NATURAL HAZARDS

NAME: K-DON DOUGLAS

SUBJECT: GEOGRAPHY
FORM: 4 ARTS
DATE: 15TH OCTOBER, 2017
K-Don Douglas Natural Hazards

Contents

A) Define the following terms ...................................................................................2

B) The difference between a natural hazard and a natural disaster ...........................3

C) The types of hazards are .......................................................................................4

D) List and describe five (5) ways damage may be caused by:.................................5

E) Explain three reasons why the risk of damage from natural hazards are

increasing over time in the Caribbean. ......................................................................7

F) Explain how each of the following can lessen the impact of a natural disaster by

long-term advance planning. ......................................................................................8

G) State the precautionary measures which should be taken in the event of: ...........9

H) Give a brief outline of the work of CDEMA ......................................................10

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K-Don Douglas Natural Hazards

A) Define the following terms

I) Natural hazard

A natural hazard is a threat of a naturally occurring event that will have a negative effect on

people or the environment. Many natural hazards are interrelated.

II) Human-made Hazards

Human-made hazards are threats having an element of human intent, negligence, and error

and involving a failure of a system.

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B) The difference between a natural hazard and a

natural disaster

A natural hazard is a situation where there is a threat to life, health, environment or property

while a natural disaster is an event that completely disrupts the normal ways of a community.

It brings on human, economical, and environmental losses to the community which the

community cannot bear on its own.

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C) The types of hazards are

1) Physical-e.g. - Noise and explosion

2) Chemical e.g. Gases and dusts

3) Radiation e.g. microwaves and infrareds

4) Biological e.g. infection and viruses

5) Psychological e.g. stress and shift work

6) Ergonomics e.g. poor designs of tools/ equipment and manual handling.

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C) List and describe five (5) ways damage may be

caused by:

I) Hurricane:

1) Property damage- roofs, doors and windows can be blown out during and hurricane.

2) Flooding- flooding can cause damage to road infrastructure and flood buildings.

3) Damage to crops- crops can be blown down from heavy winds.

4) landslides- landslide can be caused by consistent rainfall making the soil too saturated.

5) Coastal damage- erosion to coastal areas e.g. beaches.

II) Earthquake:

1) Flooding- Earthquakes an earthquake can break dams or levees along a river. The water

from the river or the reservoir would then flood the area.

2) Fires- These fires can be started by broken gas lines and power lines, or tipped over wood

or coal stoves.

3) Ground displacement-

Ground displacement (ground movement) along a fault. If a structure (a building, road, etc.)

is built across a fault, the ground displacement during an earthquake could seriously damage

or rip apart that structure.

4) Collapsing of buildings- buildings can collapse during the intense vibration and shaking

of an earthquake.

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5) Road displacement- during an earthquake if the road is not on a equal piece of land it can

be destroyed.

III) A volcanic eruption-

1) Lava Flows- Lava flowing from a vent creates enormous amounts of pressure, which can

crush or bury whatever is in its path and whatever survives being burned.

2) Pyroclastic Density Currents- They are extremely hot - up to 400C (750F). The speed

and force of a pyroclastic density current, combined with its heat, mean that these volcanic

phenomena usually destroy anything in their path, either by burning or crushing or both.

Anything caught in a pyroclastic density current would be severely burned and pummelled

by debris.

3) Pyroclastic Falls- Some pyroclastic falls contain toxic chemicals that can be absorbed

into plants and local water supplies, which can be dangerous for both people and livestock.

4) Lahars- Lahars are not as fast or hot as other volcanic hazards, but they are extremely

destructive. They will either bulldoze or bury anything in their path, sometimes in deposits

dozens of feet thick. Whatever cannot get out of a lahar's path will either be swept away or

buried. Lahars can, however, be detected in advance by acoustic (sound) monitors, which

gives people time to reach high ground; they can also sometimes be channelled away from

buildings and people by concrete barriers, although it is impossible to stop them completely.

5) Gases- Volcanic gases are probably the least showy part of a volcanic eruption, but they

can be one of an eruption's most deadly effects. Most of the gas released in an eruption is

water vapour (H2O), and relatively harmless, but volcanoes also produce carbon dioxide etc.

All of these gases can be hazardous even deadly in the right condition.

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E) Explain three reasons why the risk of damage from natural

hazards are increasing over time in the Caribbean.

1) Persons are not precautious- some persons do not take hurricane warnings and measures

seriously which may cause loss of lives.

2) Building codes- Many persons are not using the right building structures and materials to

build houses and other buildings, also some person build their houses too close to the sea or

rivers.

3) Climate change- The Caribbean experiences changes from the effects of climate change.

For example, rising of the sea level, increasing of heat and also flash floods.

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F) Explain how each of the following can lessen the impact

of a natural disaster by long-term advance planning.

I) Individuals- Person can protect their houses before a hurricane by using the proper

building codes when constructing their homes. They should also build in a safe

location that is less likely to be affected than coastal areas. Individuals should also

repair parts of the house that needs fixing and can cut down tall trees around their

houses.

II) Government agencies- Government agencies can inform the citizens of a disaster.

They can produce more shelter centres for the poor and they can provide materials for

house owners and also they can educate the public about the effects of a hurricane.

III) Other organisations- Organizations such as Red Cross can ensure that they have

essentials stored to provide assistance to individuals after a disaster such as food,

bottled water, clothing and other necessities to ensure that they are comfortable after

the disaster.

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G) State the precautionary measures which should be taken

in the event of:

I) a hurricane-1) Before- cut down all tall trees around your house/ community, repair your

house to resist the impacts of a hurricane and also store can foods and water.

2) During- stay inside your shelters until the impacts of the hurricane are

finish, close all windows and doors and keep a first aid kit close.

3) After- Check your surroundings for damage, make sure your house is in

good condition and also check on relatives and neighbours to see if they are fine.

II) An earthquake- 1) Before- stay indoors and keep family members safe

2) During-get under a stable table or bed to reduce injury from the

collapsing of the building.

3) After- check your property for any damage to walls and columns and

also stay away from lamp poles and other overhead buildings.

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H) Give a brief outline of the work of CDEMA.

The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) is a regional inter-

governmental agency for disaster management in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

The Agency was established in 1991 as CDERA (Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response

Agency) with primary responsibility for the coordination of emergency response and relief

efforts to Participating States that require such assistance. It transitioned to CDEMA in 2009

to fully embrace the principles and practice of Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM).

(CDM) is an integrated and proactive approach to disaster management and seeks to reduce

the risk and loss associated with natural and technological hazards and the effects of climate

change to enhance regional sustainable development.

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