Hazard vulnerability and trends Flashcards
What makes a place vulnerable to a tectonic hazard?
- communications
- location - how far away it is from fault lines, landlocked or coastal
- Type of plate margin
- economy e.g. LIDCs
- Population density
What is a hazard and a disaster
Hazard - A perceived natural even that has the potential to threaten both life and property.
Disaster - The reality of a hazard happening; when it causes significant impact on a vulnerable population
What is the Deggs model
We end up with a disaster if we have a hazardous geophysical event and a vunerable population
What are the factors affecting complex relationship of risk, hazards and people
. unpredictability - Many hazards are unpredictable and people can be caught out by timing or magnitude
. Lack of alternatives - people stay in hazardous areas for a multitude of reasons
. Dynamic hazards - the threat from hazards fluctuates and humans can play a role
. cost benefit - the benefit from staying in a hazardous area may outweigh the risk
. Russian Roulette Reaction - the acceptance of the risk as something that will happen whatever you do.
what is the risk equation
Risk = Hazard x Exposure x
vulnerability/manageability
what is Risk, Exposure, vulnerability and manageability
Risk = likely impact a hazard can have
Exposure = Proximity to a hazard
vulnerability = How susceptible people are to loss due to where they live
manageability = How can it be managed? level of management
What stages does the pressure release model have?
- Root causes
- dynamic pressure
- unsafe conditions
Hazards
What are the factors in
root causes and dynamic pressures in the pressure model
- Root causes -
- Low access to resources
-political/ economic problems - Dynamic pressure
- lack of education
- Rapid population change and urbanisation
What are the factors in unsafe conditions and Hazards in the pressure model
- Unsafe conditions -
- poor construction standards
- unsafe infrastructure
- poverty
- lack of social safety net
Hazards - Storm surge, flooding, sea level rise, heat, drought, geological disturbance, biological pests and pathogens
What factors can be considered in vulnerability? Examples
- Physical (location) = plate margin, island/ landlocked, mountains/ flat environment
- Economic = Strong economy, infrastructure, roads ,transport, recovery plan, mitigation
- Social = education,
Awareness, preparation, health/age of population - knowledge = Government knowledge , scientific knowledge, planning drills
- Environmental (where people are living) = population density, Building regulations/Laws, squatter settlements, resource building
What factors effect the reliability of data
- primary or secondary hazards
- location of disaster
- priorities of the government
- Data availability in LIDCs
- time scale of hazards
How does
- secondary and primary hazards
- location of disaster and
- government priorities
affect reliability of data
. Primary and secondary impacts - Is the event reported as a single event or separate events. e.g. Japan earthquake and tsunami 2011
. Location of disaster - An earthquake is easy to predict whereas a tropical storm is harder to locate
. Government priorities - Do they invest in recording data? it can impact global data if one country doesn’t publish there data
How does
- Data availability in LIDCs
and
- timescale of disasters
effect the reliability of data
. Data availability in LIDCs - Do they have the availability to record, technology to record or the ability to identify the population e.g. Birth certificates
. Timescale of disasters - How long do you count the deaths afterward? Are missing people classes as dead? How long do we record the falling of buildings
What is a multiple hazard zone
A location where a number of physical hazards combine to create an increased level of risk for the country and its population ( sometimes called hotspots )
describe the global distribution of multiple hazard zones
there are many multiple hazard zones located in eastern asia around Japan and the Philippines who experience regular tropical storms and cyclones but are also vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis
however there are very little multiple hazard zones around Europe and Africa.
hazards are around the pacific ring of fire and plate boundary’s
what impact has logging had and what is one of the risks of replacing the areas destroyed
- in 50 years logging has reduced 50 million hectares to just 600,000.
- climate change
- extinction of species
replacing deforested areas with shallow routed trees like coconut trees is that they give less hold for the soil
what is the tectonic hazard profile
it compares the physical processes and helps decision makers to identify and rank the hazards that should be given the most attention and resources
what are the pros of the tectonic hazard profile
pros - useful for comparing the same hazard but in different locations e.g. Haiti and Japan earthquakes
- allows for specific management to be considered
- identifies the hazards which require the most resources and attention
- compares all physical processes that all hazards share
what does the tectonic hazard profiles measure
magnitude
speed of onset
duration
Areal extent
spatial predictability
frequency
how can governments use the hazard profiles
- land use zoning - keeping danger areas clear e.g. not re-building on the coast
- community preparedness and education
- use hazard resistant designs
- management strategies to deal with loss, insurance and aid deployment
What are the negatives of the hazard profile
- reliability when comparing with different events is limited
- difficult comparing across hazards
- perhaps for planning it is better to consider hazards as individual hazards
what would the country be like if it has a :
very high HD
high HD
medium HD
low HD
- very high HD - very modern + have loads of technology
- high HD - an advanced developed country
- medium HD - rapid development
- Low HD - Mainly rural
why might a low HD country have lower statistic such as deaths than a medium HD country
because a medium HD country is rapidly developing and meaning there more rural-urban migration. So there’s more slums and a higher population density meaning if buildings fall more people will be at risk
why are the statistics for earthquakes and tsunamis much higher than volcano eruptions in countries with very high HDs
they will have the technology to predict volcanoes and evacuate the people close to the hazard however it is really hard to predict tsunamis and earthquakes
How has the overall hazard trends since 1960 changed
- The total number of recorded hazards has increased
- Number of deaths in disasters is failing but there are spikes with mega-events
- Economic costs have increased significantly
- Total number of people affected is rising
- The number of tectonic hazards has remained stable. Hydrometeorological (those to do with air/water) have increased dramatically
