Intro Flashcards
What is the CRED definition of a natural disaster
10 or more people killed or 100 people affected or a call for international assistance or declaration of a state of emergency
Why should we study natural hazards and disasters
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.
What is the rule of thumb over those affected
Number of people killed is an order of magnitude lower than those injured which is an order of magnitude lower than those homeless
How many reported disasters across the globe in 2017
America’s - 93
Europe - 39
Africa - 42
Asia - 139 (biggest tho)
Which countries have the most disasters 2005-2014
China Us Philippines India Indonesia Vietnam Afghanistan Mexico Japan Pakistan
Why does the US have the most economic cost due to disasters
Excuse of different levels of GDP and wealth in the countries (
What is the trend of natural disasters in 2017 compared to 2007-2016 averages
2017 has less disasters, deaths and people affected and get has over double the economic damage
Which is the most common disaster
Floods - 43% of all disasters
What percentage of disasters does earthquakes account for
8%
What percentage of disaster deaths does earthquakes account for
56%
What is the general trend of people killed in natural disasters
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
Why might the perception of an increasingly hazardous world be
Increasing public awareness (globalised media).
Increasing world population.
Increasing poverty and urbanisation.
Proliferation of sensitive structures.
Environmental degradation and climate change.
How does public awareness lead to an increasingly hazardous world
The news used to be more localised and not shared between continents but now reports of disasters have gone up
How does increasing population lead to an increasingly hazardous world
More people are forced to Live in hazardous areas when cities expands on flood planes or volcanoes
How does increased poverty lead to an increasingly hazardous world
Lots of poorly constructed shanty towns. Global inequalities means more ppl are in vulnerable conditions - lots of people in one place without defence.
How does proliferation of sensitive structure like nuclear lead to an increasingly hazardous world
Interaction between natural and technological hazards. If hazards strike millions could die e.g in rail tracks or motorway overpasses
How does environmental degradation lead to an increasingly hazardous world
Chopping trees destablises slopes making landslides more likely, water can’t permeate into soil and climate change changes the water cycle making storms intense
What is hazard level
The probability that a potentially harmful phenomenon may occur at a given location in a given time period
How can hazard level sometimes be quantifiable
If 15 major earthquakes hit Mexico in 450 years the hazard level is 15/450 = 1/30
What happens if a hazard level cannot be calculated due to insufficient data
A relative estimate may be given like high, medium or low
How is hazard level determined for most geohazards
By nature as we can’t stop them
What is the controversial thought about us affecting geohazards
Changing ice cover could relieve stress on crust which could reduce pressure on magma chambers and fault zones for EQ
Example of meteorological hazards
Floods and storms
What is vulnerability
The level of exposure of people, agricultural land, built infrastructure to a particular hazardous phenomenon
Examples of how to quantify vulnerability
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
What is vulnerability determined by
Human activity - it can be changed
What is risk
The probability that harmful effects will actually follow from an identified hazard
Equation for risk
Hazard level x vulnerability
Example of a fairly low risk area
Many of the worlds most dangerous volcanoes are in sparsely population parts of the world so low risk
What do high risk areas have
Medium to high hazard level and high vulnerability
Way to express financial risk
The hazard level times the cost so if hazard level is 1/30 for earthquake and the cost is 15 billion its them multiplied
Example of being unable to minismise risk to 0
Can’t permanently relocate Mexico City’s 21 million residents to a seismically stable area
Examples of how to minimise risk
Sensible land use. Better buildings. Education and emergency planning. Train emergency services. All costs money but not doing it could cost even more.
Example of a risk reduction plan
Disaster risk reduction (DRR)
How much does japan spend on DRR
5% of its annual budget with warning systems, building defences and stabilising slopes
What are LDCS who can’t afford DRR reliant on
Official development assistance (ODA)
What does ODA include
Humanitarian Aid (HA) DRR Other types of funding
On average how much is spent on DRR in the top 40 HA recipient countries
90p for every £100 spent on HA
What percentage of total ODA is spent on DRR
Less than 0.5%
What is the disaster management cycle
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.
