Geographies of Risk: Hazards and Resilience

Geographies of Risk: Risk, Hazards, and Resilience

• Geographies of risk examines how societies and environments interact
• Natural disasters, like volcanic activity, droughts, mass movement, landslides, extreme weather, floods, wildfires, and earthquakes, cause significant death tolls.
• Data from 1900-2016 show varying death tolls per year for different types of natural disasters.
• Volcanic activity, for example, has consistently caused fewer deaths than floods, though figures vary year to year.
• Extreme weather and floods have caused far more deaths, according to the data.
• Risk is calculated as Exposure x Vulnerability (R = E x V).
• Exposure refers to the degree of contact with natural hazards.
• Vulnerability considers the societal and environmental factors impacting the capacity for resilience.
• Factors increasing vulnerability include: poor governance, poverty, social exclusion, war and violent conflict, megacities, and environmental degradation.
• While some disasters seem natural, the impact depends heavily on societal vulnerability.
• The "shock doctrine" suggests using crises to impose policies, sometimes worsening inequality.

World Risk Index: Ideas

• The World Risk Index considers exposure, vulnerability, and coping mechanisms.
• Exposure is about how much a place is affected by hazards.
• Vulnerability measures societal ability to withstand hazards.
• Coping and adaptation capabilities are factored into the World Risk Index.
• Indicators for this index include public infrastructure, housing, nutrition, poverty, social networks, material coverage, preparedness, medical services, and disaster management policies.

World Risk Index: Calculation

• Vulnerability is calculated as a third of the sum of susceptibility, (one minus coping), and (one minus adaption).
• The WorldRisk Index is a product of exposure and vulnerability.
• Other factors, not mentioned, are also considered.

World Risk Index Traffic Light Typology

• Risk is calculated as Exposure x Vulnerability.
• Different countries have varying levels of risk, which are categorized using a traffic light system (e.g., red, yellow, green).
• Countries in the red category have high exposure and vulnerability.
• Countries in the green category are low-risk.

Explore the complex interplay between societies and natural hazards in this quiz on geographies of risk. Analyze data from past disasters and understand the concepts of exposure and vulnerability that affect resilience. This quiz will challenge your knowledge on risk assessment and the impact of environmental factors on communities.