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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)

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