natural disasters Flashcards
what is risk?
the probability of a hazard even occurring and creating loss of lives and livlihoods.
what is vulnerability?
the inability to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from a natural disaster.
what is a natural hazard?
a naturally occurring process which has the potential to affect people.
what is a natural disaster?
a major natural hazard that has caused significant social, enviromental and economic damage.
what causes natural disasters?
in order for there to be risk, a hazardous event and vulnerable population have to interact which cause natural disasters. if they do not interact, there is no hazard so no disaster eg volcanic eruption on remote island.
hazard risk equation?
risk is calculated by this equation:
risk = frequency or magnitude of hazard X level of vulnerability
(resilience) capacity of population to cope
what increases resilience of a community?
- pre planning
- wealth of nation
- level of development
- integrated infrastructure
- open political regime
- medical services and supplies available
- emergency procedures
- good communications
- well educated public
- insurance
- high technology
what decreases resilience of a country?
- low doctor patient ratio
- lack of development
- lack of skills
- lack of revenue (money)
- large scale rural- urban migration
- rapid population growth
- low technology
- foreign debt repayments
- unequal trade agreements
- environmental degradation
pressure and release model (PAR)
three main reasons showing progression of vulnerability:
- Root Causes cause Dynamic Pressures which cause Unsafe Conditions making a country vulnerable which when combined with natural hazards, creates risk for disaster.
1. Root Causes:
-limited access to power, structures and resources
-political and economical systems
2. Dynamic Pressures:
-lack of: training, local institutions, appropriate skills, local
investments and markets,
press freedom and ethical standards in public life.
-macro-forces: rapid population growth, rapid urbanisation,
debt repayment schedules,
deforestation, decline in soil productivity
3. Unsafe Conditions:
-fragile physical environment: dangerous buildings, unprotected
infrastructure
-fragile local economy: livelihoods at risk and low income levels
-vulnerable society: special groups at risk, lack of local institutions
-public actions: lack of disaster preparedness, prevalence of endemic disease
how do physical factors contribute to/ explain scale of impact?
- topography of land eg if low lying more susceptible to flooding
- proximity to coast: greater risk of tsunamis
- tectonic setting
- antecedent weather (weather prior to the event)
- soil type: combined with weather can lead to landslides, liquefaction etc
- transport access: ability to cope after event/ ability to escape tectonic event
- islands: no where to ‘run’
- urban or rural: denser population= potentially more deaths
what is governance?
the sum of many ways individuals and institutions (public and private) manage their common affairs.
different types of governance
these all interact within the government
- economic governance: includes the decision making process about the economy and how it functions in the global economy
- administrative governance: system of policy implementation and requires good governance at all levels- requires the enforcement of building codes, risk mitigation strategies
- political governance: decision making including national disaster reduction. this area brings together different stakeholders to determine the quality of the outcome
how does poor governance add to impact of natural disasters?
- decisions on trade deals could lead to unemployment= low income= low quality of living/infrastructure meaning economic vulnerability. also if country is in debt, no money going into the people/ services could mean poor health services etc: lack of local institutions
- lack of a.g leads to infrastructure and public buildings not being checked which can mean buildings do not meet seismic building codes: fragile physical environment.
- lack of/ poor p.g means lack of good response plans in place: lack of disaster preparedness
asset inequality
- relates to housing and security of tenure (buying land)
- lack of secure tenure discourages planners to invest in better housing so less likely to benefit from the services: low quality housing means more at risk- easily destroyed.
- if majority of population renting, more effected by disaster as no insurance etc
assessing hazard profiling
hazard profiling compares the physical processes that all hazards share and helps to identify and rank the hazards that should be given the most attention and resources. this can help governments and other organisations in developing disaster plans. EG the profile for 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami: shows high magnitude, rapid onset and widespread extent. this example is used to plan for future disasters- an example would be ensuring early warning systems are in place therefore reducing the risk for future hazards to become disasters.
a difficulty is the degree of reliablity when comparing different evnt types. eg trying to compare across hazards (earthquake to a volcanic eruption etc) is near imossible as they have different impacts on society and have varying spatial and temporal distributions. also does not take into account human factors which are arguably just as important.
