Hazards Flashcards
What is a natural hazard?
It is a natural event that can have a negative effect on people, economy and the environment.
What are the 4 types of hazard?
Geological, Climatic, Biological and Technological.
What are some Geological hazards?
Volcanic Eruptions, Earthquakes and Landslides.
What are some Climatic hazards?
Drought, Floods and Fires.
What are some Biological hazards?
Diseases and Pests.
What are some Technological hazards?
Pollution, Nuclear explosion and Transport accident.
Why are some locations more hazardous than others?
Some places experience more than one type of natural hazard.
Some places may experience natural hazards more frequently than others.
In some places, the hazards are stronger and more destructive than others.
Some places are better able to cope with the damaging impacts of natural hazards.
What is hazard vulnerability?
The capacity of a country to predict, resist and recover from the impact of a natural or man-made hazard.
What are the effects of Volcanic Eruptions?
There can be lava flows, which tend not to cause many fatalities, although they can destroy land. There are also large amounts of ash that can smother everything. The are also Gas emissions which are poisonous and can be very hot, travelling quickly. They are the most dangerous part of an eruption.
What are the effects of Earthquakes?
Generally, Earthquakes only have large effects when they are very large or if buildings are not built well. Fatalities normally occur from falling buildings. Earthquakes under the sea can also create tsunami waves that can drown many people and have serious impacts. Tsunamis can also be caused by volcanic eruptions.
How are Volcanic Eruptions and Earthquakes measured?
Earthquakes are measured using the Richter Scale which is logarithmic, goes from 1 to 8 and measures the energy produced in the Earthquake. Other methods include the Mercalli scale, based on the damage done, and the Moment Magnitude scale that is similar to the Richter ?Scale but goes up to 12. VEI is used for Volcanic eruptions, and it is very similar to the Richter scale.
What economic reasons are there to live near volcanoes?
Volcanoes and the features near them often attract many tourists.
Geothermal energy can be produced through the volcano.
The soils around volcanoes are fertile
What other reasons are there to live near volcanoes and earthquakes?
They may not want to leave due to culture and economic circumstances.
They might also think that the risk is negligible.
Housing is also cheaper.
How can Earthquakes and Volcanic eruptions be predicted?
Earthquakes are near impossible to predict. However, volcanic eruptions have multiple tell tale signs, including mini earthquakes, temperature rising and gas being emitted from the peak.
How are buildings made earthquake resistant?
They often have their building’s foundations below the soft rock to make them more stable. They also often have automatic shutters to stop blizzards of broken glass flying. They also have outdoor areas where people can gather.
