3. Vulnerability refers to the
susceptibility of a
person, group, society or system
to physical or emotional injury
or attack.
4.
5. Vulnerability to Disaster
It is determined by a combination of several
factors, including
awareness of hazards,
the condition of human settlements and infrastructure,
public policy and administration,
The wealth of a given society and organized abilities in all
fields of disaster and risk management.
6. Cities are more vulnerable because
there are higher concentrations of people at
risk; at the same time they are the
economic engine so the impact of the
damage is greater.
Physical infrastructure, land-planning
and the size of informal settlements are the
biggest factors determining the impact of
disasters on cities.
7. Factors of Vulnerability
Anderson and Woodrow (1989) grouped vulnerabilities into
three categories:
•Physical/material vulnerability:
•inherent weakness of the built environment
•lack of access to resources, especially of poor section of the
population
•Social/organizational vulnerability:
•Inherent weakness in the coping mechanism
•lack of resiliency, lack of commitment
•Attitudinal/motivational vulnerability:
•Fatalism, ignorance, and low level of awareness4
8. The likelihood of disaster increases when the community's built
environment i.e., buildings and lifeline systems—or community
infrastructure is comprised of the following vulnerable elements (Hays et
al., 1998):
Older residential and commercial buildings and infrastructure
constructed of unreinforced masonry
that have no lateral resistance
New buildings and infrastructure without adequate enforcement
Buildings in low-lying or coastal areas
Schools and other buildings that have been built to low construction standards.
Communication and control centers those are concentrated in one area.
Bridges, overhead crossings withsout lateral forces
9.
10. Urbanization:
•Cities with populations greater than 10 million are called megacities
In 1960, only one city – Shanghai had a population of 10 million.
•World population 6.1 billion in mid-2000, annual rate of 1.3 per cent
• By 2050, world population could be as high as 10.9 billion
In 2000, 450 cities worldwide, each shelter a population of more
than I million. Of these 50 cities have a population greater than 3.5
million and 25 cities have populations greater than 8 million.
About 50% of the world’s largest cities are situated along major
earthquake belts or tropical cyclone tracks
11. According to UN-HABITAT’s observation
―that between 2000-2010 for the first time in
our history more people will live in urban than
in rural settlements. ―
By 2030, UNHABITAT estimate that 27 countries will account for 75 per cent of the
World’s urban population – with all but seven in less developed countries. Most
urban citizens live in settlements of 500,000 people or less with limited capacity to
respond to disaster risk.
Larger cities – especially mega-cities with more than 10 million inhabitants
like Manila, Shanghai, Dhaka, Karachi, Tokyo or Los Angeles – have more
resources but depend on complex life support systems which can lead to small
events triggering large scale disasters of potentially global significance
12. Poverty & inequality:
Poverty limits choices for those at risk and in cities with limited finances
According to UN-HABITAT
•Worldwide, an estimated 1 billion people live in slums,
In many cities more than half the population lives in slums. This is the case in
Kolkata, India, where 66 per cent of the city’s 4.5 million inhabitants live in slums
According to Red Cross Report
―About one billion slum dwellers in developing countries are vulnerable to
disasters because they live in congested and poorly built houses without emergency
services,‖
13.
14. •Nonprofit research group Geo Hazards International.
1. Kathmandu, Nepal
2. Istanbul, Turkey,
3. Delhi, India,
4. Quito, Ecuador
5. Manila, Philippines,
6. Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Pakistan,
7. San Salvador, El Salvador,
8. Mexico City, Mexico
9. Izmir, Turkey
10. Jakarta, Indonesia,
15. Strategies for development policies to reduce vulnerability to disasters
Increasing public awareness and public participation
Fostering better understanding and knowledge of the causes of disasters
Capacity building and strengthening of institutional arrangements at all
levels
Creating and implementing comprehensive urban development
strategies
Global, regional, national and local early warning systems
Development projects should take into account risk assessment
