A-Level Geography: Tectonic Processes and Hazards EQ2

Question 1

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What is meant by vulnerability?

Answer 1

Vulnerability is how susceptible a population is to damage caused by a hazard.

Question 2

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What is meant by resilience?

Answer 2

Resilience is how well a population can recover from a disaster.

Question 3

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

According to Degg’s model, what is a disaster?

Answer 3

A disaster is when a hazard affects human wellbeing. Degg’s Disaster Model suggests a disaster only happens when a hazardous event meets a vulnerable population.

Question 4

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

Why is Degg’s model a good representation of hazards?

Answer 4

Degg’s model is a good representation of this concept. If the population is not vulnerable, the hazard will not have a significant effect, thus the event will not be disastrous.

Question 5

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

How does the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) define a disaster?

Answer 5

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) define a disaster as “a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or society involving widespread losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope with using its own resources.”

Question 6

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What is meant by risk?

Answer 6

A risk is a likelihood of humans being affected by a hazard. It is determined by the risk equation.

Risk = (Hazard x Vulnerability)/Capacity to Cope

Question 7

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What is the Park Model?

Answer 7

The Park Model is a graphical representation of human responses to hazards. The model shows the steps carried out in the recovery after a hazard, giving a rough indication of the time frame.

Question 8

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What do the steepness and depth indicate in the Parks Model?

Answer 8

• The steepness of the curve shows how quickly an area deteriorates and recovers.
• The depth of the curve shows the scale of the disaster (i.e. lower the curve, lower the quality of life).

Question 9

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What are the stages of the Park Model?

Answer 9

• Stage 1 - Relief (hours-days)
• Stage 2 - Rehabilitation (days-weeks)
• Stage 3 - Reconstruction (weeks-years)

Question 10

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What does the relief stage usually include?

Answer 10

• Immediate local response - medical aid, search and rescue

- Immediate appeal for foreign aid - the beginnings of global response

Question 11

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What does the rehabilitation stage usually include?

Answer 11

• Services begin to be restored
• Temporary shelters and hospitals set up
• Food and water distributed
• Coordinated foreign aid - peacekeeping forces etc

Question 12

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What does the reconstruction stage usually include?

Answer 12

• Restoring the area to the same or better quality of life
• Area back to normal - ecosystem restored, crops regrown
• Infrastructure rebuilt
• Mitigation efforts for future event

Question 13

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What is the Park Model also good for?

Answer 13

The model also works as a control line to compare hazard profiles.

Question 14

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What are the three main impacts of tectonic hazards?

Answer 14

• Social - deaths, injury and wider health impacts including psychological ones
• Economic - the loss of property, businesses, infrastructure and opportunity
• Environmental - damage or destruction of physical systems, especially ecosystems

Question 15

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

Why are developing countries most vulnerable to tectonic disasters?

Answer 15

Developing countries lack of good infrastructure and emergency supplies, very few warning systems in place, any funds for development are spent on disaster relief instead - sets back any possible developments.

Question 16

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

Why are the elderly and children most vulnerable to tectonic disasters?

Answer 16

The elderly are less mobile so unable to evacuate in an emergency, often neglected in disaster relief programs: 50% of those who died in Japan’s 1995 EQ in Kobe were elderly.

Question 17

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

Why are the impoverished most vulnerable to tectonic disasters?

Answer 17

People living in poverty homes often are unable to withstand extreme natural forces, no fresh water or sanitation, people often end up living in hazardous places due to rapid urbanisation, e.g. flood plains.

Question 18

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What is a natural hazard?

Answer 18

A physical geographical event (tectonic, hydrological or meteorological) that has a negative impact on people through causing injury or death, loss of property, or disruption to the normal way of life.

Question 19

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What is a disaster?

Answer 19

An event, such as an earthquake, that disrupts normal conditions to a point where a place or community cannot adjust and there is significant loss of life and injuries, and/or financial costs.

Question 20

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What is a mega-disaster

Answer 20

When a major hazardous event becomes catastrophic and more than a disaster. The scale of the impacts are unusually great/severe with huge numbers of deaths, loss of buildings and infrastructure, or long-lasting impacts on normal social and economic systems.

Question 21

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What do large insurers define a disaster as?

Answer 21

As an event where economic losses are over $1.5 million.

Question 22

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What are some physical reasons why a population may be vulnerable?

Answer 22

• Location - for example, near coastline, which makes them more vulnerable to tsunamis, being located near a plate boundary or in a tropical storm belt.
• Topography - steep slopes imply that the area is more vulnerable to landslides.

Question 23

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What are some economic reasons why a population may be vulnerable?

Answer 23

Debt, poverty and unemployment.

Question 24

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What are some social reasons why a population may be vulnerable?

Answer 24

Dependent populations (e.g. young and old), percentage of females in a population, poor health and lack of education.

Question 25

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What are some political reasons that can make a population vulnerable?

Answer 25

Poor governance, poor relations with other countries (less likely to get aid).

Question 26

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What does the level of vulnerability relate to in the hazard risk equation?

Answer 26

Relates to the human geography characteristics, such as the level of education and preparedness, wealth, health and population density.

Question 27

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

In the hazard risk equation, what does the capacity to cope relate to?

Answer 27

Governance (ability of governments to prepare and respond to hazards by making policies etc.) and how prepared the country is.

Question 28

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What are the force key reasons that people remain exposed to hazards?

Answer 28

Unpredictability of hazard events, lack of alternatives, changing levels of risk, ‘Russian Roulette’ reaction and cost vs benefit

Question 29

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

Why is a lack of alternatives a reason why some people remain exposed to hazards?

Answer 29

Sometimes, it is difficult to uproot and move to another location giving up homes, land and employment. Often the world’s most vulnerable are the poor who are forced to live on unsafe floodplains or steep hillsides.

Question 30

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

Why is changing levels of risk a reason why some people remain exposed to hazards?

Answer 30

The threat of hazards may increase or decrease over time due to human activity and physical changes. For example, sea level rising gives a greater chance of lowlands flooding; deforestation of drainage basins increase the frequency and magnitude of flooding.

Question 31

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What is the ‘Russian Roulette’ reaction?

Answer 31

Accepting that risk is part of life - optimism or fatalism, turning a ‘blind eye’, ‘acts of god’. People are comforted by the statistics which show that the risk of death is lower than that of influenza or car accidents. They also believe that if a high magnitude event occurs then it may be safe for a few years, this is not always true.

Question 32

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

Why is cost vs benefit a reason why some people remain exposed to hazards?

Answer 32

Many hazardous areas offer advantages that in people’s minds (perception) outweigh the risk. For example, flood plains have very fertile soils and rich volcanic soils are also attractive.

Question 33

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What are some characteristics that would increase community resilience?

Answer 33

The positive attitude of people, pre-planning, a wealth of a nation, emergency procedures in place, medical services & supplies available, good communications.

Question 34

1.4 Disaster occurrence can be explained by the relationship between hazards, vulnerability, resilience and disaster.

What are some characteristics which would decrease community resilience?

Answer 34

Low doctor patient ratio, large scale rural to urban migration, unequal trade arrangements, lack of revenue, an unrealistic perception of the disaster, foreign debt repayments, rapid population growth, a lack of skills, environmental degradation.

Question 35

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

What is governance?

Answer 35

Governance is how a place or area is managed by different levels of government. The policies regarding hazards can affect how prepared and resilient a place is.

Question 36

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

What is political governance?

Answer 36

Decisions about policies, including national disaster reduction and planning. Can involve state, non-state and private sector players.

Question 37

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

What is one tool commonly used to understand how vulnerable a country is and why?

Answer 37

The Pressure and Release Model is a tool commonly used.

Question 38

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

Which idea is the Pressure and Release Model based on?

Answer 38

Its based on the idea that a disaster happens when two opposing forces interact; on one side are the processes that create vulnerability (the root causes, dynamic pressures and unsafe conditions) and on the other side is the hazard event itself.

Question 39

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

What does the Pressure and Release Model look at?

Answer 39

The underlying causes of a disaster (the ‘pressure’), i.e. when a hazard and a vulnerable population meet, and what could be done to reduce the vulnerability (‘release’).

Question 40

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

According to the Pressure and Release Model, what does the process of vulnerability start with and what does it lead to?

Answer 40

According to the PAR model, vulnerability is a process that starts with root causes (these are political and economic systems that control who has power in a society and who has access to resources such as money). Through a series called dynamic pressures, these root causes can lead to unsafe conditions.

Question 41

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

What are some examples of root causes of vulnerability in the PAR model?

Answer 41

Limited access to power, structures and resources, alongside political and economic systems can be root causes of vulnerability.

Question 42

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

What are some examples of dynamic pressures in the PAR model?

Answer 42

Lack of appropriate skills, training, local investment, press freedom, ethical standards in public life alongside macro-forces (large scale) such as rapid population change, rapid urbanisation, deforestation, arms expenditure and debt repayment schedules.

Question 43

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

What are some examples of unsafe conditions in the PAR model?

Answer 43

Fragile physical environment, fragile local economy, vulnerable society, public actions

Question 44

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

What is physical vulnerability?

Answer 44

Individuals live in a hazard-prone area, with little protection naturally or through mitigation.

Question 45

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

What is economic vulnerability?

Answer 45

People risk losing their employment, wealth or assets during a hazard. MEDCs tend to be more economically vulnerable than LEDCs.

Question 46

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

What is social vulnerability?

Answer 46

Communities are unable to support their disadvantaged or most vulnerable, leaving them at risk to hazards.

Question 47

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

What is knowledge vulnerability?

Answer 47

Individuals lack training or warning to know the risks of a hazard or how to safely evacuate. Alternatively, religion and beliefs may limit their understanding of hazards; hazards are an act of God, so individuals don’t mitigate or evacuate (known as fatalist belief).

Question 48

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

What is environmental vulnerability?

Answer 48

A community’s risk of a hazard is increased due to the high population density in the area.

Question 49

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

What are hazard profiles?

Answer 49

A technique used to try and understand the physical characteristics of different types of hazards.

Question 50

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

What can hazard profiles be used for?

Answer 50

To analyse and assess the same hazards which take place in contrasting locations or at different times, or to compare different types of hazards.

Question 51

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

Who can hazard profiles be useful for? Why?

Answer 51

Hazard profiles can be used to help governments and other organisations develop disaster plans.

Question 52

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

What are three geographical factors that impact the scale of a disaster alongside the vulnerability and resilience of a population?

Answer 52

Population density, isolation & accessibility, degree of urbanisation.

Question 53

1.6 Development and governance are important in understanding disaster impact and vulnerability and resilience.

What makes hazard models not effective?

Answer 53

The unpredictability of hazards makes the models less effective at accurately representing human responses to hazards.