GEOL 108, Crises of a Planet (Midterm)

Natural Disaster

A natural cause with negative impact, sudden change, high death rate, and extensive damage to structures and infrastructure.

Emergency Manager Perspective

Expressed as a formula: R = H * E * V, where R is Risk, H is Hazard, E is Exposure, and V is Vulnerability.

FEMA Major Disaster Declaration

A disaster is an emergency severe enough to warrant a response and dedication of resources beyond the normal scope of a single jurisdiction.

Emergency Declaration

An unexpected event that places life and/or property in danger requiring an immediate response using routine community resources.

Natural Hazard

Natural hazards such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanoes vary greatly in their potential to cause catastrophes.

Toll of Natural Disasters

Half of all disasters occur in Asia which has about two-thirds of the world population.

Average Annual Cost of Natural Hazards

Increased due to population growth, increased property value, and human spread into hazardous areas.

Plate Tectonics

The theory that explains the movement of Earth's plates and how they shape the geological features of the planet.

Elastic Rebound Theory

A theory explaining how stress builds up along a fault line and is released in the form of an earthquake.

Seismic Moment

A measure of the size of an earthquake based on the area of the fault that slips, the amount of slip, and the rigidity of the rock.

Richter Magnitude Scale

A logarithmic scale used to measure the amplitude of seismic waves to determine the energy released by an earthquake.

Soil Liquefaction

A phenomenon where saturated soil loses its strength and stiffness in response to shaking, behaving like a liquid.

Forecasting and Prediction of Earthquakes

The process of estimating when and where an earthquake may occur based on historical data and geological analysis.

Dilatancy-Diffusion Theory

A theory suggesting that rocks dilate as they approach failure, leading to observable changes before an earthquake.

LIDAR

Light Detection and Ranging, a remote sensing method used to examine the surface of the Earth, helpful in studying faults.

Seismic Hazard

The probability of an area being shaken by an earthquake, which considers fault lines and past earthquake history.

Alquist-Priolo Law

A law that limits building near active fault zones to reduce risk from earthquakes.

Aftershock

A smaller earthquake that follows the main shock of a larger earthquake within the same area.

Epicenter

The point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.

FEMA

Federal Emergency Management Agency, responsible for coordinating the federal government's response to disasters.