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Hazards: vulnerability and impacts
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Why do people live in dangerous places, and why do some suffer much more than others?
Why people live in hazardous areas
Fertile soils from volcanic ash, geothermal energy, tourism and minerals.
Jobs, family and cultural ties to a place.
Poverty: some people have no choice about where they live.
People may believe the risk is low or that a disaster will not happen in their lifetime.
Jobs, family and cultural ties to a place.
Poverty: some people have no choice about where they live.
People may believe the risk is low or that a disaster will not happen in their lifetime.
Vulnerability
Physical: living on a low coast, a steep slope or near a fault or volcano.
Social: low education, poor healthcare, and weak warning systems.
Economic: poverty means poorly built homes, no insurance and less money for defences and recovery.
So a hazard of the same size usually kills more people in a developing country, but causes greater economic losses in a developed one.
Social: low education, poor healthcare, and weak warning systems.
Economic: poverty means poorly built homes, no insurance and less money for defences and recovery.
So a hazard of the same size usually kills more people in a developing country, but causes greater economic losses in a developed one.
Two examples
Earthquake: Nepal, April 2015 (magnitude 7.8). Nearly 9,000 people died. Many buildings collapsed in Kathmandu, landslides blocked roads and an avalanche struck Everest base camp. In the longer term, rebuilding was slow and tourism fell.
Volcano: Soufriere Hills, Montserrat (from 1995). Pyroclastic flows killed 19 people in 1997. The capital, Plymouth, was buried and abandoned, and more than half of the population left the island. The south of the island is still an exclusion zone.
Volcano: Soufriere Hills, Montserrat (from 1995). Pyroclastic flows killed 19 people in 1997. The capital, Plymouth, was buried and abandoned, and more than half of the population left the island. The south of the island is still an exclusion zone.
Explain why people continue to live near active volcanoes.
- Volcanic ash breaks down into fertile soil, good for farming.
- Volcanoes attract tourists and can supply geothermal energy, providing jobs.
- Some people cannot afford to move or have family ties to the area.
Answer: Fertile soils, jobs and energy, and lack of choice.
People live in hazardous areas for fertile soils, energy, tourism, jobs and family ties, or because they cannot afford to move. Vulnerability is physical, social and economic. Nepal 2015 (M7.8) killed nearly 9,000; Montserrat's eruptions buried Plymouth and forced more than half the population to leave.
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