Disaster Risk ReductionIs a systematic approach to identifying, assessing and reducing the risks of disaster.

It aims to reduce socio-economic vulnerabilities the environmental and other hazards that

trigger them

Risk: is a function of the hazards to which a community is exposed, their vulnerabilities and capacity of that community to absorb the shock.

Mathematically:

Risk is proportional Hazard * Vulnerability Adaptive Capacity

The amount of risk a community faces is determined by their individual and collective vulnerability

Vulnerability is determined by: exposure to hazard sensitivity to hazard adaptive capacity

Who are the most vulnerable:

The poor Women The elderly Children People just recovering from shock Communities that have not suffered similar

shock in the past

Disaster can throw people into poverty, especially repeat events

It can cause transitory poverty

or chronic poverty

Disaster can make people:

Dispose their productive asset

Misuse their savings

Misappropriate and divert their income

Loan money from informal sectors at high interest rates

Effective DRR entails:

Disaster preparation and awareness

Integrating disaster risk management into national development

Post disaster needs assessment

Improved disaster risk financing and insurance

Development Benefits of Disaster Risk Reduction

Economic advancement

Job creation

Community cohesion

Reduced fatalities