D. Hazards and disasters - risk assessment and response - Vulnerability

Vulnerability

Vulnerable populations

Explaining why people live in hazardous areas:

Source: http://www.geographyalltheway.com/in/ib-hazards/live-hazardous-areas.htm

People either chose or are forced to live near potential hazards for a number of reasons. Those reasons include:

Poverty: In many countries people are simply to poor, not to live in hazardous areas. This is especially true for newly arrived migrants who may be forced to build on marginal land e.g. a steep hill that is vulnerable to landslides or a river or coastline that is vulnerable to flooding.

Fertile soil: The minerals released during volcanic eruptions make the soil extremely fertile and ideal for agriculture. In countries like Indonesia, Philippines and El Salvador you will find people farming up very steep volcanic slopes, often building terraces to make farming easier.

Geothermal Energy: Where there is volcanic activity, it is normally possible to source the renewable energy of geothermal power (basically using the heat of the land to generate electricity). El Salvador has a geothermal power plant and countries like Iceland use geothermal power to generate electricity and heat water.

Tourism: Volcanoes often become very popular tourists attractions. People like to look at them, climb them and hopefully view stunning volcanic lakes or possibly lava. In Central America there are a whole series of volcanoes that have become popular tourist attractions ranging from Pacaya and Agua in Guatemala, to Santa Ana and El Boqueron in El Salvador, Masaya in Nicaragua and Arenal in Costa Rica. Mount Fuji (a volcano) National Park in Japan is the most visited national park in the world. Also volcanic areas often have natural thermal springs, Japan is famous for its onsen and Iceland is famous for its Blue Lagoon.

Resources: Some minerals like sulphur are located on the slopes of volcanoes. But also other minerals like the huge deposits of copper in the Atacama Desert, Chile are located near tectonically active areas and attract large numbers of people.

Beauty: Volcanoes can be extremely beautiful to look at. Mount Fuji is a perfect volcano and stunning to look at so many people chose to live near it. When Mount St. Helen's volcano erupted some of the victims were people that refused to leave their houses because they loved the area so much.

Friends and family (inertia): Some families have lived in hazardous locations for generations. Their family homes and business are located in the area and people simply don't want to leave or possibly can't afford to leave.

Employment: Some hazardous areas offer good employment opportunities. For example many of the best tourist and fishing locations are found in coastal areas in the tropics e.g. the Caribbean, the Philippines and the Maldives. All three of these places are extremely vulnerable to hurricanes and flooding.

Ignorance: Some people are simply unaware that they are living in a hazardous area. If an earthquake or hurricane has not hit somewhere in recent history or a volcano has not erupted for many hundreds of years, then people forget or are unaware that they live near a potentially dangerous hazard.

Prediction: More and more people are prepared to live in hazardous ares because they trust scientific prediction. They believe scientists will be able to predict flood events, volcanoes and hurricane and give them adequate warning to protect themselves and their property.

Preparation: Most countries now prepare their citizens much better for hazards. People are educated about how to protect their home, how to evacuate, etc. This preparation gives people the reassurance to live in hazardous areas.

Hazard Recurrence: If some hazards don't occur very often, or certainly hazards of high magnitude don't happen very often then people will be prepared to take the risk. For example, on average only one supervolcano erupts every 10,000 years, so people are going to be happy to live near one, because the chances of it erupting during their lifetime is very low.

Building Design: Because of improved building design people now feel more confident of living in hazardous areas. Buildings are now designed to withstand earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. Most countries also have pretty strict regulations when building new structures.

Defences: Many countries and regions have built defences to protect from hazards e.g. levees on rivers and sea walls along the coast. These defences give people greater confidence to live and work in known hazard zones.

Hazard Mapping: Many countries now map their countries in terms of potential risk and exposure to hazards. Because people have been told to live in relatively safer (not totally safe) areas they are more confident about living near hazards.

Source: http://greenfieldgeography.wikispaces.com/Vulnerable+Populations

Vulnerability

Vulnerability: The susceptibility of a community to a hazard or to the impacts of a hazard event.

Risk: The probability of a hazard event event causing harmful consequences (death, injury, loss of property, damage to environment, etc.)

Populations vulnerability is often gauged using the hazard vulnerability formula. The formula is:

Disaster (D) = Hazard (H) X Vulnerability (V)

                                   Capacity (C)

HAZARD (physical and human): This mean hazards that could potential or do hit a country or region.

      

    Physical

• Earthquakes
• Volcanoes
• Floods
• Hurricanes
• Landslides
• Tsunami
• Tornadoes
• Famine
• Drought
• Avalanches

    Human

• Nuclear accident
• Chemical leak

VULNERABILITY: This means how at risk populations are to natural or human hazards.

• Population density
• Poverty
• Marginal land
• Building design
• Proximity to factories/industry
• Proximity to hazardous areas
• Hazard hotspots
• Defences
• Education level
• Accessibility and Communication
• Evacuation routes and practiced safety procedures
• Deforestation
• Drainage
• Prediction
• Hazard mapping
• Fertility of soil
• Relief of land
• Age, sex, health

CAPACITY - This means how able a country or region is able to react and recover to a natural hazard.

• Search teams
• Medical care
• Search equipment (sniffer dogs or heating seeking equipment)
• Helicopters and boats
• Communication links (mobile phones or satellite phones)
• Water and food
• Tents and blankets
• Wealth
• Aid

Source: http://greenfieldgeography.wikispaces.com/Vulnerability

Source: http://www.earth.columbia.edu/news/2004/story10-29-04.html

Source: http://greenfieldgeography.wikispaces.com/Vulnerability

Factor	Why is it happening?	Affect on magnitude and frequency of hazards
Desertification	Drought (less rainfall) Overpopulation Overgrazing and overcultivation Rising temperatures Deforestation Polluted or infertile soil	Increase in frequency and magnitude of famines because of crop failure, reduced yields and livestock deaths. Areas around the Sahel will be particularly badly affected. Increase in the frequency of sandstorms because topsoil is less stable
War	Political, tribal and religious conflicts Shortage of resources (Malthus prediction)	Increase in famine as workers are taken away from the land to fight. Also money is diverted to war effort and farmland maybe damaged by mines, chemicals ,etc. Houses may be damaged making them more vulnerable to hazards like earthquakes and hurricanes
Poverty	Rising populations, especially in LEDCs No welfare state e.g. unemployment payments in LEDCs Government debt and corruption Global recession	People are forced to live on marginal land making them more vulnerable to landslides, earthquakes, flooding ,etc. People are not able to build secure solid houses and maybe forced to live in informal settlements making populations more vulnerable to disease, earthquakes, etc. Poor education will mean people are unaware of hazards or how to protect from hazards. This may increase risk of disease, famine, but also vulnerability to earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.
Drought	Rising temperatures and increased evaporation rates Uncontrolled irrigation e.g. Aral Sea	Increased risk of crop failure and livestock deaths and therefore famines Increased frequency of sandstorms Loss of vegetation, making flash floods and landslides more likely
Deforestation	Countries selling timber Areas being cleared for biofuels e.g. palm oil in Borneo Areas cleared for farms, roads and urban growth HEP schemes and mining	Increased risk of landslides making landslides more likely because of unstable ground Increased risk of flash floods because of less interception Less photosynthesis so an increase in the amount of harmful greenhouse gases contributing to the greenhouse effect and global warming (sea level rises and coastal flooding) Increase in affects of tsunamis, hurricanes because there is no vegetation to act as windbreak or absorb energy.
Overcrowding	Rising populations (high birth rates in LEDCs and declining death rates and growing life expectancy) Shortage of housing, or at least affordable housing Rural-urban migration, especially in LEDCs Refugees from natural hazards, conflicts, etc.	Increase in people living on marginal land and living in informal settlements, increasing peoples exposure and risk to hurricanes, landslides, earthquakes, disease, etc. Increased urbanisation also increases risk of flooding because of deforestation and the creation of impermeable surfaces.
Increasing Temperatures	Greenhouse effect causing a rise in the earth's temperatures (global warming). Although a natural phenomenon, humans are producing an increasing amount of greenhouse gases.	Can cause the increase in the amounts of droughts and famines Increase in the frequency and magnitude of tropical storms Increase in the likelihood of avalanches Increase in the amount of landslides and flash floods because of more convectional rainfall and vegetation loss Rising sea levels can increase the amount of coastal flooding Rising temperatures can increase the spread of diseases, especially mosquito borne diseases like malaria and dengue An increase in the amount of wildfires as the ground becomes drier Possible increase in the risk of sandstorms caused by desertification

Source: http://greenfieldgeography.wikispaces.com/Vulnerability