Introduction
Understanding when, where, why, and how natural hazards occur can help us understand how to minimize their impact on our lives
Average annual loss of life is 150,000 people per year Half of the population of the Greater Victoria area
Average financial loss is $50 billion per year Direct property damage, does not include loss of employment, mental anguish, and
reduced productivity
Natural hazards have been occurring on the Earth’s surface for billions of years – not going away anytime soon
Global and regional climate change will alter the the size and frequency of some natural hazards –notably storms, landslides, drought and fires
Much of our population lives in an area at risk of at least one natural hazard
Example: many of the world’s largest cities and much of our economic activity
are concentrated in areas vulnerable to large earthquakes.
Atmospheric Geological Hydrologic Seismic &
Volcanic
Other
Snowstorms
Blizzards
Ice storms
Hailstorms
Windstorms
Hurricanes/
cyclones
Thunderstorms
Lightning
Tornadoes
Sandstorms
Avalanches
Cold/exposure
Heat waves
Global weather
Landslides
Land
subsidence/
sinkholes
Mudslides
Expansive soils
Floods
Storm surges
Droughts
Erosion
Ice jams
Earthquake
Tsunamis
Volcanoes
Ash fall
Pyroclastic flows
Lava flows
Mud flows
Wildfire
Animal or insect
infestations
Human diseases
Plant diseases
Natural HAZMAT
What type of
natural hazard?Atmospheric
Geological
Hydrological
Seismic and Volcanic
Other
1 2 3
4 5
6 7 8
Natural Hazard
A natural process that poses a potential threat to people and property
Ex. Earthquakes, floods, tropical storm, tsunami
Natural Disaster
A sudden, devastating event that seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society and causes human, material, and economic or environmental losses that exceed the community’s or society’s ability to cope using its own resources (Red Cross)
A disaster occurs when a hazard impacts vulnerable people
Cyclone Cyclone interacts with community
Natural HazardVulnerable
Population
Earthquake,
tsunami, flood,
drought, landslide,
hurricane, tornado,
extreme heat/cold,
ice storm, volcano,
wildfire etc.
Vulnerability depends
on exposure,
sensitivity and
resilience of:
Population, economy,
infrastructure, natural
resources, cultural
assets, and land use
and development
DIS
AS
TE
R
• a report of 10 or more people killed
• a report of 100 or more people
affected
• a declaration of a state of emergency
by the relevant government
• a request by the national government
for international assistance
For a disaster to be entered into the database of the
UN's International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, at
least one of the following criteria must be met:
Risk – the likelihood that a hazard will occur, as well as the severity of possible impacts to health, property, the environment and other things of value
Risks change with time because of changes in population and land use
As cities grow, neighbourhood extend onto hazardous land, such as steep hills and floodplains
2008 North Vancouver landslide 2017 Quebec floods
Risk = f (hazard, exposure, vulnerability, coping capacity)
Vulnerability – the susceptibility of people and property to a hazardous event
Coping Capacity – the ability of a population to respond to and reduce the negative effects of a hazardous event
Short answer – everywhere!
Some natural hazards, such as flooding, can happen anywhere in the world. Other natural hazards, such as tornadoes, require very specific recipes (conditions) and can only happen in specific regions of the world
Trends and patterns of the location of natural hazards
“Ring of fire” – tectonic plate boundaries
“Tornado Alley”- Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma
6.1 magnitude earthquake
Oda, Japan (west of Tokyo)
Cracking streets, power loss, 1000+ homes without water, 5 injured
• Over the next four weeks, we are going to track the location of new natural hazards/disasters
• Check the news, listen to the radio, visit online tracking websites
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/natural-disasters
• Check out Earth Alerts: http://earthalerts.manyjourneys.com/web/
• Submit at least one hazard or disaster to the map by the end of the unit (May 3rd)
• (only include Earthquakes over 5.0 Magnitude)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/natural-disastershttp://earthalerts.manyjourneys.com/web/
1. The overall number of people affected by disasters is increasing
Number of people reported affected by natural disasters 1900 − 2011
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
YearEM−DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database − www.emdat.be − Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels − Belgium
2. Overall, disasters are becoming less deadly
Number of people reported killed by natural disasters 1900 − 2011
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Year
EM−DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database − www.emdat.be − Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels − Belgium
3. Overall, disasters are becoming more costly
Estimated damage (US$ billion) caused by reported natural disasters 1900 − 2011
Honshu Tsunami
Hurricane Katrina
Kobe earthquake
Wenchuan earthquake
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Year
EM−DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database − www.emdat.be − Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels − Belgium
5. The number of disasters are ‘increasing’Natural disasters reported 1900 − 2011
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Year
EM−DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database − www.emdat.be − Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels − Belgium
Number of Natural Disasters reported 1900-2012
Temp
MassMovement
Drought Flood Storm
Fire Earthquake Volcano
4. Poor Countries are disproportionately affected by disaster consequences
Developed Countries
• Tend to suffer higher economic loses,
BUT have mechanisms in place to
absorbs these costs
• Tend to employ mechanisms to reduce
loss of life, early warning systems,
enforced building codes, zoning
• Have immediate emergency and
medical care that increase survivability
and contain spread of disease
• Insurance providers
Developing Countries
• Less risk in terms of financial value, BUT
maintain little or no buffer to absorb
financial impacts
• Economic effects can be
significant, social development suffers
• Lack resources to take advantage of
technologies, little ability to enforce
building codes = massive casualties
• Generally do not participate in
insurance programs, divert funds from
development programs to emergency
relief
2013 Calgary,
Canada Flood
2012 Manila,
Philippines Flood
VS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS7amieooUM