Topic 1: EQ2 Flashcards
What does Degg’s model show?
It shows the interaction between hazards, disaster and human vulnerability.
The main point which it shows is that a disaster cannot occur without a vulnerable population being exposed to a hazard.
What is a disaster?
“A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community of society to cope using its own resources.” - UN
Alternative interpretations are given by large insurers, who define it as economic losses of over $1.5million.
What factors cause the complex relationship between risk, hazards and people?
-Unpredictability: many hazards are not predictable, people are caught out by their timing and magnitude.
-Lack of alternatives- People may stay in an area due to a lack of options economically, lack of space to move or lack of skills or knowledge.
-Dynamic Hazards: hazards may increase or decrease in threat over time. Human influence can also change location or increase frequency or magnitude of events.
Cost-benefit: For some people, the benefits of living in a hazardous area may outweigh the risk.
‘Russian roulette reaction’ - This is the acceptance of the risk as something that will happen no matter what you do. The risk being fatality.
What is a Hazard?
This is a perceived natural/geophysical events that has potential to threaten both life and property.
An earthquake wouldn’t be a hazard if there wasn’t both buildings and humans to be impacted by the shaking.
What is the definition of a disaster?
This is the realisation of a hazard, when it ‘causes a significant impact on a vulnerable population’.
What is risk?
This is the exposure of people to a hazardous event. More specifically, it is the probability of a hazard occurring that leads to the loss of lives and/or livelihood.
What is resilience?
In the context of hazards and disasters, resilience can be thought of as the ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb and recover from the effects of a hazard.
What is the hazard-risk formula?
Risk = hazard x vulnerability
How can risk be understood through perception?
When there is an increasing stress from natural hazards, there may come a point where the population or community has to ‘adjust’. The ratio of absorption to adjustment will vary depending on the hazard, and attitudes of decision makers.
How do populations vary on their resilience?
This is the ability to ‘spring back’ from a disaster. The resilience of a community will often be determined by the degree to which that community has the necessary resources and is capable of organising itself both prior to and during times of need.
What is the Pressure and Release Model (PAR)?
The basis of the PAR model is that disaster is the intersection of two processes:
1) processes generating vulnerability on one side, and
2) the natural hazard event on the other.
It is suggested to look at this model as a nutcracker. Pressure is needed from both sides of the operation in order to create the disaster (like cracking the nut).
The ‘release’ idea of the model comes from the idea that to relieve pressure, the vulnerability has to be reduced.
What is the progression of vulnerability on the PAR model?
The root causes (e.g limited access to power, structures and resources) create dynamic pressures (which includes inadequacies in skills, training, local investment).
These dynamic pressures then create unsafe conditions in the physical and social environments of those most vulnerable to the risk. Unsafe conditions can be either physical or social.
What are examples of root causes on the PAR model?
Limited access to…
-Power
-Structures
-Resources
Can also be caused by economic and political systems.
What are the dynamic pressures on the PAR model?
Lack of:
-Training
-Appropriate skills
-Local investment
-Press freedom
-Ethical Standards in public life
Can also be caused by rapid population change, rapid urbanisation, deforestation and scheduled debt repayments.
What are some examples of social and physical unsafe conditions in the PAR model?
-Fragile physical environment
-Fragile local economy
-Vulnerable society
-Public actions
What is a catastrophe?
a disaster which has profound impacts on life and property: with over 2000 deaths, or over 200,000 made homeless, or the GDP of a country is reduced by 5%, or dependence on aid from abroad for a year or more after the event.
What is vulnerability?
the geographical conditions that increases the susceptibility of a community to a hazard or to the impact of a hazard event. It is dependent on the ability to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from a hazard.
How do social and economic impacts of tectonic hazards vary?
They vary in terms of time and geographical region. They may vary from minor nuisances to major disasters involving a considerable impact on people in terms of loss of livelihood or even death.
Why are the impacts presented by earthquakes generally worse than the impacts presented by volcanoes?
The concentration of volcanoes in relatively narrow belts means that they on,y cover a small proportion of land, but also the proportion of the population with direct exposure to volcanoes is very low.
Less than 1% of the population is at risk from volcanic activity, but this rises to 5% for seismic activity. This is significantly higher than 5% when secondary impacts are also considered.
What are the economic impacts of tectonic hazards proportional to?
The land area exposed to the hazard. However, economic impacts require more context than social hazards, for example:
-Level of development (region or country)
-Insured impacts versus non-insured losses
-Total number of people affected that speed of economic recovery
-Degree of urbanisation and country/region’s interdependence
-Impacts caused by a countries GDP.
What was the Haiti earthquake?
In 2010, A earthquake magnitude 7.0 struck Haiti 24km from the capital (Port-au-Prince), which is home to 2 million people.
It had a shallow focus (13km) and was caused by a fault between the American and Caribbean Plates.
How did Haiti’s development affect the earthquake’s severity?
-Haiti is a poor, developing country and its resources were being spent on more immediate issues such as disease.
-Lack of regulation surrounding building quality and structure meant that the slum housing in the capital collapsed immediately due to the shaking.
-The fact many Haitians live in poverty meant they didn’t have access to resources to prepare or cope with the quake.
-Haiti only has one airport, which was damaged during the quake, meaning international aid was slow.
-Poor sanitation saw a cholera outbreak later in 2010, and a lack of medical supplies and knowledge caused this to spread, killing 9000 Haitians.
How did Haiti’s government response/planning affect the severity of the earthquake?
-Corruption of local and national government led to a lack of resources and commitment to improve the countries resources.
-Lack of planning for a disaster like this meant government and emergency services panicked when the quake hit.
-1/4 of government officials were killed, and government buildings were destroyed, making it difficult to organise an effective response strategy.
How is Haiti recovering from the 2010 earthquake?
-By 2015, $13billion of international aid donates, but remained in the hands of IGOs and Governments.
-Concern about Haiti gov core meant international aid was slow through the government, with international organisations wanting to undertake projects themselves, brining their own staff overseas. This arguably hampered Haiti’s ability to become independent and self sufficient.
-New roads, homes and services have been built but 80 000 still live in temporary housing and cholera is still an issue. Another earthquake in 2020 only slowed the still ongoing recovery.
What was the 2008 China Earthquake?
Earthquake of magnitude 7.9 struck Sichuan, a mountainous region in SW China. Over 45 million were affected and 5 million were made homeless.
It had a focal length of just 19km
How did China’s government affect impacts felt by the 2008 earthquake?
-Corrupt gov official ignored building structure regulations and accepted bribes from construction companies who wanted to take shortcuts. As a result many buildings collapsed, and schools fell killing over 5000 children.
-China has a strong central government and this meant it was able to respond quickly and efficiently to the quake.
-Gov organised temporary homes, roads and bridges within two weeks.
-Gov pledges $10 billion for rebuilding work.
What about China’s development affected response to the 2008 earthquake?
-China is an emerging nation, and its growing economy was able to afford to pay for rescue and aid efforts.
-130000 soldiers and relief workers were sent to the affected areas due to good global connections.
-Better medical knowledge and personnel due to emerging education meant those who survived could receive the attention they required.
How has China learnt from the 2008 earthquake?
-Now has tough building codes and is investing in safer and better infrastructure.
-However, gov corruption meant unsafe building practices still continue. After the quake, 40000 were moves to a newly built city called Yongchang, but cracks appeared in structures almost immediately.
The Chinese gov saw the quake as an opportunity to rebuild the affected area, and these efforts meant that the lives of those living in the area improves, but so did the local economy, with 99% of the projected 196000 farmhouses being rebuilt, and 97% of 30,000 construction projects in the region having begun.
What was the 2011 Japan earthquake?
Magnitude 9.0 struck the Pacific Ocean between the North American and pacific plates. It occurred 100km from Sendai (pop 1 million) and also triggered a tsunami.
How did Japans level of development affect the impacts of the earthquake?
Japan is a developed nation.
-Many offices and homes were equipped with earthquake emergency kits.
-Education and preparation is in place and there are laws about the regular occupancy of drills practiced in schools and businesses.
-However, it’s high energy development of nuclear power stations caused the Fukushima disaster, which led to the ongoing impacts.
-National TV coverage meant messages were spread about what residents should do in immediate response.
-Bank of Japan offered $180billion to banks in order to keep the economy running.
How did the Japanese government limit the impacts felt by the earthquake in 2011?
-Immediate gov response, 110,000 troops were mobilised within 24 hours.
-Organised international response from over 20 countries.
-Low levels of government corruption meant that building regulations were enforced. 75% of buildings are constructed with earthquakes in mind.
-10m walls in place in coastal areas to protect from the risk of a tsunami, however liquefaction did cause these to fail.
