Midterm Flashcards
How many homes are evacuated as a result of earthquakes per year
20 million
West Coast Hazards
Earthquakes, landslides
East Coast hazards
Hurricanes
Mid-continent hazards
Tornadoes, Blizzards
All area hazards
Drought
The 3 main processes from which natural hazards can arise
Internal forces, external forces, gravitational attraction
Hazard:
process that poses a potential threat to people or the environment
Risk
the probability of an event occurring multiplied by the impact on people or the environment
Disaster
a brief event that causes great property damage or loss of life
Catastrophe
a massive disaster; makes news and stays in news for a long time
Hazards that are more likely to be catastrophic
tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, flood
Hazards that are less likely to be catastrophic
landslides, avalanches, wildfire
Which cycles are involved in the Geological Cycle
Tectonic cycle, Rock cycle, Hydrologic cycle
Which cycle involves the creation, movement, and destruction of tectonic plates
Tectonic cycle
Composed of hot magma with some flow
asthenosphere
thin and brittle crust
lithosphere
What are the 2 types of crust
Oceanic (dense and thin) and Continental (buoyant and thick)
which type of crust would sink below the other
Oceanic because it is more dense
What are the types of plate boundaries
Divergent, Convergent, Transform
At these boundaries, plates move away from each other and new land is created
Divergent Plate Boundaries
At the boundaries, plates move toward each other
Convergent Plate Boundaries
What happens in subduction zones
Collision of Oceanic and Continental crusts; the dense ocean plates sink and melt and the melted magma rises to form volcanoes
What happens in Collision Boundaries
Collision of 2 continental plates; Neither sinks and tall mountains tend to form
Plates slide horizontally past each other
Transform Boundaries
What are the 3 types o rocks
Igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic
A specific time, date, location, and magnitude of the event
Prediction
A range of probability for the event
Forecast
Risk (equation)
(probability of event) x (consequences)
Consequences
damage to people, property, the environment, the economy
The amount of risk that an individual is willing to take
Acceptable Risk
What constitutes a Disaster according to CRED
10 or more deaths per event
or
100 or more persons affected (injured, homeless, etc.)
or
government declaration of disaster
or
plea for international assistance
What disaster typically affects more people, but causes fewer deaths
Floods
What was the magnitude of the Haiti Earthquake
M7.0
The 2010 Haiti Earthquake occurred at what type of boundary
Transform
The rate of recovery from an event
Resilliency
The frequency with which protective devices against disasters can withstand the disaster
Recovery
Risk Assesment
Estimating the likelihood that a particular event will harm human health
Risk Management
Deciding whether or how to reduce a particular risk and at what cost
Tsunamis are produced by…
the sudden displacement of water
What are the 2 ways Earthquakes can trigger Tsunamis
by displacement of the seafloor, or
by triggering a landslide that enters water
What is a hazard that is mainly considered an economic concern in developed countries, but can lead to death in developing countries
Drought
If the technological reliability is 91% and the human reliability is 82%, what is the system reliability
74.6%
Planting of one similar crop in an area
Monoculture
Dense vegetation along Shoreline
Mangrove
A tsunami that travels thousands of km across the open ocean
Distant/tele tsunamis
A tsunami that affects shorelines 100km to 1000km from its source
Regional Tsunami
A tsunami affects shorelines within 100km of its source. They are the most dangerous type
Local Tsunami
Another name for a distant tsunami is a …
tele-tsunami
What regions are most at risk of tsunamis
Coasts located near subduction zones or across oceans from subduction zones
What are the 4 patterns of choice to describe how people can respond to risk
Absorb, Accept, Reduce, Change
What are evocative hazards
These are hazards that typically induce much public reaction despite data suggesting they may create little risk
What are Banal Hazards
These are hazards that induce little public reaction even though they may have similar risks to some evocation hazards
What are the 5 theories to explain why some people feel some technologies are a major concern while others feel they are not a concern
Knowledge, Personality, Economic, Political, Cultural
Greater knowledge of fatality data leads to a greater perceived threat from the technology
Knowledge Theory
There is consistency between the personality type and the perceived threat from the technological hazards
Personality Theory
The wealthy are more willing to take risks with technology because they may benefit more or have better access
Economic Theory
Personal views toward risk are related to the political party (and policies) that people support
Political Theory
Based on the way of life of the people (urban, rural, retired, child-rearing, etc). The worldview is correlated to how the person perceives risk
Cultural Theory
Which theory was found to be the best explanation for how people perceived the risk
Cultural Theory
Landslide
Downslope movements of rock or sediment as a result of gravity
What are the 3 types of Lanslides
Fall, Slide, Flow
Factor of Safety is DF/RF (Driving Force; Resisting Force)
F. It is RF/DF
When the Factor of Safety ratio is over 1 the slope is said to be __
stable
When the Factor of Safety ratio is under 1 the slope is said to be __
unstable
Slumps are
a rotational mass movement
Rotational mass movements
falls along a curved surface
Translational mass movements
falls along a discrete plane
Steep slopes are associated with
Rock Falls
Moderate slopes are associated with
Flows
Gentle slops are associated with
Creep
Rock falls are more common in what type of area
Dry climates
Flows and creeps are more common in what type of area
Humid climates
fragments of rock moved down a slope and accumulated at its base
talus
What is the instrument used to detect movement along a slope
Tiltmeters
Which gas is most potent in the atmosphere
Nitrogen
What does this prefix mean: cirro-
High cloud
What does this prefix mean: alto-
Mid-level cloud
What does this prefix mean: strato-
Low cloud
What does this suffix mean: -cumulus
puffy
What does this suffix mean: -stratus
flat
What describes a cirrocumulus cloud
High puffy cloud
Cumulonimbus
Thunderstorm cloud
Nimbostratus
Precipitation cloud
The name of the front describes the air in front of the front
F. It describes the air behind the front
what are the 2 types of fronts
Cold front, warm front
What kind of front do we associate thunderstorms with
Coldfront
Hail and Tornadoes go hand in hand
True
Lightning always causes Thunder
True; whether we hear it or not, it always does
wind shear
a change in wind speed or wind direction over a distance
What are the 2 types of cyclones
Tropical Cyclones, Extratropical Cyclones
Safest area in a hurricane
The eye
Hurricanes rotate counter-clockwise
True
If a hurricane is moving East, on which side will its weakest winds be located
North
If a hurricane is moving North-West, on which side will its weakest winds be located
South-West
Cloud with its base at the Earths surface
Fog
What specific condition must be met for a hazard to be considered a Blizzard
wind of at least 40 km/h
snow falling or blowing snow occurring
visibility less than 400m
~All of these must occur for at least 4 hours
The most destructive part of a hurricane
eyewall
Term for a large tropical weather system similar to a hurricane
Typhoon
What are the requirements for a Thunderstorm
unstable environment, water vapour, rising air
How do we classify tornadoes
With the Enhanced Fujita (*EF) scale from 0 to 5
How do we classify Hurricanes
With the Saffir-Simpson scale
Rank these storms from least to most dangerous: Tropical Storm, Tropical Disturbance, Hurricane, Tropical Depression
Tropical Disturbance,
Tropical Depression
Tropical Storm,
Hurricane,
At what wind speed does a tropical storm become a Hurricane
120 km/h
What hazrd affects more people than any other in North America
Droughts
What is the highest weather alert
Warning
Watch Alert
An alert covering a wide area; Conditions favour the development of hazardous weather, but none has been reported
Advisory Alert
Used to alert the public of less hazardous weather conditions
Warning Alert
An alert that covers smaller areas; indicates that hazardous weather is currently occurring in the area
