Multiple Hazard Zones Flashcards
What are multiple hazard zones?
Areas that are at risk from multiple natural hazards, and is vulnerable
What are hydrometeorological hazards?
Natural hazards caused by climate processes (droughts, floods, hurricanes, storms, etc)
Why is identifying multiple-hazard zones important?
Helps decisions makers to understand a regions hazards, to set priorities for action, and to decide how to assign resources.
They may also get more support from international aid agencies, as well as more resources to help with disaster-planning and preservation
What’s an example of multiple-hazard zone?
The Philippines - one of the most disaster prone countries in the world.
Why is the Philippines a multiple hazard zone?
Sits across a major convergent plate boundary, so it faces significant risks from both volcanoes and earthquakes.
Its northern and eastern coasts face the Pacific Ocean (worlds most tsunami prone ocean).
Lies within south-east Asia’s major typhoon belts - rain, wind, flooding and landslides.
It has a tropical monsoon climate, so is subject to heavy annual rains
It has 47 volcanoes - 22 are active - Over 30% of the population lives within 30km of a volcano.
Landslides are common, due to a combination of stipe topography, high levels of deforestation and high rainfall.
What is the background of the Philippines?
Consist of 7107 islands, and is 25% bigger than the UK
Population: 101 million in 2015
GDP per capita in 2014 was US$7000, so according to the world bank, it’s considered a middle income country.
It’s mostly mountainous, with coastal lowlands; many people live and work on steeply sloping land.
What is vulnerability?
A measure of the extent to which a community, structure, service or geographical area is likely to be damaged or disrupted, on account of its nature or location, by the impact of a particular disaster hazard.
Why is the Philippines vulnerable?
Growing population
Rapid urbanisation
Most of the poor live in coastal areas = surges, flooding and tsunami are made worse by poor infrastructure.
25% live in poverty
What are the challenges of multiple hazards?
One hazard can cause or increase other hazards
E.g. earthquake in the Philippines in 2006:
- Killed 15 people, injured 100 and damaged or destroyed 800 buildings
- generated local tsunami that was 3 metres high
- triggered landslides, which breached the crater wall of a volcano and fell into a lake, creating a flood that washed away houses.
Or different hazards in a short space of time - still recovering from previous
This drains resources and stretches the ability of the emergency systems to respond.
E.g. in 2013 the Philippines was stuck by an earthquake, a typhoon and floods in 3 months.
