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Climatic Hazards > Climatic hazards > Flashcards

Climatic hazards Flashcards

1
Q

Whats are hurricanes?

A

winds of >118 km/h & specific to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

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2
Q

Give some examples of hurricanes.

A

Atmospheric and surface conditions that give rise to their development – hurricanes and tornados (Ivan, Katrina, Indiana tornado) – low pressure

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3
Q

What a_tmospheric and surface conditions that give rise to their development – hurricanes and tornados (Ivan, Katrina, Indiana tornado) – low pressure_

A
  • 27 oC sea temperature with at least 60m depth (evaporation). The latent heat energy generates strong winds and heavy precipitation (winds converge close to the air surface (rise upwards) and rise rapidly because of the unstable air = thunderstorm as warm rising air condenses [which also heats surround air - rises])
  • High humidity = latent heat
  • 5o N/S of the equator (in order to generate the Coriolis effect – a deflecting force produced by the Earth’s rotation) à imparts a spin
  • Constant vertical conditions – divergent airflow to draw air upwards but also unstable air so surface winds converge and rise
  • Two most tropical airstreams meet à denser (colder) air undercuts the warmer air
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4
Q

What are the economic hazards caused by hurricanes?

A

Economic

  • Infrastructure: power lines, transport (roads), schools
  • Agriculture: (coastal and river flooding, mass movement (landslides)), cash and food crops lost, pollution, tree crops
  • Transport: bridges, road/rail, aeroplanes/airports
  • Trade: loss of exports, need to import, cost of aid
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5
Q

what are the enviromental hazards caused by hurricanes?

A
  • Relief: landslides and mudflow
  • Drainage: waterlogging and floods
  • Vegetation: trees uprooted and destroyed, habitats destroyed
  • Pollution of water supplies: disease
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6
Q

What are the social hazards presented by hurricanes?

A
  • Health, injury, death, disease, depression: flying debris, pollution from damaged drainage and sewage systems, hunger
  • Housing destroyed: temporary shelter, forced mmigration
  • Social unrest (they have an erratic path once established, so >12 hours’ notice is difficult [to establish proper evacuation and precautionary measures], looting, family break up, tension
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7
Q

What are the economic impacts of LEDC hurricane Ivan

A
  • Looting cost $800m (total cost $1.1bn – double the GDP)
  • GDP fell by 3% - increase in Grenada’s national debt
  • Tourist industry heavily impacted (roughly 1/3 of GDP)
  • Roads blocked by debris. The eye passed 10km south of the airport.
  • Blocked drains = local flooding
  • Loss of phone lines
  • Loss of power

Decimated agricultural sector – (trade impacts) loss of export cash tree crops (nutmeg = 80% of exports – take 7 years to grow and bear fruit)

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8
Q

What are the economic impacts of MEDC: Hurricane Katrina (Gulf of Mexico)– category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale (175mph wind)

A
  • $105bn sought by the Bush Administration for repairs and reconstruction (total impact $300bn)
  • Interruption of oil supply (destroyed 30 oil platforms and closed 9 refineries)
  • 1.3 million acres of forest lands destroyed
  • Destruction of the Gulf Coast’s highway infrastructure
  • 3m lost power and phones
  • Loss of commercial forest
  • Decline in tourism
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9
Q

What are the economic impacts of

LEDC: Cyclone - Bangladesh 1991

A
  • Crops destroyed (15ft high storm surge and 210km/h winds)
  • $1.5bn damage
  • Offshore island lost 80-90% of all structures and all livestock
  • Coastal embankments damaged
  • Tubewells, power, water, communications and health facilities severely damaged

2.4m heads of poultry lost - unemployment

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10
Q

What are the social impacts of LEDC: Hurricane Ivan – Caribbean

A
  • 39 deaths
  • 85% of the island devastated
  • 90% of homes damaged or destroyed

50% of the population made homeless

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11
Q

What are the social impacts of MEDC: Hurricane Katrina (Gulf of Mexico)– category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale (175mph wind)

A
  • Insurance companies stopped insuring home owners in the area due to high costs, or raised the price of insurance premiums to cover the risk
  • 1500 deaths and 700 missing
  • Looting
  • 90% of population evacuated, 1m reluctant to return (mass migration) home = impacts on evacuation areas
  • Category 3 levees built in Louisiana à collapsed (hurricane was level 5) = thousands of deaths
  • Racial tensions – Kanye West claimed there was a racial reason for the slow response (as most of the stranded people were African American)

Water and mosquito-borne disease (West Nile Fever)

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12
Q

What are the social impacts of

LEDC: Cyclone - Bangladesh 1991

A
    • 140,000 (est) casualties
      • Widespread hunger
      • 10 million people made homeless
      • Hundreds of thousands of injuries

Diarrhoea and dysentery (2000 associated deaths in the first few weeks)

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13
Q

What are the enviromental impacts of LEDC: Hurricane Ivan – Caribbean

A
  • Land degradation

Little rain – no mudslides, minor storm surge & occurred during the day

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14
Q

What are the enviromental impacts of MEDC: Hurricane Katrina (Gulf of Mexico)– category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale (175mph wind)

A
    • Dauphin Island erosion - breeding grounds for marine mammals, brown pelicans and turtles. 20% of coastal marshes destroyed
      • Closure of 16 National Wildlife Refuges
      • Oil spills (south-eastern Louisiana) – 26m litres (30 oil platforms

Water pollution – sewage, chemical waste etc

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15
Q

What are the enviromental impacts of

LEDC: Cyclone - Bangladesh 1991

A
  • Storm surge à coastal flooding
  • Alteration of habitats – increased salinity of surface waters
  • Mass land erosion = loss of agricultural land

Shrimp farms devastated

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16
Q

What are tornadoes?

A

violent rotating small-scale wind storms (up to 500km/h wind)

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17
Q

What are the atmospheric and surface conditions that give rise to tornadoes development (northern hemisphere May to July)?

A
  • Air masses of differing temperature and humidity converge (Gulf of Mexico’s prevailing wind and the polar jet stream) – unstable air (temp gradient causes spin)
  • Winds from different direction cause it to rotate and a vortex is created
  • Downward rapid current of cool air (strong current of cool air moves downward because of its density) – tornado forms between downdraft and updraft
  • Constant vertical conditions
  • Divergent airflow with height draws air upwards
  • Unstable air (surface winds converge)
  • Flat land (otherwise easily disrupted by relief)
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18
Q

What hazards are caused by tornadoes?

A

Hazards (potential dangers) to particular areas - Fujita Scale

  • Torrential rain (high volume)
  • 200m in diameter
  • Twisting wind rotation (vortex in contact with the ground) so it lifts objects
  • Very steep pressure gradient (centre is low pressure) – this can result in buildings “exploding”
  • Immediate, highly-destructive effects (but small and short-lived)
  • Very high wind speeds (up to 300mph)
  • Smaller and localised
  • Destruction of buildings, crops, deaths, high cost, loss of power, and long-term economic impacts
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19
Q

What are the economic impacts of tornadoes?

A

Economic

  • Infrastructure (schools, roads, power)
  • Agriculture – cash and food crops lost, pollution)
  • Transport – bridges destroyed, road and rail damage, loss of aeroplanes
  • Cost of aid
  • Industrial capacity reduced (damaged buildings, loss of power etc)
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20
Q

What are the enviromental impacts of tonadoes?

A

Environmental

  • Drainage affected (choked with wind-blown debris)
  • Vegetation (trees uprooted, habitats destroyed)
  • Pollution of water supplies = disease
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21
Q

What are the social impacts of tourism?

A

Social

  • Health – injuries and deaths, disease, depression
  • Housing – destroyed, temporary shelters
  • Social unrest, looting
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22
Q

What are impacts of the Indiana tornado November 2005?

A

Indiana tornado November 2005

  • Lasted 10 hours
  • 1.50am & in November
  • High wind speeds
  • 4 tornados formed from 2 supercells

F2-F3 intensity

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23
Q

What are the economic impacts of the

Indiana tornado November 2005?

A
  • $92m damage

Damage to floodplains that are used as agricultural land

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24
Q

What are the enviromental impacts of the

Indiana tornado November 2005?

A
  • Gas leaks
  • Distress – cars with passengers said to be picked up

Noise pollution ‘terrible wind’

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25
Q

What are the social impacts of the

Indiana tornado November 2005?

A
  • 25 killed and 230 injured
  • 25,000 without power

225 mobile homes destroyed (trailers deposited in lakes) – houses levelled (at least 500 homes)

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26
Q

Describe the

Tri-State Tornado

A

Tri-State Tornado

  • F5 tornado
  • Missouri, Illinois and Indiana
  • ¾ of a mile wide

Longest track on the ground of any single tornado in history (219 miles)

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27
Q

What are the economic impacts of the tri-state tornado?

A
  • Mining towns along its path were severely damaged
  • Severe damage to structures
  • Loss of electricity

$18m damage

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28
Q

What are the social impacts of the tri-state tornado?

A
  • 2000 injuries and 690 deaths
  • 4 towns and numerous smaller villages destroyed (e.g. mining communtiies – 130 dead in West Frankfort).

Its path went through a school in Illinois = 30 deaths of students and teachers

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29
Q

What are the enviromental impacts of the tri-state tornado?

A
  • Vegetation severely affected (trees said to have snapped in half & uprooted)
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30
Q

Depressions - LP

Formation of hazards (heavy snowfall, frost, drought)

A
  • Small area of fast-moving air
  • Low pressure (air is rising) = cloud formation. Rising air forms a low pressure centre, so air moves in from high pressure areas around the depression (=high winds due to steep pressure gradient)
  • West to east across the UK
  • Cold and warm fronts (occluded front). Warm, tropical maritime air migrating north from the tropics meets cold dense polar maritime air migration south from the Polar region. Warm air is undercut by advancing cool air (has more energy and is less dense – forced to rise upwards at a cold front). Ahead, warm air advances into cool air and is also forced to rise above the cold denser air at a warm front. (Air is rising and cooling at both fronts = rain)
  • Warm air masses meet very cold air masses à rain falls as snow
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31
Q

Waht economic hazards are caused by depressions?

A
  • Transport disruption: cars aquaplaning on wet surfaces, cancelled flights, bridges shut
  • Industry: power lines, gales and flooding
  • Agriculture: lack of sun, waterlogging of crops, wind damage
  • Forestry: waterlogging and gales
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32
Q

What social impacts are caused by depressions?

A
  • Health: bronchitis and depression from dampness, blizzards/snowfalls = frostbite and hyperthermia
  • Housing: wind can damage roofs
  • Accidents: aquaplaning (wet roads), flooding and gales
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33
Q

What enviromental impacts are caused by depressions?

A
  • Ecosystems: flooding, gales and storms
  • Vegetation: lack of sun, trees uprooted
  • Drainage: flooding and waterlogging
  • Soils become saturated: landslides, soil creep = soil erosion
34
Q

Describe the summer depression 2007.

A

Summer depression – 2007

Almost 400mm rainfall

Two flooding events (worsened by the saturated ground and already high volume water bodies [rivers])

35
Q

What economic impacts were caused by the summer depression 2007?

A
  • Half a million people without electricity (no information from television, radio or the internet) – lack of communication
  • Insurance costs of £3bn
  • 7000 businesses flooded – damage to stock and equipment
  • Lost revenue in the tourism and leisure sector
  • Critical infrastructure and essential services damaged – power supplies, transport links (M1 closed for 40 hours) and telecommunications. Overwhelmed drainage network

Crop losses – 42,000 ha of agricultural land flooded (including grazing land, hay) – food prices affected. Lost yield (£11.2m). Contaminated water and flooding - livestock

36
Q

What social impacts were caused by the summer depression 2007?

A
  • 13 deaths
  • 7000 people evacuated (little prior experience of severe climatic events meant poor reactions – few preventative measures)
  • People left stranded on motorways
  • 50,000 properties were flooded à mud, silt and sewage
  • 350,000 without mains water supply (in Gloucestershire)
  • Fear and distress from evacuation – disrupted living patterns (rest centres, temporary accommodation) – thieves or further flooding
  • Physical health problems – diarrhoea, asthma, sore throats, cold sores and bad chests (damp living conditions)

Heritage sites damaged (Hadrian’s Wall)

37
Q

What enviromental impacts were caused by the summer depression 2007?

A
  • Severe floods – damage to grasslands

Rat, mosquito and fly infestations

38
Q

Describe the Great Storm 1987.

A

The Great Storm 1987

Low pressure system off the coast of Spain & warm waters from the Bay of Biscay à high level jet stream forced north-eastwards to Britain

Strongest gale to affect the UK since 1703

39
Q

What are the economc impacts of the great storm 1987.

A
  • Disruption to transport and communications (telephone wires, roads, railways)
  • Electricity black outs – thousands of homes without power
  • Insurance claims - £860m
  • £1bn costs
  • Isle of Wight pier damaged

Ship capsized at Dover

40
Q

What are the social impacts of the great storm 1987.

A
  • Damage to properties
  • Injury – hundreds of casualties
  • Loss of life (18 deaths)

Psychological impacts

41
Q

What are the enviromental impacts of the great storm 1987.

A
  • Localised flooding

15m trees uprooted

42
Q

Anticyclones - HP

Formation of hazards (heavy snowfall, frost, drought)

A
  • Large area of slow moving air (stable – little mixing of air)
  • Air is sinking = high pressure (molecules become compressed so pressure increases and becomes warmer) à temperature inversion
  • Clouds and precipitation do not form (as air is warmer so water evaporates and cannot rise to form clouds).
  • Light winds (gentle pressure gradient). Winds blow outwards at the edges (high to low pressure air movement)
  • High pressure centre with clockwise circulation (N. hemisphere)
  • Uplift overcomes temperature inversion = thunderstorm
  • Blocking anticyclone (area of HP that remains relatively stationary in comparison to approaching low pressure systems – blocking their passage over an area) – cold conditions = precipitation falls as snow
43
Q

How anticyclones represent economic hazards.

A

Economic

  • Agriculture: more irrigation is required, frost kills crops
  • Forestry: forest fires, droughts
  • Transport: heat buckles rails and melt roads, accidents in fog and on frost
  • Industry and power: water shortage
44
Q

How anticyclones represent social hazards.

A
  • Health: heat stroke, fog, high pollen count
  • Housing: heat and cold damage fabric, subsidence
  • Accidents: frost and fog = poor driving conditions
45
Q

How anticyclones represent enviromental hazards.

A
  • Ecosystems: heat waves; abnormal deficiency of rainfall over a long period of time (rain-bearing fronts prevented from crossing), forest fires
  • Vegetation: trees susceptible to drought (lose their leaves and wilt in the heat from increased transpiration àhigher water demand), frost kills seedlings and buds (temperature inversion)
  • Drainage: soil hardens in the heat = flash floods following precipitation event, rivers and lakes dry up
  • Soil: subsidence from drying and shrinking
46
Q

What factors affect the severity of HP and LP systems?

A
  • Air masses
  • Time of day/ season (duration)
  • Scale – size of area it covers
  • Strength (more extreme = greater impact)
  • Frequency (common/ rare = unexpected)
  • Awareness of population (warnings, communication, preparation)
  • Precautions (long-term planning and short-term measures)
47
Q

Describe the European heat wave 2003 (anticyclone).

A

European heat wave 2003 – prolonged period of excessive hot weather (series of blocking intense anticyclones that forced depressions north and south of the UK) – February to October

48
Q

What economic impacts were caused by the the European heat wave 2003 (anticyclone).

A
  • Agriculture: crop failure - Ukraine and Moldova had 80% of their annual wheat harvest lost. EU production declined by 10% (=£13bn losses) (chickens, pigs and cows died) à limited exports
  • Transport: railway tracks buckled in the heat, London Underground unbearably hot, road surfaces melted (Essex). Danube – low rivers meant transport was inhibited
  • Tourism: London Eye closed for one day
  • Building subsidence as ground dried up and shrank
  • Energy: Widespread power outage (as energy was in extreme demand for cooling). 2 nuclear power plants closed in Germany
  • Loss of work days - £10m cost per day

Benefit for UK tourism (especially after the 9/11 terrorist attack and the foot & mouth disease epidemic of 2001). Expansion of 4%

49
Q

What social impacts were caused by the the European heat wave 2003 (anticyclone).

A
  • 35,000 to 50,000 estimated deaths (elderly and young most vulnerable)
  • Bodies unclaimed for weeks – Paris mortuaries overfilled, so stored in refrigerated warehouses.
  • Health impacts – heat-stroke, dehydration, sunburn. Drowning after people tried to cool. Collapse of the French health sector. High pollen count (hayfever)
  • Air pollution (1/3 of UK deaths associated with air pollution)

Water supplies affected à hose pipe ban (reservoirs dried up 50% below capacity)

50
Q

What environmental impacts were caused by the the European heat wave 2003 (anticyclone).

A
  • Alps = glacial Meltwater = flash flood (3m loss from Alpine glaciers)
  • Portugal – wildfires (4000km2 of forest and countryside which is 15 of the country). Wilted trees
  • High levels of pollution (900 deaths from high ozone levels)
  • Fires – rare birds severely affected on the Dorset heaths
  • Increased eutrophication – East Anglia
51
Q

Describe the North American Blizzards 2003 - anticyclone

A

North American blizzard 2003 – moisture from the Atlantic Ocean enhanced precipitation along the eastern seaboard & blocking high-pressure system over Canada forced polar continental air mass to cross the cold interior (to coastal areas) so precipitation was in the form of snow

52
Q

Describe the economic impacts caused by the North American Blizzard - 2003.

A
  • Transport paralysed – airports (NY – La Guardia), rail and road links shut
  • Major power cuts (95,000 homes blacked out in West Virginia)
  • Structural damage to buildings from the weight of the snow ($14m cost)
  • High cost of clearing snow ($20m in NY)

Closure of malls and shopping centres

53
Q

Describe the social impacts caused by the North American Blizzard - 2003.

A
  • 27 deaths
  • Car accidents
  • Schools closed for a week
  • Baltimore Railroad Museum roof collapsed
  • Damage to properties – weight of snow
  • Cancellations of funerals and surgeries

Emergency services disrupted – woman died of a heart attack because she could not be reached by medical personnel

54
Q

Describe the environmental impacts caused by the North American Blizzard - 2003.

A
  • Death of plants (whole forests) – release carbon during decay= imbalance in ecosystem

Frozen animals

55
Q

Contrast of countries at either end of the development continuum, rural and urban areas, coastal and inland areas (impacts of and reaction to – 2 contrasting climatic hazards)

What is compared?

A

South-east Asian Smog (LEDC) – Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China and Hurricane Katrina (August 2005) New Orleans USA

56
Q

What are the causes of South-east Asian Smog (LEDC) – Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China?

A

South-east Asian Smog (LEDC) – Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China

  • weak and corrupt local government – difficult to enforce anti-burning laws
  • slash and burn farming (pulp, paper and palm oil plantation)
  • plantation burning
  • cigarette smoking (3 packs of cigarettes a day)
  • peat burning (up to 3m deep) – can take up to 10 years to burn fully
  • lack of alternative fuels
  • inadequate fire-fighting resources
  • forest fires
  • el Niño effect = drought (dried forests)
  • high pressure = inversion layer trapping smog

late arrival of monsoon – no rain to clear air or extinguish fires

57
Q

What are the causes of Hurricane Katrina (August 2005) New Orleans USA

A

Hurricane Katrina (August 2005) New Orleans USA

  • 5m storm surges
  • 195km/h winds
  • 49% of city below sea level

Little maintenance work on protection levees (complacency)

58
Q

What are the impacts of the South-east Asian Smog (LEDC) – Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China

A
  • Visibility < 1m
  • 1997 – 60,000 Malaysians and Indonesians treated for smog-related illnesses
  • Sarawak – school closures
  • Strains on social services – hospitals overburdened with diarrhoea, conjunctivitis and throat-infection patients
  • Indonesian airliner crashed in Sumatra (234 deaths). Led to domestic flights being cancelled
  • Shipping reduced – those without radar advised not to sail into the Strait of Malacca
  • Decline in crop yields – forced to import staple crops
  • Starvation
  • Young and elderly affected by sulphur – airways obstructed and lungs destroyed
  • Decline in tourism
  • Lack of clean water – cholera (indigenous people most affected)
  • Loss of biodiversity – seeds unable to germinate in burning soil (burns for up to 20 years & food chain effects – tigers, orang-utans and elephants)
  • Contribution to global warming and reduced CO2 absorbing vegetation
59
Q

What are the reactions to the South-east Asian Smog (LEDC) – Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China

A
  • Extinguish fires (cloud seeding, water bombers from USA and fire fighters from Australia)
  • Stop fires from being lit – companies found guilty of starting fires have their operation licenses revoked or prosecute those responsible
  • Develop industries other than timber and tree crops (palm oil particularly)
  • International cooperation – in 2000 ASEAN adopted a zero burning policy to solve the problem
  • Encouraging consumers to support brands with internationally recognised symbols of responsible sourcing (e.g. Forest Stewardship Council certification)

Assisted Natural Regeneration programme (United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation) – reduce cost and labour associated with tree planting (afforestation and reforestation)

60
Q

What are the impacts caused by Hurricane Katrina (August 2005) New Orleans US

A
  • $105bn sought by the Bush Administration for repairs and reconstruction (total impact exceeded $150bn)
  • Interruption of oil supply (destroyed 30 oil platforms and closed 9 refineries)
  • 1.3 million acres of forest lands destroyed
  • Destruction of the Gulf Coast’s highway infrastructure
  • 3m lost power and phones
  • Loss of commercial forest (5300km2)
  • Insurance companies stopped insuring home owners in the area due to high costs, or raised the price of insurance premiums to cover the risk
  • Almost 2000 deaths and 700 missing
  • Looting
  • 90% of population evacuated, 1m reluctant to return (mass migration) home = impacts on evacuation areas
  • Category 3 levees built in Louisiana à collapsed (hurricane was level 5) = thousands of deaths
  • Racial tensions – Kanye West claimed there was a racial reason for the slow response (as most of the stranded people were African American)
  • Water and mosquito-borne disease (West Nile Fever)
  • Dauphin Island erosion - breeding grounds for marine mammals, brown pelicans and turtles. 20% of coastal marshes destroyed
  • Closure of 16 National Wildlife Refuges
  • Oil spills (south-eastern Louisiana) – 26m litres (30 oil platforms

Water pollution – sewage, chemical waste etc

61
Q

What were the reactions to the Hurricane Katrina (August 2005) New Orleans USA

A
  • Prediction: adding more weather buoys in the Gulf of Mexico
  • Risk assessment: computer models to give an assessment of risks
  • Prevention: flood protection levees
  • Planning: local and state plans (declaration of state of emergency), 60 emergency shelters, practice drills
  • Preparation: 60,000 National Guard troops mobilised & Coast Guard
  • Warnings: constant media warnings
  • Rescue 35,000 people
  • FEMA – 28 search and rescue teams, supplied 85m litres of water, 50m meals
  • Red Cross – meals and shelter
  • Salvation Army: emotional and spiritual aid
  • Recovery: 100m3 of debris removed, 2400km of channels cleared, 1 million housed out of the area
  • US Army Corps reinforced and raised levees
  • FEMA – investment to rebuild public infrastructure
62
Q

How impacts can vary over short (immediate) and long time periods (2 contrasting climatic hazards) – related to economic and technological development and population density

What two climatic hazards were compared?

A

Cyclone Nargis (Myanmar – one of poorest countries in Asia)– more vulnerable due to their levels of preparedness (see table above for impacts) and USA tornadoes and hurricanes – better wealth and technical ability (see table above for impacts)

63
Q

Describe the effect of the Cyclone Nargis (Myanmar – one of poorest countries in Asia)– more vulnerable due to their levels of preparedness

(How impacts can vary over short (immediate) and long time periods (2 contrasting climatic hazards) – related to economic and technological development and population density​)

A
  • 140,000 deaths and either destroyed or damaged 800,000 homes (greater human cost)
  • Poor farmers experienced dramatically reduced yield (crops and livestock) and lacked resources without emergency relief aid
  • High population density (Irrawaddy Delta)
  • Buildings are not built securely meaning there are fewer sufficient shelters – many homes are built with tin sheets which are a major hazard
  • Lack of warning systems due to the lack of development (no integrated warning system)
  • Rely on NGO’s support (e.g. ESCAP Trust Fund for Tsunami, Disaster and Climate Preparedness
  • Poor forecasting systems – no national network of Doppler radar stations or effective training (lack of coastal radar to estimate the height of storm surges)
  • Warnings cannot be issued via the media as few people have access due to poverty (failure of government to provide warning until 24 hours after the storm made landfall.
  • Poor rural population are unaware and unprepared.
  • Bay of Bengal funnels weather systems which results in intense storms
  • Interconnected climatic processes increase hazards – e.g. monsoon rains, tropical cyclones and tornadoes.

Poorly maintained levees along the coast

64
Q

Describe the effect of USA tornadoes and hurricanes – better wealth and technical ability (see table above for impacts)– more vulnerable due to their levels of preparedness

(How impacts can vary over short (immediate) and long time periods (2 contrasting climatic hazards) – related to economic and technological development and population density​)

A
  • Hurricane Katrina: $90bn costs
  • Death toll: 1400
  • Effective mitigation: reduced vulnerability of populations in the Gulf states à costly and confined to MEDCs
  • Highly advanced warning systems and procedures (of hurricane’s approach)
  • Identification of unstable atmospheric conditions with scientific information – heavy research into the genesis of tornadoes (understanding of system allows better prediction)
  • Doppler radar stations (detect air motion within a weather system)
  • The NOAA issue severe storm and tornado alerts (coordinates with the National Weather Service). The weather channel issue live radar reports for local areas and the development and movement of storms can be observed (television). Makes use of observations, quantitative forecast models, Doppler Radar and geostationary satellites. Offers training to meteorologists.
  • Education: take shelter (reinforced building), go to a basement/ small room at centre of a house/ interior hallway on lowest floor, lie flat and protect your head, stay away from windows, get out of cars.

Effective evacuation: cars, telecommunications, modern and efficient road network

65
Q

(How impacts can vary over short (immediate) and long time periods (2 contrasting climatic hazards) – related to economic and technological development and population density)

Describe the European drought 2003/ 2005​

A
  • Agriculture: crop failure - Ukraine and Moldova had 80% of their annual wheat harvest lost. EU production declined by 10% (=£13bn losses) (chickens, pigs and cows died) à limited exports
  • Transport: railway tracks buckled in the heat, London Underground unbearably hot, road surfaces melted (Essex). Danube – low rivers meant transport was inhibited
  • Tourism: London Eye closed for one day
  • Building subsidence as ground dried up and shrank
  • Energy: Widespread power outage (as energy was in extreme demand for cooling). 2 nuclear power plants closed in Germany
  • Loss of work days - £10m cost per day
  • Benefit for UK tourism (especially after the 9/11 terrorist attack and the foot & mouth disease epidemic of 2001). Expansion of 4%
  • 35,000 to 50,000 estimated deaths (elderly and young most vulnerable)
  • Bodies unclaimed for weeks – Paris mortuaries overfilled, so stored in refrigerated warehouses.
  • Health impacts – heat-stroke, dehydration, sunburn. Drowning after people tried to cool. Collapse of the French health sector. High pollen count (hayfever)
  • Air pollution (1/3 of UK deaths associated with air pollution)

Water supplies affected à hose pipe ban (reservoirs dried up 50% below capacity)

  • Alps = glacial Meltwater = flash flood (3m loss from Alpine glaciers)
  • Portugal – wildfires (4000km2 of forest and countryside which is 15 of the country). Wilted trees
  • High levels of pollution (900 deaths from high ozone levels)
  • Fires – rare birds severely affected on the Dorset heaths

Increased eutrophication – East Anglia

66
Q

(How impacts can vary over short (immediate) and long time periods (2 contrasting climatic hazards) – related to economic and technological development and population density)

Sub-Saharan African drought (Chad) – permanent and greater effects (fewer resources and economic entitlements to cope with hazards)

High pressure in Sahel region​

A
  • Heavy reliance on subsistence farming – animals die and crops fail (southern Niger- drought reduced grain harvest by a quarter = famine to 3 million)
  • Land degradation
  • Loss of water (water holes dried up)
  • Soil erosion (loss of resources) – exploited unsustainably (over-grazing by goats and bush felling = desertification)
  • Loss of sustainability in communities – abandonment of land and lifestyles from rural to urban migration
  • International relief aid reliance: thousands still died from starvation (Niger – food, aid, clean water and medical supplies). Long-term aid: tube wells to guarantee water supplies, irrigation schemes and education on sustainable methods of farming)
67
Q

How do impacts vary with location?

A
  • Coastal and inland
  • Ability to predict and forecast (level of technological development)
  • Population density and distribution (level of perception and education)
  • Urban/ rural
  • Level of communication (mobility and warning systems)
  • Highland and lowland
  • Level of development (building type, ability to warn and evacuate)
  • Remoteness
  • Type and size (power) of hazard/ mix of hazards (e.g. series of blocking anticyclones)
  • West/ east (depressions move west to east in the northern hemisphere) or north/ south (hurricanes diminish as they move north of the equator and cool)

Time of day, (night-time warnings are less effective)

Areal extent of the storm (wider area affected = greater potential damage)

Time of year (trees in leaf may intercept rain – not deciduous in winter)

Awareness of event (precautionary measures)

Duration (longer = greater risk of damage)

Strength of storm/ hazard

Recurrence interval and frequency of event

68
Q

The extent to which climatic hazards can be predicted (GIS – tracking and forecasting, statistical analysis (plotting changes in weather observations over time)

Describe the methods of prediction for a Hurricane/ cyclone/typhoon, with examples.

Difficult – erratic path and establishment is not fully understood

A

Katrina – National Hurricane Centre accurately plotted the hurricane’s track and expected landfall

More weather buoys are being added in the Gulf of Mexico,

  • USA National Hurricane Centre (Miami) detects potential juvenile hurricanes and tracks their movement and development
  • Satellites: detect hurricanes in early stages of development and provide early warning of imminent hurricanes (info about location and movement and vertical structure and composition of the atmosphere)
  • Doppler radar system – senses movement within weather systems (detects rotation) à reduced fatalities by 50%
  • Visible and infrared imaging
  • Reinforced aircraft fly through and over hurricanes fitted with instruments
  • Weather radar can detect storms within 200 miles of the radar station

No known atmospheric conditions that automatically lead to their formation

69
Q

The extent to which climatic hazards can be predicted (GIS – tracking and forecasting, statistical analysis (plotting changes in weather observations over time)

Describe the methods of prediction for a Tornado, with examples.

Difficult – erratic path and establishment is not fully understood

A
  • Identification of unstable atmospheric conditions with scientific information – heavy research into the genesis of tornadoes (understanding of system allows better prediction)
  • Forecasting
  • Understanding of their formation (where cold air from Canada converges with warm air from the Gulf of Mexico), time of day and peak season
  • Follow certain routes (tornado alley in Kansas)
  • Tornado watches at the start of the day
  • Hazard mapping
  • Pressure monitoring
  • Satellites
  • Weather balloons
70
Q

The extent to which climatic hazards can be predicted (GIS – tracking and forecasting, statistical analysis (plotting changes in weather observations over time)

Describe the methods of prediction for an Anticyclone.

A
  • Forecasting
  • Satellites
  • Weather balloons
  • Pressure monitoring
  • Neighbourhood watches of weather
71
Q

The extent to which climatic hazards can be predicted (GIS – tracking and forecasting, statistical analysis (plotting changes in weather observations over time)

Describe the methods of prediction for a depression, with examples.

A

23% of properties did not receive a flood warning in time

2007 depression – heavy rains predicted by the MET office

  • National Flood Forecasting System
  • Forecasting
  • Satellites
  • Weather balloons
  • Pressure monitoring

Neighbourhood watches of weather

72
Q

Describe some mitigation methods for a Hurricane/ cyclone/typhoon.

A
  • Rescue services (professional rescue personnel)
  • Emergency aid
  • Sea defences to resist storm surges (Ivan)
  • Afforestation programme – conservation of vegetation belts (mangroves) along coasts (Bangladesh following the 1991 cyclone). Complete cover of coastal forest (Dover Beach, Barbados) – reduces strength of wind and dissipates the force and height of storm surges
  • Hurricane shelters (withstand hazards)
  • Planning of human settlement (avoid risk areas)

Hurricane seeding (sea spray) to suppress precipitation and reduce temperatures à reduce energy

73
Q

Give some mitigation methods for examples of a Hurricane/ cyclone/typhoon.

A
  • Katrina – 58,000 National Guard personnel (from all 50 states). Typhoon Haiyan – only 70 workers were employed in the city after the disaster = slow response (hunger and thirst)
  • Katrina - FEMA supplied refrigerated trucks for the mortuary team. Kuwait made a $500m pledge, India sent tarps, blankets and hygiene kits. NGOs – American Red Cross
74
Q

Give some mitigation methods for a tornado.

A
  • Long-term grants for buildings
  • Tornado warnings
  • Education and advice to people in prone areas (take shelter (reinforced building), go to a basement/ small room at centre of a house/, lie flat and protect your head)
  • Houses built with safe rooms
  • State aid (Indiana tornado 2005 - $2.4m made available) à housing
  • Rescue services (Indiana – on site very quickly)
75
Q

Give some examples of mitigation methods for a tornado.

A
  • Siren went off 10 minutes before the Indiana Nov 2005 tornado
  • The NOAA issue severe storm and tornado alerts (coordinates with the National Weather Service). The weather channel issue live radar reports for local areas and the development and movement of storms can be observed (television). Makes use of observations, quantitative forecast models, Doppler Radar and geostationary satellites. Offers training to meteorologists.
76
Q

Give some mitigation methods for an antiocyclone.

A
  • Education
  • Water and food storage (desalinisation, pumping from aquifers, trapping behind dams and banks, extraction from rivers and lakes). Water harvesting – irrigation of individual plants, cover expanses of water, storage underground in reservoirs)
  • Transport infrastructure
  • Early warning systems: temperature and humidity levels determine the threshold for heat wave alerts
  • Forecasts and heat alerts sent as bulk messages on mobile phones (media and electronic screens at traffic intersections and market places)

Heat treatment wings planned in hospitals (training programme for health care professionals)

77
Q

Give some examples of mitigation methods for anticyclones.

A

Odisha State Disaster Management Authority

78
Q

Give some examples of mitigation methods for a depression.

A
  • Emergency planning (police and military rescue teams – fire and rescue service, Environment Agency, etc) to respond to impacts
  • Move possessions upstairs
  • Manage coastal defences
  • Temporary accommodation
  • Ban non-essential travel
  • Reduce water losses – cover aquifers/aqueducts etc
  • Increase cost of water
  • Ration water
  • Reduce water use (e.g. dryland farming, drought-resistant animals and crops, etc)
  • Better technology (e.g. irrigation of individual plants)
  • Low-level technology (e.g. walls of stones to slow runoff)
  • The use of meters in people’s homes
  • Repairing leaking pipes

New technology such as desalinisation

79
Q

Give some examples of mitigation methods for a depression.

A
  • 2007
  • UK: Environment Agency, local authorities, internal drainage boards, businesses and individuals
  • 2003 N. American blizzards
  • Sub-Saharan African drought (Sahel region) - Chad
80
Q

Sum up the mitigation methods for climatic hazards.

A

Prediction – weather balloons, hazard mapping, satellites, pressure monitoring

Risk assessment – calculate size and extent of risk, inform population, adapt building design and location of vital buildings/ facilities (power stations)

Prevention – seed depressions/ hurricanes, afforest slopes, raise and strengthen levees, build reservoirs, modify channels, move vulnerable population and livestock, establish exclusion zones, remove dangerous objects (signs)

Planning – individual (store water), local authority (emergency centres or shelters), state or central (mobilisation of rescue services), building controls, divert rivers, stabilise slopes, water saving (hosepipe ban), rationing, laws to force evacuation

Preparation – education (emergency drills), contingency plans (evacuation routes signposted), training of emergency staff

Warnings (level of threat) – use of media, communications, planning evacuations

Responses – search and rescue, emergency aid, insurance, international aid for rescue and relocation

Recovery – clearance of debris, state aid for reconstruction, tax relief

Redevelopment – long term plans

Climatic Hazards (3 decks)

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