Transcript Classifying Natural Disasters

Classifying Natural Disasters
Comparing and
Analyzing Natural
Disasters
What is a natural hazard or
disaster?
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Aspects of the physical world that have the
potential to cause considerable harm to people.
Caused by natural forces rather than by human
action. However through climate change and
degradation of soils and deforestation, human
can make the effects worse (Haiti due to clear
cutting of trees causing mudslide, floods, etc.)
What is a natural hazard or
disaster?
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The international Red Cross estimates that on
average over the past 25 years 138,000 people have
been killed, 46,000 injured and more than 4 million
left homeless each year by natural disasters
These figures do not include the recent tsunami in
Asia (273,000), Hurricane Katrina (1000), the Haitian
Earthquake (hundreds of thousands) and the
Earthquake/Tsunami/Nuclear Plant Radiation Leak in
Japan and Hurricane Sandy that hit New York and
New Jersey.
What is a natural hazard or
disaster?
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Natural disasters often occur in those areas
of the world which are heavily populated. If
no one lives there or the area is sparsely
populated, it is not overly disastrous (unless
it triggers a spatial interaction event like a
tsunami).
Classifying Natural Disasters
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Most common way of comparing natural
disasters is to measure their impact by the
loss of life, the number of injuries and the
damage to property that these events
cause
Classifying Natural Disasters
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We can also measure these disasters
by the strength or intensity of the
event (for example the wind speed of
a hurricane, the magnitude on the
Richter Scale of an Earthquake).
In addition, we classify natural
disasters by the impact they have on
human beings, by the regions in which
they occur and their frequency
Classification System
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We can classify natural disasters by the
chief process or sphere in which it
operates
Using this system of classification there
are three categories
Classification System
Atmospheric Hazards
Cyclonic Storms (hurricane)
Tornado
Severe Storm
Flooding
Drought
Wildfire
Severe Weather (hot/cold)
Blizzard
Classification System
Biological Hazards
-Infectious Disease (AIDS, H1N1)
-Parasitic Disease (river blindness, tape worm)
-Insect Infestation (plague of locusts)
-Plant Disease
(Irish potato famine due to blight)
Classification System
Geological Hazards
Slide (mud, land, rock)
Volcanic Activity
Earthquake
Avalanche
Tsunami (tidal wave)
Comparing and Analyzing Natural
Disasters
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Any specific natural disaster can be
described by analyzing various factors
that determine how great an impact it will
have on people
This system recognizes six main factors
Comparing and Analyzing Natural
Disasters
1) Frequency- how often is the event likely
to happen
2) Duration- the length of time the event
lasts
3) Extent- does it affect a wide area or
region or a small one
Comparing and Analyzing Natural
Disasters
4) Speed of onset- happen quickly with no
warning and over quickly or build slowly
before the peak period
5) Spatial dispersion- the area that is likely
to be affected by a particular event
6) Temporal spacing- how hazards and
disasters occur in time; are they random
or do they occur within a cycle