Hazards - The Concept Of A Hazard

Question 1

What is a natural hazard?

Answer 1

An naturally induced event that poses a threat to people and the built/natural environment

Question 2

What is a hazard?

Answer 2

A physical or human induced event that causes a potential threat to human life and the built/natural environment

Question 3

What is a disaster?

Answer 3

An event that causes large numbers of fatalities and/or damage to property

Question 4

What are the 3 types of physical risks facing the world?

Answer 4

Geophysical
Hydrological
Atmospheric

Question 5

What is a hydrological hazard? (Give examples)

Answer 5

Hazard caused by the movement of bodies of water
- floods
- droughts

Question 6

What are atmospheric hazards? (Give examples)

Answer 6

Hazards caused by atmospheric processes, and the conditions that they result in
- hurricanes
- tropical storms

Question 7

What are geophysical hazards?

Answer 7

Hazards caused by land processes
- earthquakes
- volcanoes

Question 8

Describe the Degg’s model

Answer 8

The overlap of a hazardous event and a vulnerable population is a disaster

Question 9

What are the different responses to hazard perception?

Answer 9

• mitigation
• adaptation
• fear
• fatalism
• prediction
• risk sharing
• management

Question 10

What is the fatalism response to hazard perception?

Answer 10

Seeing hazards as uncontrollable and accepting the consequences as it is

Question 11

What is the adaptation response to hazard perception? (Give an example)

Answer 11

Adjusting lifestyles to live with the hazards
- Japan - Menshin structure (the buildings are built on a platform made from concrete, rubber and other materials, which minimises the force on the building itself

Question 12

What is the fear response to hazard perception?

Answer 12

• people come to a point where they can no longer face living with the hazard
• they usually move to somewhere that they view as safe

Question 13

What is the mitigation response to hazard perception?

Answer 13

Strategies put in place to reduce the severity of the hazard

Question 14

What is the management response to hazard perception?

Answer 14

A combination of strategies to reduce the effects of the hazard

Question 15

What is the prediction response to hazard perception?

Answer 15

Using research and past events to figure out when future hazards will occur (early enough prediction can help to mitigate the hazard)

Question 16

What is the risk sharing response to hazard perception? (Give example)

Answer 16

Communities share the risk of the hazards by collaborating on ways to mitigate its effects
- New Zealand - multi hazard environment
- shares risk through insurance investment so that strategies can be put in place before the actual hazard takes place

Question 17

Give examples of short term responses to a hazard

Answer 17

• evacuation
• emergency services

Question 18

Give examples of medium term responses to hazards

Answer 18

• aid
• water supply

Question 19

Give examples of the long term responses to hazards

Answer 19

• mitigation
• adaptation
• risk management
• prediction

Question 20

Describe the hazard management cycle

Answer 20

4 components
Preparedness
- being ready for the event to occur
Response
- immediate action taken after the event
Recovery
- long term responses
Mitigation
- reducing the impacts of future events