Introduction and Natural Disasters Flashcards
Man-Made Disasters Categories
___ originate from technological or industrial conditions, dangerous procedures, infrastructure failure or human activity. (i.e. cyber attacks, urban or structural fire, arson, explosions, hazmat spills, structure collapse or failure, power failure)
Technological disaster
Modifed Mercalli Scale
Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable damage in ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse. Damage great in poorly built structures. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy furniture overturned.
Intensity 8
Pyroclastic Materials
Fine-grained material that is ejected during explosive volcanic eruptions caused by rapid expansion of gases.
Volcanic ash
A ____ is a natural process or phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage.
natural disaster
Main Types of Floods?
____ caused by excessive rain or melting of snows which causes the level of water to overflow from a river.
a. River Flood (Fluvial floods)
b. Flash Floods
c. Coastal Floods (Storm Surge)
d. Urban Floods
- River Flood (Fluvial floods)
___ is also called a snow slide is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Primarily composed of flowing snow and air, large avalanches have the capability to capture and move ice, rocks, and trees.
Avalanche
Violent Claim
An incident which disrupts a community and requires intervention to maintain public safety. (i.e. panic, mass hysteria, demonstrations, riots, strikes, public nuisances, and criminal activities)
A. Civil unrest/disturbance
B. Terrorism
C. Transport disaster
D. Environmental disaster
E. Structural failure disaster
Civil Unrest or Civil Disturbance
Worst epidemic/pandemic?
- black death
- Spanish flu
- plague of Justinian/bubonic
- HIV/AIDS
- COVID-19
Rip currents, often simply called a rip (or misleadingly a riptide), is a specific kind of water current that can occur near beaches with ____ waves. Rip currents are powerful, narrow channels of fast-moving water or localized current that flows away from the shoreline toward the ocean, perpendicular or at an acute angle to the shoreline. It usually breaks up not far from shore and is generally ____ meters (____ feet) wide.
breaking waves
24 meters (80 feet) wide
____ is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation.
Wildfire, forest fir, bushfire, wildland fire, rural fire
Pyroclastic Materials
Large magma blobs.
Volcanic Bombs
A type of landslide caused by rock failure in which part of the bedding plane of failure passes through compacted rock and material collapses en masse and not in individual blocks.
Rockslides
___ refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, but since the 1800s, human activities have been its main driver, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels (like coal, oil and gas), which produces heat-trapping gases
Climate change
A ___ outbreak is one in which a group of persons are all exposed to an infectious agent or a toxin from the same source.
A. Common source
B. Propagated outbreak
C. Mixed epidemics
common source
The combination of temperature and humidity is measured by the ____.
heat index
Anatomy of an Earthquake
____ are vibrations rapidly moving from direction of the focus. Waves of energy that travel through Earth’s layers, and are a result of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, magma movement, large landslides and large man-made explosions that give out low-frequency acoustic energy.
Seismic Waves
Modifed Mercalli Scale
Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations.
Intensity 9
____ is an electrical storm or a lightning storm, characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth’s atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak ones are sometimes called ____.
Thunderstorms
thundershowers
Disaster according to ____: Any occurrence that causes damage, ecological disruption, loss of human life or deterioration of health and health services on a scale sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response from outside the affected community or area.
World Health Organization 1995
Contributing factors to flooding
Non-scientific term people often use to describe exceptionally high tides. These higher than normal “spring” tides occur during new or full moon during specific seasons around the globe.
A. Daily tide
B. El Nino
C. Coastal storms
D. King tides
King Tides
Modifed Mercalli Scale
Felt quite noticeably by persons indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings. Many people do not recognize it as an earthquake. Standing motor cars may rock slightly. Vibrations similar to the passing of a truck. Duration estimated.
Intensity 3
A sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire continent.
Disease outbreak
Anatomy of an Earthquake
____ is the point in the ground level directly above the focus.
Epicenter
Types of Disease Outbreaks
Infection is constantly maintained at a baseline level in a geographic area without external inputs. Is constantly present in a certain population or region, with relatively low spread (or there may be periods when it doesn’t affect people at all if it’s only present in the environment).
A. Endemic
B. Epidemic
C. Pandemic
Endemic
