Natural Hazards exam questions Flashcards
Compare the responses to the Chile (2010) and Nepal (2015) Earthquakes (6 marks)
- Chile is a HIC
- better economy (GDP $14,721 per capita)
- systems in place to protect - earthquakes are more common
- Nepal is a LIC
- worse economy - difficult to support people and make repairs (GDP $1026 per capita)
Why did the 2015 Nepal Earthquake have a bigger effect than the 2010 Chile Earthquake? (6 marks)
- Chile has earthquakes quite often
- more prepared + GDP $14,721 per capita
- more money to help support people
- Nepal couldn’t prepare as well
- lower GDP $1026 per capita - more difficult to support people
- not as prepared - buildings were not very well built
Compare long-term responses to the Chile (2010) and Nepal - 2015 - Earthquakes (6 marks)
- Chile housing reconstruction plan
- higher GDP - easier to build new homes quickly - GDP $14,721 per capita
- strong economy rebuilt - less foreign aid needed
- Nepal stricter building codes
- many buildings destroyed - 3 million homeless, 50% of shops destroyed
- necessary to reduce impact in the future
Why may people choose to live in places of a high risk to natural hazards? (6 marks)
- geothermal energy near volcanoes
- 25% of Iceland’s electricity
- more accessible, hotter rocks near volcanoes
- low risk of volcanic eruption
- several active volcanoes - roughly one eruption every 5 years
- scientific monitoring and protection from earthquakes help to minimize the impact from the eruptions
Which way of reducing the risk of tectonic hazards do you think would be most effective? (4 marks)
One from:
- monitoring; time to evacuate and prepare for disasters
- prediction; helps us work out when we need to be ready in the long-term
- planning; avoiding places at risk can eliminate the risk altogether
- protection; designing buildings that are less likely to be affected will decrease the overall cost of damage
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One from:
- monitoring; not reliable for Earthquakes
- prediction; difficult to make accurate predictions
- planning; places at risk may contain valuable materials or high-value land
- protection; easier to just avoid a place altogether
Explain Global Atmospheric Circulation (6 marks)
- circular air movements (cells) join together and from overall circulation
- air that sinks forms high pressure - winds move outwards from these areas
- air that rises forms low pressure - winds move towards these areas
- winds on the ground are distorted by Earth’s rotation
- surface winds transfer heat and moisture between places
- patterns of pressure belts and winds are affected by seasonal changes; tilt and rotation of earth move them north in summer and south in winter
Explain why global atmospheric circulation affects weather. Give two examples (4 marks)
- UK is close to boundary of cold polar air from north and warm sub-tropical air from south
- this boundary is unstable; air cools, condenses, forms clouds and rain
- Sahara Desert is near equator
- belt of high pressure; air does not rise; few clouds, little rainfall
What made the Philippines so susceptible to a tropical storm such as Typhoon Haiyan (2 marks)
- warm ocean above 27°C
- near equator; high heat, makes air unstable
How does climate change affect tropical storms? (2 marks)
- warmer sea surface; more likely to be sufficient for tropical storm
- power of hurricanes is not dissipated as easily
Explain some of the immediate and long-term responses of Typhoon Haiyan, considering the economic situation of the Philippines (6 marks)
- lots of immediate international aid
- evacuation centers and field hospitals
- 14million people affected overall; Philippines alone can’t handle that much as it is a LIC - GDP circa $3000 per capita
- homes built away from places at risk of flooding
- 600,000 people displaced; necessary to build reliable, cheap homes
Explain and evaluate two ways of reducing the risk from tropical storms (6 marks)
Any two from:
- planning is ineffective
- unrealistic to expect millions of people to stop working and living in these areas
- people rely on these areas and income would be affected badly
- protection is effective
- reinforced buildings and buildings on stilts are less vulnerable and not too expensive for a LIC (GDP $3000 per capita)
- simple storm drains can avoid excessive flooding and protects from water damage
- monitoring is fairly effective
- simple but effective two levels of warning (Hurricane watch and hurricane warning) based on conditions for tropical storms
- technology makes it possible to predict with enough accuracy
Describe some of the causes of the Somerset floods (4 marks)
- 350mm of rainfall in January and February; wettest January ever recorded
- excessive rainfall raises the level of water in nearby water bodies
- river was clogged with sediment
- only way for flowing water to go was over river banks
Explain some of the effects of the Somerset floods, including two from social, economic and environmental (6 marks)
Any two from:
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