100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
Hazards £4.99
Add to cart

Lecture notes

Hazards

 0 purchase

Concept of a hazard in a geographical context (types of natural hazard, characteristics of natural hazards, how does a hazard become a disaster, risk & vulnerability, hazard perception, hazard management, park model, hazard management cycle) Seismic hazards (causes, distribution, focus & epicentre...

[Show more]

Preview 3 out of 24  pages

  • June 8, 2021
  • 24
  • 2020/2021
  • Lecture notes
  • Tanya harvey
  • All classes
book image

Book Title:

Author(s):

  • Edition:
  • ISBN:
  • Edition:
All documents for this subject (332)
avatar-seller
ethanvega
THE CONCEPT OF HAZARD IN A GEOGRPAHICAL CONTEXT
Nature, form & impacts of natural hazards (geophysical, atmospheric, hydrological)
Natural Hazard: natural events that occur in the lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere
that pose a potential threat to people and the built/natural environment
Types of Natural Hazard
Geophysical: caused by lithospheric processes – volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis
Atmospheric: caused by atmospheric processes – tropical storms, droughts, wildfires
Hydrological: causes by hydrospheric processes – floods, avalanches

Characteristics of Natural Hazards
▪ Origin and effects are clear e.g. earthquakes causing buildings to collapse
▪ Short-warning time
▪ Exposure to the risk is involuntary – particularly in LIC’s
▪ Primary impacts pose greatest threat to people and the built/natural environment
▪ Requires emergency response

How does a hazard become a disaster?
Disaster: when a hazard impacts people and the built/natural environment
Deggs Model: Bradford Disaster Scale:
Quantitatively defines disaster based on
number of fatalities
Fatalities Magnitude
32 1.5
95 1.98
166 2.22
1000 3.0
25,000 4.38
Destruction of Earth 10

,Risk & Vulnerability
Risk: likelihood people and the built/natural environment are impacted by a hazard
Why do people but themselves at risk?
▪ Hazard events are unpredictable – difficult to predict frequency, magnitude, or scale
▪ Lack of alternatives – socio-economic factors e.g. can’t give up homes, land, employment
▪ Changing level of risk – external factors influence risk level e.g. global warming increases
intensity of atmospheric hazards such as tropical storms and wildfires
▪ Costs/benefits – e.g. volcanic land rich in nutrients = higher yields = higher income
▪ Hazard Perception

Vulnerability: susceptibility to the impacts of a hazard
Factors affecting vulnerability:
Social:
• Perception
• Experiences
Economic:
• HIC’s less vulnerable – invest more in protection e.g. sea walls, aseismic buildings
• LIC’s vulnerable – can’t invest in protection + high pop density = live in hazardous areas
Geographical:
• More vulnerable at plate boundaries to geophysical hazards – earthquakes, tsunamis

Hazard Perception
How the threat of a hazard is viewed determines action taken and expected govt response
Fatalism: hazards are a part of living in an area – impacts can’t be mitigated = remain
Adaptation: reduce vulnerability to hazards – mitigation, prevention, prediction, protection
Fear: sense of vulnerability – migrate to areas perceived to be unaffected by hazard
Determinants of hazard perception
▪ Wealth
HIC’s – higher capacity to cope – e.g. investment in mitigation strategies such as sea walls
+ aseismic buildings = sense of preparedness
LIC’s – sense of helplessness increases with level of poverty = fatalistic
▪ Education
Greater education = greater understanding of the risks of hazards & mitigation strategies
▪ Past experience
People in hazard-prone areas experiences of hazards influence future hazard perception
▪ Culture (religion/ethnicity)
e.g. some religions view hazards as ‘acts of God’ = fatalistic approach
▪ Personality
e.g. some fear hazards – migrate, others find them exciting

, Responses to Hazards
Hazard Management
Resilience: sustained ability to utilise resources to respond to, withstand, and recover from
the effects of hazards – minimises long-run impacts of hazards – quickly return to normality
Integrated risk management: risk analysis considering socio-economic and political factors
to determine the acceptability of damage/disruption and actions taken to minimise impact:


1.) Establish context: strategic/organisational/risk context?
2.) Identity risks: what can happen? How can it happen?
3.) Analyse risks: likelihood? Consequences? Level of risk?
4.) Evaluate risks (prioritisation)
5.) Risk reduction plan + public awareness/communication strategy
6.) Monitor & review process




Prediction: ability to provide warnings so action can be taken to reduce hazards impacts –
facilitated by improved monitoring, information, and communications technology - e.g.
National Hurricane Centre (Florida) uses info from satellites and land/sea/air recordings.

Prevention: unrealistic/costly - seeding clouds in potential tropical storms to increase
precipitation, weakening the system as it approaches land

Protection: reducing the impact of hazards on people and the built/natural environment
Adaption: modify built environment e.g. sea walls, aseismic buildings
Preparedness: prearranged measures that aim to reduce the impact of hazards on people
and the built/natural environment through public education and awareness programmes,
evacuation procedures, emergency medical/food/shelter supplies, and insurance
Success of hazard management depends on:
➢ Incidence: how often a hazard occurs
➢ Magnitude: how powerful a hazard is
➢ Distribution: spatial coverage of a hazard – tsunamis can cross large oceans, volcanic
eruptions can impact the global climate. Earthquakes/volcanoes = tectonic plate
boundaries, tropical storms = 50 – 250 N/S of the equator
➢ Level of development: LIC’s lack wealth and technology to reduce impacts of a hazard

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do I get when I buy this document?

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying these notes from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller ethanvega. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy these notes for £4.99. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

65907 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 15 years now

Start selling
£4.99
  • (0)
Add to cart
Added