Recognize vulnerabilities of different elements exposed to specific hazards.

The learners in this module will realize that recognizing the vulnerabilities of different elements exposed to hazard
will help the community design to formulate strategies on prevention, mitigation, and immediate response and possible
rehabilitations after a major event such as natural disasters, war and the other similar situations.

 Activity 1- Monday
Direction: Classify the following words/phrase according to the given category
agricultural land hospital seashore
barangay response team marine resources social status

bridges railroads subdivision

fish pond rainforest telecommunications

government schools transportation

Category 1 Category 2 Category 3

If you are going to assign labels or headings for each category, what could it be?
Category 1 __________________________________
Category 2 __________________________________
Category 3 __________________________________

 Activity 2- Tuesday
Direction: Concept map is a visual representation that shows relationships between concepts. Arrange the following
words or phrase into a concept map. Under the diagram, explain how did you come up with your output and cite your
basis. (See the sample concept map below)

GUIDE WORDS:
ecosystem exposed response and recovery tangible
elements hazard risk
environmental physical socio-economic

Vulnerabilities of different elements are determined due to its exposure to particular and specific hazard.
Physical vulnerability includes population density levels, place of a settlement, the site design, and materials used for
infrastructure and housing. When hazardous events occur, normally physical elements are severely damaged. For
example, UP Visayas buildings were totally destroyed during the super typhoon Yolanda in 2008 leaving the structure
totally damaged. Another example is the decreased in population density like what happened in Baguio during the 1990
earthquake in North Luzon when a lot of people were injured and died.
Social vulnerability happens due to inability of people, organization, and societies to prevent severe effects from
hazards because of the expected behavior in social interactions, institutions, and system of cultural values. For example,
during typhoon the line of communications were cut off when cell sites shutdown or disruption of transport system due to
inability of small vehicles to pass through the flooded areas or unpassable roads and bridges. With some difficulties in the
delivery of services such as relief goods and medicines, a lot of problems occurred like shortage of food and spread of
infectious diseases. Therefore, when social elements were exposed to hazard, these may lead to disruption of normal
processes and activities in the community.
Level of economic vulnerability is based on the economic status of individuals, communities, and nations. The poorer
the country, the more vulnerable to disasters because they lack the funds or budgets to build sturdy structures and put
other engineering measures in place which protect them from being affected by disasters. So, we can say that Philippines
is more vulnerable to an event such as earthquake compared to Japan. Though both countries are exposed to earthquake
hazard because both are located in the Pacific ring of fire, but due to differences in economic status, Japan is more
resilient because of its ability to afford changes in architectural and engineering designs of building and infrastructures to
make them less vulnerable to earthquake. Another example is the Covid-19 pandemic wherein the most affected are
those who belong to low income and informal workers.

 Social and economic vulnerability can be combined also known as socioeconomic vulnerability.
Environmental vulnerability is caused by natural resources depletion and destruction. Organisms like humans,
animals, and plants are all dependent on the environment for survival. Human activities like deforestation, burning of
fossil fuels, and kaingin affect the natural abilities of the environment to protect itself from any natural hazard due to
absence of trees which may cause landslide and flashfloods. Sometimes the effects are irreversible.
Quantifying vulnerability is used in estimating how much mitigation and preparedness measures will be applied.
Computation is based on the previous hazard events and severity of their effects. Vulnerability can be expressed as: 0 =
lowest degree of vulnerability and 1 as the highest degree. Vulnerability of people is the ratio of casualties or injured to
the total population. Vulnerability of buildings is expressed as a repair cost or degree of damage.
The Philippines has high vulnerability due to the following reasons:
 It lies in the Pacific typhoon belt and we are visited by an average of 20 typhoons every year.
 Rugged nature of the landscape makes it vulnerable to landslide, mudflows, and other disasters.
 It is an archipelagic country with many small islands where some areas are at below sea level.
 It has the longest shoreline in the world at 32,400 km making it vulnerable to storm surges.
 It is still a primary agricultural and fishing economy.
 With poor institutional and social capacityto manage, respond, and recover from natural
hazard events.
 With high level of poverty
 Aside from typhoon, it is also at risk to volcanic eruptions, quakes, and floods.

 Activity 3- Wednesday
Direction: Classify the following phrases and sentences whether it is PHYSICAL, SOCIOECONOMICAL OR
ENVIRONMENTAL VULNERABILITY.
_____________1. Shutdown of telecommunication tower
_____________2. Houses built near fault lines
_____________3. Denudation of forests
_____________4. Rest houses near Boracay shoreline
_____________5. Twenty-story building constructed on soil mainly made up of clay.
_____________6. Bridges with cracks and crevices
_____________7. Over fertilization of agricultural soil
_____________8. Loss of job due to COVID-19 pandemic.
_____________9. Possible retrenchment of ABS CBN employees due to its shutdown
_____________10. Destruction of coral reefs that serves as barriers against storm surge.
 Quiz- Thursday
______1. Which among the following is classified as social vulnerability?
a. fatalism
b. soil quality
c. health facilities
 d. leadership qualities
______2. What is the degree to which a population, system, service or geographic area is likely to be affected or
disrupted by the impact of a particular hazard?
a. Capacity b. hazard c. risk d. vulnerability
______3. What element is exposed to hazard during typhoon when the houses are destroyed?
a. Economical b. environmental c. physical d. social
______4. What element is exposed when flood occurred due to deforestation?
a. economical
b. environmental
c. physical
d. social
______5. COVID 19 pandemic affected the economy resulting to closure of many businesses during the enhanced
community quarantine. What element is mostly affected?
a. economical
b. environmental
c. physical
d. social
______6. Increased human population can sometimes result to .
a. lowered risk
b. less exposure
c. decreased hazard
d. increased vulnerability
______7. Some areas in Cavite is situated within the fault lines stated at risk by PHILVOLCS. What element has
least possibility of being exposed to hazard?
a. economical b. environmental c. physical d. social
______8. COVID 19 pandemic affected the operations of establishments such as malls and other leisure establishments
which were prohibited from operating to prevent further community transmission. Which element is mostly exposed?
a. economical
b. environmental
c. physical
d. social
______9. What factors determine the level of disaster risk?
I. nature of the hazard
II. exposure of the community at risk
III. vulnerability of the elements which are affected
IV. economic value of the elements which are affected
a. I and II b. II and III c. III and IV d. II and IV
______10. All of the following choices can least likely cause physical vulnerability EXCEPT .
a. Pandemic b. storm surge c. tsunami d. wild fire
______11. Which among the following is considered as socio-economical hazard?
a. volcanic eruption c. chemical contamination
b. flooding and drought d. environmental degradation
______12. Why is it important to quantify vulnerability?
a. to identify the community that are at risk
b. to determine the incoming hazardous events
c. to estimate how much mitigation and preparedness is applicable
d. to know the local government units to approach during hazardous event
______13. How will you quantify the vulnerability of the people?
a. get the ratio of the number of people died to the total population
b. get the ratio of the number of people survived to the total population
c. get the ratio of the total population to the number of people survived
d. get the ratio of the number of casualties or injured to the total population
______14. The vulnerability status of a structure or building depends on the following EXCEPT .
a. cost of repair c. extent of damage
b. economic losses d. degree of injury to the people
______15. Kaingin is a human practice where in a forest is converted to farmland. In this case, what element is most
likely exposed to hazard?
a. Economical b. environmental c. physical d. social