Exposure

and
Vulnerability
 Learning Outcomes
1.Enumerate different
elements exposed to
hazards
2.Explain the meaning of
vulnerability
3. Discuss why certain sectors
of society are more
vulnerable to disaster than
others
4. Reason out why certain
structures are more
vulnerable to specific hazard
than others
5. Determine the elements that are
exposed to a particular hazard
6. Recognize vulnerabilities of
different elements exposed to
specific hazard
7. Differentiate among hazard,
exposure, and vulnerability and
give examples from actual
situations.
 EXPOSURE
The ‘elements at risk’
from a natural or man –
made hazard event.
 Elements at Risk
• Human beings
• Dwellings or
households and
communities
• Buildings and structures
• Public facilities and
infrastructure assets
• Public and transport
system
• Agricultural commodities
• Environmental assets
 VULNERABILITY
The characteristics and
circumstances of a
community, system or asset
that make it susceptible to
the damaging effects of a
hazard
 Can be seen as the
result of a process in
which various different
things cause a population
to be more vulnerable.
Reasons Why Certain Sector
of Society are More
Vulnerable to Disaster
than Others
1.Demographic Factors
Population density – the more
dense the population, the more
efficient a response should be
 Age of population – Very
old and very young
populations are less mobile
and able to respond to hazard
events well
Distribution of
population – populations
may be distributed differently
within the hazard area.
2. Socio – economic
factors
• Wealth
• Education
• Nature of society
• Understanding of the area
3. Community preparedness
• Building Codes
• Scientific Monitoring and
early warning systems
• Communication networks
• Emergency planning
4. Dealing with the after
– effects
•Insurance cover
•Emergency personnel
•Aid request
Vulnerability to
Specific Hazards
• Poor design and
construction of buildings
and other infrastructure
• Inadequate protection
measures of assets
• Lack of public information
and awareness
• Limited official
recognition of risks and
preparedness measures
• Disregard for wise
environmental
management
 Types of
Vulnerability
 Physical Vulnerability
• May be determined by
aspects as population density
levels, remoteness of a
settlement, the site, design
and materials used for critical
infrastructure and for housing
 Social Vulnerability
The inability of
people, organizations
and societies to
withstand adverse
impacts to hazards
Economic Vulnerability
The poor are usually more
vulnerable to disasters because
they lack the resources to build
sturdy structures and put other
engineering measures in place
to protect themselves
Environment Vulnerability
Natural resource
depletion and resource
degradation are key
aspects of environmental
vulnerability.
Risk Factors
 Signifies the
possibility of adverse
effects in the future. It
is derived from the
interaction of social and
environmental
processes
Earthquake
Tsunami
Floods
Cyclones Engineering
Bushfires Economic
Landslides
Social
Volcanoes

Exposure
People
Buildings
Business
Infrastructure
Philippine Exposure
and Vulnerabilities
to Natural
Disasters
•Naga (10)
•San Carlos (9)
•Taipei (8)
•Batangas (7)
•Cabanatuan (6)
• San Fernando,
Pampanga (5)
• Manila (4)
• Lucena (3)
• Tuguegarao (2)
• Port Vila, Vanuatu (1)
 Philippine
Vulnerabilities to
Natural Disasters
• The Philippine lies in the Pacific
typhoon belt and we are visited
by an average of 20 typhoons
every year
• The rugged nature of our
landscape makes our
communities very vulnerable to
landslides, mudflows and other
disasters
• The Philippines is an archipelagic
country with many small islands
• Many of our areas are also at or
below sea level, and this makes us
vulnerable to flooding and worst,
inundation with rise in sea level.
• With one of the longest coastlines in
the world at 32,400 km, we have
many areas that are vulnerable to
storm surges.
• The Philippines is still a
primarily agricultural and
fishing economy. Disruptions
in agricultural and fishery
production and destruction of
our ecosystems will have
devastating effects on our
economy and food security.
• Natural hazard risk is compounded
in the Philippines by poor
institutional and societal capacity to
manage, respond and recover from
natural hazard events.
• The Philippines is considered “high
risk” in terms of the country’s ability
to manage and mitigate the impacts
of natural hazard and in part due to
“entrenched corruption and high
levels of poverty”
• Aside form being at risk
to typhoons, the
Philippines is also at risk
to volcanic eruptions,
quakes, and floods