The concept of hazard in a geographical context

Question 1

What is a hazard?

Answer 1

A hazard is a perceived natural/geographical event that has the potential to threaten both life and property. A hazard has impacts that are social, economic and environmental

Question 2

Types of geographical hazards

Answer 2

• Geophysical = hazards caused by land processes, majorly tectonic plates (e.g. volcanoes)
• Atmospheric = hazards caused by atmospheric processes and the conditions created because of these, such as weather systems (e.g. wildfires)
• Hydrological = hazards caused by water bodies and movement (e.g floods)

Question 3

Hazard perception

Answer 3

• People have different viewpoints of how dangerous hazards are and what risk they pose.
• These perceptions are dependent on lifestyle factors, including : economic and cultural elements.

Question 4

Perception of hazards

Answer 4

• Fatalism = there is an acceptance of the hazard, losses are accepted as inevitable and people remain where they are
• Adaption = there is a positive view of the hazard, losses are accepted as inevitable and people remain where they are
• Fear = people feel vulnerable, they cannot live with the threat and they move away

Question 5

Hazard perception influences :

Answer 5

• Wealth = wealthier people may perceive a hazard to be smaller as they are less vulnerable but also may see the risk as greater because there is more risk of property damage and financial loss
• Experience = someone who has experienced more hazards may be more likely to understand the full effects of a hazard
• Education = person who is more educated about hazards may understand their full effects on people and how devastating they can be
• Mobility = - Those who have limited access to escape a hazard may perceive hazards to be greater threats than they are.

Question 6

Responses to hazards

Answer 6

• Prediction: scientific research and past events to know when a hazard will take place, so warnings delivered and impacts reduced. hazards may also be prevented when predicted early enough
• Adaptation: Attempting to live with hazards by adjusting lifestyle choices so vulnerability to the hazard is lessened
• Mitigation: Strategies carried out to lessen the severity of a hazard (e.g. sandbags to offset impact of flooding).
• Management: Coordinated strategies to reduce a hazard’s effects. Including : prediction, adaptation, mitigation.
• Risk sharing: A form of community preparedness, where the community shares the risk posed by a natural hazard and invests collectively to mitigate the impacts of future hazards

Question 7

Aspects of hazards and how they affect human responses

Answer 7

• Incidence: Frequency. not affected by the strength of a hazard, often a hazard occurs. Low hazard incidence may he harder to predict and have less management strategies, hazard could be more catastrophic. Also usually more intense
• Distribution: w occur geographically. High hazard distribution have a lot of management strategies as they can adapt
• Intensity: the power of a hazard i.e. how strong it is and how damaging the effects are. High magnitude and intensity hazards have worse effects so require more management.
• Magnitude: the size of the hazard, usually this is how a hazard’s intensity is measured. more mitigation strategies will be needed to lessen the effects and ensure a relatively normal life can be carried out after the hazard
• Level of development: economic development will affect how a place can respond to a hazard, so a hazard of the same magnitude may have very different effects in two places of contrasting levels of development.an area with a lower level of development is less likely to have effective mitigation strategies as these are costly. However, there are many high income countries that are not as prepared for natural hazards as they should be, meaning they lack the management strategies for an event

Question 8

Park model of human response to hazards

Answer 8

• The park model shows that hazards have varying impacts over time before the disaster, when the event happens and post event relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction
• Stage 1 = relief, Stage 2 = rehabilitation, stage 3 = reconstruction

Question 9

Hazard management cycle

Answer 9

Outlines the stages of responding to events, in seeking to reduce the scale of a disaste showing how the same stages take place after every hazard.

• Preparedness = Being ready for an event to occur
• Response = Immediate action taken after event
• Recovery = Long-term responses
• Mitigation = Strategies to lessen the effects of another hazard