3.1.5.1 The concept of hazard in a geographical context Flashcards
Define hazard
what is the difference between a hazard and a natural disatser, how can this be linked to Degg’s model
A hazard is a potential threat to human life and property caused by an event.
A natural disaster only occurs when a vulnerable population is exposed to a hazard (significant damage will be done). This links to Degg’s model as it shows that if a popuation is not vulnerable, the hazard will not have sigificant effects, thus the even will not be disastrous.
what are the 3 main types of geographical hazard, what is each caused by
hazards can also be classified as a mixture, give an example and explain
Geophysical - caused by land processes, mainly tectonic plates (e.g. volcanoes)
Atmoshperic - hazards caused by atmoshpheric processes and the conditions created because of these, such as weather systes (e.g. wildfires)
Hydrological - hazards caused by water bodies and movement (e.g floods)
hazards such as tropical storms can be classed as a mixture of hydrological and atmoshperic hazards, as both of these processes contribute to the formation of the hazard (hydrometeorological hazards)
what are the 5 economic and cultural factors which affect an individuals perception of the dangers and risk posed by a hazard
-W
-E
-E
-R/B
-M
wealth- the wealthier an individual the smaller they perceive the hazard to be (e.g due to their ability to leave the area, or build stronger, resistant homes).However, wealthy people may also view the risk to be great due to the risk of property damage and financial loss.
experience- someone who has experienced a hazard is likely to undertsand the full effects of a hazard, and undertsand its danger/risks. There are also studies showing that those who hace experienced hazards are likely to have an optimistic and unrealitic view on hazards, almost like a ‘lightning strike can’t hit the same place twice’ mentality. R.Kates described this in his journal Natural Hazard in Human Ecological Perspective : Hypothese and models, 1971
education- those who have been educated will undertsand the full effects of a hazard and how deadly they can be.Compared to someone who hasm’t been educated who might underestimate the damage that can be caused by hazards.
Religion and beliefs- Some may view hazards as put there by God, or as part of the natural cyce of life, this may cause them to not think that hazards are dangerous. Those who belive in environemntal conservation , may perceive hazards to be a huge rusk to the natural envronment.
Mobility- those who are unable to move freely/easily, may percieve the risks associated wit a hazard to be greater than those who can.Whether they are dsabled or in a secluded location, those who cannot easily leave an area quickly may feel more at risk
Human responses to hazards:
what are the 6 different human responses to a hazard, which is passive and which are active
Give an example of where risk sharing has worked
- the passive response is fatalism as there is no effort made to lessen a hazard
fatalism- the viewpoint that hazards are uncontrollable natural events, and any losses sould be accepted as there is nothing that could be done to stop them
prediction- using scientific research and past events in order to know when a hazard will take place, so that warnings may be delivered and impacts of the hazards can be reduced. In some cases may even preventthe hazard (e.g wildifres from climatic red flags)
adaptation- attempting to live with hazards by adjusting lifestyle choices so tat vulnerability to the hazardis lessened ( e.g earthquake prrof houses)
Mitigation- strategies carried out to lessen the severity of the hazard ( e.g sandbags to offset the imapct of flooding)
Management- coordinated startegies to reduce a hazards effects, these include adaptation, mitigation and prediction.
Risk sharing- A form of community preparedness, whereby the community shares the risk posd by a natural hazard and invests collectively to mitigate the impacts of future hazards.
Risk sharing has worked in New Zealand,it is a multihazard environemnt, it is undr threats from earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and weather related hazards.The costs are great, the 2010mcantebury earhquake cost 20% of GDP. There are now attempts to share the risk by insurance investment, so more strategies are in place before the disater to mitigate its impacts.
Aspects of hazards and how they affect human responses:
Every hazardous event varies in terms of its location, frequency, and strength. These aspects of a natural event create different types of hazards, and influence how people respond to these hazards.
what are the 5 aspects of a hazard, which influence how people respond to and are impacted by them, explain each one
Incidence/frequency- Low incidence/frequency hazards may be harder to predict and have less management strategies put in place, meaning the hazard could be more catastrophic when it does eventually occur. Also, low incidence/frequency hazards, usually tend to be more intense than high incidence hazards.
Distribution- Areas of high hazard distribution are likely to have a lot of management strategies, and those living there will be adapted to the hazardous landsacape because it dominates the area more so than in places with low hazard distribution
Intensity- the power of a hazard,i.e how strong it is and how damaging its effects are.
Magnitude- the size of a hazard, usually this is how a hazard’s intensity is measured. High magnitude, high intensity hazards will have worse effects, meaning they will require more management, e.g more mitigation strategies will be needed to lessen itts impacts on the environemtn and population.
Level of development- economic development will affect how a place can respond to a hazard, so a hazard of the same magnitude may have very different effects in two places of contrasting levels of development.
-Even if the hazard is identical, an area with a lower level of development is less liekly to have effective mitigation strategies in place. Therefore, the effects are liekly to be much more catastrophic.
-However, many high income countries are not as prepred ofr hazards as they should be, meaning they lack management startegies fo ran event. This is especially true for multihazardous environments, where resources are spread thinly over an array of hazards.
-overall, it is not the level of development that plays the biggest role in a hazard, it is more to do with how these countries use their development for mitigation.
The Park inodel:
what is the park model, what does it show.
what does the steepness of the curve show
what does the depth of the curve show
what happens in stage 1, what happens in stage 2, what happens in stage 3
what does the park model act as, what would an extremely catastrophic hazard look like on the graph
-The Park model is a graphical representation of human responses to hazards.
The model shows the steps carried out in the recovery of a hazard after a hazard, giving a rough indication of time frame.
-the steepness of the curve shows how quickly an area deteriorates and recovers
-the depth of the curve shows the scale of the disaser (i.e the lower the curve, the lower the quality of life)
-stage 1 is the relief stage (hours - days).Immediate local response, eg medical aid, search and rescue.
-stage 2 is the stage of rehabilitation (days-weeks). services begin to be restored, food and water distributed.
stage 3 is the stage of reconstruction (weeks-years). the place is reconstructed to the same or better quality of life. ecosystems restored and crops regrown.
the park model acts as a control line to compare hazards. An extremely catastrophic hazard would have a steeper curve than the average would and would have a slower recovery time than the average.
The hazard management cycle:
what does the hazard management cycle outline
what are the 4 factors in the hazard management ycle
-the hazard managament cycle outlines the stages of responding to events, showing how the same stages take place after every hazard
-Preparedness -being ready for an event to occur ( public awareness, trainign )
-response - immediate action taken after an event ( evacuation, medical assitance,resuce)
-recovery- long-term responses ( restoring servies, reconsturction)
-mitigation - srategies to lessen effects of another hazard ( barriers, warning signals)
evaluating the effectiveness of models:
what makes hazard models less effective
weakness of the park model
weakness of the hazard management cycle
the unpredictability of hazards makes the models less effective at accurately representing human responses to hazards.
-a weakness of the park omdel is that it assumes linear recovery, in reality rhis is rarely the case as recovery is often non-linear due to the influnce of factors such as recurring hazards or prolonged aid dependnecy.
-a weakness of the hazard management cycle is that is neglects social and cultural facotrs and the impaxt that they have on management strategies. Perception of risk, political priorities and social inequality shape hazard management startegies
