Hazardous environments

Coriolis force

the force created by the Earth’s rotation that deflects any object moving at the Earth’s surface

Emergency aid

help in form of food, medical care and temporary housing provided immediately after disaster

Focus

where the earthquake originally originates in the earth

Epicenter

the point on the earth’s surface that is directly above the focus of an earthquake

Hazard

an event which threatens the well-being of people and their property

Infrastructure

the transport networks and the water, sewage and communication systems that are vital to people and their settlements and businesses

Lahar

a flow of wet materials down the side of a volcano’s ash cone

Levee

a raised bank of material deposited by a river during period of flooding

Mercalli Scale

a way of measuring earthquakes based on what people experience, and the amount of damage done

Moment Magnitude Scale

measures energy released by an earthquake on a logarithmic scale. Based on the amount of rock movement along a fault or fracture

Natural disaster

A natural event or hazard causing damage and destruction to properties as well as humans

Natural event

something happening in the physical environment (storm, earthquake, volcanic eruption)

Pyroclastic

big eruptions of extremely hot gas, ash and rocks during a period of explosive volcanic activity, the downslope flow of this mixture is capable of reaching 200kph

Richter Scale

A way of measuring an earthquake strength using a logarithmic scale

Saffir-Simpson Scale

a way of categorising tropical cyclones using wind speed and storm surge

Storm flow

the increase in stream velocity caused by a period of intense rainfall

Tropical cyclone

A weather system of very low pressure formed over tropical seas and involving strong winds and heavy rainfall

Tsunami

a tidal wave cause by the shock waves originating from an earthquake

Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI)

A way of measuring intensity of volcanic eruptions using a logarithmic scale

Risk Equations

Risk = HazardxVulnerability/Capacity to copr

Example of destructive plate boundary

Nazca plate, South America

Example of constructive plate boundary

Eurasian and North American

Example of collision plate boundary

Himalayas

Example of conservative plate boundary

San Andreas Fault

Supereruptions

VEI 8 or above

Cosmological

Anything to do with origin and development of the universe since it was created

Geological

The physical structure and substance of the earth since it was created