1 - Natural hazards

• Natural hazard


  Natural events that pose potential risk of damage to property, and loss of life
• Natural hazards


  • Without people, natural events would be just that, events - there would be no natural 'hazards'
  • The more humans that come into contact with natural events, the more the potential risk of natural hazards increases
• Types of natural hazard

  • Tectonic hazards (e.g. earthquakes, tsunamis)
  • Atmospheric hazards (e.g. tropical storms)
  • Geomorphological hazards (e.g. flooding)
  • Biological hazards (e.g. forest fires)
• Some natural hazards are caused by human influence rather than a natural process (e.g. forest fires in California in 2014 were caused by arson and falling power lines)
• Some regions around the world are more vulnerable to natural hazards than others, based on historical data
• The year 2018 was a bad one for natural hazards, with volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, and wildfires occurring around the world
• Factors that affect hazard risk

  • Wealth (risk tends to decrease with increased wealth)
  • Population growth (more people increases hazard risk)
• The frequency and magnitude of natural hazards are increasing


  Due to human influences such as the enhanced greenhouse effect and deforestation
• People can make themselves more vulnerable to natural hazards


  Due to factors like location, lack of knowledge, expense, and overconfidence in defences