lecture 1

Question 1

natural disaster

Answer 1

a natural event that causes injury, loss of life, damage to infrastructure and/or economic loss
- typically a sudden release of energy

Question 2

return period

Answer 2

average time between similar events at a given location

ex. damaging earthqauke occurs on Van island on average of 20 years

Question 3

frequency

Answer 3

1/period - average number of occurances in a given time

ex. van island experiences on average 1/20 per earthquakes per year

Question 4

magnitude

Answer 4

measure of amount of energy released

- inversely proportional to frequency (higher magnitudes occur less often)

Question 5

hazard

Answer 5

a natural event that is dangerous

Question 6

vulnerability

Answer 6

exposure and susceptibility to losses

Question 7

risk

Answer 7

likelihood that losses will occur

Question 8

relationship between hazard risk and vulnerability

Answer 8

risk = hazard x vulnerability

Question 9

how to reduce risk

Answer 9

hazards cannot be controlled

vulnerability can be reduced

Question 10

emergency management- 4 ways to reduce risk

Answer 10

1. disaster mitigation - prevent future hazards or reduce effects
2. preparedness- preparing to handle the emergency before it happens
3. response - responding safely to emergency once it happens
4. recovery- recovering from the emergency after it happens

Question 11

natural disaster trends

Answer 11

have been exacerbated by human activity

- trend of icreasing frequency

Question 12

deadly-cost relationship

Answer 12

the deadliest events are rarely the costliest

• costliest are in more developed countries
• deadliest are in poorer countries