Differential Impacts & Tectonic Hazard Patterns Flashcards
The number of recorded disasters has increased significantly since ……..
There are a number of reasons for this including
1960
Increased population - the world population has grown from 3 billion to over 8 billion since 1960
This means more people are likely to impacted by any hazard event
Increased population density in urban and coastal areas increases the vulnerable population
Increased monitoring and reporting means more hazard events are recorded
Most of the increase has been the result of floods and extreme weather
The numbers of tectonic disasters has fluctuated since 1960 but has
generally remained steady
The slight increase in number of earthquake disasters does not mean there have been more earthquakes or higher magnitude earthquakes.
It results from:
Greater urbanisation leading to higher population densities and increased building density
Population growth meaning more people are living in earthquake prone regions
The number of deaths resulting from all hazards has decreased since 1960
This is the result of:
Improved building construction, design and materials
Increased monitoring
Greater preparation and planning - hazard mapping, land use zoning, evacuation planning
Education - earthquake drills
Improved warning systems
Increased development
The number of deaths from tectonic hazards fluctuates depending on a range of factors including:
Magnitude
Level of development
Location
The impact of what causes spike in deaths from hazards
The impact of a mega-disaster such as the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami may skew the overall trend because it leads to so many deaths
Volcanic eruptions are less frequent than earthquakes and deaths from eruptions are now rare due to
improved monitoring, exclusion zones and evacuation plans
The economic cost of disasters has ………since 1960
why is this
increased since 1960
As countries develop the cost of repairing infrastructure and rebuilding increases
Increased wealth means people have more possessions and property to be damaged and destroyed
Infrastructure is more sophisticated and expensive to replace, for example electric grids
As more people are affected the cost increases
The economic impact of disasters is affected by whether the country is developing (LIC) or developed (HIC)
The economic cost in US$ tends to be higher
The impact on the GDP tends to much greater in ………………….
in developed countries
developing and emerging countries
Comparison of Costs LIC Vs HIC
Gorkha earthquake, Nepal (2015)
Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, Japan (2011)
cost comparison and percentage of GDP
10 billion 33% Nepal
360 billion 4% ( Japan
The trends associated with all disasters are complex
They are affected by a wide range of factors
When disasters occur the data collected may not be accurate due to
The focus when a disaster strikes and in the weeks that follow is on search, rescue and recovery
In remote rural areas it may be difficult to collect data
Some people count secondary causes like disease as deaths from hazard some people don’t
