Hazards-The Geological Context Flashcards
What is a hazard
Something that causes a danger e.g. a tsunami
What is a natural hazard
A hazard that is not influenced by us
What is a disaster
The realisation of a hazard when causes a ‘significant impact’ on a vulnerable population
What is a risk
The probably will of a hazard occurring and creating a loss of lives and/or livelihoods
What is a risk assessment
Defines the likelihood of harm and damage
What is vulnerability
The risk of exposure to hazards combined with an inability to cope with them
What is resilience
The degree to which a population or environment can absorb a hazardous event and yet remain within the state of organisation.
How quickly they can bunch back
What are 5 common characteristics of natural hazards
Natural hazards have common characteristics:
• little or no warning
• each has clear origins and distinctive effects
• exposure to the risk may be involuntary
• most damage and loss of life occurs shortly after the hazard, but impacts may last into the future
• their scale and impact requires an emergency response
What are 7 factors that influence the perception of natural hazards
- Socio economic status- some have bough money to deal with it and some don’t
- Level of education
- Employment status
- Religon and cultural background
- Family situation
- Past experience-hard to know what it’s like till you experience it
- Personal values and personality-optimistic or pessimistic
Explain what is meant by primary impacts of natural hazards
Primary impacts happen straight away such as buildings collapsing
Explain what is meant by secondary impacts of natural hazards
Secondary impacts happen after, such as a tsunami after an earthquake, another example is stress from the event
How do people respond to natural hazards
Responses to a hazard occur at a variety of scales, from those of individuals to those of international organisations such as the Red Cross. The response used depends on a number of physical and human factors
What are 3 physical factors that influence the response to a natural hazard
Physical factors include:
• Climate factors
• topography of the region affected
• type of hazard-scale impact, frequency and magnitude
What are 8 human factors that influence the response to a natural hazard
- technological resources
- level of education + training
- economic wealth of the region
- number of people involved/affected
- degree of community preparedness
- scientific understanding + expertise
- quality + quantity of infrastructure
- political framework-government competency + organisation
In which three different ways can responses to natural hazards be classified
Responses can be classified in three in different ways - fatalism, adaptation and fear
What is meant by the term ‘fatalism’?
Regards hazards as acts of God, meaning that nothing can be done. According to this belief all the events are pre-determined and the consequences are inevitable
What is risk sharing
Risk sharing: educate communities that are vulnerable of how to respond to hazards
What is integrated risk management
Integrated risk management: assessment of risks and plan how to respond to them
What is mitigation
Mitigation: reducing impact of hazards - defences and land use zoning
What is monitoring
Monitoring: work with scientists to monitor hazards and areas prone to them in order to react quickly
What is prediction:
Prediction: using technology to predict when hazards will occur in order to have time to react
What is prevention
Prevention: don’t settle in areas prone to hazards
What is protection
Build defences and reinforce infrastructure
What is reconstruction
Rebuilding areas after a hazard has occurred, often the last thing to be done
What is rehabilitation
Rehabilitation: temporary housing e.t.c…
What is Relief
Relief: Red Cross - delivering supplies + aid to those affected e.t.c…
What is resilience
Resilience: living with a hazard
Explain stage 1 of Park’s Disaster Response Model
Stage 1 is before the disaster and when people try modifying the event.
Explain stage 2 of Park’s Disaster Response Model
Stage 2 is when the hazardous event takes place
Explain stage 3 of Park’s Disaster Response Model
At stage 3 the place is deteriorated a few hours-days after search, rescue and cafe takes place
Explain stage 4 of Park’s Disaster Response Model
Stage 4 is days-weeks after the event, relief and rehabilitation takes place with help from other countries, aid and temporary housing and services are given, the area is still deteriorated but less than stage 3
Explain stage 5 of Park’s Disaster Response Model
At stage 5 which takes weeks-years, they are restoring the area back to normal and stopping it from happening again this will result in an improvement from stage 1
What is a pro of Park’s Disaster Response Model
Pro: useful to compared compare different events, curves of which can be drawn and then compared of the same graph.
What is a con of Park’s Disaster Response Model
Con: Model is general, does not account for different levels of development and other issues affecting disruption and recovery
Explain what the Hazard Management Cycle shows
The cycle shows how a place prepares for a disaster before the event and how the place responds and starts to reconstruct the infrastructure after. The reconstruction phase is both in recover and prevention & mitigation as it’s important to build new hazard resistant houses before a disaster happens again so the damage is minimised so it has less of an impact
