key terms

• natural hazard

  events that will be perceived to be a threat to people and the built and natural environments
• disaster

  a serious disruption of a community or society, involving human, material, economic and environmental losses
• geophysical hazard

  a natural event originating from internal earth processes e.g. landslides
• atmospheric hazard

  a natural hazard originating from atmospheric processes e.g. storms or droughts
• hydrological hazards

  natural disasters caused by the movement and distribution of water e.g. tsunamis
• primary effects

  the effects of a hazard event that result directly from that event- e.g. volcanic eruptions lave and pyroclastic flows
• secondary hazards

  the effects that result from the primary impact of the hazard event- tsunami in earthquake
• hazard perception

  the way in which an individual or group views the threat of a hazard event- this will determine the course of action taken by individuals or the response they expect from governments
• fatalism

  a view of a hazard event that suggests that people cannot influence or shape the outcome therefore nothing can be done to mitigate against it- take limited of no preventative measures e.g. people in hati~
• prediction

  the ability to forecast a hazardous event and then give warnings so that action can be taken to reduce their impact- e.g. improved monitoring and communications technology
• adaptation

  the attempts by people or communities to live with hazard events, by adjusting their living conditions, people are able to reduce their levels of vulnerability
• mitigation

  long-term action taken to reduce or eliminate the risk to life and property from hazardous events
• risk-sharing

  a form of community prepared, whereby the community shares the risk posed by a natural hazard and invests collectively to mitigate the impacts of future hazards
• protection

  involves modifications to the built environment such aqs building earthquake-proof buildings
• resilience

  the sustained ability of individuals or communities to be able to utilise available resources to respond to, withstand and recover from the effects of natural hazard events- communities that are resilient are able to minimise the effects of the hazard and return to normal life as quick as possible
• risk

  a situation involving exposure to danger
• hazard incidence

  the frequency of a hazard, this is not effected by the strength of the hazard, it is just how often a hazard occurs
• hazard intensity

  the power of a hazard e.g. how strong it is
• hazard magnitude

  the size of the hazard- this is usually how hazard insensity is measured
• hazard distribution

  refers the spatial coverage of the hazards- can refer to the area affected by a single event
• hazard frequency

  refers to the distribution of the hazard through time
• hazard vulnerability

  the risk of exposure to hazards combined with an inability to cope with them