Natural Hazards and Disasters Quiz

Created by

@MeaningfulArtDeco

Study Notes

Natural Hazards and Disasters Overview

Natural hazards pose potential threats leading to negative impacts on communities.
Natural disasters are the actual detrimental effects experienced post-hazard occurrence.

Types of Hazards

Geophysical: Earthquakes, Volcanic activity
Hydrological: Floods, Landslides, Tsunamis
Meteorological: Hurricanes, Heat waves, Tornadoes
Climatological: Droughts, Wildfires

Earthquakes

Caused by seismic waves from faults releasing accumulated elastic strain energy.
Hazards include:
- Ground Shaking: Causes physical damages through up-down and sideways motions.
- Ground Rupture: Creation of fractures or renewed movement along existing faults.
- Liquefaction: Cohesion-less sand transforms into a liquid state, compromising structural integrity.
- Tsunami: Massive sea waves triggered by underwater disturbances from earthquakes or landslides.
- Landslides: Slope failure during ground shaking.

Volcanic Eruptions

Magma, a hot mobile rock material, is released to the surface during an eruption.
Factors influencing magma generation:
- High temperatures lead to partial melting of rocks.
- Pressure changes.
- Composition of magma.
- Presence of volatiles, which lower melting temperatures.
Eruptive behavior varies by viscosity:
- High viscosity results in violent eruptions.
- Low viscosity leads to quieter eruptions.
Hazards from volcanic eruptions include:
- Lahars: Mudflows from volcanic debris and water, often caused by melting snow.
- Poisonous Gases: Released gases can be lethal to humans, animals, and plants.
- Tsunamis: Potentially triggered by eruptions.
- Pyroclastic Flows: Fast-moving currents of hot gas and volcanic matter.

Hydrometeorological Phenomena

Monsoons: Seasonal shifts in wind directions from cold to warm regions, particularly influenced by the Indian Ocean.
Tropical Cyclones: Severe weather formed over warm oceans, categorized into:
- Typhoons: Occur in the Pacific or Indian Ocean.
- Hurricanes: Occur in the Atlantic Ocean.
Thunderstorms and Tornadoes: Associated severe weather patterns.

Storm Surges

Result in an 8-160 km wide dome of water impacting coastlines during cyclone landfall.
Influenced by strong onshore winds and low air pressure.

Mitigation Strategies

Engineers develop technologies to reduce negative impacts of natural hazards.
The National Weather Service and Philippines' NDRRMC provide community alerts and forecasts for floods and earthquakes via emergency broadcasts.

Description

This quiz focuses on understanding various natural hazards, including geologic, hydrometeorological, and marine coastal threats. It will help you identify community-prone areas for disasters like earthquakes and floods, as well as explore mitigation strategies for these events. Test your knowledge on the impact of land development and waste disposal on coastal processes.