Tectonic Hazards Flashcards

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the tectonic hazards lecture notes.

Natural hazard

An event which has the potential to cause harm to the environment, people, or the economy.

Disaster

Occurs when harm actually occurs to the environment, people, or the economy due to a natural event.

Vulnerability

How susceptible an area or population is to damage from a particular hazard event.

Resilience

The ability of a country or area to cope ,adapt to,recover from a hazard event.

Hazard risk equation

Risk = Hazard x Vulnerability / Capacity to cope. It allows a judgement to be made regarding an area's resilience

Pressure model

Demonstrates how there are a range of factors which increase vulnerability and why some areas lack resilience

Pressure model factors

Root Causes -> Dynamic Pressures -> Unsafe Conditions

Release model

Demonstrates vulnerability can be reduced and resilience increased by addressing safety, reducing the pressures, and addressing the root causes through hazard mitigation.

Earthquake magnitude

Measures the energy released at the source (focus) of an earthquake.

Moment Magnitude Scale (MMS)

The most common scale used to measure the amount of energy being released; a logarithmic scale where each whole number increase represents a ten-times increase in amplitude.

goes up to 10

Earthquake intensity

The impact of an earthquake on people, as well as the built and natural environments.

Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale

measures the effects and impacts of an earthquake on people, buildings, and the environment.

A scale from I to XII used to measure the intensity of an earthquake.

qualitative data

Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI)

Used to measure the size of a volcanic eruption, calculated based on height and volume of material ejected.

Tectonic Hazard Profile characteristics

Magnitude, speed of onset, areal extent, duration, frequency, spatial predictability

Governance

The way in which a country or region is run; impacts vulnerability and resilience.

Human Development Index (HDI)

Used to measure the level of development. Low levels often reflected in lower education, poor-quality housing, a lack of access to healthcare etc.

hazard profile

A hazard profile is a tool used to compare different natural hazards based on a set of characteristics that affect how dangerous they are.