GEOGRAPHY UNIT 1A challenge of natural hazards Flashcards
What are not counted as natural hazards?
extreme events which do not pose any threat to human activity eg. a drought in an uninhabited part of a desert
What are the 2 types of natural hazard?
- geological hazards caused by land and tectonic processes
- meteorological hazards caused by weather and climate
What are the factors that affect natural hazard risk?
- vulnerability
- capacity to cope
- nature of natural hazards
How does vulnerability affect natural hazard risk?
the more people that are in an area exposed to natural hazards, the greater the probability they will be affected by the natural hazard
How does capacity to cope affect natural hazard risk?
- better a population can cope with an extreme event, the lower the risk of them being severely affected
- e.g. HICs are better able to cope with flooding as they can afford to build flood defences
How does nature of natural hazards affect natural hazard risk?
- type, risk from some hazards is greater than others e.g tropical storms can be predicted and monitored, volcanoes not
- frequency, natural hazards that occur more often are more likely to carry a higher risk
- magnitude, more severe natural hazards tend to have the greatest effects
What are the primary effects of natural disasters?
the immediate impacts caused by the hazard itself
What are some examples of primary effects?
- buildings and roads destroyed
- people injured or killed
- crops or water supplies contaminated or damaged
- electricity cables, gas pipes and communication networks can be damaged, cutting off supplies
What are the secondary effects of natural disasters?
happen later on as a result of the primary effects
What are some examples of secondary effects?
- initial hazard can trigger other hazards
- aid and emergency vehicles can’t get through because of blocked roads
- shortage of clean water can spread disease
- food shortages can occur if crops are damaged
- country’s economy can be weakened
What are some examples of immediate responses?
- evacuate people
- treat the injured and rescue
- recover dead bodies
- provide temporary electricity and gas
- provide food, drink and shelter
- foreign governments or charities may send supplies or aid
What are some examples of long-term responses?
- repair homes and rehouse people
- rebuild buildings or roads
- reconnect broken electricity, water and communication connections
- improve forecasting, monitoring and evacuation plans
- improve building regulations so that buildings can withstand similar hazards in the future
- boost economic recovery
What are tectonic plates?
earth’s crust is divided into slabs called tectonic plates that float on the mantle
Difference between oceanic and continental plates?
oceanic:
- thinner
- more dense
continental:
- thicker
- less dense
Why are tectonic plates moving?
convection currents
What happens when an oceanic plate meets a continental plate?
- denser oceanic plate is subducted and destroyed creating gas-rich magma
- volcanoes and ocean trenches are formed
What happens when 2 continental plates meet?
ground is folded upwards creating fold mountains
What happens at a constructive plate margin?
- two plates are moving away from each other
- magma rises to fill the gap and cools, creating new crust
What happens at a conservative plate margin?
- when two plates are moving in the same direction along each other at different speeds
- or when two plates are moving sideways past each other
- crust isn’t created or destroyed
How is a volcano formed at a destructive plate margin?
- denser oceanic plate moves down into mantle where it melts
- a pool of magma forms which rises through cracks in the crust called vents
- magma erupts forming volcano
How is a volcano formed at a constructive plate margin?
magma rises up into gap created by plates moving apart which forms volcano
How are some other volcanoes formed?
parts of the magma that are really hot called hotspots
What happens when a volcano erupts?
- emits lava and gases
- some emit lots of ash which can cover land, block out sun and form pyroclastic flows
What are pyroclastic flows?
super-heated currents of gas, ash and rock
How does an earthquake happen at a destructive margin?
- tension builds builds when one plate gets stuck as it moves past the other
- plates eventually jerk past each other sending out shock waves, these vibrations are the earthquake
How does an earthquake happen at a constructive margin?
- tension builds along cracks in the plates as they move away from one another
- plates eventually jerk past each other sending out shock waves, these vibrations are the earthquake
How does an earthquake happen at a conservative margin?
- tension builds up when plates that are grinding past each other get stuck
- plates eventually jerk past each other sending out shock waves, these vibrations are the earthquake
How are earthquake’s vibrations spread?
- shock waves spread out from focus, the point in the Earth where earthquake starts, these waves are stronger near focus and cause more damage
- epicentre is point on Earth’s surface above the focus
What is the moment magnitude scale a measure of?
the amount of energy that’s released by an earthquake
How do different magnitudes affect results of an earthquake?
- magnitude of 6 or below only cause slight damage to buildings, although can be worse in built up areas
- 7 or above can cause major damage and deaths
Where did the Chile earthquake take place?
off the coast of central Chile
What date was the Chile earthquake?
27th February 2010
What caused the Chile earthquake?
the oceanic Nazca plate subducted underneath the continental South American plate
What was the magnitude of the Chile earthquake?
8.8
What were some of the primary effects of the Chile earthquake?
- 500 died
- 12,000 injured
- loss of power, communications + water
- cost $30 billion
What were some the secondary effects of the Chile earthquake?
- tsunami which reached other countries, evacuation order reduced the loss of life
- fire at chemical plant, nobody killed
- roads blocked by landslides
What were some of the immediate responses to the Chile earthquake?
- temporary repair to route 5 N to S highway so emergency services could access those in need
- rescue work began immediately
What were some of the long-term responses to the Chile earthquake?
- strong economy could rebuild with little foreign aid
- power and water to 90% in 10 days
Where did the Nepal earthquake take place?
Gorkha, Nepal
What date was the Nepal earthquake?
25th April 2015
What caused the Nepal earthquake?
Indo-Australian plate subducted beneath the Eurasian plate
What was the magnitude of the Nepal earthquake?
7.8
What were some of the primary effects of the Nepal earthquake?
- 9000 died
- 22,000 injured
- water tanks and pipes destroyed, 2 million without access to clean water and sanitation
- cost $5 billion
What were some of the secondary effects of the Nepal earthquake?
- avalanches in Everest which killed 18 people
- lack of clean water caused outbreaks of typhus killed at least 13
- roads blocked by landslides
What were some of the immediate responses to the Nepal earthquake?
- people had to recover dead and treat injured but damaged roads made it harder for emergency workers and aid to get there
- India and China tried to help rescue those trapped by debris, lack of tools and machinery slowed down rescue efforts
What were some of the long-term responses to the Nepal earthquake?
- World Bank Group financed $500 million worth of projects to build new housing and repair roads and irrigation systems, some projects still ongoing
- -water supply still being restored but 2 years after many still didn’t have access to clean water
What is the GDP per capita of Chile?
over $27,000
What is the GDP per capita of Nepal?
$700
Why do some people not have a choice living in areas at risk of tectonic hazards?
- some people may not know the risks
- may not be able to afford to move
What are some reasons people choose to live in areas at risk of tectonic hazards?
- they’ve always lived there, moving means leaving jobs or families
- wealthier countries, effective monitoring and evacuation plans can minimise risks
- confident that their government will support them after an earthquake or volcanic eruption
- minerals from volcanic ash make volcanic soil very fertile
- volcanoes are tourist attractions so people live nearby to work in tourist industry
How are earthquakes monitored?
seismometers and lasers monitor earth movements, can be used in early warning systems to give a small warning before large earthquake occurs
How are volcanoes monitored?
scientists can measure tell-tale signs such as tiny earthquakes, escaping gas, or changes in the shape of the volcano
How can earthquakes be predicted?
cannot be reliably predicted but can forecast where they may occur by monitoring movement of tectonic plates
How can volcanic eruptions be predicted?
can be predicted if they are monitored closely
How can we be protected from earthquakes?
- new buildings can have reinforced concrete to absorb the earthquake’s energy
- existing buildings can be reinforced with steel frames can avoid collapse
- automatic shut-off switches can turn off gas and electricity supplies to prevent fires
How can we be protected from volcanoes?
- buildings can be strengthened so that they don’t collapse under the weight of ash
- trenches and barriers have been used to try and divert lava, not very successful
How can we plan for volcanoes and earthquakes?
- future developments should avoid high-risk areas
- emergency servers can prepare what to do
- people can be educated in the event of a hazard
- government can set up evacuation routes
- supplies such as food and water can be stockpiled in the event of a shortage