SOUTHERN MASBATEROOSEVELT COLLEGE
KATIPUNAN, PLACER, MASBATE
1st SEMESTER
Teacher: DELFIN DENZO
Contact No. 09100842855 – Fb Page: Del Dela Cruz Denzo
Name: ________________________ Contact No.: __________________
Year & Section: _________________ Address: _____________________
DISASTER READINESS AND RISK REDUCTION
QUARTER 1
(MODULE 3)
LESSON 3
DISASTER AND ITS EFFECTS
A natural disaster can bring about many devastating effects. Among these are deaths, destruction of
infrastructures, loss of livelihood and services, and other physical and nonphysical effects. Since we are partly
responsible for the disasters happening around us, we must change some of our ways, in order to prevent or minimize
the effects of disasters in our lives.
A disaster is a damaging event that occurs suddenly and involves loss of life and property. It can be of two
types, natural and man-made.
Natural disasters can destroy a whole community in an instant. Examples of natural disasters are volcanic
eruptions, tsunamis, earthquakes, and typhoons which are destructive to people's lives.
Man-made disasters on the other hand are caused by human beings. Some of the man-made disasters are bomb
explosions, terrorism, wars, leakage of poisonous chemicals, pollutions, industrial accidents, and epidemics. They are
identified as man- made disasters because they happen due to human actions and not by natural forces.
What is the difference between hazard and disaster?
A hazard is a dangerous situation or event that carries a threat to humans. A disaster is an event that harms
humans and disrupts the operations of society. Hazards can only be considered disasters once it affected humans. If a
disaster happened in an unpopulated area, it is still a hazard.
The Human Effect of Natural and Man-Made Disasters
1. Displaced Populations
One of the most immediate effects of natural disasters is population displacement. When countries are
ravaged by earthquakes or other powerful forces of nature, many people need to abandon their homes and
seek shelter in other regions. A large influx of refugees can disrupt accessibility of health care and
education, as well as food supplies and clean water.
2. Health Risks
Aside from the obvious immediate danger that natural disasters present, the secondary effect can be just as
damaging. Severe flooding can result in stagnant water that allows breeding of waterborne bacteria and
malariacarrying mosquitoes. Without emergency relief from international aid organizations and others,
death tolls can rise even after the immediate danger has passed.
3. Food Scarcity
The aftermath of natural disasters affects the food supplies. Thousands of people around the world are
hungry because of destroyed crops and loss of agricultural supplies, whether it happens suddenly in a storm
or gradually in a drought. As a result, food prices rise reducing families’ purchasing power and increasing
the risk of severe malnutrition or worse. The impacts of hunger following an earthquake, typhoon or
hurricane can be tremendous, causing lifelong damage to children’s development.
4. Emotional Aftershocks
Natural disasters can be particularly traumatic for young children. Confronted with scenes of destruction
and the deaths of friends and loved ones, many children develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a
serious psychological condition resulting from extreme trauma. Left untreated, children suffering from
PTSD can be prone to lasting psychological damage and emotional distress.
‘The Devastating Impact on Natural Disasters’, ChildFund, last modified May 30, 2020,
https://www.childfund.org/Content/NewsDetail/2147489272/
Great damage caused by a disaster can be reduced if everyone will take responsibility in anticipating its effects.
Here are some ways on how to plan ahead of a disaster:
1. Check for hazards at home.
2. Identify safe place indoors and outdoors 3. Educate yourself and family
pla
members
n
4. Have Disaster kits/supplies on hand. Evalu Organize and
5. Develop an emergency communication plan. ate Equip
6. Help your community get ready.
7. Practice the Disaster Preparedness Cycle Exerc Pla
ise n
Tra
in
LESSON 4
DISASTER FROM DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVES
Disasters come in different forms and intensity. Nobody knows when it will strike and how will it happen.
Therefore, everybody must know how to determine possible disasters and anticipate possible damages in order to
prepare oneself from the potential harms that it may cause to people and the community.
Direction: Think about the scenario below. Write YES if it is a disaster; NO if not a disaster. Write your answer on a
separate sheet.
_____ 1. A landslide in a mountain resort.
_____ 2. A typhoon traversing a remote and uninhabited island.
_____ 3. A volcano erupting 15 km away from a city.
_____ 4. A mudslide towards a hill foot community.
_____ 5. A strong earthquake in the city proper of Calamba.
Direction: Read the poem below then list down what you feel after interpreting the poem.
Disasters
(JMF)
"Vulcano Etna 5" by jmreymond (left) and "tsunami" by cursist373 (center) are licensed under CC BY-NC-SA
2.0
Tragedies come in different forms
Tsunami, landslides, fires, and typhoons
Floods, earthquakes, droughts, and volcanic eruptions
Shipwreck, forest fire, epidemic, pandemic, and even explosions
Imminent hazards are associated with disasters
Threat in health, physical danger, and emotional concerns Damage to properties, death,
and other fears That the victims see, hear and experience.
Countless times, we have watched disasters all around us;
We knew its effects; we understand the horror that it has;
We shed tears for others; we prayed for some; we might had helped a mass, Trying moments like this, to be
a man for others---really is a MUST!
Therefore, disasters must be foreseen and forecasted;
It must be anticipated for everyone to be prepared;
Its effect on human and society must be planned and considered; To save lives and properties and
preserve social order.
List down what you feel after interpreting the poem. Write your answers below.
1. _____________________________________
2. _____________________________________
3. _____________________________________
4. _____________________________________
5. _____________________________________
The Different Perspectives of Disaster
1. Physical perspective
Calamities are phenomena that cause great physical damage in a community infrastructure, its people and
their properties, e.g. houses and environmental sources of living. These cited effects of a disaster can be easily
measured and the most common.
Natural disasters generally affect the physical infrastructural facilities, agricultural productivity and even
lead to loss of life and cause damage to property. Various factors influence the effects of a disaster on a country
among them are the magnitude of the disaster, the geography of the area affected, and the recovery efforts directed
towards reducing the immediate effects of a disaster.
Effects of Physical Disasters
- Injuries
- Physical disabilities or illness
- Sanitation
- Damage in infrastructure
2. Psychological Perspective
Victims of disasters may suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other serious mental
health conditions, which are not being given much attention to by the authorities or even by the victims,
themselves. (This may be sensitive statement)
Disasters are mostly unpredictable, which leave the victims in a state of shock. They tend to deny the loss
and try to escape from reality. Being in a denial state makes the victims more vulnerable to stress, anxiety, and
other different maladaptive reactions. Death of a closed one also leaves the victim in a state of insecurity because
the sense of love, attachment and belongingness are deprived.
Psychological effects of a Disaster:
distress hopelessness intrusion/avoidance emotional effects
hatred/revenge cognitive Effects
dependence/insecurities physical Effects grief/withdrawn/isolation
interpersonal effect guilt feeling helplessness lack of trust
3. Socio-cultural Perspective
Filipinos are generally known as “matiisin”, resourceful, helpful, optimistic, and prayerful. These
characteristics are manifested in the country’s recent fight against COVID19.Due to the National Health
Emergency, Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) prevailed in the whole country. A lot of people temporarily
lost their jobs, some people stranded in different regions, repatriated OFWs were held in different quarantine
facilities in Metro Manila, and all people were restricted to go out of their homes for months. As a result, most
Filipino families would rely on government’s help for them to get by. However, limited resources and aids from
the government make people find possible ways to survive amid the pandemic.
These traits help a lot of Filipinos to survive the challenge of COVID19 in the country. To people who are
used to natural calamities like typhoons, flash floods, and volcanic eruptions most citizen would find contentment
with what they have at the moment. The culture of “malalampasan din natin ‘to..” belief and “ bahala na and
Diyos” syndrome give hope to most Filipino in the midst of a disaster. Such perspective helps a lot especially
those who belong to the marginalized sector to be hopeful and continue fighting against any challenge at hand.
Their belief that a help from someone or from God would arrive at a time they most needed. It also helps most
people survive a lot of oddities in life.
Socio-Cultural Effect of Disasters
➢ change in individual roles
➢ disruption of social relationships and personal connections
4. Economic Perspective
Disasters affect the economic condition of a community because they reduce local and international trade. It
can also partially or totally paralyze a country’s transportation system, just like what happened in the COVID19
pandemic.
Implementation of a partial and total shut down of local business operations result to a lot of people losing means
of living.
Economic Effects of Disasters
- loss of life
- unemployment
- loss of property loss of household articles
- loss of crops
- loss of public infrastructure
5. Political Perspective
Natural disasters are commonly thought to be less politically argumentative than armed conflicts, yet a closer
look shows that both the effects of a natural disaster and the resulting distribution of humanitarian aid are
profoundly linked to politics.
Just as vulnerability to disasters is mediated by the political system of a country, disasters can have major
consequences for political stability and political legitimacy (Hörhager, July 2017. Since agencies of government
have a significant role to play in directing disaster preparedness, prevention and recovery. Social systems establish
vulnerability to natural disasters and governments are often considered to be responsible for the disaster effects.
Political Effects of a Disaster
- People who have trust in political institution will assess the government’s risk assessments as credible
and accept their hazard policies (Johnson 1999)
- Low level of trust in public institutions therefore means that citizens may ignore the recommendations
and disregard the information provided by these institutions (McCaffey 2004).
- If individuals are confident that they will receive sufficient aid from the government when a disaster
occurs, they might not be motivated to take measures on their own (King and Kang 2000).
6. Biological Perspective
The disturbing effects caused by a prevalent kind of disease or virus in an epidemic or pandemic level is
known as biological disaster.
(a) Epidemic Level: Biological disaster affects large numbers of people within a given community or
area. Ex: Dengue.
(b) Pandemic Level: Biological disaster affects a much large region, sometime spanning entire continents
or the globe ex. Swine Flue
Biological disasters can wipe out an entire population at a short span of time.
Example of it is the COVID19 pandemic which infected millions in less than a month and left thousands of deaths in
the same duration. Viral respiratory infections can lead to anything from a mild cough that lasts a few weeks or
months to full-blown persistent wheezing or asthma (Martin, 2020). He added that when there is a severe respiratory
infection, recovery can be prolonged with a general increase in shortness of breath— even after normal lung function
returns. Since COVID19 is a respiratory disease, the public is advised by health authorities to do health precaution to
prevent social contamination. Examples are: observing physical distancing, appropriate washing of the hands, wearing
of mask at all times once outside of one’s home, and boosting one’s immune system.
COVID19 patients who have strong immune system can likely soon recover from the disease. Also, those who follow
the health precaution strictly have less chance of being infected. As such, the effects of a biological disaster can be
reduced.
Effects of Biological Disasters
➢ loss of lives
➢ public demobilization
➢ negative economic effect
➢ unemployment
➢ hunger
Watch or Read!
Direction: Watch a video from the Youtube, entitled Philippines’ President Threatens to shoot dead corona virus
lockdown troublemaker using the following link/URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qERZgLv3MKg or read
the article below if you do not have internet access at home.
State of Public Health Emergency Declared in PH by
Azer Parrocha
President Rodrigo Duterte has issued a proclamation formally declaring a state of public health emergency
throughout the Philippines after the health department reported the first known local transmission of the new
coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Duterte signed Proclamation 922 on March 8 to “capacitate government agencies and LGUs (local
government units) to immediately act to prevent loss of life, utilize appropriate resources to implement urgent and
critical measures to contain or prevent the spread of Covid-19, mitigate its effects and impact to the community, and
prevent serious disruption of the functioning of the government and the community.”
The proclamation would also facilitate the implementation of mandatory reporting, intensify government
response and measures, and enforce quarantine and disease control prevention measures.
Duterte recognizes that the outbreak of Covid-19 constitutes an emergency that threatens national security
which requires a “whole-of-government" response aligned with the Department of Health's (DOH) four-door
framework for Covid-19, and the efforts of all concerned government agencies and LGUs.
Under the proclamation, all government agencies and LGUs are tasked to give full assistance and
cooperation and mobilize the necessary resources to undertake critical, urgent and appropriate response and
measures in a timely manner to curtail and eliminate the Covid-19 threat.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III may seek the help of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other law
enforcement agencies to provide assistance in addressing the Covid-19 threat, the proclamation read.
All citizens, residents, tourists, and establishment owners are urged to comply with these directives to
prevent the transmission of Covid-19.
The state of public health emergency will remain in force and effect until lifted by Duterte.
Earlier, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte will be releasing an executive order to
strengthen public health response versus Covid-19. However, he clarified in a radio interview that instead of an
executive order, Duterte will be issuing a proclamation.
There are 10 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country and 41 patients under investigation (PUI)
who are currently admitted to hospitals.
Of these confirmed cases, the first known local transmission of the virus is an elderly man who frequented an
Islamic prayer hall at the Greenhills Mall.
Some local governments and schools have called off classes to undergo disinfection protocols.
In a Laging Handa press briefing in Malacañang, Duque said he respected the decision of local governments
but stressed that he does not see a need to call for a lockdown in Metro Manila.
As of March 8, 2020, there are a total of 105,586 cases of Covid-19 that has spread to 101 countries.
DOH has placed the country under Covid-19 Alert System to Code Red sublevel 1 to prepare national and
local governments and the country’s health care providers for possible increases in suspected and confirmed cases of
the disease.
You did great!
Now, you had watched the video or read the article above. Let us answer the following questions.
1. Based on the video/article, what perspective/s of disaster does it imply?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. What do you think are the significant needs of the people in the video/article?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. Do you agree with the perspective of the President in mitigating the effect/s of the disaster?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
4. Suppose you have the authority to give suggestion/s to the President in reducing the impacts of the disaster in the
video, what advice will you give him? Justify your answer.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
5. What do you think is the role of the government in qualifying the effects of a disaster?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
What do you think?
“Society, and most of all schools, have a great moral responsibility to establish a safe environment for students and
their teachers. The greater the level of education, awareness, and self-organization, the greater its potential to avoid
or mitigate the negative consequences of natural or man-made disasters”.
Activity 1: TOUCH MY FEELINGS
Direction: Identify possible disasters that could possibly affect your school and its immediate community. Make a 3
paragraph of Poem that may be helpful in preventing different disaster perspectives. and make a video and send it to
our group chat. The given rubrics below will be used for scoring.
Activity 2: AWARE ME!
Direction: Identify possible disasters that could possibly affect your school and its immediate community. In a ¼
illustration board Create an artistic warning sign (poster) that may be helpful in preventing different disaster
perspectives. and make a video speech send it to our group chat. The given rubrics below will be used for scoring.
Suggested Rubric for the student’s Poster and Poem
5 4 3 2 1
Substantial, specific and Sufficiently developed
Limited content
Illustrative content content with adequate Minimal Irrelevant
with inadequate
demonstrating strong explanation of content content
explanation
development of ideas
“Don't be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.”
― Roy T. Bennett
