Instructions: Answer all questions.

A disaster is a catastrophic event that causes significant damage, destruction, loss of life, and disruption to the normal functioning of a community or society. It overwhelms the local capacity to cope, necessitating assistance from outside the affected area. Disasters can be natural (e.g., earthquakes, floods, hurricanes) or human-induced (e.g., industrial accidents, terrorist attacks, pandemics). They are characterized by their suddenness, intensity, and the scale of their impact, affecting physical, social, economic, and environmental aspects.

Instructions: Answer all questions.

The dimensions of vulnerability factors refer to the various aspects that make individuals, communities, or systems susceptible to the negative impacts of disasters. These dimensions can be categorized as:

• Physical Vulnerability: Relates to the susceptibility of the built environment and infrastructure to damage. This includes the quality of construction, location of settlements (e.g., in floodplains or seismic zones), and the availability of essential services.
• Social Vulnerability: Pertains to the characteristics of a population that influence its ability to cope with and recover from a disaster. This includes factors like age, gender, disability, social networks, community cohesion, and access to information and education. Marginalized groups often experience higher social vulnerability.
• Economic Vulnerability: Concerns the economic conditions that affect a community's resilience. This includes poverty levels, dependence on specific industries, access to financial resources, employment status, and the availability of insurance. Low economic status often exacerbates vulnerability.
• Environmental Vulnerability: Refers to the susceptibility of the natural environment to degradation and its impact on human systems. This includes factors like deforestation, soil erosion, water scarcity, and climate change, which can amplify the effects of natural hazards.
• Institutional/Political Vulnerability: Relates to the effectiveness of governance, policies, and institutions in managing disaster risks. This includes factors like weak legal frameworks, corruption, lack of disaster preparedness plans, and inadequate disaster response mechanisms.