Disaster

Question 1

Define ‘natural hazards’

Answer 1

The natural processes with the potential to affect people’s lives and property

Question 2

Define ‘disaster’

Answer 2

A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts which exceeds the ability of the affected society to cope using its own resources

Question 3

Define ‘risk’

Answer 3

The probability of harm or loss taking place including death, injury, trauma, damage or loss of property and disruption to economic activity

Question 4

Why could an earthquake not be a hazard or a risk?

Answer 4

If people are not near the area or in danger

Question 5

What is the purpose of the Degg’s model?

Answer 5

A venn diagram that shows the interaction between hazards, disaster and human vulnerability

Question 6

What is disaster vulnerability in Degg’s model?

Answer 6

Physical environment:
- unprotected buildings 
Socio-economic environment:
- Poverty 
- Lack of preparation 
Local scale:
- Lack of training/ food
Macro scale:
- Population change 
- Urbanisation 
- Debt repayment issues 
- Limited access to power structures

Question 7

Describe haard events

Answer 7

High winds, floods, drought, landslides, tsunami, volcanic eruption, earthquake, biohazards and pests

Question 8

Why is there a complex relationship between risk, hazards and people?

Answer 8

• Unpredictability
• Lack of alternatives
• Changing levels of risk
• Russian roulette (‘turn a blind eye’ to risk)
• Cost vs. benefit

Question 9

Define ‘hazard vulnerability’

Answer 9

The capacity of a person or group to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of a natural hazard

Question 10

What is the risk equation?

Answer 10

Hazard x exposure x (vulnerability/manageability) = lack of coping capacity

Question 11

What result is low, moderate and high in the risk equation?

Answer 11

-3.9 low
4-6.9 moderate
7+ high

Question 12

Describe the risk equation of Myanmar

Answer 12

Hazard + exposure = 8.2
Vulnerability = 5.9
Lack of coping capacity = 7.2
Overall risk = 7.0

Question 13

Factors that affect vulnerability:

• RS
• CI
• GAP
• I
• RoT

Answer 13

• Response system
• Community initiatives
• Government assistant programmes
• Insurance
• Reliance on technology

Question 14

Factors that affect vulnerability:

• PG
• HE
• U/US
• E
• AP

Answer 14

• Population growth
• Hard engineering
• Urbanisation/ Urban Sprawl
• Economy
• Ageing population

Question 15

Factors that affect vulnerability:

• ED
• AI
• RoW/E

Answer 15

• Environmental degradation
• Ageing infrastructure
• Reliance of Water/ Electricity

Question 16

What is physical vulnerability?

Answer 16

When people live in hazard prone areas in buildings with little protection

Question 17

What is economic vulnerability?

Answer 17

When people risk losing their jobs, assets and money

Question 18

What is social vulnerability?

Answer 18

When a household or community is unable to support the disadvantaged groups within it e.g. political isolation

Question 19

What is knowledge vulnerability?

Answer 19

When people lack education and training and/or there are a lack of warning systems

Question 20

What is environmental vulnerability?

Answer 20

When the area people live in has increased in hazard risk because of population pressure forcing people into riskier areas

Question 21

Factors that affect resilience:

• DPR
• A
• R
• W

Answer 21

• Doctor to patient ratio
• Attitude
• Revenue
• Wealth

Question 22

Factors that affect resilience:

• RUM
• PP
• PoD
• EP

Answer 22

• Rural to urban migration
• Pre-planning
• Perception of the disaster
• Emergency procedures

Question 23

Factors that affect resilience:

• TA
• MSS
• DR
• S

Answer 23

• Trade agreements
• Medical services and supplies
• Debt repayments
• Skills

Question 24

Factors that affect resilience:

• C
• PG
• OPR
• ED

Answer 24

• Communications
• Population growth
• Open political regime
• Environmental degradation

Question 25

What is the PAR model?

Answer 25

What should be enforced to reduce the risk of a disaster

Question 26

Name the four components of the PAR model

Answer 26

Root causes, dynamic pressures, unsafe conditions and natural hazards

Question 27

Describe root causes of the PAR model

Answer 27

Limited access to power, structures and resources | Ideologies: political and economic systems

Question 28

Describe dynamic pressures of the PAR model

Answer 28

Lack of skills, training, local investment, press freedom and ethical standards Macro forces: population change, urbanisation, deforestation, arms expenditure and debt repayment

Question 29

Describe unsafe conditions of the PAR model

Answer 29

- Fragile physical environment - Fragile local economy - Vulnerability - Public actions

Question 30

What equation comes between {root causes, dynamic pressures, unsafe conditions} and {natural hazards}?

Answer 30

Risk = hazard + vulnerability

Question 31

What are hazard profiles?

Answer 31

A technique used to understand the physical characteristics of types of hazards used to contrast and rank the risks

Question 32

Describe the Haiti earthquake 2010 - When? - Death toll and buildings destroyed - Cause - Magnitude - Vulnerability

Answer 32

24th January and 52 aftershocks Death toll estimated 316k 30,000 buildings destroyed including Port-au-Prince, cathedral, Palace, UN HQ, jail and parliament buildings City was in recovery from 2 tropical storms and 2 hurricanes since 2008 Magnitude 7

Question 33

Describe the aid and impacts of the Haiti 2010 earthquake

Answer 33

- Loss of comms and roads blocked by debris - Failure of electricity power system caused lack of aid - Rescue efforts ceased before 2 weeks - Over 1 million homeless and corpses stacked in streets, thousands of prisoners escaped - Cholera killed 9,200 UN blamed

Question 34

Describe the cause and impacts of the Sichuan earthquake of 2008

Answer 34

- Magnitude 7.9 - Collision of Indian-Australian and Eurasian plates - E90,000 dead including 5,300 children - 200 relief workers died in landslides - Millions homeless - Repairs of £76bn creating 1m jobs to build 169 hospitals

Question 35

Describe the impacts and vulnerability of the 2011 Japanese earthquake

Answer 35

- Magnitude 9 and tsunami - 6 years on 150k evacuees - Cost £235bn - 1 minute warning - Only 58% headed for high ground (underestimated personal risk)