The World At Risk

AS Geography

What are Hazards?

A Natural event only becomes a hazard if it involves people. It is the way people, social systems and environments link together that can determine whether an even is a hazard or not

Example
A Rock fall in the Rocky mountains kills no one Rock fall in Wales kills 17 children One is a natural event the other a natural disaster.

The Two classifications

Hydro-meteorological Geophysical

Hydro-Meteorological
Caused by running water and its processes and weather patterns
Floods Hurricanes Thunderstorms Wind storms Blizzards Bushfires Sand Storms Mud flows Tropical Cyclones Rain Tornadoes Drought Temperature extremes Dust Storms

Geophysical
Caused By Earths processes: Two types: Internal processes :Tectonic External processes : Geomorphological

Volcanic Activity Mass Movement

Earthquakes Landslides Rockslides Tsunamis Rock falls

Deggs Model 1992

Hazardous Geophysical event e.g. Earthquake

Popn Vulnerable to human or economic loss

DISASTER

Definition
A Natural process which affects people, e.g. causing loss of life or injury, economic damage, disruption to peoples lives or environmental degradation

The greater the scale of the natural hazard, and the more exposed people are, the greater a disaster is likely to be

Is the world becoming more hazardous?

Number of Natural Disasters

CRED
CRED Centre for research on the Epidemiology of Disasters CRED created EM-DAT CRED

EM-DAT
EM-DAT Stands for Emergency events database and was created by the WHO and the Belgium govt EM-DAT have many criteria and much info on thousands of disasters EM-DAT

OFDA
OFDA The Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance OFDA is the office within USAID responsible for providing non-food humanitarian assistance in response to international crises and disasters. OFDA

ADRC
IRC

UNDP

ISDR Other Partners

PC

USAID

Munich Foundation

TWB

OCHA

Number of People Affected!

Economic losses
The number of deaths may well be falling but the costs are rising dramatically

Questions
Why has the number of disasters gone up but the number who have died gone down? Why has the death tolls gone down but the number of people affected gone up? Why has the death tolls gone down but the economic losses gone up?

Declining Death Tolls

Reasons
Reflects the ability of mankind to understand natural disasters Improvements in prediction techniques Appropriate precautions Construction techniques
Are these the same for the MEDCs and the LEDCs

Capacity and Vulnerability

We have an increase in our capacity to cope with disaster We have an increase in our vulnerability through economic, socio-demographic and technological factors. These outweigh the gains in our capacity

Finally.

CLIMATE CHANGE!!!!!