Natural Hazards Flashcards
What is a natural hazard?
A natural process which could cause death or injury to humans or destruction of property
What is a natural disaster?
A natural hazard that has actually happened
What is a geological hazards?
Caused by land and tectonic processes like volcanoes and earthquakes
What is a meteorological hazard?
Caused by weather and climate for example tropical storms
What factors affect the hazard risk from natural hazards?
Vulnerability, capacity to cope, nature of natural hazards
What is vulnerability to a hazard risk?
The more people in an area the greater the probability they will be affected by the hazard
What is capacity to cope with a natural hazard?
The better a population can cope with an extreme event, and he lower the risk of them because extremely affected.
For example HICs are better at coping because they can afford to build flood defenses
How can a place know when a tropical storm is coming?
Predictions which are monitored giving people time to evacuate
Can people know when an earthquake is coming?
They happen very suddenly with no warning so it is harder to predict them
What is the frequency of a natural hazard?
Natural hazards that occur more often and may carry a higher risk
What is the magnitude of a natural hazard?
More severe hazards tend to have greater effects
What was the magnitude of the L’Aquila earthquake and how many people did it kill?
6.3 magnitude in 2009 and killed 300 people
Primary effects of natural hazards
Buildings and roads are destroyed
People can be injured or killed
Crops and water supplies can be damaged
Secondary effects of natural hazards
Other hazards can be triggered
Lack of clean water and sanitation means disease spreads easily
Food shortages famine
Immediate responses of natural hazards
Evacuating people
Rescue the injured and treat them
Recover dead bodies to prevent disease spread
