AQA GCSE Geography - Natural Hazards Notes

(notes very limited - more to add later?)


Monitoring, prediction, protection and planning are all key strategies in reducing the impacts of any natural hazard on the population of an area. These principles can be applied to both tropical storms and tectonic hazards, although in slightly different ways.

For tropical storms the principles are utilised in the following ways:

  • Monitoring - allows predictions to be made about where a storm will be and how bad it will be, saving lives and reducing damage. NASA uses two unmanned aircraft called Global Hawk drones to monitor weather across the Atlantic

  • Prediction - weather data is fed into supercomputers which can run models to gauge the severity and path of storms. NOAA supercomputers can now give 5 days warning and an accurate location to within 400km of a tropical storm

  • Protection - building cyclone shelters to withstand potential storms is an effective safety measure, Bangladesh has built 2500 cyclone shelters along 710km of coastline, costing around $50k each. You can also reinforce areas of weakness on existing buildings to mitigate storm damage

  • Planning - in the USA there is National Hurricane Preparedness Week in May before the hurricane season begins, encouraging people to plan what they need to have and what they need to do in the event of a hurricane in affected areas


For tectonic hazards the principles are utilised in the following ways:

  • Monitoring - sensitive seismometers are used by seismologists to measure tremors or foreshocks that signal a large earthquake as well as changes to radon gas in the soil (another indicator). New Zealand had 600 of these prior to the 2011 earthquake, Haiti had just 1 prior to the 2010 earthquake.

  • Prediction - while you can predict the general place where an earthquake happens, it is nearly impossible to predict an exact time and exact location, as seen with Christchurch, as even with 600 seismometers they couldn’t predict it effectively.

  • Protection - buildings can be designed to withstand earthquakes through innovative engineering techniques, such as rubber bearings between the foundation and superstructure - Christchurch Women’s Hospital is fitted with 41 of these to dampen impacts.

  • Planning - planning and preparing what to do during and after an earthquake helps the authorities, emergency services and individuals act quickly and calmly. Japan has Disaster Prevention Day on the 1st of Sept. each year - the anniversary of the 1923 Great Kanto quake.