hazards Flashcards
hazard
- is the potential source of harm to a person, community, property or infrastructure
disaster
- is a catastrophic event that causes serious disruption to a community’s function
a disaster is an event that has:
- killed 10 or more people
- affected at least 100 people
- an appeal for national government or international assistance may occur
classification of hazards
natural and ecological
natural hazards
- due to the earth’s natural processes within our environment
- geomorphic hazard
- atmospheric hazard
- hydrological hazard
human hazard
- anthropogenic hazards are associated with human activity
- oil spills
- technological hazards
ecological hazard
- a biological or chemical hazard that has the potential to impact the well being of people or the environment
- infectious diseases HIV/AIDS
- animal transmitted diseases RABIES
- waterborne diseases CHOLERA
- plant invasion BLACKBERRIES
- animal invasion RABBITS
to evaluate a hazard event we examine these key points:
- magnitude
- duration
- frequency
- probability
- scale of spatial impact
magnitude
is the measurement of the strength or intensity of the hazard (size of the hazard event)
duration
the time a person or community is exposed to the hazard
frequency
number of times an area experiences a hazard
probability
the likelihood that a hazard event will occur in a particular location within a given time scale
scale
the extent of the hazard
- impact of human settlement
- proximity to human settlement
- cultural and natural factors
vulnerability
assesses the level of risk and refers to the way a hazards event will affect human life and property
hazard management
- pre disaster planning (mitigation, prevention, preparedness, prediction)
- during the disaster (response)
- post disaster (recovery, relief, rescue, rehabilitation)
sustainability
meeting the needs of current and future generations through simultaneous environment, social and economic adaptions and inprovements
earthquakes
are seismic waves of energy that radiate from the faults in all directions which involve the violent shaking of the Earth’s oceanic and continental crust
tsunami
are series of waves usually triggered by an earthquake or volcanic eruption, that produces rapid displacement of a body of water
volcanoes
is a vent in the earths surface that allows magma to escape from the interior, causing an eruption of lava and gas into the atmosphere and surrounding environment
types of volcanoes
- shield (magma is hot and runny, eruptions are gentle)
- composite/strato (magma is cooler and sticky, explosive eruption)
- caldera (vent is unsupported and collapses)
epidemic
sudden increase in the no. of cases of a disease above what would be normally be expected in an area
pandemic
when an epidemic spreads over different areas for example several countries or continents
temporal distribution
the distribution of geographical phenomena over time
- geomorphic hazard
- 2011 Tohoku Japan earthquake mag.9
- 1999 The Vargas Tragedy landslide