Environmental Hazards

Question 1

What are natural hazards

Answer 1

atmospheric
hydrological
geomorphic
processes and events in our environment that have the potential to affect people adversely

Question 2

What is a disaster

Answer 2

A sudden catastrophic event that causes serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread social, economic and environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected community to cope using its resources

Question 3

how is a disaster entered into the database of the UN’s International strategy for disaster reduction.

Answer 3

a report of 10 or more people killed
a report of 100 people affected
a declaration of a state of emergency by the relevant government
a request by the national government for international assistance

Question 4

What are some characteristics of hazards

Answer 4

a physical event such as a volcanic eruption that does not affect human beings is a natural phenomenon but not a natural hazard

a natural phenomenon that occurs in a populated area is a hazardous event

a hazardous event that causes unacceptable large numbers of fatalities and /or overwhelming property damage is a natural disaster

Question 5

Spatial distribution

Answer 5

the arrangement of geographical phenomena or activities across the earths surface

Question 6

Temporal distribution

Answer 6

the distribution of geographical phenomena over time

Question 7

Magnitude

Answer 7

the strength of a hazard, or how large and important a natural hazard event is. Most hazards are measured on a scale

Question 8

duration

Answer 8

actual length of time that the hazard event occurs

Question 9

frequency

Answer 9

refers to how often a hazard event occurs in a particular area/country

Question 10

probability

Answer 10

chance of an event or action occurring

Question 11

proximity

Answer 11

closeness or distance from the source or origin of the hazard

Question 12

mitigation

Answer 12

implementation of the strategies to eliminate or minimise the severity of a hazard or similarly adverse occurrence

Question 13

scale of spatial impact also known as

Answer 13

the extent of the impact

Question 14

geomorphic hazard

Answer 14

created by the movement of the Earth’s surface or crust
particularly driven by tectonic plates

Question 15

atmospheric hazards

Answer 15

are those hazards that are created from atmospheric and/or weather processes.

Question 16

hydrological hazards

Answer 16

hydrological hazards are driven by the hydrological processes in the water cycle.

Question 17

volcano

Answer 17

vent on the earths surface that allows magma to escape from the interior, causing an eruption of lava and gas into the atmosphere and surrounding environment

Question 18

hot spots

Answer 18

these are hot areas inside the Earth where magma plumes continually rise to form a volcano

Question 19

what are the names of 3 different types of volcanos

Answer 19

sheild volcano
composite volcano
caldera volcano

Question 20

Difference between the 3 volcanos

Answer 20

shield volcano- the magma is very hot and runny, eurptions are gentle and often

composite volcano- the magma is cooler and sticky, with explosive eruptions

caldera volcano- no build up of materials, vent unsupported and collapses

Question 21

How is magnitude of volcanic eruptions measured

Answer 21

using a volcanic explosively index (VEI)

Question 22

earthquakes

Answer 22

seismic waves of energy radiating from faults in all directions, resulting in violet shaking of the Earth’s oceanic and continental crust

Question 23

landslides

Answer 23

is the movement of mass rock, soils and debris down a slope under the influence of gravity

Question 24

what are tropical cyclones also known as

Answer 24

tropical cyclones also known as hurricanes or typhoons depending on the location of the event.

Question 25

describe how cyclones form

Answer 25

caused by a tropical disturbance, which enables the wind to evaporate water from the ocean, and the warm air to rise, causing an intense low-pressure system to build.

surrounding air that exerts a higher pressure then fills the space, the low-pressure system continues to build and spin driven by the heat energy from the ocean

Question 26

most frequent natural hazard

Answer 26

floods

Question 27

What are floods

Answer 27

floods are defined as the invasion of water in a normally dry area of land. this can be caused by the overflow of inland or tidal water or runoff of surface waters generally due to heavy rainfall

Question 28

factors that contribute to floods

Answer 28

intensity and duration of rainfall over the catchment area

capacity of catchment

weather conditions prior to rainfall event

ground cover

urbanisation

soil type

topography

tidal influences