Concepts of Hazards

• A hazard is a potential threat to human life and property caused by an event
• Incidence is the frequency of a hazard.
• Intensity is the power of a hazard, indicating how strong it is.
• Magnitude is the size of the hazard, usually measured by its intensity.
• Level of development affects how a place can respond to a hazard, so a hazard of the same magnitude may have very different effects in two places of contrasting levels of development.
• Perception is how dangerous hazards are viewed and what risk they pose, which is dependent on lifestyle factors such as economic and cultural factors.
• Response options include Fatalism, Prediction, Adaptation, Mitigation, and Management.
• Risk sharing is a form of community preparedness, whereby the community shares the risk posed by a natural hazard and invests collectively to mitigate the impacts of future hazards.
• What are the 3 main types of natural hazards?

  • Geophysical
  • Hydrological
  • Atmospheric
• What are the 6 different types of responses to natural hazards?

  • Fatalism
  • Prediction
  • Adaptation
  • Mitigation
  • Management
  • Risk Sharing
• Geophysical hazards are caused by what?

  land processes
• Atmospheric hazards are caused by which processes?

  meteorological or climatic processes 
• Hydrological hazards are caused by which processes?

  the movement and distribution of water
• Earthquakes, volcanic activity and mass movements such as landslides and mudflows are all examples of what type of natural hazard?

  Geological hazards
• Storms and wildfires are examples of what type of natural hazard?

  Atmospheric hazards
• Floods, limnic Eruptions and tsunamis are examples of what type of natural hazard?

  Hydrological hazards
• Hazards should not be confused with natural disasters. A disaster will only occur when a vulnerable population is exposed to a hazard:

  The Degg’s model is a good representation of this concept

  
• Perception of hazards impact peoples responses / approaches to hazards
• Why might wealthier people perceive a hazard to be smaller/ insignificant and feel less vulnerable?

  wealthier people have the ability to move away from a hazardous area
• Why might wealthier people view a hazard as a greater risk / more signficant?

  Higher stakes (risk of property damage and financial loss)
• Someone who has experienced more hazards may be more likely to understand the full effects of a hazard
• people who have experienced hazards are also likely to have an optimistic and unrealistic outlook on future hazards. Why?

  they can have a ‘lightning never strikes the same place twice’ mentality
• R.kates writes about the ‘lightning never strikes the same place twice’ mentality in what year?


  1971
• Who wrote a journal on the ‘lightning never strikes the same place twice’ mentality? (optimistic views on hazards from experienced people)


  R.kates
• Education - A person who is more educated about hazards may understand their full effects on people and how devastating they can be and have been in the past
• Education - Those who are less educated may not understand the full extent of a hazard and may not evacuate
• Religion and beliefs - Some may view hazards as put there by God for a reason, or being part of the natural cycle of life etc. so may not perceive them to be negative (fatalism)
• Religion and beliefs - people who believe in environmental conservation may perceive hazards to be a huge risk to the natural environment (especially hazards that are becoming more frequent due to global warming)
• Mobility - Those who have limited access to escape a hazard may perceive hazards to be greater threats than they are. Whether they are in a secluded location, or if they are impaired with a disability or illness, those who cannot easily leave an area quickly may feel more at risk
• What is risk sharing?

  working together to reduce the risk and sharing the costs of hazard response (eg buying home insurance – only some people need to claim but the cost is shared by everyone)
• Factors affecting hazard responses are:

  • Frequency (how often a hazard occurs)
  • Intensity & Magnitude
  • Distribution (where the hazard occurs)
  • Level of Development (of a county)
• The Park Model is a graphical representation of the steps of human responses to hazards while giving it a rough time frame
• What is the name of this graph?

  The park model

  
• What factors effect the severity of a hazard?

  • Magnitude
  • Speed of onset
  • Regularity
  • Number of hazards
  • Areal Extent
  • Spatial Concentration
  • Frequency
  • Duration
  • Predictability
• What does the term "speed of onset" mean?

  How fast the peak of a hazard arrives
• What does the term "areal extent" mean?

  Spatial coverage (how large the affected area is)
• Name the 4 stages of the Hazard Management cycle:

  A) Response

  B) Recovery

  C) Mitigation

  D) Preparedness

  
• What is the name for this model?

  The Hazard Management Cycle

  
• What is the definition of mitigation?

  the action of reducing the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of something eg earthquakes
• What are the four stages in the disaster risk management cycle?

  resilience, preparedness, response, recovery