Download The Effects of Natural Disasters

Unit 2: The World in Spatial Terms (Lessons 8-9)
Natural Disasters
A natural hazard occurs when Earth’s natural
physical processes have a negative effect on
people or the environment. There are many
events in nature that we define as natural
hazards. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,
tsunami, typhoons, and landslides are some
examples of natural hazards. Sometimes the
devastation is so extreme that it triggers a
natural disaster.
Figure 1: Natural Hazard in Oklahoma – 1999
Tornado
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Ds
zpics1.jpg
To determine whether a natural hazard is also a natural disaster, we look at
the effects of the event. A natural hazard is considered a disaster if the
human consequences are severe like widespread damage, injury, loss of
life or property with which the community
cannot cope. For example, if a volcano
erupts on a deserted island in the Pacific
Ocean where nothing is destroyed and no
people are harmed, it is just considered a
natural hazard. However, if a volcano erupts
near a town and people are injured or killed
and many homes and buildings are
Figure 2: Natural Disaster in Kansas – 2007
Tornado
destroyed, it may be considered a disaster.
http://www.thelope.com/images/07-05-08-085.jpg
Who is Vulnerable?
Some countries or regions are more at risk for damage by a natural hazard.
This means they are more likely to experience a natural disaster when a
natural hazard happens. The term, “developing country,” is used to
describe a nation with a low level of material well-being. These countries
are poor. They tend to lack the basic infrastructure (roads, buildings,
power supply, hospitals, etc.) for society activities. These countries are
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more likely to experience a natural disaster from a natural hazard because
they are less prepared to respond.
The wealth of a country can impact its ability to respond to a natural
hazard. For example, Japan and Nicaragua are both prone to
earthquakes. However, Nicaragua is much more vulnerable because it is a
developing country. As a result, more people are likely to die or suffer from
a natural hazard in Nicaragua than if the same environmental impact
happened in Japan.
Japan can invest in improving their preparedness in order to lessen the
severity of the effects of a natural hazard. Being more prepared for an
earthquake would include training and drills, communication systems, and
strict building codes. Building codes are rules that specify the minimum
acceptable level of safety for constructed structures. Developing nations
often do not have the resources to invest in disaster preparedness.
Figure 3: Low Vulnerable Neighborhood in Tokyo, Japan
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/御茶ノ水外堀
通り.jpg
Figure 4: Highly Vulnerable Neighborhood in Somoto,
Nicaragua
http://www.manfut.org/madriz/DSC05173.JPG
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What Contributes to Vulnerability?
How humans interact with their
environment can sometimes
contribute to their own vulnerability
to natural disasters. The choices
people make may cause a natural
hazard become a disaster. For
example, people may choose to
build a town on the slope of an
active volcano. When that volcano
erupts, it is much more likely to
become a natural disaster because
that town is there.
Figure 5: Kagoshima City: 5 km from Mt Sakurajima
http://www.eee.kagoshima-u.ac.jp/~haku-lab/misc/miscphoto/sakurajima.JPG
It is also fairly
common for people
to build homes on
the banks of floodprone rivers.
Locating homes in
such an area is
then more likely to
lead to a disaster.
Clearing forests or
destroying reefs,
which may act as
Figure 6: Homes in Indonesia
natural wind breaks
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2523/3717904045_45abbc9db4_m.jpg
for hurricanes or tsunami, also
increase a place’s vulnerability and make it more likely to experience the
severe damage of a disaster.
A natural disaster will always begin as a natural hazard. However, whether
a natural hazard becomes a disaster depends on the effects to people and
property.
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The Effects of Natural Disasters
There are both short-term and long-term effects that countries experience
due to a natural disaster. Effects fall into one of five categories: health,
social, economic, political, or environmental.
 Health effects are any physical or
emotional problems that people
experience as a result of the disaster.
They might include injuries, spread of
disease due to poor sanitation, lack of
medical care, or malnutrition due to food
shortages.
Figure 7: The Red Cross bring aid to the injured.
 Social effects relate to the way people in http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd
groups behave and interact. They might /FEMA_-_35445__Red_Cross_Disaster_Relief_truck_in_Colorado.jpg
include loss of family members, the
disruption of transportation or communication networks, or the
disruption of education.
 Economic effects involve the production, distribution, and
consumption of goods and services. These effects could include
disruption to the economy, loss of jobs, physical damage to
businesses, or interruption of trade.
Figure 8: Roads under water in Nashville, Tennessee
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c
1/Welcome_Downtown_Nashville_Flood.jpg
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Figure 9: California earthquake damages transportation.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/FEM
A_-_43319_-_Road_damage_in_California.jpg
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 Political effects occur when government services are interrupted or
government officers are cannot respond in a timely manner. The loss
of leaders due to death or injury, the disruption of the government
programs and services, or damage to government buildings are all
possible political effects of a natural disaster.
 Environment effects are those that affect the surroundings of a
region, including its air, water, minerals, and organisms. Examples of
environmental effects of a disaster are damage to buildings,
destruction of natural features, decreased quality of water supplies,
and destruction of crops.
Sometimes many countries experience the effects of a natural disaster
whether regardless of where the disaster takes place. For instance, a
hurricane can strike in one country or region, but trade or transportation
may be disrupted in many countries as a result. When this happens, the
disaster is considered a global problem.
Varying Effects of Natural
Disasters
There are some countries in the
world that are overall more
vulnerable than others to a natural
disaster based on their risk factors.
First of all, some areas are more
exposed to, or likely to experience,
natural hazards simply based on
their geographic location. For
instance, in Michigan, we have a low
exposure to volcanoes but a higher
Figure 10: MC3 Project. Graphic
exposure to tornadoes. Countries in
Organizer. SS060206.
the tropics, like the Philippines or Haiti, are
much more likely to experience tropical cyclones.
In addition to a country’s exposure based on geographic factors, there are
other risk factors. These risk factors determine a place’s overall
vulnerability to death and destruction. Even natural disasters of similar
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strength can have vastly different results in two different countries or
regions because of susceptibility, coping capabilities, and adaptive
capacities.
 Susceptibility is the likelihood that a natural hazard will result in
harm and damage. Some countries are more susceptible to damage
than others. If a county has a weak economy, poor nutrition, and
unsound housing or infrastructure (government provided goods and
services including hospitals, electricity, schools, roads, parks, water
supply), there is a far greater likelihood that it will suffer damage.
Developing countries like Kenya or Guatamala might fall into this
category.
 Coping Capability basically means that some countries can cope
better in the face of disaster because they are prepared in ways that
other countries are not. They may have warning systems in place,
emergency services for medical help, or the financial means to provide
emergency food and/or housing for people in need. Developed
countries like the United States and Japan are examples of countries
that tend to cope well in disasters.
 Adaptive Capacity also influences a country’s overall vulnerability.
Some countries are in a better place than others to learn from their
past. After a disaster, they are the able to see what went well and
what didn’t. They make changes to help prepare for the next one.
Being prepared for a future natural disaster can help mitigate, or
reduce, damage in the future. Investing in education and research,
ecosystem protection, organized community drills, or improved
building codes or warning systems are ways that communities and
countries adapt to past events.
Not all countries respond by putting preventive measures in place.
Some countries must expend all their energy and resources focused
solely on recovery from the current disaster. There are no extra
resources left to look toward preventative or adaptive responses.
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Countries that cannot adapt and take precautionary measures
against anticipated future natural disasters are typically developing
countries. Haiti, Tanzania, and Nicaragua are countries that have low
adaptive capacity.
Clearly, some countries are more
vulnerable to natural disasters than
others. A country’s exposure is the
risk factor that determines if a hazard
is even very likely to happen. For
example, countries in the Pacific Ring
of Fire have very high exposure to
volcanoes and earthquakes.
Exposure is only one risk factor,
however. The effects of natural
Figure 11: Pacific Ring of Fire
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_of_Fire
disasters vary from one country, or
region, due in part to three remaining risk factors: susceptibility, coping
capability and adaptive capacity. Developing countries are often very
vulnerable to natural disasters because of these risk factors.
Figure 12: MC3 Project. Graphic Organizer. SS060209.
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Figure 13: MC3 Project. Unit Graphic Organizer. SS0602.
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