Hazards Concepts Flashcards
What is a geophysical hazard?
Hazard caused by land processes, majorly tectonic plates (eg. volcanoes)
What is an atmospheric hazard?
Hazards caused by atmospheric processes and the conditions creates because of these such as weather systems (eg. wildfires)
What is a hydrological hazard?
Hazards caused by water bodies and movement (eg. floods)
What is the incidence?
Frequency of a hazard
Hat is the intensity?
The power of a hazard/how strong is it
What is the magnitude?
The size of the hazard, usually this is how a hazards intensity is measured
What is distribution?
Where the hazard occurs
What is meant by level of development?
Economic development will affect how a place can respond to a hazard, so a hazard of the same magnitude may have very different effects in two places of contrasting levels of development
What is meant by perception?
People have different viewpoints of how dangerous hazards are and what risk they pose. Thee perceptions are dependent on lifestyle factors such as economic and cultural factors. For example a person who is wealthy is perhaps less likely to view a hazard as dangerous as they may have the money to respond to it
What is fatalism?
The viewpoint that hazards are uncontrollable natural events, and any losses should be accepted as there is nothing that can be done to stop them
What is prediction?
Using scientific research and past events in order to know when a hazard will take place, so that warnings may be delivered and impacts of the hazard can be reduced. In some cases, hazards may also be prevented when predicted early enough (eg. predicting wildfires from climate change red flags)
What is adaptation?
Attempting to live with hazards by adjusting lifestyle choices so that vulnerability to the hazard is lessened (eg. earthquake proof houses)
What is meant by management?
Coordinated strategies to reduce a hazards effects, this includes prediction, adaptation, mitigation
What is mitigation?
Strategies carried out to lessen the severity of a hazard (eg. sandbags to offset impact of flooding)
What is risk sharing?
A form of community preparedness, whereby the community shares the risk posed by a natural hazard and invest collectively to mitigate the impacts of futures hazards
What is the park model?
Graphical representation of steps carried out in hazard recovery, rough indication of q time frame, can be used in comparing hazardous events, the steepness of the curve shows how quickly an area deteriorates and recovers, the depth of the curve shows the scale of the disaster
Explain Stage 1 of the Park Model?
Relief (hours/days), immediate local response - medical aid, search and rescue, immediate appeal for foreign aire - the beginning of global response
Explain Stage 2 of the Park Model?
Rehabilitation (days/weeks), services begin to be restored, temporary shelters and hospitals set up, food and water contributed, coordinated foreign aid - peacekeeping forces
Explain Stage 3 of the Park Model?
Reconstruction (weeks/years), resting the area to the same or better quality of life, areas back to normal - ecosystem restored, crops regrown, infrastructure rebuilt, mitigation efforts for future events
What is the hazard management cycle?
Outlines the stages of responding to events, showing how the Sam stages take place after every hazard
What are the 4 stages of the hazard management cycle?
Preparedness, response, recovery, mitigation
What does preparedness mean?
Being ready for an event to occur (public awareness, education, training)
What does response mean?
Immediate action taken after event (evacuation, medical assistance, rescue)
What does recovery mean?
Long-term responses (restoring services, reconstruction)
What does mitigation mean?
Strategies to less effects of another hazard (barriers, warning signals developed, observatories)
What is Degg’s model?
This model shows that a hazard only becomes a disaster if it affects a vulnerable population
