NATURAL HAZARDS: EFFECTS AND RESPONSES:
A natural hazard is a natural process which Primary e ects include destroyed buildings, deaths
could cause death, injury or disruption to humans and injuries, crops and water supply damage,
or destroy property and possessions electricity cable damage and communication network
damage
• Two di erent types of natural hazards are
Secondary e ects include prevention of aid and
geological hazards (land and tectonics) and
emergency vehicles from helping people, road
meteorological (weather and climate) blockages, food shortages, clean water shortages and
There are factors that a ect hazard risk a weakened economy
(probability of people being a ected by a hazard) Immediate responses include evacuating people,
• Vulnerability - the higher the exposed treating the injured, recovering bodies, providing
population, the greater the a ect temporary electricity, providing food drink and shelter
• Capacity to cope - The better the CTC, the and sending aid
lower the risk of being a ected Long-term responses include repairing homes and
buildings, improving plans and building regulations,
• Nature of natural hazards - type, frequency
reconnecting electricity, water and gas connections
and magnitude and boosting the economy
TECTONIC PLATES / HAZARDS: LIVING WITH TECTONIC HAZARDS:
• Destructive margin - where two plates move Many people choose to live near a tectonic hazard as:
towards each other. The oceanic plate meets • moving away from jobs or family is hard
the continental plate and the denser one • they may be con dent in their government
• the minerals from the volcanic ash makes soil fertile
subducts and melts, forming gas-rich magma.
• volcanoes are tourist attractions
This creates volcanoes and ocean trenches. Managing can reduce the e ects of tectonic hazards,
Where two continental plates meet, fold of which these may include:
mountains are created • monitoring: earthquakes (seismometers and lasers)
• Constructive margin - where two plates move to give warning before an earthquake), volcanoes
away from each other. Magma rises and cools, (monitoring earthquakes, gas and shape changes)
which creates new crust • prediction: earthquakes cant really be predicted, but
• Conservative margin - two plates move tectonics can be if monitored very closely
sideways past each other or are moving in the • protection: reinforced buildings, automatic switches
same direction, but at di erent speeds • planning: education, evacuation routes, emergency
supplies
GLOBAL ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION: TROPICAL STORMS:
• The transfer of heat from the equator to the poles by Tropical storms develop between 5 and 30° of the
air movement equator, when the sea temp > 27°c and when there is a
low wind shear
• Air rises > low pressure • The warm water evaporates, rises and condenses to
• Air cools and moves away from equator form clouds, which releases energy to form storms.
• 30° north and south, cool air sinks > high pressure The rising air creates low pressure and increased
• Cool air moves to equator as winds, which curve surface winds. Low wind shear stops clouds
due to the Earths rotation (Coriolis e ect) breaking. Winds move the storm to the west and the
• 60° N & S of the equator, the cold and warm air coriolis e ect causes the storm to spin. The storm
meet loses energy as it travels over land
• The warmer air rises > low pressure • Circular, 100’s km wide, 7-14 days, anticlockwise in
• Some air goes back to equator, while the rest goes to northern, clockwise in southern
the poles • Eye - low pressure, no clouds, no rain, high temp
• At the poles, the air sinks > high pressure • Eye wall - strong wind, storm clouds, rain, low
• High pressure is drawn back to the equator temperatures
ff
A natural hazard is a natural process which Primary e ects include destroyed buildings, deaths
could cause death, injury or disruption to humans and injuries, crops and water supply damage,
or destroy property and possessions electricity cable damage and communication network
damage
• Two di erent types of natural hazards are
Secondary e ects include prevention of aid and
geological hazards (land and tectonics) and
emergency vehicles from helping people, road
meteorological (weather and climate) blockages, food shortages, clean water shortages and
There are factors that a ect hazard risk a weakened economy
(probability of people being a ected by a hazard) Immediate responses include evacuating people,
• Vulnerability - the higher the exposed treating the injured, recovering bodies, providing
population, the greater the a ect temporary electricity, providing food drink and shelter
• Capacity to cope - The better the CTC, the and sending aid
lower the risk of being a ected Long-term responses include repairing homes and
buildings, improving plans and building regulations,
• Nature of natural hazards - type, frequency
reconnecting electricity, water and gas connections
and magnitude and boosting the economy
TECTONIC PLATES / HAZARDS: LIVING WITH TECTONIC HAZARDS:
• Destructive margin - where two plates move Many people choose to live near a tectonic hazard as:
towards each other. The oceanic plate meets • moving away from jobs or family is hard
the continental plate and the denser one • they may be con dent in their government
• the minerals from the volcanic ash makes soil fertile
subducts and melts, forming gas-rich magma.
• volcanoes are tourist attractions
This creates volcanoes and ocean trenches. Managing can reduce the e ects of tectonic hazards,
Where two continental plates meet, fold of which these may include:
mountains are created • monitoring: earthquakes (seismometers and lasers)
• Constructive margin - where two plates move to give warning before an earthquake), volcanoes
away from each other. Magma rises and cools, (monitoring earthquakes, gas and shape changes)
which creates new crust • prediction: earthquakes cant really be predicted, but
• Conservative margin - two plates move tectonics can be if monitored very closely
sideways past each other or are moving in the • protection: reinforced buildings, automatic switches
same direction, but at di erent speeds • planning: education, evacuation routes, emergency
supplies
GLOBAL ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION: TROPICAL STORMS:
• The transfer of heat from the equator to the poles by Tropical storms develop between 5 and 30° of the
air movement equator, when the sea temp > 27°c and when there is a
low wind shear
• Air rises > low pressure • The warm water evaporates, rises and condenses to
• Air cools and moves away from equator form clouds, which releases energy to form storms.
• 30° north and south, cool air sinks > high pressure The rising air creates low pressure and increased
• Cool air moves to equator as winds, which curve surface winds. Low wind shear stops clouds
due to the Earths rotation (Coriolis e ect) breaking. Winds move the storm to the west and the
• 60° N & S of the equator, the cold and warm air coriolis e ect causes the storm to spin. The storm
meet loses energy as it travels over land
• The warmer air rises > low pressure • Circular, 100’s km wide, 7-14 days, anticlockwise in
• Some air goes back to equator, while the rest goes to northern, clockwise in southern
the poles • Eye - low pressure, no clouds, no rain, high temp
• At the poles, the air sinks > high pressure • Eye wall - strong wind, storm clouds, rain, low
• High pressure is drawn back to the equator temperatures
ff
