tectonic hazards and impacts Flashcards
what is a natural hazard?
a natural phenomena that has the potential to cause harm
what is a natural disaster?
has the potential to cause significant harm
what creates high vulnerability?
- high population density
- high dependancy
- lack of well built infrastructure
- no insurance
- poverty
- deforestation
- remote
- poor governance
- corruption
what is the risk equation?
risk =hazard x vulnerability / capacity to cope
how are earthquakes measured?
- the richter scale
- moment magnititude
- mercalli scale
what is the cause of tsunamis?
the displacement of a column of water
- the configuration of the coast line will affect wave height
how can we predict tsunami?
DART - connected to the ocean floor and to a tsunameter that sense movement on the ocean floor
- the tsunameter tells buoy, tells sattelite which sends the message to the centre
what are hazard profiles?
they look at the temporal and spatial variations between hazards
when does a hazard become a disaster?
when there are more than 500 deaths
when does a hazard become a mega-disaster?
- over 2000 deaths or
- over 200,000 made homeless or
- the gdp is reduced by at least 5% or
- dependendce on aid from abroad for a year or more after the disaster
what is the PAR model?
looks at the hazard and the wider context:
- root causes (limited access, political systems, economic systems)
- dynamic pressures ( lack of, macro forces)
- unsafe conditions ( physical conditions, economic conditions, social conditions, political conditions)
what are players?
people responsible for implementing decisions
what is governance?
the many ways individuals and institutions manage their common affairs
- people who are interested in the way in which common affiars are handled are STAKEHOLDERS
what are the three categories of players?
private sector - businesses funded by private capital
public sector - organisations funded by public sources e.g. taxes
third sector - pressure groups
what is the world risk index?
gives the %risk of becoming a victim to disaster resulting from an extreme natural event
- risk comprises of exposure to natural hazards and the vulnerability of society
why is the phillipines 2nd on the world risk index?
- 30% work in industry & 10% in agriculture
- 16.7% below poverty line
- 40% of gdp is debted
- 56.2 dependancy ratio
- 70 life expectancy
- 54% contraception use
- 1 hospital bed/1000 people
how does disaster limit development?
- key infrastructure destroyed - hospitals schools..
- cost of redevelopment - spending on rebuilding but not development (debt)
- perception of country is negatively affected - reduced investment
- loss of key workers - death and migration
how does development cause disaster risk?
- rapid urbanisation –> industrialisation
- too much pressure on fault lines (china dam)
- nuclear power development –> fukishima
how does development reduce disaster risk?
- new technology - aseismic design
- education = better preparation
- IGOs = increased connectivity
how do disasters create development opportunities?
- opportunity to start from scratch
what is meant by resilience?
the ability of a community to cope with a hazard and therefore reduce vulnerability
