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Natural Hazards > Intro > Flashcards

Intro Flashcards

1
Q

What is the CRED definition of a natural disaster

A

10 or more people killed or 100 people affected or a call for international assistance or declaration of a state of emergency

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2
Q

Why should we study natural hazards and disasters

A

More than 2 billion people are at risk.
Major cause of death, injury and homelessness.
Huge economic impact.
If we understand the cause, distribution and effect we can mitigate the harm.

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3
Q

What is the rule of thumb over those affected

A

Number of people killed is an order of magnitude lower than those injured which is an order of magnitude lower than those homeless

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4
Q

How many reported disasters across the globe in 2017

A

America’s - 93
Europe - 39
Africa - 42
Asia - 139 (biggest tho)

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5
Q

Which countries have the most disasters 2005-2014

A 
China
Us
Philippines 
India
Indonesia
Vietnam
Afghanistan
Mexico
Japan
Pakistan
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6
Q

Why does the US have the most economic cost due to disasters

A

Excuse of different levels of GDP and wealth in the countries (

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7
Q

What is the trend of natural disasters in 2017 compared to 2007-2016 averages

A

2017 has less disasters, deaths and people affected and get has over double the economic damage

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8
Q

Which is the most common disaster

A

Floods - 43% of all disasters

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9
Q

What percentage of disasters does earthquakes account for

A

8%

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10
Q

What percentage of disaster deaths does earthquakes account for

A

56%

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11
Q

What is the general trend of people killed in natural disasters

A

Early twentieth century hundreds of thousands of people were killed but the trend is decreasing so less are dying even tho the disasters are increasing and more people are affected

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12
Q

Why might the perception of an increasingly hazardous world be

A

Increasing public awareness (globalised media).
Increasing world population.
Increasing poverty and urbanisation.
Proliferation of sensitive structures.
Environmental degradation and climate change.

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13
Q

How does public awareness lead to an increasingly hazardous world

A

The news used to be more localised and not shared between continents but now reports of disasters have gone up

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14
Q

How does increasing population lead to an increasingly hazardous world

A

More people are forced to Live in hazardous areas when cities expands on flood planes or volcanoes

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15
Q

How does increased poverty lead to an increasingly hazardous world

A

Lots of poorly constructed shanty towns. Global inequalities means more ppl are in vulnerable conditions - lots of people in one place without defence.

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16
Q

How does proliferation of sensitive structure like nuclear lead to an increasingly hazardous world

A

Interaction between natural and technological hazards. If hazards strike millions could die e.g in rail tracks or motorway overpasses

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17
Q

How does environmental degradation lead to an increasingly hazardous world

A

Chopping trees destablises slopes making landslides more likely, water can’t permeate into soil and climate change changes the water cycle making storms intense

18
Q

What is hazard level

A

The probability that a potentially harmful phenomenon may occur at a given location in a given time period

19
Q

How can hazard level sometimes be quantifiable

A

If 15 major earthquakes hit Mexico in 450 years the hazard level is 15/450 = 1/30

20
Q

What happens if a hazard level cannot be calculated due to insufficient data

A

A relative estimate may be given like high, medium or low

21
Q

How is hazard level determined for most geohazards

A

By nature as we can’t stop them

22
Q

What is the controversial thought about us affecting geohazards

A

Changing ice cover could relieve stress on crust which could reduce pressure on magma chambers and fault zones for EQ

23
Q

Example of meteorological hazards

A

Floods and storms

24
Q

What is vulnerability

A

The level of exposure of people, agricultural land, built infrastructure to a particular hazardous phenomenon

25
Q

Examples of how to quantify vulnerability

A

Number f people living on a flood plain, Volcano flank or near a fault zone; the value of insured/ uninsured losses exposed to the hazard

26
Q

What is vulnerability determined by

A

Human activity - it can be changed

27
Q

What is risk

A

The probability that harmful effects will actually follow from an identified hazard

28
Q

Equation for risk

A

Hazard level x vulnerability

29
Q

Example of a fairly low risk area

A

Many of the worlds most dangerous volcanoes are in sparsely population parts of the world so low risk

30
Q

What do high risk areas have

A

Medium to high hazard level and high vulnerability

31
Q

Way to express financial risk

A

The hazard level times the cost so if hazard level is 1/30 for earthquake and the cost is 15 billion its them multiplied

32
Q

Example of being unable to minismise risk to 0

A

Can’t permanently relocate Mexico City’s 21 million residents to a seismically stable area

33
Q

Examples of how to minimise risk

A 
Sensible land use.
Better buildings.
Education and emergency planning.
Train emergency services.
All costs money but not doing it could cost even more.
34
Q

Example of a risk reduction plan

A

Disaster risk reduction (DRR)

35
Q

How much does japan spend on DRR

A

5% of its annual budget with warning systems, building defences and stabilising slopes

36
Q

What are LDCS who can’t afford DRR reliant on

A

Official development assistance (ODA)

37
Q

What does ODA include

A 
Humanitarian Aid (HA)
DRR
Other types of funding
38
Q

On average how much is spent on DRR in the top 40 HA recipient countries

A

90p for every £100 spent on HA

39
Q

What percentage of total ODA is spent on DRR

A

Less than 0.5%

40
Q

What is the disaster management cycle

A 
Crisis management.
Disaster.
Post disaster recovery.
Relief.
Rehabilitation.
Reconstruction.
Risk management. 
Pre-disaster protection.
Risk assessment.
Mitigation.
Preparedness so it’s hopefully not as bad next time.

Natural Hazards (7 decks)

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