Lec 09

Question 1

Hazards vs Disasters?

Answer 1

Hazards: natural phenomenon w/ potential to impact human life.
Disasters: hazards actually intersecting w/ people (negative impact follows)

Question 2

3 Aspects of Natural Hazards?

Answer 2

Physical processes:
1. Meteorological:
-heat waves, cyclones, windstorms
2. Geological:
- volcanoes, earthquakes
3. Hydrological:
- floods, droughts, landslides

Human impacts:
1. magnitude:
- height of flood? Fire severity?
2. Time:
- frequency, length, speed?
3. Space:
- Area of coverage (extent), location hit the hardest (concentration)

Time Scales:
1. Short term:
- Rapid onset, relatively short (hours-days)
ex. tornadoes, cyclones, windstorms, Earthquakes, landslides, floods.
2. Long Term:
- sometimes slower onset, longer (days-yrs)
ex. Droughts, floods, volcanoes, heat waves.

Question 3

Risk?

Answer 3

Real: chance of harmful event occurring, based on existing data or forecast

Perceived: level of risk an individual feels personally.
ex.
- temporal proximity
- available + communicated info on risk
- personal experience
- knowledge of the driver of the events
- potential harmful impacts
- societal attitude

-> Driving = 3rd highest RISK for death (2019)

Question 4

Factors of Natural Disasters? List examples.

Answer 4

Humans altering the impacts of hazards
ex. Climate change, deforestation, urban growth.

Canadian example: drought most present in NW Territories

ex. 1: Flooding
- not felt globally, Canada (2016-2021), rural > urban areas affected
- areas w/ high dependency ratio or high government social support more likely to flood.

ex. 2: Economics
- huge + rapidly increasing costs
- 2024 is the most destructive summer, >7billion in insurable losses
-> Toronto and S. Ontario Floods (940M)
-> Jasper Fire (880M)
-> Calgary Hailstorm (2.8B)
-> Quebec Floods (2.5B)

Question 5

Impacts and Vulnerability?

Answer 5

Impacts:
- population loss
- ability to communicate impending disasters has improved?
- graph shows that #’s dramatically decreased overtime

Vulnerability:
- vulnerability to hazards increase as population increases
- globally, increase in number of people living in unsafe areas
- capacity to prepare + respond varies from region to region + depends on what type of disaster
- recovery capacity heavily influenced by social economic; access to support.