Characteristic Human Response to Natural Hazards Flashcards
Adaptation.
Attempts to people or communities to live with a hazard event.
By adjusting their living conditions, people are able to reduce their levels of vulnerability.
Mitigation.
Actions aimed at reducing severity of an event and lessening its impacts.
Involve direct intervention, such as earthquake proof buildings.
Long term protection and support after a disaster in the form of aid and insurance.
However, insurance may not be available in MEDCS.
Management.
Dealing with or controlling things or people in terms of natural hazard events.
Risk Sharing.
Involves prearranged measures aiming to reduce the loss of life and property damage through public education and awareness programmes, evacuation procedures, medical, food and shelter supplies.
Prediction.
As technology increases, methods of predicting hazardous events becomes more sophisticated.
Advances in communication means information from all parts of the world can be shared and analysed quickly.
Warnings can be communicated properly reaching a greater number at risk.
Fatalism.
Having a view on a natural hazard that suggests people cannot influence or shape the outcome, nothing can be done to mitigate it.
People with this attitude put in place limited or no preservation measures.
Some parts of the world the outcome of a hazard it said to be Gods will.
Fear.
The perception of the hazard is such that people feel so vulnerable to an event that they no longer able to face living in area and move away to regions unaffected by hazard.
Primary impacts.
The effects of a hazard events that result directly from an event.
eg volcanic eruptions these could include lava and pyroclastic flows.
eg earthquake, ground shaking and rupturing.
Secondary impacts.
These are the effects that result from the primary impact of a hazard event.
eg volcanic eruptions these include flooding from melting ice caps.
eg earthquak tsunamis and fires from ruptured gas pipes.
