Optional Theme

1
Optional Theme

• Hazards and Disasters-
• Risk Assessment and Response

2
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.

3

• 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.

4
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

5
On the post its

• Write any human or physical hazards

6
Hazards

• Hurricane Tsunami
• Drought Flood
• Earthquake Wildfire
• Volcanic Eruption Disease Epidemic
• Lightening HIV / AIDS
• Avalanche Radioactive
  Leak
• Tornado Chemical
  Explosion
• Landslide

7
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

8
Hazard Characteristics
FREQUENCY Frequent Rare
DURATION OF IMPACT Instant Decades
LENGTH OF FOREWARNING Seconds Decades
SCALE OF IMPACT Local International
SPATIAL EXTENT Localised Global
PREDICTABILITY Random Consistent
Earthquake, Volcanic Eruption, Hurricane,
Chemical Explosion.
9
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.

10
Lesson objective To be able to distinguish
between a hazard event and a disaster.Explain
why this distinction is not always
completelyobjective.
11
Hazards
EXTREME NATURAL EVENT
12
Hazards
VULNERABLE POPULATION
13
VULNERABLE POPULATION
NO INTERACTION NO HAZARD
14
VULNERABLE POPULATION
SMALL INTERACTION SMALL HAZARD
15
VULNERABLE POPULATION
LARGE INTERACTION LARGE HAZARD
16
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.

17
Use the official IBO Spec to define

• Hazard
• Disaster
• Hazard Event
• Risk
• Vulnerability