DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY

MID-LA UNION CAMPUS

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO LA UNION

DISASTER PREVENTION AND MITIGATION

RATIONALE FOR DISASTER PREVENTION AND LOSS CONTROL
PLANNING FOR EMERGENCIES
EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROCEDURE

405-05 BALANGUE

MARCH 21, 2017

 Definition of Terms
Rationale
Underlying reasons; the reasoning or principle that underlies or explains something, or a
statement setting out this reasoning or principle.1

Disaster
Disaster, in this article, refers to a sudden, accidental event that causes many deaths and
injuries. Most disasters also result in significant property damage. Common natural causes of
disasters include earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and typhoons, and tornadoes. Tsunamis
(popularly, but incorrectly, known as tidal waves), volcanic eruptions, wildfires, and landslides
and avalanches rank among the other natural forces that sometimes create disasters.
Not all disasters are produced by the forces of nature. Many modern-day disasters involve
accidents aboard passenger-carrying airplanes, ships, or railroads. Other man-made disasters
can be traced to the collapse of buildings, bridges, tunnels, and mines, as well as to explosions
and fires unintentionally triggered by humans.
Although acts of war and terrorism also inflict death and destruction, these events are
intentional rather than accidental, and therefore are not considered disasters in the context of this
article.2

Prevention
Activities conceived to ensure a permanent protection against a disaster. Theses include
engineering, physical protection measures, legislative measures for the control of land use and
codes of construction. These activities reduce the physical vulnerability and/or exposure to risks
through infrastructures (e.g. dams, flood barriers, building of refuges) and through improving
existing infrastructures (e.g. restoring original flood patterns of rivers in order to avoid excessive
floods downstream) and sustainable development practices (e.g. no deforestation in upstream
areas, active reforestation).

Loss Control
Also termed mitigation, refers to the measures taken before disasters which intend to
reduce or eliminate their impact on society and environment. These measures reduce the physical
vulnerability of existing infrastructures or of vulnerable sites which endanger directly the
populations (e.g. retrofitting of buildings, reinforce "lifeline" infrastructure).

Preparedness
Organizational activities which ensure that the systems, procedures and resources
required in confronting a natural disaster are available in order to provide timely assistance to
those affected, using existing mechanisms wherever possible (e.g. training, awareness raising,
establishment of disaster plans, evacuation plans, pre-positioning of stocks, early warning
mechanisms, strengthening indigenous knowledge).