EQ3 Lesson 17 - Disaster Trends Flashcards
What are the 4 main categories of hazard?
Meteorological
Hydrological
Climatological
Geophysical
Which types of hazard have occurred with the most + least frequency in recent years?
Most - Meteorological
Least - Geophysical
Why has the number of reported disasters risen in recent years?
Increasing connectivity
Access to technology
Increasing population + urbanisation
Improved disaster education + understanding
Give 3 notable disaster trends since 1975
Consistently lower death tolls
Increasing numbers of disasters reported
Increasing numbers of people affected
More significant economic consequences
How much larger was the sum of average disaster death toll in low income than high income nations?
Roughly 3 times (322 to 105)
What did the economic cost of disasters average within the 2000-2010 time frame?
US$100 Billion
Why is the duration of a natural disaster important?
Duration increases, vulnerability increases
Secondary impacts are leading cause of deaths
Longer the duration, more significant the secondary impacts
Explain the rough earthquake trends in recent years
Less deaths
More costly
15-40 events per year
Statistics skewed by mega disasters (Haiti etc)
Explain the rough volcanic eruption trends in recent years
Very infrequent
Deaths have become rare
Increasing number of people affected due to larger scale evacuations
Since 1980, how many volcanic eruptions have resulted in more than 100 deaths?
7
Which factors may affect the reliability of disaster statistics?
Indirect impacts - Death toll subject to long term change
Location - Remote areas often underreported
Political bias/Corruption - Government may underreport
In what ways can the media inaccurately portray disaster statistics?
Concentrating on rapid onset impacts (More newsworthy)
May stop reporting after certain period of time
