Final Case Study.docx

THE PHILIPPINE SCHOOL Al Muhaisnah 2, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Case Study about Vulnerability of Two Families to Disasters

In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirement in Disaster Preparedness and Risk Reduction

By: Escario, Krysta Gloria, Xander Ibarra, Jizeth Lebag, Joseph Pulido, Stephene Salvino, Kenneth

Date: March 2019

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CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND Introduction The Philippines is hit by an average of 19 to 20 typhoons annually. That aside, its geographic location does not alleviate the situation either. It is located around the Pacific Ring of Fire, which makes the prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. To reduce the risks, various organizations have been formed and major efforts were done to prepare the Philippine society for any upcoming disaster. This study was conducted to evaluate the vulnerability to disasters of two TPS employees. This looks into the conditions which affects the families in the Philippines of the two employees’ capability to prepare for, save and recover from disasters that may strike them. Specifically, we focused on the relation of the family’s socio-economic standing and disaster preparedness in assessing our participants. To nestle information from the selected participants, an in-depth interview was conducted. Participants were asked using a questionnaire (refer to page 20-21 of book). Answers were recorded through a voice recorder. Then, the gathered information was analyzed to come up with this case study.

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CHAPTER II DESCRIPTION OF THE CASES A. The rich family The family’s residence is located in the city, along the road. It is not near any natural landscape and is made of concrete. The family consisted of four members – mother and three children. The mother’s age was not mentioned while all three children are in their 40s. All three children, including the interviewee, are degree holders. According to the interviewee, only her mother and her brother are currently residing in the Philippines. Her other sibling resides in Canada. Living conditions of the interviewee in the Philippines is good. She owns her own condominium in Quezon City, and lives there whenever she goes back to the country. The family’s annual income was not disclosed, because the interviewee does not know approximately how much her siblings now earn. The family also has a stable purchasing power. The interviewee says that they are always able to pay their bills on time. The interviewee owns a car and aside from that, no other properties of ownership were mentioned. The interviewee’s community was not discussed clearly in the interview. According to her, groups were rare unless it was a religious group. She does not recall any programs being held around her community, which also confirms that her family is not active in community activities. She says she does not have any evacuation plan in her residence. There are also no emergency hotlines within her place although she comments that they know what to do in times of disaster. B. The poor family

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The family consisted of 4 people – the mother and three sons. The mother was a freshman in college, the interviewee is a degree holder, and the two sons are studying, one senior high school student and one elementary student. The interviewee is the breadwinner of the family. The estimated income of the family was around P10000. He stated that their living conditions were alright, not too extravagant or too moderate. Aside from the house, no other property of ownership was mentioned. The family’s house is located on the plains. It is not near any water body although according to the interviewee, their house is vulnerable to flood due to the place being lowland. The house can withstand disasters as it is made of heavy material (concrete). The liability their community has is usually flooding, because they are surrounded by nearby hilly provinces. Water from the hills usually passes by their place. The interviewee said that their house does not get flooded, although if you walk through the barangays, the water can reach 2 to 3 feet. There were also no cases of their house being gravely affected by any disaster. The most damage they sustained was a deformed roof. The interviewee is not part of any organization; however he participates in some community activities. He said that every time his community has a Brigada Eskwela, he joins. According to him, there are no emergency exits or emergency kits present in their home although his family members know what to do before, during, and after a disaster.

CHAPTER III ANALYSIS A.

Vulnerability

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For the first family, their vulnerability is the level of residence and their unawareness of emergency exits. Since their family resides in a high-rise condominium, it would be hard to evacuate if they do not know where the exits are. The population density could also pose a problem. Since many people live in the city, emergency services might take a while to get to their place. The traffic in the city also slows the response time of emergency services. The second family’s vulnerability is their location. Evacuating during floods would be the hardest for them since their village gets flooded during typhoons. Emergency services might also take a while to serve their area since their province is prone to flooding. Among all factors, their socio-economic statuses may affect them the least. There is a minimal difference in their statuses. In terms of disaster preparedness, the second family is more prepared. The first family is unaware of emergency hotlines and escapes their condo might have, while the second family is knowledgeable about their emergency hotlines and is quite aware of the escape routes they can use in urgent situations. In both cases, the factor that can affect them the most is the access to emergency services. The first family does not know any emergency hotlines, and emergency services might take a longer time to service their area because of the population. On the other hand, although the second family knows their emergency hotlines, service might also take a long time to service them since flooding can make it hard for vehicles to travel. Aside from that, they may also try to service those in the bigger cities first, before servicing smaller villages.

B. Knowledge and Preparedness

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As mentioned earlier, both families are inadequately prepared for disasters. The second family’s involvement in the community helps them manage disaster risks a bit better than the first family. The first family does not recall any disaster they have experienced in the past years, although the second family’s house roof was damaged after a typhoon. According to the interviewee, the damaged roof was fortunately the only thing they had problems about during that disaster.

C. Survival and Recovery Between the two families, the second family has the higher chances of surviving and recovering from a disaster. They are well-equipped with knowledge that they can use in emergency situations. More often than not, they also experience the effects of disasters like typhoons regularly. They are also aware of what disaster can bring to their community, and involving themselves in activities allows them to adjust to dire situations accordingly.

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