Lecture 2 Flashcards
Why can maintaining databases on disaster events be difficult? (Name 3 points)
- disasters can co-occur (ex: hurricanes cause floods)
- mortality can be difficult to count
- a general lack of census taking (in developing countries)
What events officially qualify as a ‘disaster’?
A threshold has been developed by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED)
List the criteria of what qualifies as a disaster:
- 10 or more deaths per event OR - 100 or more persons affected (injured, homeless, etc.) OR - government declaration of disaster OR - for international assistance
Exceptions to the CRED threshold:
- for droughts/famines: at least 2000 persons affected
- for technological disasters: 5 or more deaths per event
Statistical data is reported in _______ terms.
answer: absolute
The impact of losses is felt differently from one place to the next
ex: 10 fishers in a remote village of 200 people vs. 10 factory workers in a city of 200,000
The media tends to concentrate on:
- human interest
- visual impact
- events prioritized according to a North American perspective
Impacts vary greatly by disaster type. Example:
- Earthquakes tend to cause more deaths than tornadoes
- floods affect more people (homelessness) than most disasters but cause fewer deaths
True or Fale: Technological disasters are more liekly to occur in developed countries
True
Disaster Impact Trends:
Globally, most impacts from disasters have increased over time:
- Property Damage
- Economic losses
- Persons Injured
- Deaths
Economic ______ have _______ at a faster rate than _____.
losses, increased, deaths
Haiti Earthquake (state 3 points)
- poorest country in Western Hemisphere
- one of the worst natural disasters in history
- death toll was over 160,000
Where did Haiti Earthquake occur?
along a transform fault
Haiti Earthquake: The destruction was enhanced by ______________ and a ___________
poor construction materials, lack of building materials
What leads to unsustainable farming practices?
Poverty and lack of land availability
What are the reasons for Increases in Impacts?
Land Pressure, Urbanization
Urbanization
around the world, people are increasingly moving from rural areas to urban areas
Resiliency
The rate of recovery from the occurrence of an event
Reliability
The frequency with which protective devices against disasters can withstand the disaster
Both resiliency and reliability tend to be _____ in developing countries
lower
Risk Assessment
Involves estimating the likelihood that a particular event will harm human health
ex: what is the hazard?
Risk Management
Involves deciding whether or how to reduce a particular risk and at what cost
ex: How will the risk be reduced?
Risk is viewed by individuals as ________
subjective
Event Data
- best to have at least 100 years of data
- the amount of data is not available for several hazards
(high-magnitude earthquakes, nuclear accidents)
Economic Loss Data
- this is often less available than event data
- there are many currencies worldwide, values must constantly be adjusted for inflation
