World At RiskGLOBAL HAZARDS

There are different types of hazard:

Hydro Meteorological Hazards

Caused by climate processes, these include droughts, floods, tropical cyclones/storms

Geophysical HazardsCaused by land processes, these include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides.

THE DISASTER RISK EQUATION

Risk [R] = Hazard [H] X Vulnerability [V]

Capacity to cope [C]

The risk of a disaster increases as the frequency or severity of hazards increases, people’s vulnerability increases and people’s capacity to cope (ability to cope with the consequences) is decreased.

There are a number of factors why disasters are increasing:

HUMAN FACTORS PHYSICAL FACTORS

Rapid population growth and urbanisation – this increases the number of people who are vulnerable to hazards,

especially in poor countries

Global warming – it’s thought to be increasing the number of hazards, e.g.

Floods and severe storms, which increases the number of disasters

Increasing world poverty – poor people are more vulnerable to hazards

El Nino events (oceanic current and temperature fluctuations) – these change global weather in an unpredictable way,

which makes hydro meteorological hazards more unpredictable

Exploitation of resources – e.g. Deforestation and los of wetlands can

lead to an increased risk of flooding and landslides

Deaths are decreasing but economic losses are increasing

Deaths from disasters have decreased due to improvements in risk management strategies:• prediction - improved technology means some hazards can be predicted e.g. The path of tropical cyclones can be predicted to some extent. Advance warning means people can be evacuated and property secured

• prevention - natural hazards can’t be stopped, but they can be prevented from becoming disasters, e.g. By using sand bags to protect against the effects of flooding

• preparedness - educating people on what to do in case of a disaster helps to reduce the number of deaths, e.g. Japan has a ‘disaster preparedness day’ each year when practice earthquake evacuation drills are carried out

Global economic losses due to disasters are increasing rapidlyActual financial cost is the amount of money lost - this greatest in richer countries

Relative financial cost is the amount of money lost relative to how much the people have to start with – this is greatest in poorer countries. Less actual money is lost, but the effects of the loss are greater