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Drrr-Lesson 2 - Exposure and Vulnerabilty
Drrr-Lesson 2 - Exposure and Vulnerabilty
Topic:
SUBJECT MATTER
UNDERSTANDING VULNERABILITY
1. Political factors
The level of vulnerability in any community can be directly linked to the
political will and commitment to developmental concerns. Vulnerability is as much
about the exposure to a given hazard as the decision-making linked to development
which will address conditions of vulnerability. A set of deep-rooted socio-economic
elements which include aspects such as denial of human rights, denial of access to
power structures, access to quality education, employment opportunities, land
tenure, availability of and access to resources, access to infrastructure, basic services
and information, together have the ability to create and maintain extreme levels of
vulnerability.
Political will is fundamental to disaster risk reduction. This was demonstrated
in 1994 when South Africa’s new democratic government decided to adopt a new
approach to the management of disasters and risks. This led to a total reform of the
country’s disaster risk management policy and legislation. Similar examples exist in
countries such as Mozambique, Lesotho, Madagascar and the Seychelles, where
political will to change, drove the disaster risk reduction agenda and reform
processes. Political change is mostly accompanied by economic reforms which in turn
have a spill-over effect on how development is planned and how poverty and
vulnerability are reduced.
2. Economic factors
Whilst a wide range of factors combine to contribute to levels of vulnerability
to the impact of hazards in developing countries, poverty probably has the single
most important influence. The eradication of poverty therefore is crucial to
vulnerability reduction.
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The economic status of the population relates not only to the degree of losses
in terms of lives, property and infrastructure but also to the capacity to cope with and
recover from adverse effects. Virtually all disaster studies show that the wealthiest of
the population (women and men) either survive the impact of a hazard without
suffering any adverse effects or are able to recover quickly (due mostly to the
presence of insurance, savings, investments or some other financial instrument to fall
back on). Poverty and lack of access to land and basic services explains why people in
urban areas are forced to live on hills that are prone to landslides, or why people settle
near rivers that invariably flood their banks. Poverty explains why droughts claim
poor subsistence farmers as victims and rarely the wealthy, and why famine, more
often than not, is the result of a lack of purchasing power to buy food rather than the
absence of food.
Increasingly, poverty also explains why many women and men are forced to
move from rural areas to the cities in search of job opportunities or to other parts of
a country or even across borders to survive (e.g. Migration from Zimbabwe into South
Africa). Such crisis-induced migration and rapid urbanisation pose considerable
challenges to the authorities with unplanned settlements and longer-term
development, as well as immediate assistance in the case of displaced persons.
Poverty and lack of access to land force people to build temporary, unsafe dwellings
in crowded, dangerous locations (UNDP, 1992:6).
3. Physical factors
Physical vulnerability refers to the susceptibility of individuals, households
and communities to loss due to the physical environment in which they find
themselves (UNISDR 2002:47) (refer back to the question on: “Where do people
live?”). It relates to aspects such as access to suitable land, land use planning, housing
design, building standards, materials used for building houses, engineering,
accessibility to emergency services and other similar aspects. Physical vulnerability
may be determined by aspects such as population density levels, remoteness of a
settlement, the site, design and materials used for critical infrastructure and for
housing (UNISDR, 2002).
In many countries in Africa it relates particularly to the vulnerability of
communities living in densely populated informal settlements, which are poorly sited
and unplanned. Housing structures are built with improvised materials which are
flimsy and highly flammable. Structures have poor, if any, foundations and are built
in close proximity to each other. This poor physical environment exposes people to
hazards such as landslides, floods, fires, wind, disease and epidemics. In addition,
poor planning and the proximity of structures limit access by emergency services in
the event of an emergency or disaster.
Physical vulnerability also relates to remotely located settlements, their
location, the design of building structures, and their ability to withstand the elements
and hazards, as well as their lack of access to services, infrastructure and information.
4. Social factors
The level of social well-being of individuals, households and communities
directly impacts on their level of vulnerability to hazards. Levels of education, literacy
and training, safety and security, access to basic human rights, social equity,
information and awareness, strong cultural beliefs and traditional values, morality,
good governance and a well-organised cohesive civil society, all contribute to social
wellbeing with physical, mental and psychological health being critical aspects.
Vulnerability is not equally distributed. Minority groups, the aged, orphans, nursing
mothers and their offspring, and the disabled are more vulnerable than others. The
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issue of gender and in particular the role of women requires special consideration
(UNISDR 2002:47), and is taken up in a section below.
A lack of awareness and access to information can also result in increased
levels of vulnerability. Disasters can happen because people vulnerable to them
simply do not know how to heed early warnings and to get out of harm's way or to
take protective measures. Such ignorance may not necessarily be a function of
poverty, but a lack of awareness of the measures than need to be taken to build safe
structures in safe locations, or safe evacuation routes and procedures. Other
populations may not know where to turn for assistance in times of acute distress.
Nevertheless, this point should not be taken as a justification for ignoring the coping
mechanisms of the majority of people affected by disasters. In most disaster-prone
societies, there is a wealth of understanding about disaster.
Hazard
A hazard is defined as “a dangerous phenomenon, substance, human activity or
condition that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of
livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage”
(UNISDR, 2009).
Hazards can be single, sequential or combined in their origin and effects. Each hazard
is characterised by its location, intensity, probability and likely frequency. Typical examples
of hazards can be the absence of rain (leading to drought) or the abundance thereof (leading
to flooding). Chemical manufacturing plants near settlements can also be regarded as
hazardous; similarly, incorrect agricultural techniques will in the long run lead to possible
disasters. Hazards can either be a creation of humans (anthropogenic) or the environment
(natural). Although the former can more easily be planned for than the latter, in both cases
the management of the hazard will remain the same. Our development efforts and attention
should therefore be focused on the presence of various hazards and this must inform our
planning.
A distinction should also be made between normal natural occurrences and natural
hazards. Natural phenomena are extreme climatological (weather), hydrological (water), or
geological (earth) processes that do not pose any threat to persons or property. A massive
earthquake in an unpopulated area (e.g. the Sahara desert) is a natural phenomenon. Once
the consequences (a possible hazardous situation) of this natural phenomenon come into
contact with human beings it becomes a natural hazard. If this natural hazard (due to the
unplanned or poorly planned activities of the human beings), affects them so that they are
unable to cope, the situation becomes a disaster
Hazards are events or human activities that pose threats to life, property, economy and
environment (Makoka&Kaplan, 2005).
Types of hazards
1. Natural Hazards are caused by the environment and thus cannot be prevented by human
intervention, but the effects and impact can be mitigated.
2. Man-made Hazards is the result of human activities
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Prevention is to ensure that human action or natural phenomena do not result in disaster
or emergency.
Mitigation means to reduce the severity of the human and material damage caused by the
disaster.
Modes of Hazards
1. Dormant - The situation presents a potential hazard, but no people, property, or
environment are currently affected. For instance, a hillside may be unstable, with the
potential of for a landslide, but there is nothing below or on the hillside that could be affected.
2. Armed – People, property, or environment are in potential harm’s way.
3. Active – A harmful incident involving the hazard has actually occurred. Often this is
referred to not as an “active hazard” but as an accident, emergency, incident, or disaster.
Classification of Hazards
1. Biological hazards known as biohazards, are agents that may cause potential harm
to human health and other organisms. They are comprised of microorganisms, pathogens,
and fungi and other substances that produce biological effects (Driscoll et al., 2005; OSHA,
2007).
The physical impact of biohazards concerns with the health of the people. Here
are some examples of Biohazards:
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3. Chemical hazards are substances that can cause harm or damage to the body,
property or the environment. Chemical hazards can be both natural and human made origin.
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• Temperature- sudden
changes in temperature also
have crucial effects on the
human body. The risk of
extreme temperature includes
fatigue, nausea, dizziness and
headache, or difficulty in
staying alert.
5. Ergonomic hazards are physical factors in the environment that occur when the kind of
work, positioning of the body and working conditions put tension and stress on your
body which causes adverse effects on the body’s musculoskeletal system. This type of
hazard is the hardest to spot since you do not immediately notice the strain on your body
when working or the harm that these hazards cause.
Ergonomic injuries
include sprains, strains, and other
related problems as well. Other
impacts of this type of hazard are a
number of Cumulative Trauma
Disorders (CTD) which affects the
cervical spine area, the lower back,
arms, hands, wrists, elbows, and
shoulders.
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6. Psychological hazard is a type of occupational hazard that influences the mental health
of workers, including their capability to partake in a work environment among other
people.
7. Safety hazard is the most common and will be current in uttermost work environments
at one time or another. They incorporate perilous states that may cause injury, illness
and death
1. Safety hazard includes:
• Spills with respect to floors or tripping hazards, such
as blocked aisles or ropes running crosswise over
the floor.
• Working from heights, including ladders, scaffolds,
roofs or other high-risk areas
• Unguarded technologies and moving machinery
parts; removed guards or moving parts that a
laborer might inadvertently touch
• Electrical dangers like frayed cords, missing ground
pins, inappropriate wiring
• Machinery-related dangers (lockout/tag out, heater
safety, forklifts, and so on).
8. Natural hazard is a threatening event, or probability of occurrence of a potentially
damaging phenomenon within a given time period and area. Natural hazards are
classified as geological, hydrological, atmospheric or meteorological and climatological.
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Many hazard prone areas, such as coastlines, volcanic/mountain slopes and flood
plains, attract economic and urban development, offer significant economic benefits or are
of cultural or religious significance to the people who live there.
As more people and assets are exposed, risk in these areas becomes more
concentrated. At the same time, risk also spreads as cities expand and as economic and
urban development transform previously sparsely populated areas (UNISDR,2009).
Unfortunately, the location and changing climate patterns also have made it difficult
to make along lasting disaster risk reduction and management patterns. One such example
is the rampage of Super Typhoon Yolanda (International Codename: Haiyan) during the
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closing month soft the year 2013. The loss incurred by Yolanda istragic, and the battered
locations are still recovering from the horrific event even today.
This 600 km diameter Typhoon Haiyan crossed the Philippine archipelago, bringing
strong winds, heavy rainfall and storm surges that caused extreme loss of lives and wide
spread damage to property; it caused devastation to the whole country and left 6,300 dead,
1,061 missing and 28,689 injured in Haiyan’s aftermath (Lagmayetal.2014).
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