Transcript Hazards Intro - Ms Topping`s IB Geography page

Optional Theme
Hazards and DisastersRisk Assessment and Response
From the Syallabus
• Environmental hazards exist at the interface
between physical geography and human
geography.
• Natural hazard events are often exacerbated
by human actions, although conversely,
human-induced hazard events are also
affected by natural environmental conditions.
The principles involved in studying natural
hazards are identical to those involved in
studying human-induced hazards.
• The focus of this optional theme is on the full
range of human adjustments and responses to
hazards and disasters at a variety of scales.
The term “natural disaster” is deliberately
avoided in this theme because it is not
considered to be an accurate reflection of the
multitude of underlying reasons that expose
people to risk and subsequently create the
pre-conditions necessary for a disaster to
occur.
HAZARDS?
• You need to set up a google doc to summarise
the case studies and how they link to the
syllabus
• Use the definitions sheet to define
On the post its
• Write any human or physical hazards
Hazards
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Hurricane
Drought
Earthquake
Volcanic Eruption
Lightening
Avalanche
Tornado
Landslide
Tsunami
Flood
Wildfire
Disease Epidemic
HIV / AIDS
Radioactive Leak
Chemical Explosion
Research the following characteristics:
• Geophysical process [Tectonic,
Geomorphological, Atmospheric, Biological, Not
Geophysical]
• Duration of impact [Instant, seconds, minutes,
hours, days, months, years, decades]
• Length of forewarning [Seconds, minutes, hours,
days, months, years, decades]
• Spatial occurrence [At one extreme global ...]
• Scale of impact [Local, Regional or International]
• Frequency [between events of a similar
magnitude]
• Predictability [easiness of prediction- random or
consistent]
Hazard
Characteristics
FREQUENCY
Earthquake, Volcanic Eruption, Hurricane, Chemical Explosion.
Frequent
Rare
DURATION OF
IMPACT
Instant
Decades
LENGTH OF
FOREWARNING
Seconds
Decades
SCALE OF IMPACT
SPATIAL EXTENT
PREDICTABILITY
Local
Localised
Random
International
Global
Consistent
Are these hazards?
• A moderate landslide occurring on an
uninhabited island.
• A magnitude 8.1 earthquake occurring near to a
city with a population of 18 million people which
sits upon an old lakebed.
• A magnitude 6.5 earthquake with it's epicentre in
a sparsely populated area, 40 km from the
nearest town, in the country ranked 12th in terms
of the Human Development Index.
Lesson objective: To be able to distinguish between a hazard event and a
disaster.
Explain why this distinction is not always completely
objective.
Hazards
EXTREME
NATURAL EVENT
Hazards
VULNERABLE
POPULATION
VULNERABLE
POPULATION
NO INTERACTION = NO HAZARD
VULNERABLE
POPULATION
SMALL INTERACTION = SMALL HAZARD
VULNERABLE
POPULATION
LARGE INTERACTION = LARGE HAZARD
Draw Venn diagrams for these events:
• A moderate landslide occurring on an
uninhabited island.
• A magnitude 8.1 earthquake occurring near to a
city with a population of 18 million people which
sits upon an old lakebed.
• A magnitude 6.5 earthquake with it's epicentre in
a sparsely populated area, 40 km from the
nearest town, in the country ranked 12th in terms
of the Human Development Index.
Use the official IBO Spec to define:
• Hazard
• Disaster
• Hazard Event
• Risk
• Vulnerability