Why Do Some Natural Hazards Become Disasters? Flashcards
What is vulnerability?
The ability to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from a natural hazard.
What is resilience?
The ability to protect lives, likelihood’s and infrastructure from destruction, and to restore areas after a natural hazard has occurred.
What is a hazard event?
A natural hazard (such as an earthquake, volcanic eruption or tsunami)
How do you calculate the risk?
Risk (R) = Hazard (H) x Vulnerability (V) / Capacity to cope (C)
What affects a countries vulnerability?
Level of development
Population density
Governmental decisions
How do governance and political decisions affect vulnerability and resilience?
The enforcement of building codes and regulations determine the quality and safety of buildings and other structures.
The quality of the existing infrastructure affected a country’s recovery speed.
The existence of disaster preparedness plans influences how quickly and effectively a country responds to and recovers from a hazard event.
The efficiency of emergency services and response teams affects the speed and effectiveness of rescue efforts
The quality of communication systems affects the ability to inform people of a hazard in advance, and to coordinate rescue efforts.
The existence of public education and practised hazard responses influences preparedness.
The level of corruption of government officials and business influences how resources are used.
How do economic and social conditions affect vulnerability and resilience?
Their level of wealth influences people’s ability to protect themselves and then recover from a hazard.
People without access to education may be less aware of risks and how to protect themselves
Poor-quality housing is less able to withstand the impact of natural hazards
Communities with poor health care suffer more disease and are less able to cope with and recover from a hazard
A lack of income opportunities means that people cannot buy the resources they need to prepare and cope
How do physical and environmental conditions affect vulnerability and resilience?
Areas with a high population density tend to have more low-quality housing.
Rapid urbanisation creates a need for more housing - most of which is built quickly and of poor quality.
The accessibility of an area affects how quickly rescuers and aid can arrive.
