Hazards

• Hazards:

  • any biological, chemical, environmental or physical agent that is reasonably likely to cause harm or damage to humans, other organisms, or the environment in the absence of its control.
• hazard event = when hazard has happened
• Disaster:

  • catasrophic event that causes seriouse disruptions to a communities functions
• UN's international stratergy for disaster reduction (ISDR):

  • report of 10 or more people killed
  • report of 100 people affected
  • decleration of state emergency by relevant gonvernment
  • request by natural government for international assistance
• Natural hazards:

  • earths natural proccesses which cause hazards
  • anthropogenic activities can sometimes make hazard worse
  • produces: geomorphic, atmospheric and hydrological hazards
• Geomorphic hazards:

  • driven by plate tectonics
  • ex. earth, tsunamis, volanic eruptions, landslides
• Atmospheric hazards:

  • involve weather and climate - recently become easier to predict
  • examples: storms, typhoons, tornadoes, heatwaves, bushfires
• Hydrological hazards:

  • driven by proccesses in water cycle
  • dependant on both atmorpheric and geomorphic proccesses
  • examples: floods, blizzards, avalanches
• Human hazards:

  • anthropogenic in nature (human induced)
  • aka technological hazards as they occur due to exposure to hazardouse substances
  • examples: oil spils, toxic waste, nuclear waste
• what are the 4 spheres of the earth:

  • hydrophere, lithosphere, atmosphere, biosphere
• lithosphere:

  • solid part of earth's crust + upper mantle
  • examples of hazards in sphere: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions
• hydrophere:

  • where water is contained
  • ex of hazards in sphere: floods, droughts, avalanches
• atmosphere:

  • gasses that surround earths surface for 600km
  • ex. of hazards in the sphere: tropical cyclones, bushfires
• biosphere:

  • biotic environment where living things exist on
  • ex. of hazards in this sphere: malaria, invasive species
• spacial disribution:

  • refers to how features or objects are arranged on earths surface
  • ex. in Australia, most houses are located on the coastline
• what are the 3 basic patterns of spacial disribution:

  • uniform - each point spaced eithrelitivly similar distance
  • random - no direct corrilation between each point
  • clustered - each point is related to each other as then form a pattern
• what are spacial assosiations:

  • refers to degee or relationship to which features are similarly disributed
• Temporal disribution:

  • determining how long a hazard event may last
• Magnitude:

  • measurement of the strength/intensity of hazard
  • higher magnitude = more seriouse event
  • in ecological hazards = no. of deaths and infections
• Duration:

  • length of time a hazard even lasts for
  • longer exposure to hazard = more seriouse
  • some can be short but intense (earthquakes) or long lasting (drought)
• Frequency:

  • number of times an area experiences a hazard
  • places that have frequent hazard events are usually more prepared
  • LDC left more vunrable than MDC as dont have the funds
• Probobility:

  • examaning past events and therefore determiningthe likelyhood that they will happen again
  • small - moderate events are more probable than major
• Scale:

  • extent of hazard event - local or global
  • scale of hazard will impact severity
• Impact on human settlement:

  • largely determined by wealth and reasources of a community
  • natural factors and cultural factors can impact an area.
• proximity to human settlement:

  • clossness or distance from source/origin of the hazard
  • closer = more seriouse risk
  • as population increases, people live in previously 'unlivable' areas and are more vunrable
• hazard risk management:

  • aims to protect the community and environment, to reduce impact and stop from reaching disaster level
  • identifying probability of hazards
• 3 phases of risk management:

  1. predisaster planning: preplanning
  2. during disaster: response
  3. post-disaster: recovery
• factors that affect an areas vunrability:

  • wealth and affluence
  • educational awareness
  • health and age of population
  • early warning systems in place
• what are the 4 ways of modifying vunrability:

  1. midigation
  2. preparedness
  3. prediction and warning
  4. recovery
• Mitigation:

  • actions we take to eliminate or minimise the risk from a hazard
  • sometimes most vunerable areas are 'zoned' to eliminate from further risk
• Preparedness:

  • actions taken to create and maintain the capacity of communitied to repond to, and recover from, natural disasters
  • done through measures such as planning, community education, information management, communication and early warning systems
• Ecological hazards:

  • biological or chemical hazard with the potential to impact adversly on the wellbeing of people or on the environment
  • e.g. infectiouse diseases, animal transmitted diseases, water borne diseases.