Hazards Flashcards
1
Q
What is an example of a multi-hazard environment?
A
- The Phillippines
2
Q
Why is the Phillippines a multi-hazard environment?
A
- The area is vulnerable to volcanoes, seismic hazards and tropical storms.
3
Q
Why is the Phillippines prone to increased volcanic eruptions?
A
- It is near a destructive plate boundary where subduction occurs.
4
Q
What is an example of a volcano that erupted in the Phillippines? (state year)
A
- Mount Pinatubo (1991)
5
Q
How many were left dead and homeless after Mount Pinitubo erupted?
A
- 700 deaths
- 200,000 left homeless
6
Q
Why are the Phillippines heavily exposed to Earthquakes?
A
- Earthquakes occur along the plate boundaries.
7
Q
What is an example of an earthquake which happened in the Phillippines? (state year)
A
Luzon Island (1990)
8
Q
What was the magnitude of the Earthquake on the Luzon Island and how many were killed?
A
- 7.8 magnitude
- It killed 1500 people
9
Q
What was an example of a tsunami which hit the Phillippines? (state the year)
A
- Moro Gulf (1976)
10
Q
What was the magnitude of Moro Gulf?
A
- 7.9
11
Q
How many tropical storms happen a year in the Phillippines?
A
- 10 tropical storms every year.
(They form in the Pacific Ocean and move westwards)
12
Q
What is an example of a tropical storm which happened in the Phillippines? (state the year)
A
- Typhoon Xangsane (2006)
13
Q
How many people died and how much did Typhoon Xangsane cost?
A
- 200 people died
- $130 million
14
Q
What were the 5 effects of Typhoon Xangsane?
A
- High winds
- Torrential rain
- Landslides
- Flooding
- Loss of power/water
15
Q
What is the population density of the Phillippines?
A
- 340 people/square km
16
Q
How do people in the Phillippines prepare themselves for an event?
A
- Stockpiling food
- Widening the rivers to prevent flooding
17
Q
How has the policy towards hazards changed?
A
- Funding was only essential after the hazard
- However, nowadays, the Phillippines are preparing, mitigating and adapting for hazards.
18
Q
What are the 4 strategies of management the Phillippines now use?
A
- No building in high-risk areas
- Building embankments to prevent flooding
- Public awareness schemes
- Adaptations of new and existing buildings
19
Q
What is an example of an area which is a hazardous setting?
A
- Central Italy
20
Q
Why is Italy prone to earthquakes?
A
- Fault lines run north, south, east, and west of the country.
21
Q
What evidence is there for the country, Italy, receiving frequent earthquakes?
A
- 3 earthquakes hit the area around Assisi in 1997.
- 6.3 magnitude earthquake in L’Aquila in 2009.
- L’Aquila made 70,000 homeless and killed 300 people. (Cost $15 billion)
22
Q
What were the social impacts of L’Aquila (list a few)
A
- Historic buildings were destroyed.
- Rehousing in new, earthquake-resistant buildings away from the town.
- Social/religious attendance declined heavily.
- Residents suffered psychologically
23
Q
What were the economic impacts of L’Aquila
A
- University was damaged leading to the number of students enrolling decreasing causing economic losses for the city.
24
Q
What were the political impacts of L’Aquila
A
- Officials blamed for not giving the public enough warning
- Government blamed for not rebuilding L’Aquila fast enough. (Increasing the feelings of discontent and a lack of support)
25
What are wildfires?
- Uncontrolled fires that destroy forests, grasslands and other vegetation.
26
What are the 3 types of wildfires?
- Ground fire
- Surface fire
- Crown fire
27
What are ground fires?
- When the ground itself burns, it is slow with little smoke.
28
What are surface fires?
- Surface fires occur when leaf litter or low lying vegetation burns.
29
What are crown fires?
- Where fire moves rapidly through the canopy.
30
What are vegetational conditions that make wildfires more likely to happen?
- Closely spaced trees.
- Trees which contain a lot of oil (pine)
31
What are fuel characterisitcs which increase the likelihood of wildfires?
- Fine, dry materials catch fire and burn the mlst easily.
32
What are the climatic conditions for wildifres?
- Rainfall causes vegetation to grow which stores lots of fuel.
- Happen when rainfall is low for a significant time.
- More flammable vegetation when water gets dried up in vegetation.
- Strong winds provide more oxygen to help the fire burn and spread.
33
What are the natural causes of wildfires?
- Lightning
- Volcanic eurptions
34
What are the human causes of wildfires?
- Accidental dropping of cigarettes
- Out of control barbecues
- Arson
35
List 5 social impacts of wildfires?
- People may be killed or injured
- Homelessness
- People left without electricity/power
- Health problems
- Wildfires destroy businesses
36
What are the list of economic impacts of wildfires?
- The costs are huge
- Destruction of businesses so a loss of jobs and income
- Decrease in tourism
37
What are the list of political impacts of wildfires?
- Governments can face high levels of criticism if an area is badly damaged.
38
What are the list of environmental impacts of wildfires?
- Habitats get destroyed and it takes a long time before they can be fully restored.
- Soils are damaged as the fire removes organic matter.
- Smoke may cause air pollution.
39
What are short term responses to wildfires?
- Trying to put out the fire itself by diverting the fire, spraying water onto roofs.
40
What are the long term responses to wildfires?
- Managing the future risks
- Prevention (through public education and awareness)
- Preparedness (Emergency plans for the combatting of future fires)
- Adaptation (Change the way of living to cope with the threat of wildfires)
41
When was south east Australia hit with wildfires?
- February 2009
42
What were the causes of the Australia wildfires?
- 10 years of drought
- Recent temperatures were 40 degrees celcius and there were strong winds.
- There was a lack of management which meant that there was very dry oil-rich material to fuel the fire.
43
How many people were killed? (AUSTRALIA)
- 173
44
How many people were injured? (AUSTRALIA)
- 400
45
How many businesses were destroyed (AUSTRALIA)
60
46
How mnay firefighters and volunteers responded to the Australia wildfire?
- 20,000
46
How much did the wildfire cost?
- $4 billion
47
How much was donated for rebuilding?
$400 million
48
How was the evacuation strategy improved?
- Better fire warning systems and fire shelters were implemented.
49
When was Hurriance Katrina?
- 2005
50
Where did Hurrican Katrina develop?
- Bahamas and spread west
51
What were the windspeeds and mm of rainfall caused by Katrina?
- 200kph
- 200-250 mm of rainfall
52
What category was Katrina?
- Category 3
53
What percentage of New Orleans was flooded?
- 80%
54
How many people were killed during Hurricane Katrina?
- 1836 people killed
55
How many houses were destroyed during Hurricane Katrina?
- 300,000 houses destroyed
56
How many people were left without electricity during Katrina?
- 3 million
57
Which bridge collapsed during Hurricane Katrina?
- I-10 bridge
58
How many people died from drinking contaminated water during Katrina?
- 5
59
How many schools were destroyed during Katrina?
- 18 schools destroyed
60
How many jobs were lost because of katrina?
230,000 jobs
61
How much did hurricane katrina cost?
$300 billion USD in damage
62
How many kilometres squared of forest was destroyed after Katrina?
- 5300 km^2
63
2 reasons why the USA response was rapid to Katrina
- The US had the National Hurricane Centre which issued a hurricane warning to states.
- THis allowed the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) to act quickly
64
What mandatory practice was put in place in New Orleans because of Hurricane Katrina
- Mandatory evacuation in New Orleans
65
What percentage of New Orleans was already evacuated before Katrina had hit?
- 80%
66
What was the Louisiana Superdome and how mnay people did it shelter?
- Stadium which was able to hold 26,000 people.
67
When was Typhoon Haiyan?
2013
68
What category was Typhoon Haiyan?
- Category 5
69
What were the wind speeds of Typhoon Haiyan?
- 315kph
70
What caused typhoon haiyan?
- Warm sea surface in the western Pacific Ocean
71
How many people were killed in typhoon haiyan?
- 6300 killed
72
How many homes were destroyed in Typhoon Haiyan
- 1.1 million
73
How many people were displaced during Typhoon Haiyan?
- 4 million people were displaced
74
How much did Typhoon Haiyan cost?
- 12.9 billion USD
75
What were the 2 immediate responses in Haiyan?
- State of emergency was declared
- Widespread evacuation
76
What were the 3 long term responses in Haiyan?
-Build Back Better programme
- Enhancements of early warning systems
- Restoration of economic recovery
77
What did Haiyan display about the effects of tropical storms/natural hazards on LICs?
- Increase vulnerability of LICs due to factors such as poverty, inadequete infrastructure, and limited resources
78
What are tropical storms?
- A tropical storm is a powerful, rotating weather system with strong winds and heavy rainfall that develops over warm ocean waters in the tropics
79
What are 3 key conditions of tropical storms?
- Low pressure area of ocean
- 27 degrees celsisu water
- 5 degrees from the equator meaning they form at the tropics.
80
What happens when tropical storms reach land?
- They lose strength because the supply of warm, moist air is cut off.
81
What is the shape of tropical storms?
- Circular
82
What is the centre of the tropical storm called?
- Eye of the storm
83
What is the part of a tropical storm which creates strong winds?
- eyewall
84
What is the saffir simpson scale based on?
- windspeed
85
What does cat 5 indicated on saffir simpson?
- Highest windspeed above 250kph.
86
What is the problem with wind on a country?
- destorys buildings, trees and carries debris.
87
What is a storm surge and what is it caused by?
- Caused by high winds
- Surge in sea level.
88
Why is there torrential rain?
- Warm, moist air cools and condenses.
89
How is flooding caused?
- The torrential rain raises the river discharge levels.
90
Why are landslides happening during tropical storms?
- Water infiltrates soil and rock which makes it more prone to collapse.
91
What are tropical storms' social impacts? (list 6)
- Drowning
- Injured/killed
-homelessness
- food shortage
- sewage
- disease
92
What are tropical storms' political impacts? (3)
- Governments are blamed
- Leads to unrest/violence/looting
- Development can't continue because repair costs a lot of money.
93
What are tropical storms' economic impacts ? (3)
- Costs a lot to rebuild infrastructure.
- Businesses are damaged/destroyed
- Agricultural land is damaged affecting commercial farming
94
What are tropical storms' environmental impacts? (2)
- Pollution
- Disrupts aquatic breeding systems
95
What is the main short term solution to tropical storms?
- Evacuation and providing aid and food to people
96
What are some prevention strategies to tropical storms ?
- We can't directly prevent tropical storms but can PLAN instead to protect high risk areas due to knowledge of storms.
97
What are some prepared strategies to tropical storms?
- Training people for disasters through education and providing evacuation routes.
98
What are some adaptation strategies to tropical stoorms?
- Buildings designed to withstand tropical storms
- Flood defences are built such as levees and sea walls.
99
How are earthquakes caused?
- Caused by tensions that builds up at all three types of plate margin.
- Vibrations occur when plates move past each other.
- Vibrations spread out from the epicenter.
100
What is the epicenter?
- The first point on Earth where the earthquake is felt.
101
What is the role of the Richter Scale?
- Measures earthquake activity and is a logarithmic scale where each level has a difference of 10 per level.
102
What is the moment magnitude scale?
- A scale which measures the impacts of earthquakes by judging Earthquake severity.
103
How do earthquakes cause tsunamis?
- Tsunamis are triggered by underwater earthquakes, as water radiates out from the epicenter, the sea floor moves too causing larger waves.
104
Why are tsunamis more powerful closer to the coast?
- They don't lose energy travelling towards land.
105
How do earthquakes cause landslides/avalanches?
- Earthquakes cause the ground to shake which dislodges rock, soil or snow.
106
Where does seismic activity occur?
- Destructive/conservative/constructive boundaries.
107
What plate boundary to the biggest earthquakes occur?
- Destructive
108
Do earthquakes follow a specific pattern?
- No they're random
109
Do lower magnitude earthquakes happen more than higher magnitude earthquakes?
- Yes.
110
What are the primary impact of earthquakes?
- death, injury
111
What are the secondary impacts of earthquakes?
- Occur as a result of primary results
112
What are the list of social impacts caused by earthquakes?
- Destruction to buildings, which kill/injure people.
- Fires can arise
- Flooding from tsunamis
- Widespread contamination
113
What are 2 environmental impacts of earthquakes?
- Industry can be damaged causing leakages and spillages
- Tsunamis flood frechwater ecosystems.
114
What are 2 economic impacts of earthquakes?
- Destroy business premises
- Expensive to repair buildings and infrastructure.
115
What are 2 political impacts of earthquakes?
- Government has less money to spend on development due to having to repair infrastructure
- Government is blamed by citizens causing unrest.
116
What are the 2 main short term responses to earthquakes?
- Resucing people from collapsed buildings after an earthquake.
- Evacuating people from high risk areas.
117
What are prevention strategies to earthquakes?
- We can't prevent seismic hazards.
- We can prevent the risk by building sea walls to prevent tsunamis from easily hitting.
118
What are preparation strategies to earthquakes?
- Earthquake warning systems
- Response strategies such as staying away from buildings if possible.
- Tsunami warning systems and securing evacuation routes.
119
What are adaptation strategies to earthquakes?
- Buildings will be designed to withstand tall, strong earthquakes.
120
What is basaltic lava?
- Lava that is very hot and has low viscosity.
121
What is anndesitic/rhyolitic lava?
- Lava that is more viscous but slower.
122
What happens with volcanos at destructive margins?
- Cause magma to rise to the surface, forming blockages which are cleared by violent eruptions.
123
Where can volcanoes also happen?m
- At hotspots, which are away from plate margins.
124
What are pyroclastic flows?
- Super heated gas, ash and rock that flows down the sides of volcanoes.
- They are high speed meaning relatively little warning and they cause death.
125
What are lava flows?
- Lava can flow up to 10 kilometres per hour on a steep slope and may travel tens of kilometres.
126
What are volcanic gases?
- Gases such as CO2 and sulfur diocide which gets released when a volcano erupts.
- These gases are harmful to humans and animals if they're breathed in.
127
What are mudflows?
- Occur when volcanic material mixes with large amounts of water, the flows do move very quickly.
- Mudflows destroyn natural habitats.
128
What is acid rain?
- Created when volcanic gases react with water vapour in the atmosphere.
- Acid rain damages ecosystems and causes stone and metal to deteriorate.
129
What is the magnitude of volcanoes?
- Some volcanoes range from small, slow lava flows to huge lava flows that are extremely deadly.
130
What is the frequency of volcanoes?
- Some volcanoes erupt once every 100,000 years but others erupt once every few months.
131
What is the pattern of randomness of volcanoes?
- Some volcanoes erupt at very regular intervals but others are irregular.
132
How do we monitor earthquakes?
- Monitoring the change in shape of volcanoes.
133
What are the social impacts of volcanic events?
- People are killed
- Buildings and infrastrucutre are destroyed.
- Pyroclastic flows can start fires
- Mudflows can cause further death
134
What are the environmental impacts of volcanoes?
- Volcanic gases contribute to the enhanced greenhouse effect and the gases cover ckouds preventing sunlight from hitting the Earth.
- Acid rain causes rocks and stones to deterioate.
135
What are the economic impacts of volcanoes?
- Destroys businesses/ash couds prevent aircraft flying and damage crops.
- Damage to buildings lead to expensive repairs.
- However, eurptions and the scenary can attract tourists, boosting the economy.
136
What are the political impacts of volcanoes?
- Potential political unrest.
- Limit development due to the issue of repairing infrastructure.
137
What are short term responses to volcanoes?
- Evacuating people from the volcano and providing emergency aid for people.
138
What are the preparation strategies of volcanoes?
- We can prepare better by securing evacuation routes and educate people om what to do in the event of a volcano.
139
What prevention strategies are there for volcanic events?
- Prevention strategies include volcanic monitoring systems and investigating the change in shape and structure of volcanoes which may signal earthquake formings.
140
What is a constructive margin?
- Occurs where two plates are moving apart.
141
Why does magma rise?
- It is less dense than the plates above it.
142
What happens when magma rises?
- It forms a volcano.
143
What is a plate crack called?
- Fault line
144
What are the 2 landforms that constructive margins create?
- Rift valley
- Ocean ridges
145
What are rift valleys?
- Where plates diverge beneath land, rising magma causes fault lines to occur.
- Crust continues to drop down between parallel faults.
146
What are ocean ridges?
- Where diverging plates are underwater, an ocean ridge forms.
- For example the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
147
What are destructive margins?
- Where two plates move towards one another.
148
What happens when continental and oceanic crust moves towards each other?
- The more dense oceanic plate is forced under the less dense continental plate.
- This forms a deep sea trench.
- The oceanic crust is heated by fricton and contact with the upper mantle to form magma.
- magma rises back to the surface to form volcanoes.
- When plates move under the other, they can get stuck, causing pressure to build up eventually causing an Earthquake.
149
What happens when oceanic and oceanic crust move towards each other?
- Denser oceanic plate is subducted to form a deep sea trench.
150
What happens when continental and continental crust move towards each other?
- Earthquakes happen but not volcanoes as no plate is subducted but fold mountains can form.
151
What are conservative plate boundaries?
- Two plates are moving past each other in a parallel motion.
152
How are earthquakes triggered at conservative plate boundaries?
- Plates jerk past each other releasing energy as an earthquake.
153
What is a magma plume?
- Vertical colum of extra-hot magma that rises up from the mantle
- Volcanoes form above magma plumes
- The crust moves above it
- New volcanoes form, creating a chain
154
Characteristics of the inner core?
- Solid ball made from iron and nickel
155
Characteristics of the outer core?
- Semi-molten made from iron and nickel
156
Characteristics of the lower mantle closest to the core?
- Very rigid
157
Characteristics of the asthenosphere?
- Layer above the lower mantle and semi-molten.
158
Characteristics of the upper mantle?
- Rigid
159
What are the two types of crust?
- Continental and Oceanic.
160
Outline the Convection Current theory?
- The Earth's mantle is hottest when closest to the CORE.
- So the lower asthenosphere heats up and rises.
- It then cools and sinks
- This reptitive circular movement of semi-molten rock is called convection currents and they create a drag on the tectonic base.
161
Outline the Slab Pull theory.
- As denser crust is subducted, the sinking pulls the rest of the plate towards the boundary.
162
Outline the Ridge Push theory.
- Constructive plate margins see magma rise to the surface to form new crust.
- New crust is hot and heats the surrounding crust which then expands and rises to form a slope.
- New crust cools and gravity causes the denser rock to move downslope.
- Pressure builds causing more movement apart.
163
Outline sea floor spreading?
- Magma rises up to fill the gap created by constructive plate boundaries
- New crust keeps forming, the crust is dragged apart
- If this happens underneath the sea, the sea floor gets wider
- This creates ocean ridges
164
What is a hazard?
- A potential threat to human life/property
165
How do people view hazards differently?
- Some accept, ignore or adapt to hazards.
166
List factors that affect the perception of a hazard?
- Religion, education, past experience, personality.
167
Outline the park model?
- Pre-disaster - (when the situation is normal)
- Disruption (There is destruction by a natural hazard)
- Relief (Rescue efforts focus on saving people)
- Rehabilitation (focussing on fixing long term issues)
- Reconstruction (Involves rebuilding permanent houses)
168
What are the 4 stages of the hazard management cycle?
- Mitigation
- Preparedness
- Response
- Recovery
169
When was the Iceland Earthquake?
- 2010
170
What was the cause of the Iceland Earthquake?
- Magma rose through the crust due to divergent plate movement.
171
What are 4 primary impacts of the Iceland Earthquake?
- 800 evacuated
- Ash cloud disrupted air travel in Europe for 6 days.
- 100,000 flights were cancelled, affecting 10 million passengers.
- The ash contaminated local water supplies.
172
What are 2 secondary impacts of the Iceland Earthqauke?
- The airlines lost over £130 million per day during the peak disruption.
- Tourism in Iceland initally dropped
173
What are 2 short term responses of the Iceland Earthquake?
- Immediate evacuation of people in danger zones.
- Local roads closed due to flooding and ash.
174
- What are 3 long term responses of the Iceland Earthquake?
- Volcanic ash forcecasting and satellite monitoring.
- Development of the EU aviation policies to prevent full shutdowns in the future.
- Public education.
175
When was the Mount Nyiragongo Volcano?
- 2002
176
What were the causes of Mount Nyiragongo?
- Movement along the rift valley caused cracks in the volcanic flanks.
- Volcanic lava escaped from fissure and flowed towards Goma.
177
What were the 4 primary impacts of Mount Nyiragongo?
- 40% of Goma was destroyed.
- 147 people were killed
- 350,000 people were evacuated to Rwanda
- Infrastructure was destroyed.
178
What were 3 secondary impacts of Mount Nyiragongo?
- Cholera outbreaks in camps due to the lack of clean water.
- Looting massively increased
- The Goma economy collapsed.
179
What were 2 short term responses to Mount Nyiragongo?
- The UN and NGO's provided emergency aid.
- UN peacekpeepers helped maintain order in Goma.
180
What were 3 long term responses to Mount Nyiragongo?
- Goma volcano observatory was tasked with monitoring Nyiragongo.
- International funding was granted for rebuilding homes.
- Plans were put in place for better evacuation strategies and early warning systems.
181
when was the Nepal Earthquake?
- 2015
182
What was the magnitude of the Nepal Earthquake?
- 7.8
183
What were 3 primary impacts of the Nepal Earthquake?
- 9000 killed, 22,000 injured
- 600,000 homes were destroyed
- Electricity/water supplies were cut
184
What were 4 secondary impacts of the Nepal Earthquake?
- Landslides and avalanches occured especially in the Himalayas, killed 19.
- Tourism declined
- Food shortages occured due to blocked supply.
- The economy lost around $5 billion
185
What were 3 short term responses to the Nepal Earthquake?
- Nepal sought international help hours after the event.
- Rescue and relief teams from India, China, UK and US helped Nepal.
- Temporary shelters and aid from NGOs such as the Red Cross
186
What were 3 long term responses to the Nepal Earthquake?
- 'Build Back Better' schemes
- Disaster preparedness education increased
- The Government received $274 million from the Asian Development Bank.
