3.1.1.1 Natural Hazards

Question 1

What do natural hazards pose?

Answer 1

natural hazards pose major risks to people and property

Question 2

Natural hazard:

Answer 2

Natural event that can threaten life, economic livelihood, infrastructure and property. May cause damage, destruction and/or death

Question 3

Hazard risk:

Answer 3

The probability of a hazard occurring and creating loss of life, damage or economic loss

Question 4

Why might an event not be a natural hazard?

Answer 4

• An event would not be a hazard if people did not live there
• No hazard is truly natural, as some human interaction is inevitable and involves human choice

Question 5

Factors that affect hazard risk:

Answer 5

• Urbanisation
• Climate change
• Poverty
• Farming
• The development of an area
• The preparedness of the people
• The frequency of the natural hazard
• The size of the nearby population

Question 6

How might the development of an area affect hazard risk?

Answer 6

• if an area is more developed, more developed areas generally have a larger population so there will be an increased number of people affected by the hazard so increasing the hazard risk
• higher development so area has greater number of facilities to defend themselves against natural hazards → high GNI to pay for defence technology → decreased hazard risk

Question 7

How might the preparedness of the people affect hazard risk?

Answer 7

• more people know how to respond to hazard → more efficient → reduced fatalities and deaths → decreased hazard risk

Question 8

How might the frequency of the natural hazard affect hazard risk?

Answer 8

• increased frequency → more money invested in infrastructure to defend against natural hazard → more efficient and stronger defence against natural hazard → decreased hazard risk
• increased hazard risk as hazard frequently disrupts human life

Question 9

How might the size of the nearby population affect hazard risk?

Answer 9

larger population means more people affected by natural hazards so increased hazard risk

Question 10

Types of natural hazard:

Answer 10

• Atmospheric hazards e.g. hurricanes, cyclones, drought
• Hydrological hazards e.g. tsunami, flooding, drought
• Geological hazards e.g. earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami
• Biological hazards e.g. viruses (like COVID)

Question 11

How does urbanisation affect hazard risk?

Answer 11

• more than half of world’s pop lives in cities
• some of world’s most densely populated urban areas are at greater risk from natural events such as earthquakes

Question 12

What happened in the 2010 Haiti earthquake?

Answer 12

2010 Haiti earthquake destroyed much of the capital Port-au-Prince killing some 230,000 people

Question 13

How does climate change affect hazard risk?

Answer 13

• in a warmer world the atmosphere will have more energy leading to more intense storms and hurricanes
• climate change may cause some parts of the world to become wetter with an increased risk of flooding
• other areas may become drier and prone to droughts and famines

Question 14

How does farming affect hazard risk?

Answer 14

• when a river floods it deposits fertile silt on it floodplain, which is excellent for farming but people who live there may be at risk from these floods
• in low-lying countries many people may live on floodplains e.g. River Ganges in Bangladesh

Question 15

How does poverty affect hazard risk?

Answer 15

• in poorer parts of the world poverty may force some people to live in areas at risk this is especially true in parts of cities such as Lima in Peru or Caracas in Benezuela
• here, a shortage of housing has led to many people building on unstable slopes prone to floods and landslides