3.1.1 - types of hazards

    Cards (22)

    • Hazard
      An event which has the potential to cause harm to the environment, people or the economy
    • Natural hazard
      An event caused by environmental processes
    • Disaster
      When harm actually occurs to the environment, people or the economy
    • Natural events only become hazards and disasters due to their impact on people, the environment or the economy
    • Ways to categorise natural hazards
      • Magnitude
      • Frequency
      • Size
      • Duration
      • Location
    • Tropical cyclone

      Rotating, low pressure system (below 950mb)
    • Characteristics of tropical cyclones
      • Heavy rainfall
      • High wind speeds (over 119 kmph)
      • High waves and storm surges
    • Tropical cyclone size

      Measuring between 100-2000km across the rotating clouds surround a central, calm eye
    • Tropical cyclone magnitude
      Measured on the Saffir-Simpson Scale from 1 to 5
    • Tropical cyclone location

      Develop in tropical regions between 5o and 30o north and south of the equator
    • Earthquake
      Sudden, violent shaking of the ground
    • Earthquakes occur at all types of plate boundaries
    • Earthquake epicentre
      The point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus
    • Earthquake focus
      The point at which the earthquake starts below the Earth's surface
    • Earthquake magnitude
      Measured on either the Richter Scale or the Moment Magnitude Scale
    • Earthquake damage
      Measured on the Mercalli Scale
    • Volcano
      When magma erupts onto the Earth's surface as lava
    • Most volcanoes occur at constructive (divergent) and destructive (convergent) plate boundaries
    • The majority of active volcanoes are located around the rim of the Pacific Ocean called the 'Ring of Fire'
    • Hotspots
      Occur away from plate boundaries and are plumes/columns of magma which escape through the Earth's crust
    • Volcanic eruption magnitude
      Measured on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI)
    • Tropical cyclone
      A rotating, low pressure system that forms over warm tropical waters, with central pressure typically below 950 millibars and requiring ocean temperatures of at least 26.5°C or 80°F to form and sustain itself.