to meet social and ecological needs. Over
consumption of natural resources results in
environmental degradation, reducing the
effectiveness of essential ecosystem services, such as
the mitigation of floods and landslides. This leads to
increased risk from disasters, and in turn, natural
hazards can further degrade the environment.
3. Globalized Economic
Development - It results in an increased
polarization between the rich and poor on a global
scale. Currently increasing the exposure of assets
in hazard prone areas, globalized economic
development provides an opportunity to build
resilience if effectively managed. By participating
in risk-sensitive development strategies such as
investing in protective infrastructure,
environmental management, and upgrading
informal settlements, risk can be reduced.
Dominance and increase of wealth in certain
regions and cities are expected to have increased
hazard exposure (Gencer, 2013).
4. Poverty and Inequality - Impoverished
people are more likely to live in hazard-exposed areas
and are less able to invest in risk-reducing measures.
The lack of access to insurance and social protection
means that people in poverty are often forced to use
their already limited assets to buffer disaster losses,
which drives them into further poverty. Poverty is
therefore both a cause and consequence of disaster
risk (Wisner et al., 2004), particularly extensive risk,
with drought being the hazard most closely associated
with poverty (Shepard et al., 2013). The impact of
disasters on the poor can, in addition to loss of life,
injury and damage, cause a total loss of livelihoods,
displacement, poor health, food insecurity, among
other consequences. Vulnerability is not simply about
poverty, but extensive research over the past 30 years
has revealed that it is generally the poor who tend to
suffer worst from disasters
5. Poorly planned and
Managed Urban
Development - A new wave of
urbanization is unfolding in hazard-exposed
countries and with it, new opportunities for
resilient investment emerge. People, poverty, and
disaster risk are increasingly concentrated in
cities. The growing rate of urbanization and the
increase in population density (in cities) can lead
to creation of risk, especially when urbanization
is rapid, poorly planned and occurring in a
context of widespread poverty. Growing
concentrations of people and economic activities
in many cities are seen to overlap with areas of
high-risk exposure.
6. Weak Governance - weak governance zones are
investment environments in which public sector actors are unable or
unwilling to assume their roles and responsibilities in protecting rights,
providing basic services and public services. Disaster risk is
disproportionately concentrated in lower-income countries with weak
governance (UNISDR, 2015a). Disaster risk governance refers to the
specific arrangements that societies put in place to manage their
disaster risk (UNISDR, 2011a; UNDP, 2013a) within a broader context
of risk governance (Renn, 2008 in UNISDR, 2015a). This reflects how
risk is valued against a backdrop of broader social and economic
concerns (Holley et al., 2011).
 Certain factors are related to a
survivor’s background and recovery is
hampered if survivors: were not functioning
well before the disaster; have no
experience dealing with disasters; must
deal with other stressors after the disaster;
have low self-esteem; feel uncared for by
others; think they exercise little control over
what happens to them; and unable to
manage stress.

 More factors contributory to worse

outcomes: death of someone close; injury
to self or family member; life threat; panic,
horror, or similar feelings; separation from
family; massive loss of property; and
displacement.
Activity 1.3: What is the Risk
Factor? Direction: Analyze the
given situation by identifying the
correct risk factor. Write only the
letter that corresponds to your
answer. To facilitate your task,
accomplish the given table
below:
Have you learned so much from this module? What are the
three things that you learned today? What are the two
things you found interesting?
3 Things I learned Today 1.
_______________________________________
2. _______________________________________
3. ________________________________________
2 Things I Found Interesting 1.
____________________________________
2. ____________________________________
1 Question I have 1. ________________________________________
Now that you have already learned and
understand the lessons, focusing on risk
factors underlying disasters. It is time to
work to demonstrate your learning
gains. Are you ready? Sure, you are!
Activity 1.4 Am I Ready? Direction: Suppose you
are invited by the SK Chairman in your barangay as
a resource speaker to your fellow age group during
an Environmental Awareness Activity and you were
asked to give emphasis on the risk factors
underlying disasters so that young people will be
equipped with knowledge on how to mitigate the
effects of a disaster. Have a concept in mind of
how you are going to deliver the information. Write
down what you want to deliver to the audience.
The given rubrics below will be used for scoring.