Examine the relative importance of economic and social factors in the vulnerability of local communities to geophysical hazards. (10 marks).
Has an introduction, clear points and uses real-world examples.
The question was taken from an IB past paper.
Examine the relative importance of economic and social factors in the
vulnerability of local communities to geophysical hazards. {10 marks}
Vulnerability to a geophysical hazard relates to a population’s inability to resist
the effects of said hazard. It is a product of the likelihood of the hazard occurring
and the consequences in terms of death, injury, and destruction. There are many
factors that combine to increase or decrease a population’s vulnerability which
are often related to an investment in preparedness. For instance, Haiti’s 2010
earthquake sustained a different level of destruction when compared to
Christchurch’s 2011 one despite having similar magnitudes (6.3-7). The death
toll also differed severely from 319,000 in Haiti and only 185 in New Zealand.
The perception of risk people have when living an area prone to geophysical
hazards plays an important role. Whist Haiti is situated on a plate boundary,
there had been no tectonic activity of the magnitude felt in 2010 for
approximately 200 years. This meant that it was not central to the consciousness
of Haitians in their everyday life. Conversely, New Zealand is one of the most
tectonically active countries in the world and so people recognize the risks much
more readily and prepare themselves to face them. Pre-packed emergency kits
can play a vital role when evacuation is necessary as it reduces the amount of
time spent in an area facing danger by an individual.
Additionally, it helps that school enrolment rates in New Zealand are high with a
literacy rate of 100%. In contrast, in Haiti, the average 25-year-old only has five
years of schooling and literary rates are around 60%. As such, a more educated
New Zealand public is better positioned to access, understand, and make
positive use of the numerous governments led programmes to increase
preparedness. These include the Shake Out program in schools, where children
are taught to drop, cover and hold. Since children and elderly are the people
most at risk, if children are educated it automatically reduces the threat posed to
them as they know the cautionary measures to take. The government website
www.getready.govt.nz consists of a great deal of information and advice to help
people make their homes safer which, with a literate public who are well aware
of the risks, are able to access and act upon. New Zealanders are therefore able
to gain a better understanding of the risks involved with earthquakes and
preparing themselves to face them, making them less vulnerable.
The South-east Asian tsunami of 2004 suffered a high death toll. When an
earthquake occurs under the ocean its seismic energy can dissipate through the
earth’s crust or as shockwaves through the ocean water. The earthquake
occurred close to the surface, only 30 km deep and caused a tsunami to be
initiated. The movement of the seabed upwards displaces billions of tonnes of
water above it; some sea floor falls and water rushes in to replace it. The uplifted
water collapses and rushes out radially outwards at speeds as high as a
thousand kilometres per hour. Similarly, in Japan, emergency drills in case of
tsunamis are often enacted. Sirens are sounded across the country, children in
school are taught to hide under their desks with the backpacks above their
heads and then in an orderly fashion walk to high ground when deemed safe by
authoritarian powers.
While it is true that New Zealand does has a higher percentage of elderly
compared with Haiti at 15.5% of people being over 65 whereas Haiti is a little
over 4% and in theory the elderly tend to be less mobile and therefore are more
vulnerable to a rapid onset of a short-lived hazard such as an earthquake.
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