HAZARDS
THE CONCEPT OF A HAZARD IN GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT
Natural hazard
• It is a perceived event that threatens both life and property.
• They often result in disasters that cause some loss of life / damage to the environment, and create
serious disruption to human activity.
• They include volcanic activity, seismic events and tropical storms.
Risk
• It is the exposure of people to a hazardous event presenting a potential threat to themselves, their
possessions and the built environment in which they life.
Why people put themselves at risk of a natural hazard
• Hazard events are unpredictable - cannot predict frequency, magnitude or scale of the event.
• Lack of alternatives - due to social political, economic and cultural factors people cannot simply move
away - leaving home, land, employment etc.
• Changing the level of risk - places that were once safe might change over time e.g. deforestation making
an area more prone to flooding.
• Cost/benefit - Californian cities have high earthquake risk but advantages of living there are greater.
Vulnerability
• Vulnerability to physical hazards means the potential for loss.
• It varies over space and time.
• Richer countries are able to protect themselves better by building sea defences, earthquake resistant
buildings, and have better emergency services.
• Poorer cities are more vulnerable.
• With urban areas growing, people are forced to live in areas of high risk e.g. steep hillsides prone to
landslides.
Characteristics of natural hazards
• Their origins are clear and the effects that they produce are distinctive e.g. earthquakes causing
buildings to collapse.
• Most natural hazards allow short warning times.
• Exposure to the risk is involuntary - applies to LEDCs. Those in MEDCs are usually aware of the risks but
choose to ignore them.
• Most losses to life and damage to property occurs shortly after the event.
• The scale and intensity of the event requires an emergency response.
Perception
• It is influenced by many factors: social-economic status, level of education, employment status, religion,
family and marital status, past experiences etc.
• Perception of a hazard will determine the course of action taken by individuals to modify the event or
response they expect from the government and organisations.
Fatalism (acceptance)
• Hazards are natural events that are part of living in an area.
• Some communities may go as far to say they are ‘God’s will’.
• Action is therefore often direct and concerned with safety. Losses are inevitable and people remain
where they are.
Adaptation
• People see that they can prepare and survive the events by prediction, prevention and protection.
• It depends on economic and technological circumstances.
Fear
• People feel so vulnerable to a hazard that they are no longer able to live in the area and move to safer
regions unaffected by the hazard.
, Responses
• People respond to natural hazards and the threats that they can pose by seeking way to reduce the risk.
• Responses come from individuals, the local community, national governments and international
agencies.
Community resilience
• It is the sustained ability of a community to utilise available resources to respond to, withstand and
recover from the effects of natural hazards.
Modern management techniques
• With their gathering of information, careful analysis and deliberate planning, they aim to make the most
efficient use of the money available to confront natural hazards.
• A process known as integrated risk management is often used which incorporates:
• identification of the hazard
• analysis of the risks
• establishing priorities
• treating the risk and implementing a risk reduction plan
• developing public awareness and community strategy
• monitoring and reviewing the process.
How organisations try to manage hazards
• Prediction:
• Allows you to give warnings to allow action to be taken. Requires improved monitoring.
• National Hurricane Centre in Florida is an agency demonstrating prediction through the use of satellites
and sea and air based recordings.
• Prevention:
• Unrealistic for natural hazards although there has been some ideas and schemes.
• An idea is seeding clouds before tropical storms to increase rain - resulting in weakening of the system
as it approached land.
• Protection:
• Protect people and the environment from the impacts of the event e.g. modifications to the built
environment.
• Community preparedness involves prearranging measures that aim to reduce the loss of life and
property damage through public education and awareness programmes, evacuation procedures,
provision of emergency medical and food supplies and shelters.
Successful schemes
• An example is the use of dynamite to divert lava flows on Mt Etna and pouring sea water on lava flows in
Iceland.
• On the other hand, the Japanese felt they were prepared for earthquakes yet in 1995 the city of Kobe
suffered the Great Hashin Earthquake which destroyed over 10,000 buildings and killed over 6000
people.
Federal Emergency Management Agency
• It was created in USA in 1978.
• Its purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster in the US that has overwhelmed local resources.
• They have created major analysis programmes for floods, hurricanes and earthquakes.
Disaster risk management cycle
• It illustrates the ongoing process by which governments, businesses and society plan for and reduce the
impact of disasters, react during and immediately after the event, and take the steps to recovery after it
has occurred.
Park Model
• In 1991 Park devised his impact response model.
• The model shows an early stage, before disaster, where the quality of life is normal for the area, and
people try to prevent events and prepare incase it happens.
• When the event happens the quality of life suddenly drops.
THE CONCEPT OF A HAZARD IN GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT
Natural hazard
• It is a perceived event that threatens both life and property.
• They often result in disasters that cause some loss of life / damage to the environment, and create
serious disruption to human activity.
• They include volcanic activity, seismic events and tropical storms.
Risk
• It is the exposure of people to a hazardous event presenting a potential threat to themselves, their
possessions and the built environment in which they life.
Why people put themselves at risk of a natural hazard
• Hazard events are unpredictable - cannot predict frequency, magnitude or scale of the event.
• Lack of alternatives - due to social political, economic and cultural factors people cannot simply move
away - leaving home, land, employment etc.
• Changing the level of risk - places that were once safe might change over time e.g. deforestation making
an area more prone to flooding.
• Cost/benefit - Californian cities have high earthquake risk but advantages of living there are greater.
Vulnerability
• Vulnerability to physical hazards means the potential for loss.
• It varies over space and time.
• Richer countries are able to protect themselves better by building sea defences, earthquake resistant
buildings, and have better emergency services.
• Poorer cities are more vulnerable.
• With urban areas growing, people are forced to live in areas of high risk e.g. steep hillsides prone to
landslides.
Characteristics of natural hazards
• Their origins are clear and the effects that they produce are distinctive e.g. earthquakes causing
buildings to collapse.
• Most natural hazards allow short warning times.
• Exposure to the risk is involuntary - applies to LEDCs. Those in MEDCs are usually aware of the risks but
choose to ignore them.
• Most losses to life and damage to property occurs shortly after the event.
• The scale and intensity of the event requires an emergency response.
Perception
• It is influenced by many factors: social-economic status, level of education, employment status, religion,
family and marital status, past experiences etc.
• Perception of a hazard will determine the course of action taken by individuals to modify the event or
response they expect from the government and organisations.
Fatalism (acceptance)
• Hazards are natural events that are part of living in an area.
• Some communities may go as far to say they are ‘God’s will’.
• Action is therefore often direct and concerned with safety. Losses are inevitable and people remain
where they are.
Adaptation
• People see that they can prepare and survive the events by prediction, prevention and protection.
• It depends on economic and technological circumstances.
Fear
• People feel so vulnerable to a hazard that they are no longer able to live in the area and move to safer
regions unaffected by the hazard.
, Responses
• People respond to natural hazards and the threats that they can pose by seeking way to reduce the risk.
• Responses come from individuals, the local community, national governments and international
agencies.
Community resilience
• It is the sustained ability of a community to utilise available resources to respond to, withstand and
recover from the effects of natural hazards.
Modern management techniques
• With their gathering of information, careful analysis and deliberate planning, they aim to make the most
efficient use of the money available to confront natural hazards.
• A process known as integrated risk management is often used which incorporates:
• identification of the hazard
• analysis of the risks
• establishing priorities
• treating the risk and implementing a risk reduction plan
• developing public awareness and community strategy
• monitoring and reviewing the process.
How organisations try to manage hazards
• Prediction:
• Allows you to give warnings to allow action to be taken. Requires improved monitoring.
• National Hurricane Centre in Florida is an agency demonstrating prediction through the use of satellites
and sea and air based recordings.
• Prevention:
• Unrealistic for natural hazards although there has been some ideas and schemes.
• An idea is seeding clouds before tropical storms to increase rain - resulting in weakening of the system
as it approached land.
• Protection:
• Protect people and the environment from the impacts of the event e.g. modifications to the built
environment.
• Community preparedness involves prearranging measures that aim to reduce the loss of life and
property damage through public education and awareness programmes, evacuation procedures,
provision of emergency medical and food supplies and shelters.
Successful schemes
• An example is the use of dynamite to divert lava flows on Mt Etna and pouring sea water on lava flows in
Iceland.
• On the other hand, the Japanese felt they were prepared for earthquakes yet in 1995 the city of Kobe
suffered the Great Hashin Earthquake which destroyed over 10,000 buildings and killed over 6000
people.
Federal Emergency Management Agency
• It was created in USA in 1978.
• Its purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster in the US that has overwhelmed local resources.
• They have created major analysis programmes for floods, hurricanes and earthquakes.
Disaster risk management cycle
• It illustrates the ongoing process by which governments, businesses and society plan for and reduce the
impact of disasters, react during and immediately after the event, and take the steps to recovery after it
has occurred.
Park Model
• In 1991 Park devised his impact response model.
• The model shows an early stage, before disaster, where the quality of life is normal for the area, and
people try to prevent events and prepare incase it happens.
• When the event happens the quality of life suddenly drops.
