DISASTER PREVENTION AND MITIGATION

RATIONALE FOR DISASTER PREVENTION AND LOSS CONTROL

Disaster
Is a sudden calamitous event that seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society and
causes human, material, and economic or environmental losses that exceed the community’s or society’s
ability to cope using its own resources.
Prevention
Is defined as those activities taken to prevent a natural phenomenon or potential hazard from having
harmful effects on either people or economic assets.
Mitigation
Is a planning and prevention technique, involves taking those actions that will reduce the impact of
a disaster occurrence on occupants, the building itself and the various business components
Permanent reduction of the risk of disaster
a. Primary Mitigation
reducing the presence of the hazard
reducing vulnerability
b. Secondary Mitigation
reducing the effects of the hazard (Preparedness)
Principal Objective of Mitigation
a. Save lives
b. Reduce economic disruption
c. Decrease vulnerability/increase capacity
d. Decrease chance/level of conflict
Types of Disaster
a. Natural Disaster “Acts of God”
are naturally occurring physical phenomena caused either by rapid or slow onset events which can
be geophysical, hydrological.
Examples:
 Flood
 Earthquakes
 Tornadoes
 Wind Storms
 Snow or Ice Storms
 Severe extremes in temperature (cold or hot)
 Pandemic disease like influenza
b. Technological or Human Engineered Disaster
are events that are caused by humans and occur in or close to human settlements.
Examples:
 Fire
 Explosion
 Building Collapse
 Other terrorist activities
 Loss of Electrical Power
 Loss of Water Supply
 Loss of communications

Classification of Disasters Will be as Follows:

a. Sudden-onset Disaster
It includes floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, or tidal waves, tropical storms, volcanic eruptions, and
landslides. As their name implies, sudden-onset disaster occur swiftly and often without any warning.
b. Slow-onset Disaster
This includes droughts, famine, environmental degradation, deforestation (loss of trees and
vegetation), pest infestation and desertification (conversion of arable lands to deserts)
c. Industrial/Technological Disaster
This results from a society’s industrial and technological activities that lead to pollution, spillage,
explosions, and fires. They may occur because of poor planning and construction of manmade facilities
(buildings, factories, etc.) or from neglect of safety procedure.
 d. Complex Emergencies
This are usually man-made, with multiple contributing factors. They often follow wars between
states, internal conflict, and increasingly, terrorist acts.
e. Epidemic Disease
These are diseases that normally do not occur in stable communities but have the potential to spread
under certain conditions.

Loss Control
Reducing and eliminating the occurrence of undesired events through engineering controls,
enforcement of established procedures, frequent training and continuous evaluation.
Undesired Events
Not an Accident, but a Loss Incident
Causes of Undesired Events
a. Lack of Control
Inadequate Systems – Program in place hire, train and evaluate desirable associates
Inadequate Standards – Procedures in place to perform critical tasks
Inadequate Compliance with Standards – Established standards are not enforced
b. Basic Causes
Two Major Categories
Personal Factors – Inadequate Capability
- Lack of Knowledge
- Lack of Shill
Environmental – Inadequate Leadership
- Inadequate Equipment
- Inadequate Engineering
c. Immediate Causes
The unsafe act or condition that caused the event to occur
Two Categories
Substandard Acts (Behaviour) – Improper Lifting
- Failure to Lock Out Equipment
- Using Equipment Improperly
Substandard Conditions – Inadequate Guards
- Defective Tools
- Inadequate Illumination

PLANNING FOR EMERGENCIES

Objectives of a Disaster Recovery Plan
 To anticipate key risk factors and reduce them
 To ensure that staff are well trained (with regular updates) at detecting and responding to incidents
and the disasters that they might escalate to and are efficient in the disaster recovery process
 To get the organization back on its feet and operating as quickly and as safely as possible, a
particularly important objective in organizations with public programs.
 The lack of an disaster recovery plan could lead to sever losses such as multiple casualties and
possible financial collapse of the organization
 Protect the environment and the community
 Accelerate the resumption of normal operations
 Prevent fatalities and injuries
 Reduce damage to building, stock, and equipment
Steps in Developing a Disaster Recovery Plan
 Phase I. Identify Business Issues
 Phase II. Prioritize Critical Business Needs
 Phase III. Develop The Recovery Plan
Three Steps to Prepare for an Emergency
a. Create a Plan
i. Plan for two situation – staying home or leaving
ii. Prepare a shelter at home
iii. Know where to go if you have to leave
 b. Prepare a kit
i. Basic Supplies
- water and canned fo fried food
- battery-powered radio
- Flashlight
- First-aid kit
ii. Car Supplies
keep a small, portable emergency supply kit in your car at all times. In addition, you should
include a small, personal supply kit like a gallon of water, a sleeping bag or extra blanket, first-aid supplies.
c. Listen for Information
It is important to stay calm in an emergency. Get as much information about the situation as
possible.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROCEDURE

Disaster Management
Is the organization and management of resources and responsibilities for dealing with all
humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in particular preparedness, response and recovery in order to lessen
the impact of disasters.
Disaster Cycle

a. Disaster Preparedness
It refers to measures taken to prepare for and reduce the effects of disasters.
To predict and prevent disasters, mitigate their impact on vulnerable populations
Examples: hazard or risk analyses, training, drills and exercises, emergency plans and procedures,
emergency communications, joint cooperation consensus, warning systems procedures and response
planning.
b. Disaster Response
the primary aims of disaster response are rescue from immediate danger and stabilization of the
physical and emotional condition of survivors.
It is aim at conditioning the disaster so as to minimize loss of life and destruction to property
Includes measures such as
- Notification
- Implementation of emergency plans,
- Announcement of emergencies or disasters by the management
- Issuance of warnings and directions
c. Disaster Recovery
it refers to programs which assist those who have suffer the full impact of a disaster to rebuild their
homes, lives and services and to strengthen their capacity to cope with future disasters.
Includes measures such as:
- Physical restoration and reconstruction
- Cleaning up contaminated areas
- Eliminating and/or reducing any known hazards
- Restoring business
d. Disaster Mitigation
It is the continuous ongoing endeavour to avert or reduce the impact that a hazardous materials
incident will have on people, property, and the environment
Examples of mitigation activities would include the following:
- Hazard Identification
 - Risk Analysis
- Evaluation
- Research
- Education
Emergency Response Plan
It is an action plan to organize and employee actions during workplace emergencies
Well-developed emergency plans proper employee training will result in fewer injuries and less
structural damage to the facility during emergencies

Steps for Emergency Response Planning

1. Form a health and Safety Committee
Establish a team to coordinate emergency planning and preparedness activities
An existing health and safety committee can take the responsibility
The committee may also want to consider including organizations.
2. Develop (or update) and implementing emergency response plans
An emergency response plan is detailed written document that explains what emergencies an
organization is likely to face, and WHO will do WHAT during a particular situation
A chain command should be established
3. Train all staff
Every employee needs to know details of the emergency action plan, including evacuation plans,
alarm systems, reporting procedures for personnel, shutdown procedures, and types of potential
emergencies.
Drills should be held at random intervals, at least annually, and should include outside police and
fire authorities.
4. Address needs an Emergency
Physical and psychological effects
Financial support and services
Workplace operations
5. Evaluate and Modify the Plan
The committee should review the plan on a periodic basis and after practice drills to make sure it
reflects the current work situation.
Names and numbers as well as emergency contacts need to be kept current

GROUP 4:
Olarte, Jennifer E.
Acepcion, Romar
Batag, Alyzza
Difuntorum, Jimmy
Laruan, Keith Stevens
Miranda, Rowell
Moreno, Beth
Pineda, Angelo
Rullan, Patrick
Sibayan, Darwin
Tango, Dazly