A hazard can be defined as something that poses a threat or danger, either to the human or physical environment. In the case of earthquakes, hazards can include the shaking of the earth, liquefaction, or if the epicentre occurs under an ocean a tsunami may become a hazard. Although human factors may influence the severity of the impact, physical factors may also play a part. Population distribution and density is a key human factor which affects the severity of earthquake hazards. As a result of an earthquake in Haiti (2010) up to 230,000 people were killed.
The impacts created from an earthquake can come from the physical factors of the size, the location of the epicentre and the surrounding areas such as a ground type and the lithology of the rocks. However they can also be influenced by human factors such as land use of an area, population density of an area and the use of technology or the equipment a country have that can monitor the event. By this they can prepare or plan for such a disaster. In my essay I shall discuss how the impacts of the earthquake hazards aren’t always human factors and can vary with different events. I shall use examples of the Kobe Earthquake 1995, Boxing Day Tsunami 2004 and the Haiti Earthquake 2010.
Measures to manage the problem were efficiently introduced by the government, though much losses could be observed, including death of 9 people and high level of pollution in nearby areas. Natural hazard events in most cases cannot be predicted. Although some speculation of flood or drought may appear when precipitation anomalies occur and river water-levels vary, as well as earthquake may be preceded by anomalies in earth’s magnetic field, even with the use of technology it is impossible to predict those distasters. Many of them, similarly to human induced hazards, occur unexpectedly and cause long term damages, as it was in case of Haiti earthquake in 2010, however the scale is much
‘How do people and society respond to environmental hazards and what factors influence their choice of adjustments?’ (Cutter 1996). Discuss this statement with reference to examples of both natural and technological hazards. Introduction Environmental hazards fall under two headings: Chronic and Catastrophic. Catastrophic hazards are those with a high magnitude and low frequency. They create huge media attention as the rate of change from what would have been considered as ‘normal’ conditions is very high, for example an earthquake can turn an entire city to ruins and kill hundreds of people in just minutes.
Moral Obligation and Moral Distance The given statement invokes several moral questions and concerns in light of our moral obligations and boundaries. “There is an earthquake that wrecks havoc in Farawayistan so that 1000 people are left without homes or livelihood; and there is a hurricane in the USA that does the same”. Both cases depict a grave catastrophe that supposedly attract similar attention despite occurring in different geographic locations. At stake is not only victims’ basic welfare but also their lives. At this point, the ball is in our court.
To what extent can preparedness and planning mitigate the effects of volcanic hazards? Volcanic hazards can have varying effects depending on where in the world it occurs. Prediction is the key to making the country prepared and plan precautions that must be put in place in order to mitigate these risks. Although, the method of prediction requires various technology and trained specialists meaning the prediction can only be done successfully to an extent depending on whether the country is an MEDC or LEDC. As a result many LEDC countries such as Chile often experience the effects more severely than those in MEDCs such as Italy.
As a result, earthquakes can and do occur, notably on Luzon Island in 1990. It measured 7.8 on the Richter Scale and killed over 1500 people. A reason for this major difference in death rate compared to California is that the Philippines is poorer than California and so cannot afford as much earthquake-proof buildings and the buildings are of poor quality. This may mean the buildings can collapse easily and so can kill people easily. A natural hazard that does not affect California but common in the Philippines are tropical storms.
Drought is a multi-causal and complex environmental issue, and can have serious socioeconomic consequences. Recently, IPCC (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) in Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) concluded that South Asia and the Middle East would experience sever, prolonged droughts as a result of global climate changes, explicitly the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (IPCC, 2007). Drought is a weather-related natural disaster whose effect is aggravated by human activities. Sometime drought affects large regions and even several countries for a long period of time. Drought has a serious impact on food productivity of a land, and even on the life expectancy of inhabitants.
Oil spills have a number of effects on the environment and economy. On a basic level, oil will damage waterways, marine life and plants and animals on the land. An oil spill can also ruin the infrastructure and economy of a particular area with the long-term effects being felt for generations. Cleaning an oil spill is very expensive and the costs get spread to government agencies, non-profits, and the oil transport company itself. There is no set science for an oil spill clean-up.
On the other hand, the second disaster affects the cities more than the forests. It damages buildings, streets, and bridges and that will lead to human's death. These damages also will impacts the economy of the country. Moreover, the earthquakes may cause Tsunamis, if it happens in the