Unit one- Geography w/out wooroloo

Hazards

Occur when the forces of nature combine to become destructive and a potential to damage the environment or infrastructure 

Ecological Hazards 

Are biological (diseases) or chemical hazard that has the impact adversely on the wellbeing of people or the environment 

Natural hazards 

Are atmospheric, hydrological and geomorphic processes and events in our environment that have potential to affect people adversely  

Atmospheric hazards 

Are created from weather processes 

Geomorphic hazards 

Are created by the movement of the earth's surface or crust 

Hydrological hazards 

Are those that involve the movement and distribution of water  

Spatial distribution 

The arrangement of geographical phenomena or activities across the earth's surface 

Temporal distribution 

The distribution (spread or pattern) of geographical phenomena over time 

Magnitude

The strength of a hazard or how large and important a natural hazard event is 

Duration

Refers to the length of time that a hazard event lasts 

Frequency

Refers to how often a hazard event occurs in a particular area/country 

Probability 

Is the prediction that a hazard event will occur based on scientific observations or relevant factors to the hazard 

Hazard preparedness 

Involves planning the interventions required to prevent the effects of the hazard 

Hazard mitigation 

Involves the implementation of the strategies to eliminate or minimize the severity of a hazard 

Hazard Risk management 

The process of identifying and controlling hazards that could cause harm to people through measures before, during and after the hazard 

Spatial technologies 

Are any software or hardware that interacts with real world locations 

Zoonotic disease 

Infectious diseases that can pass from animals to humans 

bushfires

Uncontrolled fires located in natural vegetation occurring in rural and semi-rural areas 

topography

The physical features of an area 

Fuel

Any material that burns in a fire 

Fuel load 

Quantity of fuel available 

Less developed country 

a low-income country with low levels of human and economic development.   

More developed country 

a high-income country with high levels of human and economic development.   

Socioeconomic

Relating the interaction of social and economic factors 

infectious diseases definition

Describe diseases that can spread from one person to another either directly or indirectly  

infectious disease example

HIV – infectious disease, a virus that targets the immune system, which weakens the Bodys ability to fight infections and some cancers 

Most common in east and southern Africa region 

animal transmitted disease definition

Can also be referred to as vector borne diseases, these diseases are transferred to humans from animals 

example of animal transmitted disease

Rabies -  Zoonotic disease transmitted through salvia from a scratch or bite from an infected animal 

animal invasions definition

Invasive animals not native to a specific ecosystem  and their introduction causes harm to the environment, economy or human health 

waterborne disease definition

Category of infectious diseases that are caused by microorganisms contaminating the water 

Normally – bacteria, viruses, protozoa and parasites 

animal invasions example

Cane toads- native to central and south America introduced into Queensland in 1935 to control destructive sugarcane beetles 

waterborne disease example

Cholera -  caused by a bacteria called vibrio cholera, which is spread in water from human waste  

Main symptom is diarrhea  

chemical hazard definition

Oil spills- Deepwater horizon oil spill 2010 

Considered the largest marine oil spill in history 

A surge of natural gas rose to the platform and exploded killing 11 workers and injuring seven 

Rig then capsized and sank, causing the oil spill 

uniform distribution pattern

equal distance between

random distribution pattern

no pattern

clumped distribution pattern

clustered and related to each other and form pattern

scale of spatial impact

local, regional, national and global

impact definition

looks at number of people killed/injured, impact on infrastructure, cost of repairing infrastructure and damage to the environment 

types of impact

Social, economic and environmental

Proximity definition

about the distance from the source or origin of the hazard, closer proximity the greater the risk 

mitigation strategies

• Building codes and zones 

• Land use management  

• Medical interventions (ecological hazards) 

preparedness strategies

• Educating emergency response personal 

• Rehearsals and training 

• Public education 

• Early warning systems 

• Ensuring food and medical reserves 

role of spatial technologies in ecological hazards

Mapping disease outbreaks to help mitigate hazards

Design drug delivery services to mitigate hazards

Assess air quality without exposure risk

role of spatial technologies in natural hazards

Identify high and low risk areas which aid in land use management and evacuation planning

Monitor threats to create probability statistics

Assess damage after an event to aid recovery and to create plans for future mitigation

Aid in creating and delivering early warning systems to mitigate hazards

Ebola characteristics

• Average death rate (fatality) is 50% 

• Transmitted through humans and animals 

• Magnitude is considered high due to mortality rate and due to it being transmitted between individuals 

• The UN considers level 4 or A pathogen (pathogen that can cause disease) 

• Ebola has 5 strains 

• Outbreak began in Africa 1976 

• Health of individual who catches it EVD impacts mortality  

RNA virus

• Ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus 

• Requires a host 

• Takes over living cells and injects into the cell and forces the infected cells to reproduce the virus, multiplying in host 

Symptoms of Ebola

• Symptoms can start between 2-21 phases 

• Damages immune system leading to internal bleeding from the ears, nose and eyes leading to death 

• Issue is that symptoms can present similar to other diseases, hard to diagnose 

Dry phase of ebola

fever, fatigue and body aches 

wet phase of ebola

diarrhea, vomiting

causes of ebola

Unknown origin, however evidence points towards fruit bats 

5 types of transmission of ebola

1. Direct contact via skin 

2. Bodily fluids (semen, saliva, breast milk, urine ect) 

3. Dirty needles 

4. Contact with an infected corpse 

5. People can get infected from infected animals 

How is climate impacting spatial distribution of EBOLA (physical factor)

• Correlation between climate and risk is high 

• Correlation between the risk of EVD and fruit bats is high 

• High humidity increases fruit production and fruit bat population 

• Higher rainfall also blocks the roads and infrastructure reducing the abilities of Healthcare worker and mitgation strategies 

How is geographical location impacting spatial distribution of EBOLA (physical factor)

• Initially the outbreaks occurred in rural, isolated areas making controlling the outbreak easier 

• Higher population density causes EVD to spread quickly 

• Locations with fruit bats experience greater EVD risk

Human factors influencing ebola distribution - social behavior

• Caring for people who are sick with EVD spreads the virus as it spreads through biological fluids 

• Many peopled flee areas experiencing high EVD cases which then spread ECD to new locations 

Human factors influencing ebola distribution - economy

• As high risk countries become more economically developed it makes them less isolated due to roads ect allowing EVD to spread 

• LEDC experience greater difficulty mitigating and preparing for a hazard 

• EVD spreads quickly in slums 

Human factors influencing ebola distribution - health systems

• Poverty increases vulnerability to EVD 

• Poverty reduces the healthcare systems ability to combat and prepare for EVD

spatial distribution of EVD

• Isolated mainly in equatorial (along the equator) 

• Larger probability and risk in Africa due to the large amount of fruit bats and weaker health services due to it being a LEDC 

• There is greater Ebola risk in equatorial Africa because the high humidity increases fruit production for fruit bats 

temporal distribution of ebola

• There has been 30 EVD outbreaks since 1976 and 34 000 cases and 15 409 deaths

• Case numbers spike in the last ¼ of the outbreak because the healthcare workers grow complacent and catch and spread EVD 

• It is believed that the frequency of outbreaks will increase due to population growth and climate chan 

how to describe sources

1. Introductory sentence - introduce source

2. Pattern - general pattern

3. Quantify - evidence

4. Exception - something outside of the general pattern

Magnitude of the DROC EVD crisis

It infected 3,400 people and 2,200 people died 

66% fatality rate 

Duration of DROC EVD

22 months

Frequency of DROC evd crisis

Experiences a high frequency of Ebola outbreaks with 12 outbreaks since 1976 

probability of droc evd

Women and children had a higher probability 

Women making up two thirds of the cases 

scale of spatial impact droc evd

Largely local with three provenances of DRC affected 

causes of DROC EVD outbreak

Believed to be from the unsafe burial

of an infected 65 year old, Seven members of her family died shortly after

Environmental impact of DROC EVD outbreak

Impacts on wildlife  Reduce birth rates of gorillas

Western lowland gorilla populations  Social dynamics changed  Females transferring from breeding to non-breeding groups  Males social groups to solitary  Impact birth rates

social impacts of droc evd outbreak

Children -   Children who lose a parent become infected with Ebola, often stigmatised, isolated or abandoned	More than 2,100 children were orphaned or abandoned or left unaccompanied because of Ebola  Children made up 30% of the cases in the 2018-2020, 40% age under five

economic impacts of evd droc outbreak

Affected trade, agriculture and difficulties in aid funding  Border closures    Many houses lost income  Many farmers fled and abandoned there farm

Many farmers fled or avoided harvesting due to fear of getting infected, many households reported a loss of income  North Kivu and Ituri, significant production losses as a result of conflict  Ituri lost three successive harvests because of conflict and displacement

how did cultural practises increase impact of DROC EVD outbreak

Traditional practitioners for EVD treatment  Cleaning of the diseased

Spread of the disease faster, as people normally touched and cleaned the diseased therefore spreading Ebola to them  Which then spreads to villages as a whole through community funerals and cleaning

June 2019 three people tested positive for ebola in Uganda after travelling from DRC to attend a funeral

how did the role of women intensify the impact of DROC EVD outbreak

They look after children, tend to the ill family members and often do not take the sick family members out of the household as it signifies that the mother cannot take care of the ill accordingly

Increased transmission in the households and the likelihood of fatality     Often if mother becomes sick she will get Neighbour to take care of children, increasing transmission further to another household

Women in Beni are also the chief mourners after the death of a family member, which means they are around the bodies of the diseased and assist in preparation for burial  if deceased die from Ebola, this increases Ebola transmissions further

Mitigation strategy DROC EVD outbreak

Vaccinations

2 vaccinations, 2 doses 8 weeks apart

Vaccines administered to more than 350 000 people in Guinea and DRC 

During the trial every person who received the vaccine did not catch EVD so it was an effective vaccine 

weakness: 8 weeks apart making them less effective between doses

Anonymous vaccination sites effective 
90% of people in Kivu who were offered vaccinations excepted it 

Preparedness strategy EVD Ebola outbreak

WHO helps countries at risk establish preparedness plans 

Laboratory technicians received training from WHO so they can safely collect and test Ebola samples using a machine that can results in 2 hours 

16000 local frontline responders were trained 
Traditional healers were also trained to recognize Ebola 

characteristics of a bushfire

• atmospheric hazard

• originates from the ignition point and is fanned by the wind

• main section of fire front is known as the head fire

• Direction that the bushfire travels is known as the fire dront which tends to be the fastest moving and hottest part of the fire 

how to describe a bushfire

• Flame height, flame length, flame depth  and rate of speed 

• Flame height varies due to fuel load (amount of material to burn) 

• Flame width varies due to wind speed and direction 

• Rate of speed varies due to wind speed and direction, humidity, moisture content and topography 

ground fire

Occur underground (under the top layer of leaf litter) 

And impact soil and low lying vegetation 

surface fires

Occur along the ground and impact low lying vegetation 

crown fires

Climb up trees and burn along the tree canopies. These are the most dangerous as they burn really hot and spread quickly 

traditional use of fire by indigenous australians

• Many plant species in australia have evolve to survive and even thrive in fire 

• Some seeds of native species even need smoke or intense heat to germinate 

• Indigenous australians have used fire to manage the land for tens of thousands of years 

• They use fire to burn off grass and bush to encourage new growth and prevent bushfires 

Fire triangle

• Bush fires need oxygen. Heat (ignition) and fuel to burn. If any of these things run out the fire will eventually stop 

• This is why bush fires are a lot worse on windy days and why we have controlled burns to burn away some of the lead litter (fuel) 

• All 3 elements are essential to a bushfire however heat is seen as the cause for bushfires 

Topography in bushfires

• Fires move faster uphill, ever 10 degrees a fire will double in speed 

• This is because the flames are closer to the vegetation and can 'pre heat' it causing them to burn faster and more intensely 

fuel in bushfires

• The more fuel there is the more intense the fire will burn 

• Loosely compacted fuel burns faster due to having for oxygen 

• Dry fuels also burn faster due to being more susceptible to ignition 

• Fuels with large amount of oil in them like eucalyptus leaves will burn quicker and hotter c

climate/weather in bushfires

• Fire behavior is impacted by humidity, temp, wind and rainfall. Droughts and dry weather with low humidity increase fire risk and intensity. This is because the vegetation and fuel for the fire will be drier and therefore burn easier. Higher wind means a greater supply of oxygen and blows the fire into contact with fresh fuel 

• Doubling x2 the wind speed will quadruple 4x the speed of the fire 

causes of bushfires

human and natural factors

human factors

arsonists, cigarettes, campfires, damaged electricity poles, uncontrolled burns and power tools. The top cause of fires in WA are deliberately lit 

natural factors

lightning (accounts for more than 50% of ignitions in Aust) and spot fires creates from embers of fire that are blown kilometers in front of a fire 

Global spatial distribution of bushfires

• Bushfires occur on every continent except antarctica 

• Regions that regularly experience bushfires are drier regions with mediterranean or semi-arid climates 

global temporal distribution of bushfires

• Bushfires occur every year however they are increasing in frequency, duration and magnitude due to climate change 

• The number of bush fires is much higher during drier seasons for each continent 

Australian spatial and temporal distribution of bushfires 

• Australian bushfires are increasing in frequency, duration and magnitude 

• The number of sever fire weather days is expected to increase 50% in some parts of Australia in 2050 

• The northern states and territories have bushfires during winter and spring 

• The southern states have bushfires during summer and autumn 

controlled burns

practice of intentionally setting a fire to change the assemblage of vegetation and decaying material in a landscape

slash and burn techniques making LEDC more vulnerable

• Many LDC countries use slash and burn techniques to clear land because its quick and cheap, however these practices come with a high risk of becoming uncontrolled and causing a bushfire.  

• Due to this the Indonesian government slash and burn clearing illegal however many businesses and farmers still use this method of convenient clearing. This resulted in an out of control bushfire in Indonesia that led to 2.6 million hectares of bushland being destroyed in 2015