Hazards:Natural Hazards Flashcards
what is a nature event?
a natural process that occurs such as landslides, volcanoes tornadoes etc.
what is a natural hazard?
a natural event that occurs which affects people through loss of life ,injury, economic damage, disruption to lives and environmental degradation
what is a natural disaster?
an extreme natural event that causes great damage ,disruption, death or injuries
what is the difference between geophysical, atmospheric and hydrological hazards?
geophysical-driven by earths own internal sources
atmospheric-driven by processes in the environment
hydrological- driven by water bodies(mainly oceans)
define risk
exposure to hazardous events
define vulnerability
potential for loss (high risk doesn’t always equal high vulnerability)
draw the Park Model
what are factors that increase the risk of hazards?
-building shanty towns on unstable slopes
-urbanising volcanic zones
-living in areas with active faults
-living on coasts susceptible to hurricanes or tsunamis
-climate change
-urbanisation
-level of development
time of occurrence
what are the 3 things that play a role in turning a hazard into a disaster?
- risk
- vulnerability
- resilience(withstanding the hazard event)
what is the hazard-risk equation?
risk=hazard x vulnerability/capacity to cope
3 main perceptions of hazards
-fatalism
-adaptation
-fear
fatalism?
a view of a hazard which suggests people cannot influence or shape the outcome so nothing can be done to mitigate against it.
fear
where people feel so vulnerable they flee to safer regions
adaptation
suggest hazards are predictable and we can prepare for them
what are the 5 stages of the park response model (PRM)?
- pre-disaster (quality of life at normal level)
- disruption(hazard occurs quality of life at normal level)
- relief(aftermath, search and rescue begins quality of life low)
- rehabilitation(resolving long term problems)
- reconstruction(property and infrastructure re-built quality of life returns to normal and may increase)
pros of the PRM
-useful to compare different events
-helps to visually check the impact and extent of the responses to a hazard
-shows how QoL is impacted
cons of the PRM
-really general
-doesn’t how how different areas can be affected
-doesn’t show mitigation strategies beforehand
factors that influence perception.
socio-economic status
- past experience
- wealth
- level of education
- religion/culture
- personality
- family or marital status
what are the 4 stages of the hazard management cycle(HMC)?
- mitigation (before & after)
- preparedness (planning how to respond e.g. education)
- response(action taken when disaster occurs e.g. evacuation)
- recovery(long term responses e.g. rebuilding )
cons of the HMC
doesn’t take quality of life into account–>cant determine whether country is rich or poor.
define distribution
the spatial coverage of a natural hazard
define frequency
the distribution of hazards over time
define magnitude
the size of the impact
