TYPES OF HAZARDS

There are 6 main types of hazards, it includes Biological, Chemical, Physical, Safety, Ergonomic, and
Psychological.

Biological Hazards – these hazards are mostly organic substances, it threats the health of people,
animals and any living organisms. Some examples of these are toxin, spores, fungi, pathogenic micro-
organisms, bio-active substances and viruses such as Coronavirus, a various that the world is facing right
now.

Chemical Hazards – these hazards cause health problems when ingested or inhaled. This hazard includes
toxin and dangerous chemicals like paints, drugs, cosmetics, cleaning chemicals and many more
products that are chemically hazardous.

Physical Hazards – these hazards are environmental factors or conditions that can harm your health.
There are 5 physical hazards, these are Explosive, Flammable, Oxidizing, Gasses under Pressure and
Corrosive to metals. Physical hazards include exposure to slips, trips, falls, electricity, noise, vibration,
radiation, heat, cold and fire.

Safety Hazards - These are the most common and will be present in most workplaces at one time or
another. They include unsafe conditions that can cause injury, illness and death.

Ergonomic Hazards – these are physical factors that can harm the musculoskeletal systems, the injuries
are caused by frequent lifting, bad posture, using too much force, improper adjustment of chairs and
awkward movements.

Psychosocial - Psychological hazards are aspects of the work environment and the way that work is
organized that are associated with mental disorders and/or physical injury or illness.
Basic Concept of Hazard

Hazard – a dangerous phenomenon that can cause loss of human life/environmental life.

- Natural occurrence that causes harm to people and environment

- Potential harm

When can it be called a hazard?

- A threat to a population
- Doesn’t have to be a natural occurrence, it can cause aby human as well
- It is a hazard when it causes harm

EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS

Earthquake – an earthquake is a weak to violent shaking of the ground produced by the sudden
movement of rock materials below Earth’s surfaces.

-An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in
the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves.

Causes of earthquake in general

- Collapse Earthquake
- Volcanic Earthquake
- Induced Earthquake

Ground Shaking – is a term used to describe the vibration of the ground during an earthquake.

Causes - Ground Shaking is cause by body waves and surface waves. As generalization, the severity of
ground shaking increases as magnitude increases and decreases as distance from the causative fault
increases.

Effects - Any buildings in the path of these surface wave can lean or tip over from all the movement. The
ground shaking may also cause landslide, mudslide, and avalanches on steeper hills or mountains, all of
which can damage buildings and hurt people.

Earthquake Induced Landslide - When an earthquake occurs, the transmission of seismic waves can
cause shaking and vibration of ground surface. This often trigger the collapse of potential landslide
areas, which is known as earthquake-induced landslide.
Earthquakes trigger landslides, causes significant and even catastrophic damage to houses.

Subsidence - is the sinking of the Earth's surface in response in both natural or man-made process.

What causes land subsidence?

- Resource Extraction (oil/natural gas extraction, mining)

- Tectonic Movement
- Industrial Load
- Melting Ice Sheets
- Dissolution of Limestone
- Groundwater Related

Effects

- Changes in elevation and slope of streams, canals, and drains.

- Damage to bridges, roads, railroads, storm drains, sanitary sewers and canals.
- Damage buildings

Liquefication

Liquefaction came from the Latin word "Liquefactionem" or "Liquefacere" meaning "to make liquid or
melt"

"A phenomenon whereby a saturated or partially saturated soil substantially loses strength and stiffness
in response to an applied stress condition causing it to behave like a liquid" is called liquefication.

liquefaction occurs where ground water is near the surface in soils composed of sands and silts. The soil
temporarily loses strength and behaves as a viscous liquid. Structures can settle or tip in the liquefied
soil or be ripped apart as the ground spreads laterally or flows.

Ground Rapture

Ground rupture is the deformation on the ground that marks, the intersection of the fault with the
earth's surface.

An earthquake can push and pull the ground, tearing the surface and pushing the ground apart and
upward. These are known as "surface ruptures."

Two Types of Ground Rapture

Vertical Displacement

Occurs when one side of the ground goes up and down, or both sides move with one side going up and
the other going down.

Horizontal Displacement
Happens when there is lateral movement from side to side. One side goes to left or right, or both move
sideways in different directions.

Tsunami

"Tsunami" comprises the Japanese words "Tsu" (meaning harbour) and "nami" (meaning wave). It is a
series of waves with strong currents

WHERE DO TSUNAMIS HAPPEN?

Tsunamis are disasters that can be generated in all of the world's oceans, inland seas and in any large
body of water.

Earthquakes

- Earthquakes cause tsunamis but it does not mean that when there is earthquake there will be
also a tsunami.
- There are 4 conditions necessary for an earthquake to cause a tsunami.

4 CONDITIONS

1. The earthquake must occur beneath the ocean or cause the material to slice into the ocean.

2.The earthquake must be strong, at least magnitude 6.5 on the Richter scale.

3. The earthquake must occur at shallow depth less than 70km below the surface of the earth.

4. The earthquake must cause vertical movement of the seafloor (up to several meters).

Why Tsunami Happen

SUBMARINE LANDSLIDE

Often occur during a large earthquake, can create a tsunami. During a submarine landslide, the
equilibrium sea level is altered by sediment moving along the sea floor. Gravitational forces then
propagate the tsunami given the initial perturbation of the sea level.

VOLCANIC ERUPTION

Violent volcanic eruptions represent also impulsive disturbances, which can displace a great volume of
water and generate extremely destructive tsunami waves in the immediate source area.

EXTRATERRESTRIAL COLLISION

Scientist have calculated that if a moderately large asteroid 5.6 km in diameter, should strike the middle
of the large ocean basin such as the Atlantic ocean it would produce a tsunami
3 Type of tsunami

Regional Tsunami - Are generated between one- and three-hours travel time away from their
destination.

Local Tsunami - are generated near close to New Zealand. This type of tsunami is very dangerous
because we may only have a few minutes warning.

Distant Tsunami – In this case, we will have more than three hours warning time.

Effects

Effects of tsunamis not only destroy human life but have a devastating effect on insects, animals, plant
and natural resources. A tsunami changes the landscape. It uproots trees and plants and destroys
animals’ habitat such as nesting sites for birds. Land animals are killed by drowning and sea animals are
killed by pollution if dangerous chemicals are washed away into the sea, thus poisoning the marine life.

Psychological Effects

Victims of tsunami event often suffer psychological problems which can last for days, years, or an entire
lifetime.