Hazards in Geographical Context

• Geophysical Hazard – driven by the Earth’s own internal energy sources, for example, plate tectonics, volcanoes, seismic activity.
• Atmospheric Hazard – driven by processes at work in the atmosphere, for example, tropical storms, droughts.
• Hydrological Hazard – driven by water bodies, mainly the oceans, for example, floods, storm surges, tsunamis
• In HICs these effects of a disaster tend to do little long-term damage to the economy – there is enough wealth and potential for redevelopment to be able to rebuild infrastructure and support those that are directly affected.
• LICs are much more reliant on support and aid, both in the immediate aftermath of an event and also in the long term as they try to repair the damage physically, socially and economically.
• Fatalism - the belief that all events are predetermined and unchangeable, so doing nothing to prevent a hazard
• Prediction - As technology increases, the methods of predicting hazardous events becomes more sophisticated. Remote sensing and seismic monitoring give clues to activity that may lead to a disaster and need to be acted upon.
• Adaption - Once we accept that natural events are inevitable, we can adapt our behaviour accordingly so that losses can be kept to a minimum. This is the most realistic option for many people and proves to be effective and cost-effective for governments
• Hazard Management Cycle

  • Preparedness - disasters can rarely be prevented, but education and awareness can allow people to know what to do and help reduce impacts. Areas of high risk will be more prepared
  • Response - Speed of response will depend on emergency plans put in place.
  • Recovery - Restoring the area to something resembling normality
  • Mitigation - Actions aimed at reducing the severing and impacts of an event
• The Park Model

  • Relief - Immediate local and global response in the form of aid
  • Rehabilitation - lasts weeks or months, when infrastructure and services are being restored, to allow reconstruction to begin
  • Reconstruction - Restoring to the same, or better, quality of life before an event took place.
• The Park Model is a quantitative evaluation of quality of life in response to a singular events
• Reasons people put themselves at risk of a natural hazard:

  • Hazard events are unpredictable
  • Lack of alternative land
  • Increased level of risk than when people moved
  • Cost/benefit
• Factors influencing hazard perception

  • Socio-economic status
  • Education
  • Employment
  • Culture
  • Past experience
  • Values
• Hazard Management = the process of identifying, assessing, and reducing the impacts of hazards
• Risk Sharing (community preparedness) prearranged measures that aim to reduce the loss of life and property damage through public education, awareness, evacuation procedures etc.
• One of the main goals of the disaster management cycle is to promote sustainable livelihoods and their protection and recovery during such events.
• FEMA in the USA was created to co-ordinate disaster response according to the hazard management cycle
• Distruvution = The spatial coverage of a hazard
• Frequency = Distrubution of a hazard through time
• Magnitude = The size of the impact of a hazard