GEOGRAPHY-NATURAL HAZARDS
- Created by: phoebe
- Created on: 09-04-18 09:45
View mindmap
- Living with the physical environment-Section A-Natural Hazards
- Natural hazard= a natural process which could cause death, injury or disruption to humans, or destroy property and possessions.
- A natural disaster is a natural hazard that has actually happened.
- Droughts, uninhabited desert or an avalanche in Antarctica are extreme events but are not classified as a hazard because they dont pose any threat to human activity.
- There are TWO main types of hazards
- METEOROLO-GICAL HAZARDS
- Caused by weather and climate. For example, tropical storms, extreme weather (heatwaves and cold spells) and climate change.
- METEOROLO-GICAL HAZARDS
- HAZARD RISK- is the probability that a natural hazard occurs.
- FACTORS AFFECTING HAZARD RISK
- Vulnerability
- The greater the population in an area exposed to natural hazards the greater the probability they will be affected by the natural hazard-hazard risk is higher!
- For example, a city at the base of a volcano like Naples in Italy is very vulnerable to volcanic eruptions.
- The greater the population in an area exposed to natural hazards the greater the probability they will be affected by the natural hazard-hazard risk is higher!
- Capacity to cope
- Natural hazards have to affect humans to count as a hazard so the better a population can cope with an extreme event the lower the threat.
- For example, higher income countries (HIC'S) are better able to cope with flooding because they can afford to build flood defences, evacuate people in a disaster and repair damage afterwards.
- Natural hazards have to affect humans to count as a hazard so the better a population can cope with an extreme event the lower the threat.
- Nature of natural hazards
- TYPE- some hazards have a greater hazard risk than others. For example, tropical storms can be predicted and monitored giving people time to evacuate to safety. However, earthquakes occur very suddenly with no warning therefore much harder to protect people from being injured.
- FREQUENCY- some natural hazards occur more than others increasing the hazard risk.
- MAGNITUDE- more severe natural hazards cause greater effects than less severe hazards. For example, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck Japan in 2011 and killed over 15000 people. When a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck L'Aquila, Italy, around 300 people died.
- HAZARD RISK- is the probability that a natural hazard occurs.
- Vulnerability
Comments
No comments have yet been made