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CONCEPTUALISING HAZARD VULNERABILITY

CONCEPTUALISING HAZARD VULNERABILITY. An overview of how human factors help to determine the natural hazard impact. TECTONIC HAZARDS. Earthquakes mostly take place close to plate boundaries Earthquakes can kill when buildings collapse

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CONCEPTUALISING HAZARD VULNERABILITY

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  1. CONCEPTUALISING HAZARD VULNERABILITY An overview of how human factorshelp to determine the natural hazard impact

  2. TECTONIC HAZARDS • Earthquakes mostly take place close to plate boundaries • Earthquakes can kill when buildings collapse • Many coasts are plate boundaries and people are attracted to coasts • Creating a hazard risk in cities like Tokyo and Los Angeles

  3. HUMAN AND PHYSICAL FACTORS • Physical processes such as tectonic plate movements are only one part of the hazard risk equation • Human factors – such as settlement patterns and building strengths – also help determine the outcome of a natural hazard event HAZARD RISK

  4. THE DISASTER RISK EQUATION • Vulnerability is a key human factor that helps determine whether a hazard event is realised as a significant disaster, with loss of life and property • Pre-event and post-event management (such as aid and NGO work) modify the risk by helping raise people’s capacity to to cope with a hazard and its after-effects. People can become more resilient

  5. RESILIENCE • Aid and relief efforts play a big part in helping vulnerable populations to recover after a disaster • Good governance can result in a high level of resilience

  6. GENDER & VULNERABILITY 75-80% of people killed by many recent disasters in Asia have been women and girls. This makes females a vulnerable group of people: • Women may be more confined to the house in some societies • Women may disproportionately lose their lives compared to men while protecting their children • Women in some societies may be more likely to drown during flooding due to swimming ability

  7. ARE WE LESS VULNERABLE THAN WE USED TO BE? • The number of lives lost to disasters has fallen over time • The number of people affected (e.g. made homeless) has risen • Financial losses have risen • These generalisations apply to all countries and all stages of development

  8. PROJECTING FUTURE VULNERABILITY The number of poor people alive today who are highly vulnerable to natural hazards The number of people who will become ‘powered up’ in the next decade as electricity reaches more and more communities – thereby increasing their property value The estimated size of an emerging 21st Century ‘global middle-class’ who will have plenty of material possessions Twice as many housing structures as have ever been built throughout history up to this point in time will be erected during the coming century. Many will be damaged at some point by natural hazards One billion Two billion Four billion 2 x as many houses

  9. HAZARD VULNERABILITY Photograph & image credits: S. Oakes, RGS-IBG Geography in the News, UNDP

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