1.8 Tectonics- Geophysical disaster trends and hazard profiles Flashcards
How has the number of natural disasters and geophysical disasters changed since 1960?
The number of reported natural disasters has risen quite dramatically, although the number of geophysical hazards (earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, avalanches etc.) has remained fairly steady
What factors are worth noting, which could have affected the recording of natural hazards since the 1960s?
-improvements of monitoring and recording events may contribute to the rising trend
-Improvements in communications technology now allow more events to be reported- e.g. the world watched live coverage of the 2011 Japan Earthquake
-The global population in the 60s was less than 3 billion, whereas by 2023 it’s 8 billion. Therefore, more people now occupy hazardous space and are more aware of the hazards taking place
-The increase in occupied living space means the world is now covered in concrete and other impermeable building materials. Therefore the flood risk has increased
What highlights the idea that every natural disaster is very different?
Depending on which criteria you use, different events will be more significant
Which recent events are biggest using criteria of number of deaths?
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
2010 Haiti earthquake
Which recent events are biggest using criteria of number of people affected?
2008 Sichuan earthquake
2011 earthquake in Japan
Which recent events are biggest using criteria of economic damage?
2011 Japanese tsunami
What was the economic cost of Japan 2011 compared to Haiti 2010?
Japan 2011 cost US$240 billion whereas Haiti cost US$14 billion
What can we say about the current trends of the people being killed by earthquakes, the economic impact and the disparaging effects.
-Overall, the number of people being killed by disasters globally is falling. Better early warning systems, improved building codes and disaster preparedness plans has helped to reduce the death toll
-However, between 1994 and 2013, the average number of people dying per disaster was over three times higher in LICs (322 deaths) than in HICs (105)
-Despite the falling overall death toll, the financial costs of disasters are rising. In the 1990s, the economic costs of disasters averaged at US$20 billion per year. This increased to about US$100 billion per year between 2000 and 2010
Why may data collection for disasters not always be accurate?
-when disaster strikes, the immediate focus is on organising aid and rescue, not on collecting data
-No single organisation is responsible for collecting data, so methods can vary- can depend on whether organisations measure primary or secondary hazards
-There are differences in the definitions of some of the key terms and categories used, such as ‘disaster’ or ‘damage’
-It’s difficult to gather data from remote areas, so its likely under reporting of events happen in these areas, even though they are the very area in need of help and disaster planning
-Declaration of deaths may be subject to political bias. The 2004 Asian tsunami in Myanmar was completely ignored, but perhaps overstated in Thailand, where foreign tourists were killed, and then played down to protect the Thai tourist industry
What is a hazard profile?
It’s a diagram that shows the main differences in characteristics of tectonic hazards. They help governments and other organisations to develop disaster plans
What are the characteristics of tectonic mega disasters?
- usually large scale disaster on either an aerial or spatial scale or in terms of their economic and human impacts
-Because of their scale, they pose serious problems for effective management to minimize the impact of the disaster
-The scale of their impact means that communities and governments require international support
How has globalisation of production and supply chains reduced resilience?
High-value manufacturing is often most at risk because of its just in time model. The consequences of high impact, low probability (HILP) events spread rapidly across both economic and geographical borders, creating other impacts known as negative externalities that are difficult to plan for. The Japanese earthquake in 2011 led to a 5% reduction in the country’s GDP. There were much wider knock-on effects for global TNCs , such as Toyota and Sony which were forced to stop production
What is an example of humanitarian aid in a country making a disaster worse?
In Haiti 2010 aftermath, 9,000 died from Cholera. There was suspicions among Haitians that the UN military base, located on a tributary of the Artibonite river, from which most of the affected people had drunk water was actually the source of the disease. It was later confirmed that there was substantial evidence that UN Nepalese troops had brought the disease into Haiti
What are the elements of disasters limiting or destroying development?
-Destruction of physical assets as loss of production capacity, market access and input materials
-damage to infrastructure and erosion of livelihoods
-destruction of health or education infrastructure and key workers
-deaths, disablement of migration of productive labour force
What are the elements of development causing disaster risk?
-unsustainable development practices that create unsafe working conditions and reduce environmental quality
-development paths generating inequality, promoting social isolation or political exclusion
