Hazards
1. Concept of Hazards
Hazard - The threat of substantial loss of life, substantial impact upon life
or damage to property that can be caused by an event
What can hazards be caused by? - Human actions or natural
Geophysical hazard - Driven by the earth's internal energy sources e.g.
volcanoes & seismic activity
Atmospheric hazard - Driven by processes at work in the atmosphere e.g.
tropical storms & droughts
Hydrological hazard - Driven by water bodies, mainly the oceans, e.g.
floods, storm surges, tsunamis
Geomorphic hazard - Driven by the lithology of the earth e.g. landslides,
avalanches
Biohazards - Driven by biological substances, such as medical waste and
samples of a virus or a bacterium e.g. diseases
Risk - The probability of a hazard occurring and creating loss of lives
and/or livelihoods
Vulnerability - The risk of exposure to hazards combined with an inability
to cope with them/how susceptible a population is to damage caused by a
hazard
Why do people live in hazardous areas? (5) - -Unpredictable
-Lack of alternatives
-Cost/Benefit
-Perception
-Changing level of risk
Which characteristics affect perception of hazards? (5) - -Wealth
-Religion
-Education
-Past Experience
-Personality
What are the 3 responses to hazards? - -Fatalism (acceptance)
-Adaptation
-Fear
How do disasters affect HICs? - Often less loss of life but bigger economic
hit. Economy recovers quickly & people can recover losses through
insurance claims
How do disasters affect LICs? - Often more loss of life and economic
losses. Have to rely on aid to recover which takes much longer
What does the hazard management cycle represent? - It represents an
ongoing process by which governments, businesses, and societies plan for
and aim to reduce the impact of disasters
What are the 4 stages of the hazard management cycle? - Response,
recovery, mitigation, preparedness
Describe the park model - It depends on human response to natural
hazards. The steepness of the downward curve suggests the disruptive
impacts, depending on the scale of the disaster, magnitude of the event
and locality
,What are the 3 stages of the park model? - Relief (hours-days),
rehabilitation (days-weeks) & reconstruction (weeks-years)
What are the factors influencing the relationship between hazard &
disaster? - -Magnitude
-Spatial concentration
-Wealth
-Physical geography
-Frequency & regularity
-Social factors
-Technology
-Politics
-Duration
-Areal extent
Integrated risk management - The process of considering the social,
economic & political factors involved in risk analysis determining the
acceptability of damage/disruption & deciding on the actions to minimise
this
What are the 6 stages of the integrated risk management strategy? - 1.
Identification of hazard
2. Analysis of risks
3. Establishing priorities
4. Trading the risk & implementing a risk reduction plan
5. Developing public awareness & communication strategy
6. Monitoring & reviewing the process
What are the 3 P's of risk management? - Prediction, prevention &
protection
Mitigation - The action by people to reduce the potential effects of a
hazard upon themselves or their property
-Stopping at the source
Community preparedness (adaption) - Prearranged measures that aim to
reduce the loss of life, damage to property or disruption to the lived
experience e.g. education/evacuation etc
-Adjusting to the effects
Risk sharing - Insurance in richer areas & aid in poorer areas
Resilience - The sustained ability of individuals or communities to be able
to utilise available resources to respond to, withstand & recover from
natural hazard events
What is an example of a success in hazard response? - Pumping sea water
in Heimaey, Iceland
What is an example of a failure in hazard response? - Great Hanshin
Earthquake, Kobe, Japan
2. Structure of the Earth
Lithosphere - Crust & upper-most solid mantle
What is the crust made up of? - -Solid
-Made up of silicon, oxygen, aluminium, potassium & sodium
What are the properties of the continental crust? - -Thickness of 30-70km
-Over 1,500 million years old
-2.6 density (less dense)
, What are the properties of the oceanic crust? - -6-10km
-Less than 200 million years
-3.0 density (denser)
What are the short names for the types of crust? - -Continental- sial
-Oceanic- sima
Asthenosphere - The soft layer of the mantle on which the lithosphere
floats
Mantle - The layer of hot, molten material between Earth's crust and core
What are the properties of the mantle? - -2900km
-3000°C
-Molten
-Iron, magnesium, sulphides, oxides etc
-84% of Earth's volume
What are the properties of the outer core? - -2200km
-4-5,000°C
-Liquid
-Iron & nickel
What are the properties of the inner core? - -1200km
-6000°C
-Solid
-Iron & nickel
How are convection currents created? - By the intense heat from the core
which causes plates to move
Name the tectonic plates -
Continental Drift Theory - The hypothesis that the present distribution of
the continents is the result of the break up of larger land masses followed
by their drifting apart over long periods of time
What were the different continent configurations & when were they? - -
Permian- 225 million
-Triassic- 200 million
-Jurassic- 135 million
-Cretaceous- 65 million
How long until America & Eurasia crash into each other? - 50-200 million
years
What is biological evidence of continental drift? Why is this evidence? - -
Mesosaurus fossils were found in South Africa & South America only
-They were a fresh water animal, so couldn't have crossed the ocean,
therefore they used to be joined together
What is climatological evidence of continental drift? Why is this evidence?
- -Coal deposits that were formed in tropical climates are found in cold
places
-They must have drifted e.g. similar coal in India & Antarctica
What is geological evidence of continental drift? Why is this evidence? -
The jigsaw fit of the continents
How does sea floor spreading evidence continental drift? - -Mid-Atlantic
ridge was investigated when it was discovered
-Found crust was oldest further away from the ridge
-Showed the ocean crust is moving further from this boundary
1. Concept of Hazards
Hazard - The threat of substantial loss of life, substantial impact upon life
or damage to property that can be caused by an event
What can hazards be caused by? - Human actions or natural
Geophysical hazard - Driven by the earth's internal energy sources e.g.
volcanoes & seismic activity
Atmospheric hazard - Driven by processes at work in the atmosphere e.g.
tropical storms & droughts
Hydrological hazard - Driven by water bodies, mainly the oceans, e.g.
floods, storm surges, tsunamis
Geomorphic hazard - Driven by the lithology of the earth e.g. landslides,
avalanches
Biohazards - Driven by biological substances, such as medical waste and
samples of a virus or a bacterium e.g. diseases
Risk - The probability of a hazard occurring and creating loss of lives
and/or livelihoods
Vulnerability - The risk of exposure to hazards combined with an inability
to cope with them/how susceptible a population is to damage caused by a
hazard
Why do people live in hazardous areas? (5) - -Unpredictable
-Lack of alternatives
-Cost/Benefit
-Perception
-Changing level of risk
Which characteristics affect perception of hazards? (5) - -Wealth
-Religion
-Education
-Past Experience
-Personality
What are the 3 responses to hazards? - -Fatalism (acceptance)
-Adaptation
-Fear
How do disasters affect HICs? - Often less loss of life but bigger economic
hit. Economy recovers quickly & people can recover losses through
insurance claims
How do disasters affect LICs? - Often more loss of life and economic
losses. Have to rely on aid to recover which takes much longer
What does the hazard management cycle represent? - It represents an
ongoing process by which governments, businesses, and societies plan for
and aim to reduce the impact of disasters
What are the 4 stages of the hazard management cycle? - Response,
recovery, mitigation, preparedness
Describe the park model - It depends on human response to natural
hazards. The steepness of the downward curve suggests the disruptive
impacts, depending on the scale of the disaster, magnitude of the event
and locality
,What are the 3 stages of the park model? - Relief (hours-days),
rehabilitation (days-weeks) & reconstruction (weeks-years)
What are the factors influencing the relationship between hazard &
disaster? - -Magnitude
-Spatial concentration
-Wealth
-Physical geography
-Frequency & regularity
-Social factors
-Technology
-Politics
-Duration
-Areal extent
Integrated risk management - The process of considering the social,
economic & political factors involved in risk analysis determining the
acceptability of damage/disruption & deciding on the actions to minimise
this
What are the 6 stages of the integrated risk management strategy? - 1.
Identification of hazard
2. Analysis of risks
3. Establishing priorities
4. Trading the risk & implementing a risk reduction plan
5. Developing public awareness & communication strategy
6. Monitoring & reviewing the process
What are the 3 P's of risk management? - Prediction, prevention &
protection
Mitigation - The action by people to reduce the potential effects of a
hazard upon themselves or their property
-Stopping at the source
Community preparedness (adaption) - Prearranged measures that aim to
reduce the loss of life, damage to property or disruption to the lived
experience e.g. education/evacuation etc
-Adjusting to the effects
Risk sharing - Insurance in richer areas & aid in poorer areas
Resilience - The sustained ability of individuals or communities to be able
to utilise available resources to respond to, withstand & recover from
natural hazard events
What is an example of a success in hazard response? - Pumping sea water
in Heimaey, Iceland
What is an example of a failure in hazard response? - Great Hanshin
Earthquake, Kobe, Japan
2. Structure of the Earth
Lithosphere - Crust & upper-most solid mantle
What is the crust made up of? - -Solid
-Made up of silicon, oxygen, aluminium, potassium & sodium
What are the properties of the continental crust? - -Thickness of 30-70km
-Over 1,500 million years old
-2.6 density (less dense)
, What are the properties of the oceanic crust? - -6-10km
-Less than 200 million years
-3.0 density (denser)
What are the short names for the types of crust? - -Continental- sial
-Oceanic- sima
Asthenosphere - The soft layer of the mantle on which the lithosphere
floats
Mantle - The layer of hot, molten material between Earth's crust and core
What are the properties of the mantle? - -2900km
-3000°C
-Molten
-Iron, magnesium, sulphides, oxides etc
-84% of Earth's volume
What are the properties of the outer core? - -2200km
-4-5,000°C
-Liquid
-Iron & nickel
What are the properties of the inner core? - -1200km
-6000°C
-Solid
-Iron & nickel
How are convection currents created? - By the intense heat from the core
which causes plates to move
Name the tectonic plates -
Continental Drift Theory - The hypothesis that the present distribution of
the continents is the result of the break up of larger land masses followed
by their drifting apart over long periods of time
What were the different continent configurations & when were they? - -
Permian- 225 million
-Triassic- 200 million
-Jurassic- 135 million
-Cretaceous- 65 million
How long until America & Eurasia crash into each other? - 50-200 million
years
What is biological evidence of continental drift? Why is this evidence? - -
Mesosaurus fossils were found in South Africa & South America only
-They were a fresh water animal, so couldn't have crossed the ocean,
therefore they used to be joined together
What is climatological evidence of continental drift? Why is this evidence?
- -Coal deposits that were formed in tropical climates are found in cold
places
-They must have drifted e.g. similar coal in India & Antarctica
What is geological evidence of continental drift? Why is this evidence? -
The jigsaw fit of the continents
How does sea floor spreading evidence continental drift? - -Mid-Atlantic
ridge was investigated when it was discovered
-Found crust was oldest further away from the ridge
-Showed the ocean crust is moving further from this boundary
