The Concept of Hazards in a Geographical Context Flashcards
What are the three types of hazards?
- Geophysical
- Hydrological
- Atmospheric
What are examples of geophysical hazards?
- Earthquakes
- Volcanic eruptions
- Tsunamis
- Landslides
What are examples of hydrological hazards?
- Flooding
- Mudslides
What are examples of atmospheric hazards?
- Hurricanes
- Tornadoes
- Extreme heat
- Drought
What does Degg’s Model show?
A natural hazard only becomes a disaster when there is a vulnerable population present.
What is a natural hazard?
A natural event which threatens people and the built environment.
What are the UN’s criteria for a natural disaster?
- 10+ deaths
- 100+ injuries
- Declared state of emergency
- Call for international assistance
What are small-scale pressures affecting hazard impacts?
- Lack of education and training
- Food insecurity
What are large-scale pressures affecting hazard impacts?
- Rapid population growth
- Rapid urbanisation
- Large outstanding debt
- Unsustainable exploitation (e.g. deforestation)
What is hazard perception?
The way in which people view the threat of a hazard.
Which five factors affect hazard perception?
- Wealth
- Experience
- Education
- Religion and belief
- Mobility
What is fatalism?
A passive response to a hazard which states that natural hazards are a part of life and the losses should be accepted.
What is prediction?
An active response to a hazard which uses past events and scientific evidence to reduce the impacts of a hazard.
What is adaptation?
An active response to a hazard in which lifestyle choices are adjusted to reduce vulnerability.
What is mitigation?
An active response to a hazard where strategies are carried out to reduce the impacts of a hazard.
What is management?
An active response to a hazard where strategies are coordinated to reduce hazard impacts.
What is risk sharing?
An active response to a hazard is a form of community preparedness where communities invest collectively to mitigate hazard impacts.
What is hazard incidence?
- The frequency of a hazard
- More frequent hazards are harder to predict and implement management strategies.
What is hazard distribution?
- Where hazards occur geographically
- Hazard hotspots have adapted and have many management strategies
What is intensity?
- The power of a hazard
- Depends on the distance from the hazard
What is magnitude?
- The size of a hazard
- Used as a measure of intensity and has a specific value
Why is level of development important in hazard response?
HICs are able to implement more effective mitigation strategies than LICs.
What are the two models of hazard response?
- Park Model
- Hazard Management Cycle
What is the Park Model?
A graphical representation of human responses to hazards.
What does the Park Model show?
The sequence of phases following a hazard event which was economically and socially disruptive.
In which 3 ways can quality of life change in the Park Model?
- Improving
- Return to normality
- Deterioration
What happens in Stage 1 of the Park Model?
Relief
- Immediate local response including search and rescue
- Immediate appeal for international aid (e.g. MSF, International Rescue Committee)
What happens in Stage 2 of the Park Model?
Rehabilitation
- Services restored
- Temporary shelters and hospitals
- Food and water distributed
- Coordinated foreign aid
What happens in Stage 3 of the Park Model?
Reconstruction
- Restoring the area to the same or better QoL
- Rebuilding infrastructure
- Mitigation strategies implemented for future hazards
What does the Hazard Management Cycle show?
The stages of responding to events, highlighting how the same stages take place after all hazards.
What are the four stages of the Hazard Management Cycle?
- Preparedness
- Response
- Recovery
- Mitigation
What are the five factors which affect the usefulness of hazard response models?
- Complexity
- Inclusion of level of development
- Time scale
- Vagueness
- Impact of climate change
What is an example of hazard adaptation?
Building hazard-resistant infrastructure, such as aseismic buildings.
What are examples of hazard mitigation?
- Land-use zoning
- Floodplain protection
- Property relocation
- Public outreach
What are examples of hazard management?
- Planning evacuation routes
- Cooperation of monitoring services (e.g. NOAA, National Hurricane Centre)
What is an example of risk sharing?
New Zealand
- Increased cooperation between the National Emergency Management Agency and the government since 2014
- Insurance investment to implement mitigation strategies
Which three factors contribute to a natural hazard becoming a natural disaster?
- Risk
- Vulnerability
- Resilience
What is hazard risk?
The probability of a hazard occurring and causing widespread disruption.
What is hazard vulnerability?
The risk of exposure to hazards as well as the capacity to cope with them.
What is hazard resilience?
The ability of a community to absorb a hazard and continue to function.
What is the PAR Model?
Pressure and Release Model.
What does the PAR Model highlight?
The importance of socio-economic characteristics in determining hazard vulnerability.
What are the three sections of the PAR Model?
- Root causes
- Dynamic pressures
- Unsafe conditions
What are examples of root causes of vulnerability in the PAR Model?
- Low access to resources
- Limited influence in decision making
- Poor governance and a weak economic system
What are examples of dynamic pressures leading to vulnerability in the PAR Model?
- Lack of education, training and investment
- Rapid population change and urbanisation
What are examples of unsafe conditions leading to vulnerability in the PAR Model?
- Poor construction standards
- Unsafe infrastructure
- Poverty
- Lack of social safety net
