Flashcards
Geography - world at risk
Cards in this deck (172)
- 1What is the definition of physical risk?A natural Phenomena that threatens life or property
- 2What are physical risks known as?Natural hazards
- 3What categories can natural hazards be broken down into?1)Hydro-meteorological
2) Geophysical - 4What is the definition of a hydro meteorological hazard?Natural hazards that are caused by water, the weather or a combination of both.
- 5What are examples of hydro-meteorological?Cyclones
Droughts
Floods - 6What is the definition of a geophysical hazard?Natural hazards caused physical processes that act upon , above or within the Earth.
- 7what are examples of Geophysical hazards?Earthquakes
Volcanoes
Landslides
Avalanches - 8What is a cyclone?An area of low atmospheric pressure that is created when air from the earths surface rises and as it rises into the atmosphere it gets cooled and causes condensation. This results in the formation of clouds then precipitation.
- 9What things do cyclones bring?Precipitation
Clouds
Windy conditions - 10What are tropical cyclones known as?Hurricanes or Typhoons
- 11How are tropical cyclones fueled and formed?By warm ocean water
- 12How are temperate cyclones formed?When air of different characteristics converges and rises, drawn upwards by an accelerating jet stream.
- 13What are violent cyclonic storms?Deep low pressure systems in coastal areas
- 14What are the most intense cyclones?Cyclones that develop over warm waters of the Earths tropics
- 15How are these "most intense cyclones" created?the air rises into the atmosphere cloud formations and condensation rapidly occur.Tropical cyclones are often very large and behavior is difficult to predict.
- 16When are tropical cyclones referred to as hurricanes?tropical cyclones that begin in the Atlantic ocean.
- 17when are tropical cyclones referred to as typhoons?when they begin in the specific ocean to those that live in Asia.
- 18What happens if tropical cyclones remain over warm water?They continue to grow in size and strength
- 19what is the cyclones point of greatest destruction?When a Cyclone crosses the coastline.
- 20What islands could be devastated by a tropical cyclone?Polynesia in the pacific Ocean
- 21what happens when cyclones cross the sea to land?They loose strength rapidly as they are no longer fed by warmth and moisture of the ocean.
- 22How are some cyclones beneficial?When they bring rain bearing depressions which bring much needed rainfall to dry areas
- 23What is a drought?An extended period of lower than average precipitation which causes water shortages which extends over two or more seasons or years.
- 24what areas can droughts affect?They can be localized or spread across an entire continent.
- 25Why are some areas more prone to droughts than others?due to the variability of rainfall from one season to the next?
- 26what areas are most prone to droughts?Northern Africa
Central Asia
Most of Australia - 27how is shortage of rainfall for 1 or 2 seasons normally coped with?By using existing supplies of water. rivers, lakes, damns and reservoirs.
Rationing of water
non essential uses of water cut
water supplies prioritized for human use - 28what can droughts lead to?Dehydration and disease resulting in widespread death.
- 29What are the physical effects of prolonged droughts?loss of vegetation that holds soil in place, soils are then exposed to the wind meaning that nutrient rich top soil are lost to the wind.
- 30What is an example of where drought occurs?The Sahelian region in western Africa.
- 31What was the worst drought in the sahelian region?the 1972 to 1984.
More than 100,000 people lost their lives. Millions were dependant on food aid. - 32When does a flood occur?When land that is usually dry in inundated with water
- 33when do floods normally occur?After a prolonged period of rainfall which causes water courses to burst their banks and overflow or the systems in place such as storm water drains and levee banks have failed
- 34what is an example of an area prone to flooding?the low lying land of Bangladesh is inundated with melt waters from India and Nepal.
- 35what is an area that floods annually but has used the flooding to their advantage?Egypt - flooding of the Nile
- 36What is another area of flooding?New Orleans in southern united states.
- 37What makes New Orleans especially vulnerable to flooding?It lies 2 meters below sea level in a "bowl".
- 38what waters surround new Orleans?Lake Pontchartrain
Mississippi River
Gulf of Mexico - 39How does New Orleans stop the waters?Storm waters drains
levee banks - 40when were the defenses breached?In august 2005 because of hurricane Katrina (category 5)
- 41What were the results of hurricane Katrina?Half the city was flooded
1,300 died
60,000 left homeless - 42What are earthquakes?a series of vibrations at the surface of the earth
- 43how are earthquakes created?the crust of the earth is fragmented into sections known as tectonic plates. Tectonic plates float on the mantle (molten rock) Heat is generated from the earths core which causes convection currents. The tectonic plates respond to the movement
- 44what happens when the tectonic plates move?They collide (convergent)
Drift apart (divergent)
Slide past each other (transform) - 45why are less developed countries more vulnerable?houses are made from cheaper readily available materials so they are less rigid.
- 46what is an example of an area prone to earthquakes?Japan
- 47How does Japan prepare for Earthquakes?government regularly carries out "disaster preparedness days"
- 48what is a volcano?an opening within the earths crust from which material below the earths surface is ejected.
- 49What materials are ejected from a volcanoes?Magma (lava when exposed to the ground)
Volcanic gasses ( hydrogen sulfide)
Ash
Dust - 50What is an active volcano?one in the process of erupting or showing signs that an eruption is eminent
- 51what are Volcanoes a result of?Tectonic activity
- 52What is the Rim of Fire?A chain of volcanoes located on the boundaries of the pacific ocean. It is the worlds most tectonically active zones.
- 53why have so many settlements been built near volcanoes?the rocks extruded are rich minerals and nutrients which are sought after by farmers and miners
- 54What is an example of people living in a volcanic area?Bay of Naples in Italy 3 million people live within 20km radious of Vesuvius
- 55What Island was created through volcanic activity?Iceland in the Atlantic , it still continues to grow in size and is home to 300,000 people
- 56what is an example of an extinct volcano that then became active?Four peaked volcano in Alaska on 17 September 2006.
Vesuvius in AD 79 burying pompei - 57What is a landslide?The sliding of large amounts of rocks or soil down a slope under the force of gravity.
- 58What is an Avalanche?A sudden downwards movement of snow or ice in mountainous regions
- 59How do landslides or avalanches occur?They are triggered by an event which causes structural weakness within the body of the soil,rock or snow which can lead to a complete loss in structure
- 60what are examples of triggering event?Heavy rainfall
earthquakes
Change to a slope (road cutting or earthworks) - 61Where are most landslides located?areas of high rainfall such as those located in the earths tropics
- 62Why are they common in the earths tropics?Hurricanes and monsoons can dump large amounts of rainfall in seconds so soil can become quickly saturated
- 63What else can increase the risk of landslidesclearing of vegetation off hillsides
- 64What is the disaster risk equation?R = (H x V) / C
- 65what does the disaster risk equation represent?(type of hazard x Vulnerability to hazard ) / Capacity to cope or recover
- 66compare cyclones and landslideslandslides are fast acting hazards that happen without warning.
Cyclones can be monitored and predicted and planned for - 67How can vulnerability be explained in terms of natural hazardsyour proximity
conditions of living (such as poverty) - 68what does a capacity mean?A communities ability to absorb and recover from the effects of natural hazards
- 69when was the industrial revolution?In the 18th century
- 70what has happened since the industrial revolution?human economic and social activity has resulted in the production of 1000 of tonnes of greenhouse gasses
- 71what effects has global warming had on the world?Melting ice caps
rising sea levels
changing migratory patterns of wildlife - 72who will be most vulnerable to climate changethose that live on the marginal areas of the planet and less developed countries.
- 73By how much has levels of CO2 increased since pre industrial times35%
- 74How has global temperature increased in the last 100 years?increased by between 0.5 to 1.0 degrees Celsius
- 75what was created to help debate and clarify the issue of global warming?Intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) in 1988
- 76who made the IPCC?The world meteorological organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment programme (UNEP).
- 77what happened in 1992 that was the beginning of constructive political dialogue on global warmingEarth summit in rio de janeiro
- 78what is the most serious pollitical attempt to limit global emissions?the Kyoto Protocol that came into effect in 2005
- 79what were the rules in place for HIC'scommitment to reduce their emissions by 5% relative to 1990's level by 2012
- 80what are the arguments for why natural disasters reported each year are increasing?improvements in technology are able o report more smaller scale and isolated disasters.
People are enouraged to report natural disasters than in the past ( CRED) and closer analysis of available data - 81what does cred stand for?Centre for research on the Epidemiology of disasters
- 82What has EM- DAT shownin 1900's less than 10 natural disasters
1940's gradual rise in natural disasters 50 cases over 2 decades
in 1960 international disaster data collection agencies was created contributed to increased in reported disasters between 60 - 70's
1980 grew more than 200
EM -DAT was created in 1988 and this followed the upward trend
in 2000 more than 400 natural disasters were reported - 83what was the death toll from natural disaster between 1900 to 1940500,000 people each year
- 84what happened after 1940?Death toll decreased to less than 50,000 a year
- 85what does the decline in death toll show?The ability for humans to understand hazards better , ability to predict occurance take precautions, construction of houses to withstand disasters
- 86what has happened since 1980the average annual economic cost of natural disasters has risen from $20 billion to $160 billion.
People affected has risen from 100 million to more than 200 million - 87How many people were reported affected in 2005?650 million
- 88what things have improved in terms of capacity?Disaster-warning systems
Emergency responses
government responding appropriately
global community providing relief
scientists and engineers disaster proof buildings
building regulations - 89What is happening to our capacityit is increasing
- 90what is happening to our vulnerability?It is increasing
- 91how have we increased our vulnerability?economic
Sociol-demographic
technological - 92How does economic factors affect our vulnerability?We exploit our environment for money removing natural barriers such as vegetation of steep slopes to create more usable land for agricultural or profits in forestry .
- 93What is a case study of exploitation of natural resources?The Mekong River in highlands of china , through the Myanmar, Thailand,Laos,Cambodia and Veitnam
- 94how many people live in the Mekong river basin?60 million
- 95how many people are dependent on the river?two thirds
- 96how is climate change going to affect the river?Shifting patterns in rainfall snow melts and sea level rise
- 97what anthropogenic activities affect the river?continued urbanisation
increased clearing
soil erosion
over fishing - 98how has social-demographic factors affect our vulnerability?the population is increasing meaning more people are vulnerable to hazards
- 99EXPLAIN?Increased urbanisiation on coastal areas meaning more of the world affected by hydro-meteorologocal. Meaning wh en they occur their is high economic loss
- 100what economic costs are involved?Replace infrastructure
tax payer funded relief programes
tax breaks to assist communities
increase in price of goods as businesses re establish themselves - 101What other population growth has ffected our vulnerability?people are building in marginal areas that are at higher risks meaning insurers charge higher premiums.
- 102What are deltas?Sedimentary deposits that are formed at the mouth of a river system.
- 103how many people are living on 40 deltas and megadeltas300 million
500 people per km squared - 104what are the three largest mega deltasNile
Mekong
Ganges-Brahmaputra ( in Bangladesh) - 105how has an ageing population affected our vulnerability?they have less capacity to take action before and after natural disasters
- 106how has mobility affected our vulnerablity?there used to be community memory on where not to build and the areas most affected this has been lost by people traveling to different areas.
- 107what is an example of where elederly people were more vulnerable?in the summer heatwave of 2003 in europe thousands of deaths occured of elderly people over 70 years
- 108how does technology make us more vulnerable?when the systems that we rely on don't work we are made more vulnerable
- 109what case study supports this?in 2005 when the hurricane Katrina in new orleans
- 110where is new orleans built ?the delta of the Mississippi river on a flood plain and low lying land.
- 111on average how often does the land subside?6 and 15 mm a year
- 112Why was new orleans vulnerable?levve banks and emebankments were built near to
levee banks took a sea level rise of 4.5 m but storm brought 5m rise - 113what were the affects?half of new orleans homes were flooded
average flood water level was 1.2 m however in some areas it reached 6 m
$10 billion cost
35000 not insured - 114what is the general affects of climate change?increased frequency and magnitude of natural disasters
- 115what was released in 2007?IPCC's fourth report on climate change
- 116what did the report concludea 2 degree increase from 1990 to 2000 temperatures will increase the liklehood of wildfires, floods , droughts and heatwaves
- 117where was there a heatwave in 2006?Belgium and netherlands
- 118what were the affects?2000 deaths
- 119what main things woill global warming involve?Increase in hot days and nights ( increased demand for water)
Changes in rainfall patterns
sea levels rising
increased intensity of tropical cyclones - 120where is there gooing to be more rainfall?high latitudal areas
- 121what does more rainfall mean?More flooding
- 122where will droughts be more apparent?in mediterranean climates of mid lattitudes within continental interiors of mid latitudes
- 123what will drought lead to?enhance existing problems of dehydration and disease in LIC's
- 124why will there be more cyclones?there will be warmer oceans
- 125describe a la Nina year?Trade winds move from east to west pushing water from the east to the western part of the pacific. Deep cold water on the eastern side replaces the water pushed to the western side by being pulled upwards. this causes there to be warm water in the west and cold water in the east.
- 126Describe a El Nino year?Trade winds become weaker, warm water from the west moves back down to the east and not as much cold water gets pulled up from below. Meaning water in the east is warmer than western parts of the pacific.
- 127what does el nino cause?droughts in the western areas suchas south east asia southern africa and eastern austrailia
- 128what other things?floods in eastern areas such as peru and Ecuador
- 129How long does el nino occur?12 and 18 months
- 130and at whatr intervals does el nino occur?between 2 and 7 years
- 131what is the movement of weather between la nina and el nino conditions known asthe El Nino southern oscillation
- 132what is the oscillation based onthe differences in air pressure that occur between the western and eastern sides of the pacific ocean
- 133what are the effects of el nino?droughts in low lying places on the west side of the pacific such as
south east asia
southern africa
eastern australia
floods in the east of the pacific
such as Peru and ecuador - 134what are the affects of el nino?floods in the west of pacific and droughts in the east and la nina conditions are less intense than el nino
- 135name some areas affected by ENSO el nino soutrhern oscillation.Southern Africa
South east Asia
western south america - 136case study for El nino?Ecuador 1997
10 times average rainfall
damage to infrastructure-$123.3 million
economic losses - $1,291.9 million - 137what happened in 2004 and what were the affects?tsunami
death 300,000
1.5million homeless - 138how many natural disasters were there in 2005?360
- 139what were the affects?death - 90,000
150 million affected
damage 159 billion - 140what did the world bank recently publish?Natural disaster hotspots: a global analysis
- 141what was the initiatives aim?reduce lossed that occur as a result of natural disasters
- 142What did the report identifyAreas most vulnerable to natural hazards and elements at risks
risks were calculated to a local level allowing a comparison of risks - 143what are hotspotsout of 160 countries 25 % of the population live in areas with high mortality risk
- 144what is the case study for hot spots?Armenia
- 145what is armenia exposed to?earthquakes, hailstorms, droughts,landslides, windstorms and floods
- 146what is the most common?Landslides due to mountainous landscape
- 147Detail?15 % of Armenians live in areas prone to landslides
damage bill $10 million
300 landslide areas are active they have become a part of everyday life. - 148what characteristics of natural hazards determine whether it is a disaster?Magnitude
Duration
Location
Timing - 149what factors determine wthere the occurance of a natural hazard will result in a natural disaster?natural hazard type
People
Infrastructure
Economically important or environmentally important land use
Extent on which these elements damaged or destroyed - 150what did the world bank analysis find?more than 1/2 the wporld population live in an area which could be significantly impacted by Natural hazards
there are 35 countries where 5% of people living there have a high risk of mortality from 3 or more natural hazards - 151what specific place did they find?Taiwan
- 152specifics?73% of the population live in areas expsed to 3 or more hazards
- 153what were other high ranking counteries with 90%?Bangledesh , Nepal, Burundi, Haiti, malawi, El salvador and Honclaras
- 154what does the world banks "high mortality risk" hotspot map show?Clear indication that people living in large tracts of LIC are doing so with a high risk of mortality
Hotspots for hydro-met hazards are East asia, Central america, eastern south america
African continent broadly affected by drought central and southern africa - 155what does the world banks map ofhigh total economic loss show?hotspots if geophysical hazards are in areas exposed to hydro-meteorological risks as well
Himalaya's, Japan,Middle East and southern Europe are places exposed to multiple hazards
hotspots are areas of greatest economic risk from various types of natural hazards - 156what do direct losses result from?loss of assests(homes,buildings and factories) due to Natural hazards
- 157what are indirect losses?Continue to mount up after loss of assets
- 158what places are generally most at risk from natural hazards?LIC's
- 159Statistics?95% of deaths caused by natural hazards occurs in LIC's
Financial losses 20 times greater in LIC's - 160what is this called?Disproportionate effect
- 161why does this happen?climate-exposure to extreme weather, unstablle geology harder to develop than other places
less capacity to plan and prepare for natural hazards - 162describe the location of california/the western coast of use on nirth american plate and pacific plated boundary. HIC and has an HDI of 5.56
- 163what type of natural hazards does it experiences?Earthquakes
landslide
volcanic activity - 164why does california experience earthquakes?lies on the san andreas fault and the pacific plate moves in a northwest direction 50 mm every year this movement causes earthquakes in san Diego, los angeles and santra barbara.
another fault i ssan jacinto - 165why does california experience landslides?it is a hilly region with slopes steeper than 15 degrees. They are covered in sandy soil and can easily loosened by rainfall.
THey can be provoked by wildfires as they destroy vegetation and cover slope in ash - 166why does california experence volcanic ativity?it is located on the rim of fire which is the worlds most active tectonic zone
- 167how many earthquakes are there in California a year?100 to 500 3 are of enough magnitude to cause damage
- 168examples of earthquakes?San fransisco 1906 -7.8 magnitude 3000deaths $8.2 billion
Northern Baja california 2010 -7.4 4 deaths 100 injured - 169examples of landslides in california?San Fransisco 1982 -14 deaths during past 25 years there have been 100 deaths
- 170examples of volcanic activity?Lassen peak 1915 no deaths less than 1% chance of a volcanic eruption
- 171what is its position in hazards risk veresus sevurity?high hazards risk and high security
- 172describe the location of the philippines?group of islands that lie in the pacific ocean on provisncial plate boundary , LIC, HDI 0.654
Information
- Description
- Flashcards on Geography - world at risk, created by lisa.taylor on 28/10/2013.
- Created by
- lisa.taylor
- Views
- 89
- Rating