ST.
ALOYSIUS GONZAGA PAROCHIAL SCHOOL
Tupaz St., Poblacion, Guinayangan Quezon
Tel No. 717-6948│0910-072-6330
Email: sagps_06@yahoo.com
NAME: __________________________________ Grade 12 Fortitude
QUARTER: 1 WEEK: 3
SUBJECT: DISASTER READINESS & RISK REDUCTION
MODULE 3: VULNERABILITY
Learning Competencies:
1. Explain the meaning of vulnerability;
2. Explain why certain sectors of society are more vulnerable to disaster than
others;
3. Conduct an ocular inspection of your house and backyard to ensure your family’s
safety against hazards and disasters.
Let us start our lesson with a prayer.
Our Father who art in heaven…
Analyze the picture. Identify the hazards/dangers that you can see.
Based on the picture, give three possible scenarios that can happen due to
the presence of hazards or danger.
WHAT DOES VULNERABILITY MEAN?
Vulnerability is the inability to resist a hazard or to respond when a
disaster has occurred. For instance, people who live on plains are
more vulnerable to floods than people who live higher up. In actual
fact, vulnerability depends on several factors, such as people's age and state of health,
local environmental and sanitary conditions, as well as on the quality and state of local
buildings and their location
with respect to any hazards. There are four (4) main types of vulnerability:
1. 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). Example: Wooden homes are
less likely to collapse in an earthquake, but are more vulnerable to fire.
1
ST. ALOYSIUS GONZAGA PAROCHIAL SCHOOL
Tupaz St., Poblacion, Guinayangan Quezon
Tel No. 717-6948│0910-072-6330
Email: sagps_06@yahoo.com
2. SOCIAL VULNERABILITY refers to the inability of people, organizations and
societies to withstand adverse impacts to hazards due to characteristics inherent
in social interactions, institutions and systems of cultural values. It is linked to
the level of well being of individuals, communities and society. It includes
aspects related to levels of literacy and education, the existence of peace and
security, access to basic human rights, systems of good governance, social
equity, positive traditional values, customs and ideological beliefs and overall
collective organizational systems (UNISDR). Example: When flooding occurs
some citizens, such as children, elderly and differently-able, may be unable to
protect themselves or evacuate if necessary.
3. ECONOMIC VULNERABILITY. The level of vulnerability is highly dependent
upon the economic status of individuals, communities and nations 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 from being negatively impacted by disasters. Example: Poorer
families may live in squatter settlements because they cannot afford to live in
safer (more expensive) areas.
4. ENVIRONMENTAL VULNERABILITY. Natural resource depletion and resource
degradation are key aspects of environmental vulnerability. Example: Wetlands,
such as the Caroni Swamp, are sensitive to increasing salinity from sea water,
and pollution from stormwater runoff containing agricultural chemicals, eroded
soils, etc.
Level of vulnerability of an area or community can be assessed base on different
factors. These factors can affect one another or can lead to other factors.
FACTORS AFFECTING VULNERABILITY OF ONE’S COMMUNITY:
1. Population density near a hazard event.
Population differs from population density.
Population refers to the number of individuals inhabiting in a particular space
at the same time. If people are well distributed, there is lesser effect of
disaster.
Population density refers to the number of individuals living in an area in
relation to the size of an area. If population density is high, it means that the
number of individuals is high but the space is very small. In that case, if fire
broke in that area, there is little space for the population to escape quickly and
easily. So, crowded communities have higher vulnerability to hazards.
The primary consideration is not the population size but the population
density.
2. Capacity and efficiency to reduce Disaster Risk.
Community that is less vulnerable has the capacity to reduce disaster risk
because;
-It can provide accessibility and availability of services and facilities during and
after disaster.
-It has the ability to anticipate, adapt, and respond to possible disaster.
Is it appropriate to say that The Philippines is less vulnerable to typhoon?
Nowadays, our country has advanced technology to predict super typhoon and
several municipalities already provided evacuation centers to provide
temporary housing for victims when disaster occur.
Read the story below and answer the questions that
follow.
Sarah and Fran who were neighbors are both students of Guinayangan National
High School. Due to the forecasted typhoon the night before, some waited for the
2
ST. ALOYSIUS GONZAGA PAROCHIAL SCHOOL
Tupaz St., Poblacion, Guinayangan Quezon
Tel No. 717-6948│0910-072-6330
Email: sagps_06@yahoo.com
announcement of classes suspension. Unfortunately, there was no announcement.
Sarah decided to go to school bringing her books, notebooks, and laboratory materials.
On the other hand, Fran also decided to go to school bringing not only her books,
notebooks, and laboratory materials but also flashlight, whistle, and some supplies of
food and water. Due to bad weather, the school janitor blocked off the entrances and
exits because the grounds were flooded. So, Sarah and Fran were stranded in a
covered court near the school. Both were trying to call their family, but the signal’s
down.
1. Who do you think is more vulnerable? Sarah or Fran? Why do you think so?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
2. In the story presented about Sarah and Fran, what were the actions taken by one
student that made her less vulnerable to flood? What were the reasons why the
other student became more vulnerable?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
ACTIVITY 2: Identify what factor affects the vulnerability to disaster with the
following situations given. Write P if it is due to population density and write
C if it is due to sector’s capacity and efficiency to reduce disaster risk. Write
your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
1. ______Tondo community during the total lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic
wherein the families are forced to stay inside their houses that are too small for
the number of family members.
2. ______Use of drones to disinfect the community in Pasig City to prevent the
spread of the COVIDD-19 virus.
3. ______Insufficient number of rubber boats during super typhoon Yolanda in
Malabon City wherein large number of residents were stranded on the top of
their roof.
4. ______Too many casualties during super typhoon Milenyo in Los Baños due to
excessive kaingin practices and illegal settlers in Mt. Makiling.
5. ______The Philippines and Japan are both prone to earthquakes but the latter one
is less
In 3—5 sentences, why are poor people more vulnerable to
certain natural hazards?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
What possible activities can you suggest to increase the awareness of the
learners on how to lessen the vulnerability of your previous school?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
3
ST. ALOYSIUS GONZAGA PAROCHIAL SCHOOL
Tupaz St., Poblacion, Guinayangan Quezon
Tel No. 717-6948│0910-072-6330
Email: sagps_06@yahoo.com
Since being safe and protected is the number one GOAL of every
family, let us conduct an ocular inspection of your house and backyard
to ensure your family’s safety against hazards and disasters. Follow the
steps below:
1. Tour around your house including the backyard and assess if there is/are hazards
observed in your house.
2. As much as possible, make a list of all the hazards that you will be observed.
3. Using all the hazards that you listed, determine what could be the possible
events that may put you and your family at risks.
4. Who among the family members are prone or susceptible to the listed hazards?
5. Identify the reasons why that member of that family is vulnerable.
SUSCEPTIBLE
POSSIBLE FAMILY REASON OF
HAZARDS
EVENTS MEMBER/S VULNERABILITY
(EXPOSURE)
Guide Questions:
1. Based on your assessment from the tour that you made, how will you define
vulnerability in your own words?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. After knowing the hazards in your house, what is your plan of action to avoid
harm?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
