1. Hazards and Disasters- Risk Assessment and Response
Optional Theme
Hazards and Disasters-
Risk Assessment and Response

2. From the spec…
Environmental hazards exist at the interface between physical geography and human geography. Natural hazard events are often exacerbated by human actions, although conversely, human‑induced hazard events are also affected by natural environmental conditions. The principles involved in studying natural hazards are identical to those involved in studying human‑induced hazards.
The focus of this optional theme is on the full range of human adjustments and responses to hazards and disasters at a variety of scales. The term “natural disaster” is deliberately avoided in this theme because it is not considered to be an accurate reflection of the multitude of underlying reasons that expose people to risk and subsequently create the pre‑conditions necessary for a disaster to occur.

3. Hazards Hurricane Tsunami Drought Flood Earthquake Wildfire
Volcanic Eruption Disease Epidemic
Lightening HIV / AIDS
Avalanche Radioactive Leak
Tornado Chemical Explosion
Landslide

4. Research the following characteristics:
Geophysical process [Tectonic, Geomorphological, Atmospheric, Biological, Not Geophysical]
Duration of impact [Instant, seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years, decades]
Length of forewarning [Seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years, decades]
Spatial occurrence [At one extreme global ...]
Scale of impact [Local, Regional or International]
Frequency [between events of a similar magnitude]
Predictability [easiness of prediction- random or consistent]

5. Hazard Characteristics
FREQUENCY
Frequent
Rare
DURATION OF IMPACT
Instant
Decades
LENGTH OF FOREWARNING
Seconds
SCALE OF IMPACT
Local
International
SPATIAL EXTENT
Localised
Global
PREDICTABILITY
Random
Consistent
Earthquake, Volcanic Eruption, Hurricane, Chemical Explosion.

6. Hazards
EXTREME NATURAL EVENT

7. VULNERABLE POPULATION
Hazards
VULNERABLE POPULATION

8. NO INTERACTION = NO HAZARD
VULNERABLE POPULATION
NO INTERACTION = NO HAZARD

9. SMALL INTERACTION = SMALL HAZARD
VULNERABLE POPULATION
SMALL INTERACTION = SMALL HAZARD

10. LARGE INTERACTION = LARGE HAZARD
VULNERABLE POPULATION
LARGE INTERACTION = LARGE HAZARD

11. Draw Venn diagrams for these events:
A moderate landslide occurring on an uninhabited island.
A magnitude 8.1 earthquake occurring near to a city with a population of 18 million people which sits upon an old lakebed.
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake with it's epicentre in a sparsely populated area, 40 km from the nearest town, in the country ranked 12th in terms of the Human Development Index.

12. Use the official IBO Spec to define:
Hazard
Disaster
Hazard Event
Risk
Vulnerability