The Challenge of Natural Hazards (part 2) Flashcards
What is weather?
What is climate?
The day-to-day conditions of the atmosphere
The average weather over a long period of time
What is happening to the Uk’s weather over time?
It is becoming more extreme due to climate change (e.g 2014 was the wettest winter on record)
What are some weather hazards in the UK?
- Thunderstorms (2014, 3000 lightning strikes in Britain)
- Prolonged rainfall (causes river floods)
- Drought/heat (reservoirs dangerously low)
- Snow/cold (heavy snow dangerous to northern UK)
- Strong winds (disruption to power supplies + trees fall)
What is a natural hazard?
What is a natural disaster?
A natural process that has the potential to cause death, injury, disruption to humans or destroy property
A natural hazard that has already happened
What are the two types of natural hazards?
- Geological hazards - caused by land and tectonic processes
- Meteorological hazards - caused by weather and climate
What factors affect hazard risk?
- Vulnerability - the more people that live in an area prone to natural hazards, the higher the probability they’ll be affected
- Capacity to cope - the better they can cope, the lower the risk of being severely affected
- Nature of the hazard - some hazards are more dangerous than others, higher frequency means higher risk, higher magnitude means worse effects
What is hazard risk?
The probability of people being affected by a hazard in a particular area
Why did the Somerset Levels flood in 2014?
- Wettest January since records began (350mm in 2 months)
- High tides + storm surges swept water up rivers, spilled over banks
- Rivers hadn’t been dredged for over 20 years, clogged with sediment
What were the social impacts of the Somerset Levels flooding?
- > 600 houses flooded
- Residents evacuated to temporary accommodation for several months
- Many people had cut off power supplies
What were the economic impacts of the Somerset Levels flooding?
- Cost of damage £10 million
- 14,000 ha agricultural land underwater 3-4 weeks
- Local roads cut off by floods
What were the environmental impacts of the Somerset Levels flooding?
- Damage to wildlife and habitats
- Water contaminated with sewage + pollutants
- Huge amounts of debris had to be cleared
What were the immediate responses to the Somerset Levels flooding?
- Homeowners left to cope as best as possible
- Villagers used boats to get to school / shopping etc
- Local community groups + volunteers gave support
What were the long-term responses to the Somerset Levels flooding?
- 8km rivers dredged
- Vulnerable communities gained flood defences
- River banks raised + strengthened
- More pumping stations built
What is climate change?
Any significant change in the earth’s climate over a long period
How has the earth’s climate changed over time?
The Quaternary period is the most recent geological time period (about 2.6 million years). Temperatures have shifted between glacial periods (100,000 years) and warmer interglacial periods (10,000 years).
