Hazards - definitions and models

Natural event

Psychical processes of the Earth

Natural hazard

Physical process that has the potential to have a social impact, therefore threatning life and poverty

Natural disaster

A natural event which has affected life and property

3 types of natural hazard

Atmospheric

Hydrological

Geological

Examples of atmospheric hazards

Drought, heatwave, hurricanes, tornados

Examples of hydrological hazards

Wave action, landslide, floods, rockfall, avalanche

Examples of geological hazards

Earthquakes, mass movement, volcanic activity leading to ash fall and lava flow, tsunami

Risk

Exposure of people to a hazardous event presenting a threat to themself, their possessions and the build environment in which they live

Vulnerability 

Potential for loss of life, possessions and land 

Mitigation

Efforts to reduce and lesson the impacts

Common features of all natural hazards

Occur on the surface, have clear origins, distinctive effects, most have a short warning time, most losses to life and damage occur shortly after the event

What impacts how voluntary risk exposure is?

Development - LICs have no choice, HICs do

Why do people put themself at risk by living near natural hazards?

Hazards are unpredictable, some people have no other alternative, some places risk level changed while they’ve lived there, cost is outweighed by a benefit, people feel safer because of monitoring, some people believe they can cope

Hazard perception

People react to the threat of a natural hazard in different ways because of the way in which individual device and process information

Factors influencing hazard perception

Level of education, employment, regional or cultural background, values, personality, past experiences, family status and socio-economic status

Benefits of living near volcanoes

Volcanic ash produces the most fertile land for agriculture, provides economic opportunities through tourism, gold, silver and copper found near them, can produce geothermal energy

3 human responses to hazard perception 

1. fatalism - ‘gods will’, takes action but losses are accepted as inevitable 

2. adaptation - believing that you can prepare and survive a hazard through prediction, prevention and prediction 

3. fear - feeling so venerable you move away from the risky area 

risk management

the process off considering the social, economic and political factors involved in risk analysis; determining acceptability of damage/disruption and deciding on action to be taken to minimise this 

resilience

The sustained ability of individuals or communities to be able to utilise available resources to respond to withstand and recover from the effects of natural hazards. It can help to minimise the effects of the event enabling them to return to normal life as soon as possible.

community preparedness

Rearranged measures that aim to reduce the loss of life and property damage through public education and awareness programs, evacuation, the provision of emergency (medical, food, shelter) supplies and taking out insurance

what is the model of place vulnerability 

a model that attempts to connect all factors that connect risk and vulnerability, all places have different levels as potential for loss varies

what is the park model 

A graph with a disaster/response curve to show that hazard events can have varying impacts over time

5 stages of the park model

normality - before hazard, quality of life is normal, prevention and preparation 

hard event - sudden drop in QOL, immediate acton to preserve life 

relief - medical attention and rescue, slow increase in quality of life

rehabilitation - aims to return back to a normal state, providing food, shelter and warmth 

reconstruction - rebuilding infrastructure and property, regrowing crops

evaluation of the park model

+simple to understand, shape of curves show different recovery times to compare hazard events

-not specific, no spatial variability, dosnt’t regard multiple hazards at once, scale changes, qualitative, objective information

what is the disaster/risk management cycle model

a cycle that illustrates the process by which government's, businesses and society plan for and reduce the risk of disasters, including responce following the event and the steps taken to recover after the event (recovery, mitigation and preparedness)

examples of actions taken place in each stage of the management cycle 

pre-disaster - risk assessment, mitigation prevention and preparedness

response - warnings, evacuation, saving lives, immediate and ongoing assistance, assessing damage

post-disaster - reconstruction economic and social recovery, ongoing development activities and risk assessment incl. mitigation 

What is FEMA?

Federal emergency management agency. It is a top down approach created in the US in 1978. Coordinates responses to a disaster that has overwhelmed local estate authorities. It involves major analysis programs and the operate using the disaster/risk management cycle.