natural disasters

Question 1

Natural Hazards

Answer 1

Something that has the potential to harm people or property (Example: a volcano, a hurricane)

Question 2

Natural Hazardous Event

Answer 2

Disturbance that injures or kills plants and animals, not people

Question 3

Natural Disasters

Answer 3

• Hazardous event that causes human causalities, property destruction, and economic loss
• Victims require outside resources to survive and recover

Question 4

U.N. Disaster Declaration

Answer 4

• A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or society
• Widespread human, material, economic, or environmental impact
• Exceeds the ability of a community to cope using its own resources

Question 5

Rapid-onset disasters

Answer 5

Occur suddenly without
warning (Like earthquakes)

Question 6

Slow-onset disasters

Answer 6

take days or weeks to develop (Regional flooding from prolonged rainfall)
* Some disasters can take years, like sea-level rise

Question 7

Primary Disaster

Answer 7

Casualties and destruction from a natural hazard itself (Example: direct damage from an earthquake
or landslide)

Question 8

Secondary Disaster

Answer 8

Hazardous events triggered by the primary disaster (Example: a fire triggered by an earthquake)

Question 9

Tertiary Disaster

Answer 9

Long-term societal disruptions from primary and secondary disasters (Example: spread of disease among disaster
survivors in refugee camps)

Question 10

A local, minor, or small-scale disaster

Answer 10

• Affects a small area
• Few casualties
• Small economic loss
• No long-term disruptions to society

Question 11

A major or large-scale disaster

Answer 11

• Affects a broad region
• Large losses of life and property
• Major economic loss
• Long-term societal disruption

Question 12

Recurrence Interval (RI)

Answer 12

The frequency of a disaster
* Describes how often a disaster will occur
* Several ways to define/calculate RI
* Depends if you want to consider magnitude

Question 13

A simple RI is calculated by

Answer 13

dividing the number of years on record by the number of events

Question 14

Annual Probability (AP)

Answer 14

• The likelihood that an event will happen in a given year
• Often expressed as a number between 0 and 1
• Requires an RI
• AP = 1/RI

Question 15

impacts of disasters on people

Answer 15

-disaster can cause fatalities
-survivors become displaced (evacuees and refugees)

Question 16

impacts of disaster on economics

Answer 16

-repairs to property and infrastructure
-value of lost economic activities

Question 17

impacts of disaster on society

Answer 17

-globally 50,000 to 10,000 people die from disasters each year

Question 18

exposure refers to

Answer 18

potential casualties, economic issues, social disruptions

Question 19

vulnerability refers to

Answer 19

-the degree that structures can resist damage
-community preparation to minimize affected people and economic impacts
-resources available to rebuild infrastructure

Question 20

both exposure and vulnerability are affected by

Answer 20

-wealth
-traditions
-politics

Question 21

risk

Answer 21

-the probability of loss due to a natural disaster
-risk=hazard x exposure x vulnerability

Question 22

you can lower risk by

Answer 22

-decreasing exposure and vulnerability (wealthy countries can do this)

Question 23

what can increase risk

Answer 23

-population growth and density
-climate change
-land modification, urbanization, deforestation

Question 24

disaster tiemeline

Answer 24

-response (rescuing survivors), recovery (clean up), restoration (rebuilding infrastructure, urbanization, deforestation)

Question 25

disaster response depends on

Answer 25

time

Question 26

a watch indicates...

Answer 26

-conditions are right for a hazardous event

Question 27

a warning indicates...

Answer 27

-a hazardous event is happening

Question 28

Realms/spheres of the earth

Answer 28

-a system that evolves, exchanges materials and energy

Question 29

the different spheres

Answer 29

-atmosphere -geosphere -cryosphere -biosphere

Question 30

internal energy

Answer 30

-earths internal energy -leftover heat from earths formation -decay of radioactive atoms inside the earth -internal energy drives plate tectonics and disasters such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes

Question 31

external energy

Answer 31

-comes from the sun (causes most weather-related disasters through convection/movement of air) -gravity (causes landslides)

Question 32

layers of the earth

Answer 32

-crust -mantle -core

Question 33

crust

Answer 33

-outermost layer -ocean, continental crust

Question 34

Mantle

Answer 34

-82% of earths volume

Question 35

core

Answer 35

-iron (90%) and nickel (5%) -outer core-liquid iron flows and generates earth's magnetic -inner core is solid -lithosphere- crust and upper, solid mantle -asthenosphere- soft, upper mantle

Question 36

divergent boundaries

Answer 36

-lithospheric plates move apart -hot asthenosphere rises to create magma -seafloor moves away from ridge, cools and denser -ocean-ocean or continent-continent -divergent boundaries start as continental rifts and create ocean basins -young oceanic crust @ divergent boundary -gets older as u move away

Question 37

convergent boundaries

Answer 37

-plates move together -ocean-ocean -ocean-continent -continent-continent -they have deep sea trenches where subduction occur

Question 38

transform boundaries

Answer 38

-plates slide horizontally -Transform faults also link segments of mid-ocean ridges -Some connect trench segments -Some go through the continental lithosphere

Question 39

subduction

Answer 39

-the process of an oceanic plate slipping beneath an overriding plate (Have the largest earthquakes Plate Boundaries)

Question 40

Earthquakes

Answer 40

the shaking of the Earth, Caused by movement along a geologic fault

Question 41

Fault

Answer 41

crack (fracture) in rock where movement (slip) occurs, Tectonic plate boundaries are large faults

Question 42

Faults are primarily caused by

Answer 42

tectonic stresses