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Environmental Geology > Chapter 5 > Flashcards

Chapter 5 Flashcards

1
Q

What percentage of New Orleans is below sea level?

A

80%

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2
Q

When did Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans?

A

August 29, 2005

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3
Q

What was the height of the storm surge caused by Hurricane Katrina?

A

3 to 6 m (9 to 20 ft)

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4
Q

What was the diameter of the serious damage path caused by Hurricane Katrina?

A

About 160 km (100 mi)

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5
Q

What were the 5 risk factors that led to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina?

A
  1. Regional subsidence
  2. Rising sea level
  3. Vulnerable geographic location
  4. Insufficient funds for the monitoring and maintenance of levees and floodwalls
  5. Poor coordination in initial emergency response efforts
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6
Q

What are the criteria to be classified as a natural disaster?

A
  1. 10+ people are killed
  2. 100+ people are affected
  3. A declaration of emergency is declared OR there is a request for international assistance
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7
Q

What are some examples of dangerous natural processes?

A

Earthquakes, floods, volcanic activities, landslides, and hurricanes

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8
Q

On average, how much human life is lost to natural disasters worldwide per year?

A

150,000

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9
Q

How much property damage is inflicted by natural disasters per year, on average?

A

$50 billion

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10
Q

What is a natural hazard?

A

A natural process that occurs in areas where people live or work and that may potentially negatively impact the people or infrastructure in the region

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11
Q

What contributes to natural hazards?

A

Urbanization, deforestation, consumption of energy resources, and climate change

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12
Q

What environmental planning concept reduces the likelihood of natural hazards?

A

Not building on floodplains, earthquake prone areas, or other areas where dangerous natural processes occur

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13
Q

What is hazard magnitude?

A

Intensity of a natural hazard in terms of the amount of energy released

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14
Q

What is hazard frequency?

A

Recurrence interval of a disastrous event

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15
Q

What is the relationship between hazard magnitude and frequency?

A

Generally inverse relationship

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16
Q

What frequency and magnitude is associated with the most damage?

A

Moderate damage and moderate frequency

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17
Q

What are magnitude and frequency largely controlled by?

A

Natural processes and factors

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18
Q

What is impact risk?

A

Risk associated with both natural and human factors

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19
Q

Are low-magnitude and high-frequency hazards always destructive?

A

No

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20
Q

Are high magnitude hazards always catastrophic?

A

Almost certainly

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21
Q

What are some benefits of natural hazards?

A
  1. Creation of new land
  2. Supplying nutrients to soil
  3. Flushing pollutants
  4. Changing local landscape
  5. Creation of new water reservoirs (fault gouge)
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22
Q

Why are there clumps of palm trees in the Coachella Valley, CA, in what is otherwise a desert landscape?

A

Fault dams were created by the San Andreas fault, which led to the formation of water reservoirs and artesian springs

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23
Q

Which types of countries see greater loss of life from major natural disasters?

A

Developing countries

24
Q

Which types of countries see greater property damage from major natural disasters?

A

Developed country

25
Q

What is considered a catastrophe?

A

Disastrous situations requiring a long process of recovery to recover from grave damages

26
Q

What is risk analysis, in reference to natural hazards?

A

A critical process by which the impacts of natural hazards are analyzed to determine their possible impacts

27
Q

Are different hazards linked? Provide an example if so.

A

Yes; volcanoes and mudslides

28
Q

What historic data is used to determine how, when, and where hazards will repetitively occur in an area?

A
  1. Occurrence and recurrence intervals
  2. Location and effects of past hazards
  3. Observations of present conditions
  4. Measuring the changes or rates of change
  5. Historic trends of hazards
29
Q

Is a playground a possible good land use of a flood plain?

A

Yes, if natural plants are planted to prevent soil erosion and concrete foundations are minimized to ensure flood waters soak into the soil

30
Q

What types of hazard linkages exist?

A
  1. Linkages between adjacent locations
  2. Linkages over time
  3. Linkages between hazards
  4. Linkage between geologic setting and hazards
31
Q

What is a forecast?

A

The certainty of an event given as the percent chance of it occurring

32
Q

What is a prediction?

A

Accurate determinations of when, where, type, and size of certain natural hazardous events

33
Q

What is a warning?

A

A public announcement stating that a natural hazard has been forecast or predicted

34
Q

What is a precursor?

A

An event or sign indicating an eminent natural hazard

35
Q

What is the media generally interested in concerning natural hazards?

A

Impact of a particular event on people and property

36
Q

Do scientists have an obligation to inform the public with information about natural hazards?

A

Yes

37
Q

How should reports concerning people’s lives and property be evaluated?

A

Conservatively, with verified evidence on hand

38
Q

What is a risk determination?

A

Part of risk assessment that indicates type of natural hazard, location, probability of natural hazard occurring, and consequences if natural hazard does occur

39
Q

What is a risk estimate?

A

Variable dependent on probability of natural disaster occurring and potential consequences; factored by organizations and individuals

40
Q

What is the risk threshold?

A

Acceptable risk an organization is willing to take given knowledge of natural hazards and the risks associated with them

41
Q

What is used in estimating risk impact?

A
  1. Potential loss and injury of life
  2. Damage and destruction of property
  3. Impact on services and normal function of society
  4. Impact on manufacturing, mining, commercial activities, etc.
  5. Direct or indirect adverse impact on environment
42
Q

What is a reactive response?

A

Responses made primarily after a hazardous event has occurred

43
Q

What activities occur in the recovery phase?

A

Search and rescue, restoration, and reconstruction

44
Q

What is a recovery period?

A

How long recovery activities take before a region is returned to it’s original state; length dependent on the magnitude of the hazard and the impact intensity

45
Q

What are critical needs in the recovery phase?

A

Emergency operations, critical infrastructure, hospitals, shelter, food, and water supplies

46
Q

What are essential functions in the recovery phase?

A

Transportation and communication

47
Q

What are the four phases of disaster recovery?

A
  1. Emergency
  2. Restoration
  3. Reconstruction I
  4. Reconstruction II
48
Q

What is an anticipatory response to a natural hazard?

A

Activities related to the perception, avoidance, and adaptation of infrastructure and processes to avoid or minimize the impact of disasters

49
Q

What are some anticipatory responses?

A
  1. Land-use planning
  2. Insurance
  3. Safety regulations and measures
  4. Evacuation
  5. Disaster awareness and preparedness
50
Q

What are three types of human responses to natural disasters?

A
  1. Combination of reactive and anticipatory responses
  2. Prevention, circumvention, or mitigation via artificial control of natural processes
  3. Little to no action taken
51
Q

How is population growth related to natural disasters?

A
  1. Higher population means more people at risk from natural hazards, especially in densely populated areas
  2. Land conversion may intensify consequences of natural hazards
52
Q

What caused the high loss of life (11000+) during Hurricane Mitch in Honduras in 1998?

A

Deforestation and fire in Honduras prior to Hurricane Mitch

53
Q

What caused the high loss of life (4000+) during the Yangtze River flooding in 1998?

A

85% forest loss in Yangtze River basin

54
Q

What caused the high loss of life (300,000) during the Iran earthquake in 2003?

A

Inappropriate construction code in a tectonic earthquake zone

55
Q

What caused the high loss of life (300,000+) during the Haitian earthquake in 2003?

A

Poor construction

Environmental Geology (5 decks)

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