1.20 What's Trending? Flashcards
1
Q
Why have the number of reported disasters increased?
A
- rising population
- Earth lived on everywhere so more people witness events
- new technology
- globalisation means ore things can be reported
- climate change and influenced hydro-metereological events eg flooding
2
Q
What are the issues with recording disasters?
A
- complex to record
- expensive to record
- not all sources are reliable
- different characteristics may be measured as not one set definition
- methods of reporting have changed significantly overtime so it makes it hard to compare historical data
3
Q
How is data recording complex?
A
- lengthy
- illegal immigrants not included in stats (political pressure to overstate/ understate casualties)
- not one organisation is responsible so can be measured differently
- not a priority in emergencies
- hard to compare as no universally agreed definition of the word disaster
- number of people is subjective (EQ related deaths or secondary injuries from EQ and how long after the disaster is the death toll accounting for?)
4
Q
How reliable are media reports on disasters?
A
- social media focus on dramatic newsworthy stories (tectonic events get more coverage despite hydro-meterological events occurring more)
- political pressure to overstate/ understate casualties
- economic insensitives
5
Q
Why do most disasters result from the complex relationship between human factors and natural hazards?
A
- poverty may force people to live on the slope of a volcano for the economic benefits of fertile soil for crops
- uneven distribution of prior knowledge and information amongst socio-economic groups in hazard zones or after a disaster aid may not be evenly distributed
