'The hazards presented by volcanic and seismic events have the greatest impact on the world’s poorest people'. To what extent do you agree with this view? Hazards are anything that could cause damage to humans or buildings. Many volcanic and seismic events happen that cause hazards to humans. Often the world’s poorest people are hit the worst, however wealthier countries can also be adversely affected. The Kobe earthquake in Japan 1995 struck at 5.45am. Many people were asleep in bed, causing the hazard to be increased because the people were unaware. Although many Japanese buildings were of aseismic design, the roofs of their houses were designed to withstand typhoons and so were very heavy. When the earthquake struck many people …show more content…
The Indian Ocean was surrounded by very poor countries that could not afford this kind of system. The wealthy tourists visiting places like Thailand and Indonesia on holiday were relatively safe in the well built western hotels and they were transported back to their home country very quickly after the disaster, whereas the locals did not often have very sturdy shelters and nowhere to go after the disaster happened. The volcanic eruption of Nevada del Ruiz in Bolivia is another example of how some of the poorest people can be so badly affected by these events. The US volcanologist office warned the local authorities about the impending eruption but the authorities did not understand the seriousness of the situation and so did not warn any of the people. 28000 people died from the eruption and the secondary effects of the mudslides and lahars that formed. This lack of education of the risks of the seismic and volcanic hazards in the poorer countries often makes them much more vulnerable. Hawaii experiences volcanic activity all the time from its hot spot volcanoes. Although it is part of the USA, it is still relatively poor but it benefits enormously from the volcano tourism it attracts to the islands. Thousands of people arrive every year to see the volcanic activity from a distance. Although there is still a hazardous risk from the volcano, the people benefit more from it than not.
Volcanic activity happens across the surface of the globe therefore bringing hazards to every affected area. A hazard is any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects. A volcanic hazard is any threat to life and infrastructure due to volcanic activity and related situations such as a landslide near the volcano. Volcanoes can be very dangerous and therefore present many hazards towards both people and land. They have the ability to kill and destroy, ruining livelihoods and destroying large land masses. The extent of the hazard can differ depending on how prepared an area is for an eruption and how much planning has gone behind
A volcano is an earth hazard that occurs on faults between tectonic plates on a destructive boundary and an eruption is a natural disaster. A primary impact happens immediately after the disaster and before any response like death or collapsing or destruction of buildings. A secondary impact occurs later after the disaster, such less farm produce or a reduction in tourism. The severity of these impacts will differ considerably in a MEDC and LEDC where volcanic eruptions have taken place. These may be seen in the Mount St. Helen volcano eruption as well as in the Iceland volcanic eruption. They may also
Essentially, the key fact that makes the islands of Hawaii so unique and worthy of studying is that nearly the entire mountain range is built entirely by volcanic activity and each island is the top of an enormous volcanic mountain. These exceptional qualities fuel the study of how the islands themselves were created, in order to answer the curiosities behind the composition of some of the most extravagant volcanoes in the world.
A hazard can be define as something which poses a level of threat the life, health, property or environment, a volcano can compromise all these things through the many hazards volcanoes presents. Such as lahars, flash flooding, landslides, pyroclastic flows, ash clouds and many others. There are factors which can influence the severity of the hazard and cause differences in them and can be classified into different categories, such as physical, economic, political and social.
Earthquakes have afflicted the world since its inception. The sudden release of energy from volcanoes or displacing of earth plates can result in disasters of extreme magnitude. These usually naturally occurring phenomenon have been responsible from wiping out entire towns throughout history and until today continue to produce major loss of life and infrastructure. It can take years for a city or country to recover from a major event of this kind and when a third world country is involved, the result is usually exponentially worse than in a developed country. In the past decades Japan, Chile and Haiti have suffered the devastation an earthquake produces. This document will concentrate in Haiti, a small country in the Caribbean. On
The Nevado del Ruiz Volcano eruption is also a great example of how the physical environment affects the hazard. In Armero two
Hazards are referred to as anything that can cause harm to someone. Hazards can be found everywhere, for example, people will be able to spot hazards when travelling to work and when they are present in the workplace. Additionally, there are three main types of hazard, these are health hazards, safety hazards and security hazards. A health hazard would be a risk of somebody becoming ill from an incident. A safety hazard would associate with someone becoming injured, however a safety hazard could also relate to an incident that can be caused by broken equipment or a
natural disasters). Gallup et al. (2003, pp.41, 46) have estimated that natural disasters in Latin America over the last 30 years have cost up to $3.3 billion and in extreme disasters costs can reach 10 per cent of a country’s GDP. This, coupled with the fact that they suffer regularly from natural disasters due to their location, means that they find it harder to recover from them. The destruction of crops causes vast economic loss which cannot be regained as farmers rely on monoculture. Furthermore, many buildings in developing countries are often built from weak materials which causes mass destruction and costly re-construction which these countries cannot afford.
When working in a health and social environment, it is important that the surrounding nature is safe and free of any potential harm. A hazard is something that can possibly cause you this danger. Hazards range from something being misplaced to a broken object. When identifying a hazard, risk assessments would take place to find out the best and quickest solution to prevent any danger. The definition of a risk is the probability or threat of damage, injury, liability, loss, or any other negative occurrence that is caused by external or internal vulnerabilities, and that may be avoided through preemptive action.
A hazard can be define as something which poses a level of threat the life, health, property or environment, a volcano can compromise all these things through the many hazards volcanoes presents. Such as lahars, flash flooding, landslides, pyroclastic flows, ash clouds and many others. There are factors which can influence the severity of the hazard and cause differences in them and can be classified into different categories, such as physical, economic, political and social.
Many a time the hazards that loom on the horizon present a striking and beautiful view. As humans, people cannot live their lives in fear of things they have no control over. Local communities plus the federal government, and global nations can prepare for disasters, create emergency supply kits and organize family emergency plans. Regional parks near volcanoes can keep lake and reservoir water levels low to mitigate mudslides and avalanches. But no matter what one may do to prepare for disasters, they will happen, and nothing can keep one from occurring. The residents of the area surrounding Mt. St. Helens must understand that the volcano still poses a threat and it could erupt at any
Seismic events are occurrences in which energy is briefly released in the Earth's crust, resulting in a series of seismic waves which move through the crust. In some cases, the energy can be intense enough that it is felt in the form of an earthquake, while in other seismic events, the energy is so mild that it can only be identified with specialized equipment. A human disaster is an event directly and principally caused by one or more identifiable deliberate or negligent human action. Whereas a natural disaster is a natural event such as a flood, earthquake, or hurricane that causes great damage or loss
A hazard can best be defined as a 'situation that poses a level of threat to life, health, property or the environment.' The overall impact of earthquakes as a natural hazard varies greatly from one place and timeframe to another. As do the types of hazards, which are categorised into primary and secondary. Primary hazards are created by the direct seismic energy of an earthquake; this could include liquefaction, slope failure and tsunamis. These primary hazards can in turn trigger secondary hazards such as floods, fires, disease and destabilisation of infrastructure. A number of factors play a part in determining the severity
There are disasters occurring all around the world that most individuals will not hear of due to a lack of media coverage. Many of these disasters can have incredibly detrimental effects on entire populations, and those at risk deserve a chance to educate themselves. Two of the disasters found were the West Fertilizer plant explosion and the increasing rate of acidification of ocean water. Despite the fact that these disasters pose such incredible dangers, they were found to be among the least reported on stories amongst media outlets. Although these disasters have not been covered nearly as much as other major catastrophes, such as hurricane Katrina, they still have far reaching physical and emotional consequences and have their own unique story.
Volcanoes affect people in negative ways. I know this because volcanoes produce pyroclastic fumes and volcanic ash that we can’t breathe in, we can’t go in aircraft as the ash falls down from the air, and its ashfall can destroy building, structures, and houses. First, we can’t breathe in the pyroclastic flow and volcanic ash that come from the breathtaking landform because it is hot and filled with toxic chemicals. Also anyone who dares to get in the way of this horrifying flow will be killed, for the pyroclastic flow flows down in a rush of hot air and demolishes anything in its path. Another reason volcanoes affect people in negative ways is because people in airplanes would be in great danger. This happens to because the problem is much