1.3 - management of tectonic hazards and disaster Flashcards
What do the overall longer term natural hazard trends show?
total number of recorded hazards has increased over past 50 years
number of reported disasters seems to be falling
number of deaths lower than in recent past, but there are spikes with mega events
economic costs increase significantly since 1960
number of people affected is increasing for some hazard and disaster types
Name 5 reasons why disaster statistics controversial?
depends on whether direct or indirect deaths from subsequent hazards/associated diseases are counted
local or regional events in remote places often under-recorded
declaration of disaster deaths and casualties may be subject to political bias
statistics on major disasters hard to collect, particularly in LICs
time trend analysis is difficult
Name 3 key characteristics of tectonic mega-disasters?
-large-scale in terms of area, and impact
-pose huge challenges
-usually require substantial amounts of international disaster aid
What is a mega disaster
very large disasters that reuslt from tectonic hazards
What is a hazard hotspot
locations that are extremely diasaster prone
What is a HILP event?
A high impact, low probability event
e.g. 2010 Haiti earthquake
What are the consequences of HILP events?
Impacts spread rapidly across both economic and geographic boundaries -> other impacts which are difficult to plan for
What is a multiple hazard zone?
place where number of physical hazards combine to create an increased level of risk for country and it’s population. Often made worse by vulnerable population or if area suffers repeated events
e.g chile -> area exposed - 12.9
-> population exposed - 54.0
-> no. of diff hazards - 4
What is a hazard hotspot?
A country or area that is extremely disaster prone for a number of reasons
Give an example of a country which is a multiple hazard zone
chile -> area exposed - 12.9
-> population exposed - 54.0
-> no. of diff hazards - 4
What is mitigation
action taken to reduce/ eliminate long-term risk to human life & property
What is preparedness
educating ppl about what they should do in an emergency
Name 3 reasons why large urban areas often zones of multiple hazard risk?
economic cores
centres of growing population due to rapid urbanisation
huge areas of unplanned, poor quality housing where the growing numbers of urban poor live - located on marginal land
Can scientists forecast earthquakes?
Earthquake risk can be forecast since it is based on a statistical likelihood of an event occurring at a particular location
What are the 4 stages in the hazard management cycle?
Preparedness
Response
Recovery
Mitigation
What are the 4 stages of Park’s Model?
1) pre-disaster - quality of life is normal before disaster strikes
2) relief (hrs -> days) - hazard has occurred -> immediate relief = priority
3) rehabilitation (days -> weeks) - groups try return state of things back -> normal; food, shelter, water
4) reconstruction (weeks -> years) - infrastructure, crops, property are invested in to return back to previous state
What does Park’s disaster response curve demonstrate?
shows the time dimensions of resilience, from when a hazard strikes to when a place or community returns to ‘normal’ operation
How are earthquake events modified?
Micro approaches - strengthening individual buildings and structures against hazardous stress
e.g. schools and hospitals and public buildings strengthened through ‘retrofit’
Give an example of a high-profile tectonic event which occurred in Iceland, what impacts did this have
Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption
-march 2010
-large ash plume -> interrupted 100,000 air journeys
-> this impacted imports, exports
-> some car manufacturers couldnt produce
Give an example of a high-profile tectonic event which occurred in Japan, what impacts did this have
-earthquake magnitude 9.0, march 2011 produced tsunami along tohoku
-15,749 dead
-> led to loss of trust with japanese gov
-> tsunami hit fukushima nuclear power plant -> disabled power supply & radioactive releases -> contaminated water leaked from plant into Pacific ocean
Where do hazard hotspots generally form
form where plate boundaries intersect with major storm belts
How do tectonic mega disasters impact businesses economically
high value manufacturing is at risk -> JIT business model -> disasters will mean transport of materials is delayed -> can’t make products
-impacts wider global TNCs
-e.g. 2016 kumamoto, japan earthquakes -> broke supply chains -> honda in swindon, uk -> 3 day week due to lack of parts
compare phillipenes, cali pg 39
Name 6
4 ways you can reduce the risk of a tectonic disaster using the risk disk model
disaster response -> quick, local participation
disaster preparedness -> early warning, evacuation
disaster mitigation -> hazard proof infrastructure
adaptation to climate change -> coastal retreat, local coping strategies, reduction of emissions
What is a risk disc and what does it show
model that explains reasons for a decline in deaths in terms of disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, recovery
Name the 6 stages included in the hazard management cycle
1) emergency response
2)initial recovery (rehab)
3) reconstruction
4) return to normality
5) appraisal of lessons learned
6) improving preparedness
Name the 4 physical factors in which affect response to hazards
-geographical accesibility of location
-type of hazard - scale, impact, magnitude, freq
-topography of region
-climate
Name 7 human factors that affect response to hazards
-number of people involved
-degree of community preparedness
-tech resources
-scentific understanding, expertise
-education, training
-economic wealth
-infrastructure
What can Park’s model be used for
can be used to plan & understand risk
helps better prepare for future events
What is the swiss cheese model of disaster
form of risk management analysis
-idea of layered security (like layered cheese)
-layers represent safety systems
-holes in cheese represent weaknesses in line of defence
and that an accident occurs when the holes in cheese line up to form one big hole
What does the swiss cheese model convey in terms of hazards and disasters
highlights that disaster can be linked to single hazard events
-cascade of other events (e.g. multiple holes in a line) -> disaster -> loss of life, property
Name the 2 ways to reduce disaster, hazard risk according to the swiss cheese model
-reducing number of holes in each layer (number of systemic weaknesses)
-reducing size of the holes in each layer (weaknesses)
Name the 3 actions undertaken to mitigate the impacts of a tectonic hazard
-modify the hazard event
-modify vulnerability & resilience
-modify potential financial loss
Name 3 ways you could modify the hazard event
-strengthening coastal defences against tsunamis
-divert/ chill lava flows
-^ stability of slopes -> reduce landslides
Name 3 ways you can modify vulnerability
prediction, forecasting and warnings (hi-tech monitoring) -> evacuations -> saves lives
community preparedness & education -> low cos, saves lives
adaptation - moving out of harms way, relocation -> saves lives, doesnt work with high pop densities
Name 3 stratgies used to modify loss
short term aid -> search & rescue, food, water, shelter -> keeps ppl alive until long term aid
long-term aid -> reconstruction, rebuilding area -> improves reslience - land use planning
insurance -> compensation to replace losses - allows ppl to recover economically
What is disaster aid
aid flows to countries & victims via govs& NGOs
-long-term -> used for relief, rehab, reconstruction
-appropriate for middle, lower-income countries/
What is international governmental aid
-used in emerging, developing countries
-financial load is spread throughout tax payers of country
What is the Hyogo & Sendai approach
strategic, systematic approach to reducing vulnerability and risks to hazards
-does this by building resilience
Hyogo & Sendai approach -> 4 aims
-understand disaster risk
-to strengthen government to manage disaster risk
-invest in disaster-risk reduction -> resilience, preparedness
-‘build back better’ in recovery, rehab, reconstruction
What is the The Risk Poverty Nexus
it states that poverty is both a contributing factor and consequence
of a natural hazard.
Name the 4 types of inequality impacting a communities resilience to a hazard
Asset inequality – Relates to housing and security of tenure and also agricultural productivity.
▪ Political inequality – Where certain groups of people, usually the wealthy and elite, hold quite a lot of power and political influence.
▪ Social status inequality – Often directly linked to space and has a bearing on other dimensions of inequality, including the ability of individuals and groups to secure regular
income and access services.
▪ Entitlement inequality – Refers to unequal access to public services and welfare systems as well as inequalities in the application of rule of law.
Name the 4 factors that contribute to a populations vulnerability
▪ Unstable political governance and/or corruption - a lack of political cohesion can impact on how prepared a country is for a hazard and can also negatively impact response and recovery efforts after the event.
▪ Population density - the higher the population density the more people affected by a hazard.
▪ Geography isolation and accessibility - remote, rural areas often have poor transport links which can negatively effect rescue efforts.
▪ Level of urbanisation - urban areas tend to be worse affected by hazards due to two factors: urban areas are densely populated (see above) and also have larger amounts of
infrastructure meaning there is more economic damage.
Name 4 ways governments can reduce the impacts of a tectonic hazard
▪ Meeting basic needs - When food supply, water supply and health needs are met, the population is generally less vulnerable to secondary hazards such as diseases.
▪ Planning - Land-use planning can reduce risk by preventing people living in areas of high risk. Secondary hazards may be made worse by deforestation
.
▪ Preparedness - Education and community preparation programmes raise awareness and teach people how to prepare, evacuate and act when a disaster strikes.
▪ Corruption - If government politicians accept bribes and do unethical things, then vulnerability would increase as money would be invested in crucial areas like emergency
services.
