Flashcards
Hazards: Key Concepts
Cards in this deck (35)
- 1What is a natural hazard?A perceived natural event that has the potential to threaten both life and property (Whittow)
- 2What are the 3 types of natural hazard?Geophysical - any structural failure in the earth's crust
Atmospheric
Hydrological - 3Examples of geophysical hazards- earthquakes
- tsunamis
- mass movement
- avalanches
- volcanic eruptions - 4Examples of atmospheric hazards- tropical storms
- tornados
- blizzards
- heatwaves - 5Examples of hydrological hazards- flooding (fluvial or ocean)
- drought
- storm surges - 6What is a natural disaster?Realisation of a hazard, when it causes a 'significant impact to a vulnerable population' (Degg)
- 7According to CRED when does a natural disaster cause a significant impact?10 or more people killed
100 or more people affected - 8What 3 things does the risk of disaster depend on?Magnitude, extent, duration of HAZARD
VULNERABILITY of the people affected
CAPACITY TO COPE of population - 9How would you calculate a population's risk?
- 10What is fatalism?Belief that events are predetermined and will happen anyway
- 11What is prediction?Attempts made to anticipate a natural disaster - monitoring, planning, preparation (involves cost, technology, knowledge)
- 12What is adaptation?Changing aspects of life in order to adjust to the environment
- 13What is mitigation/management?Putting measures in place to prevent the disaster/reducing impacts
- 14What is risk sharing?Any system in place to alert/warn people about the risk of a disaster
E.g. insurance industry, microfinance schemes, aid, social services, investment in emergency services to ensure equipment and training is available, coherent disaster management plan - 15What are the 4 possible responses to hazards and what do these depend on?Do nothing; move to a safer location; adapt lifestyle to hazard; attempt to prevent hazard
Depends on wealth, access to technology, and education - 16What is Park's Model of human response to hazards?Sees a disaster as a deviation from the norm
How far the impacts deviate from the norm indicates how severe the disaster was
Asymmetric shape shows rapid deterioration and slow recovery
- 17Tsunami: hazard modification?Coastal defences and engineering
- 18Tsunami: human vulnerability modification?Warning and prediction systems
Coastal zone management and land use planning
Provision of emergency kits - 19Earthquake: hazard modification?Not possible as unpredictable
- 20Earthquake: human vulnerability modification?Ground shaking and liquefaction risk mapping
Aseismic buildings
Earthquake education/drills
Prediction not possible - 21Volcano: hazard modification?Lava diversion
- 22Volcano: human vulnerability modification?Monitoring, prediction, warning, evacuation systems
Hazard mapping
Education
Shelters - 23What is the hazard management cycle?Focuses on three types of modification
Shows that focusing only on modifying loss will not improve survival chances when next hazard occurs
Long before a hazard occurs, there needs to be a focus on mitigation, prevention and human preparedness
- 244 other hazard modelsPressure and release model
Disaster risk index
Risk-poverty nexus model
Reason's Swiss cheese model - 25What is the pressure and release model?States that a disaster is the intersection of 2 opposing forces (pre-existing conditions and event).
Vulnerability must be reduced to relieve pressure and by doing this the extent of the disaster is reduced.
Factors affecting vulnerability include: access to resources and wealth, risk perceptions, community structure, emergency management.
Vulnerability can be considered in 3 categories: root causes, dynamic pressures, unsafe conditions - 26What are root causes in the PAR model?Well established, widespread processes within society and world economy
Political and economic ideologies which affect allocation and distribution of resources - 27What are dynamic pressures in the PAR model?Processes and activities that translate the effect of root causes into unsafe conditions
- 28What are unsafe conditions in the PAR model?Specific forms in which the vulnerability of a population is expressed
- 29Strengths of the PAR model?- Provides a broad view of vulnerability with lots of causes
- Gives a different outlook: it is the existing vulnerabilities instead of the intensity of the disaster that causes certain outcomes - 30Limitations of the PAR model?Cannot provide any quantitative way of measuring a hazard/disaster/vulnerability
- 31What is the disaster risk index?Quantitative data analysis technique that uses statistical indicators to measure and compare risk variables.
Uses data to calculate average risk of death per country in large and medium scale disasters.
Identifies socio-economic and environmental variables correlating to risk which may point to adaptation/mitigation/preparation strategies.
Indexed for hazard type according to degree of physical exposure, degree of relative vulnerability, and degree of risk. - 32Strengths of the DRIMeasures key elements of risk
Easy to compare between countries as it is numerical
Repeated use can measure disaster risk increase/decrease - 33Limitation of the DRIOnly uses three factors
Lack of info in some countries = less accurate index - 34What is the risk-poverty nexus model?Says that poorer countries have a disproportionately higher risk of mortality and economic loss from disasters than HICs.
Looks at inequalities: asset inequality, political inequality, social status inequality. - 35What is Reason's Swiss cheese model?Used in analysis and risk management of human systems.
Barriers are put in place to minimise hazards - each slice is a barrier.
Holes are weaknesses: active failures (unsafe acts committed by people) and latent failures (things that go wrong due to the way the system is managed/designed).
Disaster strikes when the 'holes' line up.
In theory, weaknesses in one defence do not allow risk to materialise as other defences are in place.
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- A level Geography (Physical geography) Flashcards on Hazards: Key Concepts, created by Amy Warrell on 16/05/2018.
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- Amy Warrell
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