The Challenge of Natural Hazards

Question 1

Natural hazard

Answer 1

naturally occuring process or event which has the potential to cause loss of life or damage to property

just a natural event without the interaction of people

Question 2

types of hazard

Answer 2

tectonic - involve movement of plates in the earth’s crust
volcano, earthquake, tsunami etc

atmopsheric form due to influences in the atmosphere
hurricane, typhoon, cyclone

geomorphological occur on the earth’s surface
floodine, avalanche, drought, landslide

biological involve living organisms
wildfire

Question 3

factors affecting hazard risk

Answer 3

development of area - hics and urban areas have stronger infrastructure that is less prone to collapse

size of nearby population - more lives at stake and more to help

frequency of hazard - safety measures may already be in place (but also may not have recovered from previous hazard ie haiti)

preparedness of people - educated people know how to behave in a distaster

Question 4

plate tectonics theory - convection currents

Answer 4

inner core is hot at 6000 c
this heats the mantle and molten rock rises
molten rock moves sideways and pulls the crust
molten rock cools and sinks

Question 5

plate tectonics - slab pull and ridge push

Answer 5

slab pull - dense oceanic crust sinks into the mantle under the influence of gravity and pulls the whole plate with it

ridge push - magma rises through the mantle, it escapes through gaps at constructive plates and cools and solidifies forming ridges ta the crust edge - psuhes rest of plate

Question 6

distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes

Answer 6

earthquakes and eruptions on destructie boundaries
concentrated around ring of fire
more earthquakes on constructive and conservative boundaries
more disasters occur in direction of plate travel

Question 7

constructive boundary

Answer 7

plates move apart
magma rises to fill gap
causes a gentle volcano
magma cools and solidifies, forming new land
e.g mid atlantic ridge

Question 8

conservative boundaries

Answer 8

two plates slide side by side (diff directions or same at different speeds)
friction builds and is eventually released as an earthquake
e.g san andreas fault line in california

Question 9

destructive boundary collision

Answer 9

two continental plates
move towards each other and collide, crumbing up to make mountains
as they collide, friction builds and is released as earthquakes
e.g himalayas

Question 10

destructive boundary subduction

Answer 10

1 oceanic 1 continental
plates collide and oceanic is subducted as it is denser
plate moves dwon and crust melts, turning to magma which rises through gaps in the crust and causes explosive volcanoes
e.g where s america plate meets nazca plate

Question 11

laquila quake

Answer 11

italy 2009, 6.3 mag, occured at a collision plate boundary in c italy, north east of rome

Question 12

laquila effects primary

Answer 12

primary - 300 deaths, mostly from collapsed buildings
1500 injured
over 60k made homeless
bridge near town of fossa collapsed

Question 13

laquila effects secondary

Answer 13

secondary - aftershocks hampered rescue efforts and caused further damage
fires in some collapsed buildings caused more damage
electricity and phone services were interrupted
landslide near paganica caused by a broken water pipe

Question 14

laquila responses immediate

Answer 14

ambulances, fire engines, soldiers sent in to rescue survivors
cranes and diggers used to remove rubble
camps with food water and medicine for homeless
money provided by gov to pay rent and bills were suspended
free phones and sims for homeless

Question 15

laquila long term responses

Answer 15

new settlements build to accomodate 20k who used to live in city centre
most of city centre rebuilt but some criticism over delays
investigation into why modern buildings weren’t built to withstand earthquakes

Question 16

gorka quake

Answer 16

nepal 2015 7.8 mag
north of kathmandu

Question 17

primary effects gorka

Answer 17

over 8000 died and over 16000 injured
1 million homeless
reduced supply of food water and electricity
26 hospitals, 50% of schools and historic buildings destroyed

Question 18

secondary effects gorka

Answer 18

352 aftershocks - one at 7.3 mag
315000 people cut off by road and 75000 unreachable by air
avalanche at mt everest killing 19 at base camp
rice seed stores in homes ruined in rubble, causing food and income shortages
reduction in tourism to nepal

Question 19

gorka immediate reponses

Answer 19

un and who distributed medicine to worst affected areas
temporary shelters - red cross tents for 225,000
sherpas hiked to remote areas to provide supplies
facebook safety feature launched so people could indicate they were okay
uk’s dec raised $126m to provide emergency aid
phone companies didnt charge for calls

Question 20

long term responses gorka

Answer 20

post disaster needs assessment by government
heritage sites and everest reopened quickly
6 months later the food and agriculture organisation of un expanded crop production and trained individuals to repair damage in agricultural land
8 months later reported $274 milluon in aid

Question 21

laquila vs gorka

Answer 21

laquila - 1.1bn damage, 550mish aid from eu
hic with higher gdp, better equipped emergency services, more transport infrastructure, higher construction standards

rural and difficult terrain may have been cause for less damage, not hic

gorka - 5.15bn damage, 274m from eu
lic with lower gdp, more short term responses needed to prevent further death, less money and resources for people to help themsleves

Question 22

why do people continue to live in hazardous areas

Answer 22

plate margins coincide with favourable areas for settlement
benefits e,g fertile soil, mineral deposits, hot water, from volcanoes
people may be oblivious to risks or not see infrequent hazards as being a threat
better building design and more effective monitoring minimises danger

Question 23

prediction

Answer 23

attempting to forecast when or where a hazard will strike, based on current knowledge and by recording physical changes

seismometers measure tremors or foreshocks
satellites detect heat and changes to volcano shape, instruments detect gases
locations and times of quakes mapped to spot patterns and predict events

Question 24

protection

Answer 24

actions takjen before a hazard strikes to reduce its impact

designing resistant buildings, reinforcing roads and buildings, edicating people, redirecting lava flows with explosives

Question 25

planning

Answer 25

actions taken to enable communities to respond to or recover from natural disasters, through various measures emergency evacuation plans and earthquake drills preparing emergency aid supplies and how they would be distributed helping people plan and prepare at home, work and school

Question 26

japan management

Answer 26

newly constructed buildings follow strict rules on materials and resistance all phones have an alert system allowing people to get to safety up to 10 mins tsunami warning for people on the coast guidelines and training, drills for kids, instriuctions citizens must prepare an emergency kit with supplies and food

Question 27

low pressure

Answer 27

warm air rises, cools and condenses to form clouds and precipitation 30 and 90 degrees

Question 28

high pressure

Answer 28

cool air sinks, no clouds formed so no rain 0 and 60 degrees

Question 29

names of tropical storms

Answer 29

hurricanes in atlantic cyclones in se asia typhoons in japan and philippines

Question 30

where and why do tropical storms form

Answer 30

form over warm oceans (27+ degrees) in summer and autumn forms at latitudes 5-20 as any closer and there is not enough spin from the earth's rotation tropical regions are low pressure and high temps make air rise rapidly - unstable conditions low wind sheer means storm clouds can rise and not be ripped apart

Question 31

storm formation

Answer 31

warm air rises rapidly, cools and condenses to form clouds heat is released which powers the thunderstorm no sheer winds to destroy it more warm air is sucked in due to the pressure difference and more water is drawn up - storm continues to grow prevailing winds move the hurricane and it has an anti-clockwise spin due to the coriolis effect bands of rising and sinking air form the eye of the storm as cooler denser air sinks storm dissipates as it moves over land as there is no more heat rising from the ocean

Question 33

climate change effect on tropical storms

Answer 33

some computer models indicate that frequency of storms may decrease, but intensity may increase hurricane intensity in n atlantic has risen in the last 20 years - linked to rising sea temps 6/10 most active hurricane years since mid 90s as patterns of sea surface temps change, distribution of storms may be affected areas outisde of hazard zone may be affected e.g hurricane catarina in brazil 04 was a surprise as cold ocean currents and wind stop storm formation

Question 34

typhoon haiyan

Answer 34

philippines 2013, cat 5 strongest typoon seen in the philippines nw pacific cebu, leyte, bohol worst affected

Question 35

typhoon haiyan primary effects

Answer 35

over 6000 dead and 4m homeles 14.1 mil affected many already in poverty power supplies interrupted airport damaged and roads blocked by debris 1.1m tons crops destroyed 5 metre storm surge in tacloban and leyte - 90% of tacloban destroyed

Question 36

secondary effects haiyan

Answer 36

looting as people fought for supplies rice prices rose by 12% high likelihood of disease speading water supplies contaminated with chemicals (flooding) fishing halted as waters contaminated oil barge in estancia ran aground and contaminated 10 hectares of mangroves

Question 37

immediate responses haiyan

Answer 37

800,000 evacuated emergency supplies arrived 3 days after medical supplies, over 1m food packs and 250,000l water curfew 2 days after to stop looting 33 countries pledged help with rescue - 88.8m

Question 38

haiyan long term responses

Answer 38

build back better scheme in 2014 to protect better against future disasters more than 1.5b in foreign aid zsl working with locals to create new mangrove marine protected areas

Question 39

tropical storms monitoring+prediction

Answer 39

satellites, radar, weather charts identify the development and movement of storms; computer programs predict path warnings issued by local authorities and emergency services in bangladesh cyclones are tracked by meteorological dept and warning issues by radio, tv, social media - even most remote are reached, sometimes by bike

Question 40

tropical storms protection

Answer 40

windows, doors, roofs reinforced to strengthen buildings storm drains remove excessive rainfall and prevent flooding sea walls protect key properties from storm surges houses near to coat built on stilts - surges pass underneath 2500 cyclone shelters built along bangladeshi coast to provide safetyb

Question 41

bangladesh improvements

Answer 41

shelters and warning systems have helped reduce death toll from 500,000 in 1970 to 4234 in 2007

Question 42

planning tropical storms

Answer 42

it is unrealistic to stop millions living and working in coastal areas planning about raising awareness of dangers and responses national hurricane preparedness week in usa educates people

Question 43

uk storm events

Answer 43

uk is regularly hit by depressions which bring heavy rain and trigger floods - west coast esp st jude storm 2013 - killed 5, gatwick closed, thousands lost power birmingham tornado 2005 caused 40 mil worth of damage

Question 44

uk flooding

Answer 44

often cuased by heavy rainfall or strong winds coastal flooding, river flash flooding, surface water flooding can also trigger landslides e.g ockley 2013 40m railway embankement collapse

Question 45

uk droghts

Answer 45

drought can damage crop production and cause low water reserves drough conditions in 2003, 6, 12 2003 caused 20,000 deaths

Question 46

extreme cold uk

Answer 46

risks of frosts, freezing, blizzard occur if depressions are not pasisng over uk cold winters in 2010/11 and 2014/15

Question 47

uk weather change

Answer 47

wetter and warmer weather as oceans warm uk rainfall patterns expected to change more evaporation so higher than avg rainfall summer 2022 temp hit over 40c in lincolnshire

Question 48

somerset floods 2014

Answer 48

sw england low lying farm and wetland area drained by several rivers wettest jan since records began (350mm from jan/feb) high tides and storm surges swept water ip rivers from bristol channels fresh water couldnt reach the sea and spiller over rivers were clogged with sediement and hod not been drained for 20y

Question 49

somerset 2014 impacts

Answer 49

600 houses flooded villages e.g moorland cut off residents evacuated to temporary accomodation power supplies cut off over 1000 livestock evacuated disruption to travel on local roads and railway contaminated floodwaters debris and stagnant water had to be cleared council estimated damage over 10m

Question 50

somerset 2014 responses

Answer 50

cut off cillagers used boats to shop and attend school local community groups and volunteers gave support 20m flood action plan by county council to reduce future risks tone and parrat rivers dredged to increase capacity road levels and river banks raised

Question 51

climate change evidence

Answer 51

link between atmospheric co2 concengtration, global temp and population growth receding ice sheets changing sea levels - 19cm rise ince 1900 data since 1914 from the met office shows a 1c increase ice cores trap oxygen and scientists can work out global temps sediement at the bottom of the ocean tells us about temperateures and oxygen landforms, pollen, help us see evidence

Question 52

worldwide effects of climate change

Answer 52

crop yields for maize in c america may fall 12% extinction in the amazon malaria increases in hot humid areas, health in s and e africa may decline increased drought in med fishing in e asia will decline due to higher temps and acidic seas

Question 53

causes of climate change - milankovitch cycles

Answer 53

eccentricity, precession and axial tilt cause a change in climate scientists think these will not cause another ice age for 30,000 years so not responsible

Question 54

causes of climate change - sunspots

Answer 54

cyclical changes in solar energy output linked to sunspots, more meand more solar flares so more heat, on an 11 year cycle

Question 55

volcanoes climate change

Answer 55

can lead to global cooling as suns energy is blocked, can also release lots of sulfur dioxide

Question 56

human activity climate change cause

Answer 56

co2 released from burning fossil fuels, deforestation, car exhausts nitrous oxide from fertilisers, sweage treatment, power stations methane from livestock, burning biomass, decaying organic matter enhanced greenhouse effect traps more solar radiation, heats the planet as less reflected back to space

Question 57

mitigation strategies

Answer 57

aim to reduce the causes of climate change

Question 58

mitigation energy

Answer 58

as world pop and incomes grow, demand for energy increases renewables reduce the vol of greenhouse gases contributing to climate change renewables becoming cheaper and more competitive nearly 15% of uks energy was renewable in 2013

Question 59

carbon capture and storage mitigation

Answer 59

technological advances replicate how earth stores co2 co2 captured from emission sources and stored safely carbon removed from atmosphere, liquidated and injected into rock, caprock stops it escaping process is expensive and does not promote renewables uk is a world leader in ccs - could provide over 20% of uks energy by 2050 (dep of energy and climate change)

Question 60

planting trees mitigation

Answer 60

forest degradation and deforestation occurs at 13m hectares a year uk 40bn investment in reforestation and conservation could increase forest carbon storage by 28% uk has 25m project to reduce deforestation in brazil to recover over 40k hectares of degraded forest

Question 61

international agreements mitigation

Answer 61

paris 2015 conference international climate agreement european commission set eu vision for reducing global emissions by at least 40% below 2010 levels by 2030 some countries can afford mitigation more than others some are more responsible than others for causation

Question 62

adaptation strategies

Answer 62

responding to changes caused by climate change

Question 63

agricultural adaption

Answer 63

move production to other locations due to changing temps change crops and varieties, and planting times e.g drought resistant crops more difficult for poorer subsitence farmers potato park peru conserves the regions potato biodiversity - grown at higher altitudes and disappearing varieties conserved in a gene bank

Question 64

adaptation managing water supply

Answer 64

lodnoners consume more water than national average reduce demand with free retrofit packages of water efficient devices increase supply with desalinisation e.g plant opened in beckton 2010 for 400,000 homes but requires lots of energy

Question 65

reducing risk from rising sea levels adaptation

Answer 65

thames barrier closed over 100 times since 1982 to stop tidal surges entering london