Understanding Disasters: Types and Perspectives

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Questions and Answers

Which scenario best exemplifies a disaster, according to the definitions provided?

  • A severe storm causing minor flooding in a rural area with readily available resources for recovery.
  • An earthquake in a densely populated city, overwhelming local emergency services and causing widespread casualties and infrastructural damage. (correct)
  • A localized power outage affecting 100 homes for a few hours.
  • A factory fire contained quickly by the company's fire brigade, with minimal impact on the surrounding community.

A coastal community is situated near an active fault line and frequently experiences typhoons. What concept best describes the potential for this community to suffer significant losses from these events?

  • Geographic exposure
  • Environmental instability
  • Hazard frequency
  • Disaster risk (correct)

Which of the following events is most appropriately classified as a human-made disaster?

  • A tsunami triggered by an underwater earthquake.
  • A volcanic eruption leading to ashfall and lahars.
  • A widespread famine caused by prolonged drought.
  • A major oil spill resulting from a tanker accident. (correct)

From a psychological perspective, what is the most likely long-term effect on individuals who have experienced a devastating earthquake?

<p>Post-traumatic stress and emotional distress. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How would a sociologist most likely analyze the aftermath of a major hurricane in a coastal city?

<p>By studying how different social groups respond based on their cultural backgrounds and social conditions. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

From an economic perspective, what is a key indicator of the severity of a disaster's impact?

<p>The negative impact on production factors, output, and employment. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How can political considerations influence disaster risk and response?

<p>By determining who is most at risk, who can intervene, and who benefits from actions taken. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a primary concern from an environmental perspective in the aftermath of a large-scale flood?

<p>The worsening of underlying environmental problems, such as pollution and resource depletion. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

A town located in a floodplain is an example of what?

<p>Exposure (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What makes a community located in an earthquake-prone zone socially vulnerable?

<p>Limited access to education and resources for elderly and disabled residents. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

A community with a high percentage of low-income households is likely to exhibit:

<p>High economic vulnerability due to limited resources for recovery. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does environmental degradation contribute to environmental vulnerability?

<p>By depleting natural resources and compromising ecosystems. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does 'capacity' refer to in the context of disaster management?

<p>The strengths, characteristics, and resources of a community that can be used to achieve certain goals. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes a 'hazard'?

<p>A source of potential harm or a situation with the potential to cause losses. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How do 'quasi-natural hazards' differ from purely natural hazards?

<p>They involve a combination of natural events and human activities. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which hazard assessment approach relies on historical data and statistical analysis to determine the likelihood of an event?

<p>Probabilistic (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

An earthquake's magnitude is measured at the epicenter. What is the epicenter?

<p>The location on the surface directly above the focus. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary difference between foreshocks and aftershocks?

<p>Foreshocks often precede a major earthquake, while aftershocks follow it. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which statement accurately describes the behavior of body waves and surface waves during an earthquake?

<p>Body waves travel through the Earth's interior and have higher frequency than surface waves. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes a volcanic earthquake from a tectonic earthquake?

<p>Volcanic earthquakes are associated with volcanic activity, while tectonic earthquakes are caused by the movement of rock materials beneath the Earth’s surface. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Disaster

A sudden calamitous event causing great damage, loss, destruction to life and property.

Disaster Risk

The probability of damage or disruption to a community or area due to a particular hazard.

Natural Disasters

Disasters originating from natural processes like geological or meteorological events.

Human-made Disasters

Disasters occurring due to human actions against people, materials, or the environment.

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Physical Perspective of Disaster

Damage to physical elements like buildings and infrastructure including people and their properties.

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Socio-cultural Perspective

Analyzes how people respond based on their community's social conditions and cultural settings.

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Economic Perspective

A natural event causes a disturbance with a negative impact on assets, production, employment and consumption .

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Political Perspective

Considers how political factors influence risk, intervention, actions, and benefits during and after disasters.

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Environmental Perspective

How disasters reveal and worsen existing social, economic, political, and environmental problems.

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Exposure

The 'elements at risk' from a natural or human-made hazard event, including people and properties.

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Vulnerability

Characteristics making a community susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard.

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Physical Vulnerability

Susceptibility linked to population density, remoteness and infrastructure.

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Social Vulnerability

The inability of people and societies to withstand hazards due to social interactions and cultural values.

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Economic Vulnerability

Vulnerability depending on the economic status of individuals, communities, and nations.

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Environmental Vulnerability

Natural resource depletion and degradation.

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Capacity

A community’s strengths and resources that can be used to achieve goals.

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Hazards

Elements harmful to man caused by forces extraneous to him.

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Natural Hazards

Hazards resulting from natural processes.

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Earthquake

A shaking of the Earth's surface caused by a sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust.

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Focus

Point within Earth where an earthquake starts.

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Study Notes

  • A disaster is a sudden event causing significant damage, loss, destruction, and devastation to life and property.
  • A disaster is a serious disruption of a society's functioning, leading to widespread losses that exceed the affected community's coping capacity.
  • Disaster risk is the probability of damage or disruption to a community's structure or area due to a hazard's impact.
  • Disaster risk arises from the interaction of social and environmental processes, combining physical hazards with the vulnerability of exposed elements.
  • Natural disasters originate from geological, meteorological, hydrometeorological, and biological forces.
  • Human-made disasters result from actions against humans, materials, and the environment, including accidents like crashes, spills, and collapses.

Disaster Perspectives

  • Disasters can be viewed from physical, psychological, socio-cultural, economic, political, and environmental perspectives.

Physical Perspective

  • From a physical perspective, a disaster damages physical elements like buildings and infrastructure.
  • The physical are the most visible and quantifiable effects of a disaster.

Psychological Perspective

  • Psychological effects include:
    • Emotional effects
    • Cognitive effects
    • Physical effects
    • Interpersonal effects

Socio-cultural Perspective

  • Disasters are analyzed based on people's responses, considering their social conditions and cultural settings.

Economic Perspective

  • A disaster perturbs the functioning of the economic system, negatively impacting assets, production, output, employment, and consumption.

Political Perspective

  • Political considerations influence risk, intervention, actions, and benefits related to disasters.

Environmental Perspective

  • Disasters reveal and worsen underlying social, economic, political, and environmental problems.

Exposure, Vulnerability, Hazards, & Capacity

  • Exposure refers to the "elements at risk" from a hazard event, including people and properties.
  • Vulnerability is the susceptibility of a community, system, or asset to the damaging effects of a hazard.
  • Vulnerability is influenced by physical, social, economic, and environmental factors.
  • Vulnerability refers to the degree of loss and element faces when a hazard occurs.

Types of Vulnerability

  • Physical vulnerability is related to aspects like population density, remoteness, and the materials used for infrastructure and housing.
  • Social vulnerability is linked to the inability of people, organizations, and societies to withstand hazards due to social interactions and cultural values.
  • Economic vulnerability depends on the economic status of individuals, communities, and nations.
  • families may living in unsafe settlements due to not being able to afford safer areas.
  • Environmental vulnerability is connected to natural resource depletion and degradation.
  • Wetlands are sensitive to seawater salinity, and pollution from agricultural chemicals and eroded soils.

Capacity

  • Capacity is the opposite of vulnerability, representing a community's strengths and resources.

Hazards

  • Hazards are harmful elements in the physical environment caused by external forces.
  • Hazards are sources of potential harm with the potential to cause losses.
  • Hazards are natural events that can cause harm or loss to man and his environment
  • Hazards include earthquake and volcanic eruptions.

General Classifications of Hazards

  • Natural hazards
  • Quasi-natural hazards
  • Technological or human-made hazards

Typology of hazards according to Hewitt and Burton

  • Includes atmospheric (single events), atmospheric (combined), hydrologic, geologic, biologic, and technologic hazards.

Hazard Assessment Approaches

  • Quantitative
  • Qualitative
  • Probabilistic
  • Deterministic

Earthquake Hazards, Preparedness, & Risk

  • An earthquake is the shaking of the Earth's surface caused by a sudden release of energy in the crust.
  • An earthquake is a shaking to violent trembling of the ground produced by the sudden displacement of rocks below surface

Earthquake Terminology

  • The focus is the point within the Earth where an earthquake begins.
  • The epicenter is the location on the surface directly above the focus.
  • Faults are fractures in the Earth where movement has occurred.
  • An aftershock is a small earthquake that follows the main earthquake.
  • A foreshock is a small earthquake that often precedes a major earthquake.

Seismology

  • Seismology is the study of earthquakes and seismic waves.
  • Seismic waves are vibrations generated by a sudden impulse in the earth during earthquakes.

Body Waves

  • Body waves travel through the Earth's interior.
  • Body waves have a higher frequency than surface waves.
  • P-waves and S-waves are the two types of body waves.

Surface Waves

  • Surface waves travel through the Earth's crust.
  • Surface waves have a lower frequency than body waves.
  • Surface waves cause the most destruction during earthquakes.
  • Rayleigh waves and Love waves are the two types of surface waves.

Types of Earthquakes

  • Tectonic
  • Plutonic
  • Volcanic

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