5.1- The Concept Of A Natural Hazard

Question 1

What is a natural hazard?

Answer 1

Events which are perceived to be a threat to people, the built environment and the natural environment- they occur in the physical environments of the atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere

Question 2

Give some examples of natural/environmental hazards

Answer 2

• volcanic activity
• seismic events
• tropical storms (typhoon/cyclone/hurricane)

Question 3

Natural hazards can cause disruption to

Answer 3

• to human systems, including death and injury

- property and communication system damage and the disruption of economic activities

Question 4

Hazards are highly variable in terms of their:

Answer 4

• nature (type)
• cause (origin)
• magnitude
• frequency
• location
• scale of impact

Question 5

How can we categorise hazards?

Answer 5

• hydro-meteorological= those caused by running water and its processes (hydro) and those associated with or caused by weather patterns (meteorological)
• geophysical= those caused by Earth processes-> two types:
  a) internal earth processes of tectonic origin
  b) external earth processes of geomorphological origin involving mass movement

Question 6

What are some examples of hydro-meteorological hazards?

Answer 6

Floods, hurricanes, storms, blizzards and drought

Question 7

What are some examples of geophysical hazards?

Answer 7

Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, landslides

Question 8

Explain how sometimes there may be an overlap between hydro-meteorological hazards and geophysical hazards

Answer 8

A snow avalanche may be hydro-meteorological in origin but geophysical as an event

Question 9

What’s the key difference between a natural hazard and a natural disaster?

Answer 9

• natural hazard= event that is potential threat to people and/or property
• natural disaster= event where losses are actually experienced/hazard realised

Question 10

Natural hazards and their effects on people tend to have the following common characteristics

Answer 10

• their origins are clear and the effects they produce are distinctive such as earthquakes causing buildings to collapse
• most natural hazards only allow a short warning time before the event (some hardly at all)
• most losses to life and damage to property occur shortly after the event although the effects of natural hazards can be felt in communities a long time after e.g. disease, disruption to communications and economic activities)
• the scale and intensity of an event requires an emergency response

Question 11

What does risk refer to?

Answer 11

The probability of harmful consequences or expected losses (deaths, property, livelihoods, economic activity disrupted or environment damaged) resulting from interactions between natural or human-induced hazards and vulnerable conditions

Question 12

People consciously put themselves at risk from natural hazards- why?

Answer 12

• hazard events are unpredictable (cannot predict the frequency, magnitude or scale of a natural hazard event)
• lack of alternatives due to social, political and economic factors meaning people cannot simply uproot themselves from one place and migrate to another
• changing levels of risk- deforestation for example could result in more flooding from torrential rain associated with tropical storms due to reduced interception and also greater risk of landslides
• cost/benefit- Californian cities for example have a high risk of earthquakes but residents see the many advantages there as greater than the potential risk
• PERCEPTION

Question 13

What does perception in geographical context refer to?

Answer 13

The way in which an individual or group view the threat of a hazard event which will ultimately determine the course of action taken by individuals or the response they expect from governments and other organisations

Question 14

What is the risk equation?

Answer 14

Risk (R)= Hazard (H) X vulnerability to hazard (V)
——————————————————————
Capacity to recover/ cope (C)

Question 15

What does vulnerability in geographical context refer to?

Answer 15

The conditions determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes which increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards

Question 16

What does capacity refer to in geographical context?

Answer 16

A combination of all the strengths and resources available within a community, society or organisation that can reduce the level of risk or effects of a disaster e.g. capacity of community to recover from a particular natural hazard

Question 17

Question raised of whether the risk is the same for all people in an area I.e. are some people more vulnerable than others?

Answer 17

• a similar sized natural hazard event can have widely varying impacts in different parts of the world
• people’s wealth and level/ advancement of technology they can apply do affect the degree to which the hazard event will impact upon them
• in general, HICs can protect themselves by constructing sea defences and earthquake-resistant buildings as well as increasing preparedness by making people more aware of the risks through education
• people of cities in LICs much more vulnerable
• as such urban areas have grown, more and more people have been forced to live in hazardous areas such as very steep hillsides prone to landslides and in the lowest lying parts where they are at risk from tropical storms and tsunamis

Question 18

People react to the threat of hazards in varying ways because of the way in which individuals receive and process information- perception is influenced by many factors:

Answer 18

• socio-economic status
• level of education
• religion/ cultural background
• family and marital status
• past experiences
• values, personality and expectations

Question 19

Perception of a hazard will ultimately determine the course of action taken by individuals in order to

Answer 19

Modify the event or the responses they expect from governments and other organisations

Question 20

Explain how there is often a great difference in the perception of a hazard between people of differing levels of economic development

Answer 20

• in wealthier areas there is a sense that the better prepared you are, the more you will be able to withstand the impact of the hazard and perhaps even prevent the disaster from taking place
• this is usually based upon government and community action and is backed by capital that will fund technologically-based solutions
• the sense of helplessness in the face of hazards tends to increase with the level of poverty and the deprivation of the community
• even in wealthier countries there are groups of disadvantaged people who tend to look upon natural hazards as part of their way of life as they are viewed as unavoidable; just as the bulk of people in LICs see the impacts of these events as being part of the conditions of poverty

Question 21

People may perceive natural hazards in the following ways:

Answer 21

• fatalism (acceptance)
• adaption
• fear

Question 22

Explain concept of fatalism

Answer 22

• such hazards are natural events that are part of living in an area
• some communities would go as far to say that they are “God’s will”
• action is therefore usually direct and concerned with safety
• losses are accepted and inevitable and people remain in situ

Question 23

Explain adaption

Answer 23

people see that they can prepare for and therefore survive the event( 3ps) by prediction, prevention and/or protection depending upon the economic and technological circumstances of the area in question

Question 24

Explain fear

Answer 24

The perception of the hazard is such that people feel so vulnerable to an event that they are no longer able to face living in the area and emigrate to regions perceived to be unaffected by the hazard

Question 25

Regarding management of natural hazards, people respond to natural hazards and the threats that they can pose by seeking ways to reduce the

Answer 25

Risk

Question 26

Regarding management, responses can come from individuals, the local community with people working together, and from national governments and

Answer 26

International agencies

Question 27

What is community resilience?

Answer 27

The sustained ability of a community to utilise available resources to respond to, withstand and recover from the effects of natural hazards. Communities that are resilient are able to minimise the effects of a hazard, making the return to normal life as effortless as possible

Question 28

A key feature of the modern approach to management of hazards is that hazards are best combatted by efficient management. Modern management techniques with their gathering of information, careful analysis and deliberate planning aim to

Answer 28

Make the most efficient use of the money available to confront natural hazards

Question 29

A process known as __________ ____ __________ is often used which incorporates the identification of hazards, analysis of the risks, establishing priorities, treating the risk and implementing a risk reduction plan- whilst monitoring and reviewing the whole process. The governments of many countries use such schemes

Answer 29

Integrated risk management

Question 30

People and organisations try to manage natural hazards in the following ways:

Answer 30

• prediction
• prevention
• protection

Question 31

Explain prediction

Answer 31

• it may be possible to give warnings that will enable action to be taken
• the key to this is improved monitoring in order to give predictions which means that warnings can be issued
• e.g. The National Hurricane Centre in Florida’s prediction depends upon monitoring through the use of information from satellites and land,sea and air-based recordings

Question 32

Explain prevention

Answer 32

• for natural hazards, this is most likely unrealistic
• although there have been ideas and even schemes such as seeding clouds in potential tropical storms in order to cause more precipitation

Question 33

Explain protection

Answer 33

• the is to protect people,their possessions and the built environment from the event
• this usually involves modifications to the built environment such as improved sea walls and earthquake-proof buildings
• one way in which governments can act, and people react, is to try to change attitudes and behaviour to natural hazards which will reduce people’s vulnerability
• community preparedness involves prearranged measures that aim to reduce the loss of life and property damage through public education and awareness programmes, evacuation procedures and provision of emergency medical and food supplies and shelters
• there can also be attempts to modify losses through insurance (richer areas) and international aid (in poorer regions)

Question 34

All attempts at management must be evaluated in terms of their success- successful schemes include

Answer 34

The use of dynamite to divert lava flows on Mt Etna and pouring sea water on lava flows in Iceland

Question 35

What is the disaster/ risk management cycle?

Answer 35

Cycle that illustrates the ongoing process by which governments, businesses and society plan for and reduce the impacts of disasters, react during and immediately following an event, and take steps to recover after an event has occurred

Question 36

Appropriate actions at all points in the disaster/risk management cycle lead to

Answer 36

Greater preparedness, better warnings and reduced vulnerability or, the prevention of hazard events during the next cycle

Question 37

One of the main goals of disaster management, and one of its strongest links with development, is

Answer 37

The promotion of sustainable livelihoods and their protection and recovery during such events- where this goal is achieved, people have a greater capacity to deal with disasters, and their recovery is much more rapid and long-lasting

Question 38

Give an example of an agency’s operations which are carried out very much along the lines shown by the disaster/risk management cycle model

Answer 38

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Question 39

What does the disaster/response curve show?

Answer 39

• in 1991 Park devised his impact/response model

- to show that hazard events have varying impacts over time

Question 40

What are the different stages of the park response model?

Answer 40

1- pre-disaster
2- relief
3- rehabilitation
4- reconstruction

Question 41

What’s involved in pre-disaster stage of Park response model?

Answer 41

• quality of life is normal for the area
• here, people try their best to prevent such events and prepare in case they should happen
• when the event happens, the quality of life suddenly drops with people taking immediate action to preserve life and if possible, the built environment

Question 42

What’s involved in relief stage of Park response model?

Answer 42

• medical attention, rescue services and overall care are delivered
• this can last from a few hours to several days if the event has been very damaging
• from this point the quality of life of the people of the area slowly starts to increase

Question 43

What’s involved in rehabilitation stage of park response model?

Answer 43

• people try to return the state of things to normal by providing food, water and shelter for those most affected
• this period can last anywhere from few weeks to few days

Question 44

What’s involved in reconstruction stage of park response model?

Answer 44

• infrastructure and property reconstructed and crops regrown
• at this time, people use the experience of the event to try to learn how to better respond to the next one
• this period can take weeks to several years