Hazard Geography

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What is a hazard?

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A potential source of harm to a person, community, property, or infrastructure.

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What does Hazard Geography examine?

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It examines natural and human-induced processes that produce hazards and investigates how communities respond.

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What is a disaster?

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A catastrophic event causing serious disruption to a community’s functions, often beyond the community’s ability to cope.

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What are the three factors that must combine to create a disaster?

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1. A potent event that severely damages and endangers lives. 2. Occurrence near a concentration of property and people. 3. Vulnerability of the area and its people.

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What are natural hazards?

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Atmospheric, hydrological, and geomorphic processes and events that have the potential to adversely affect people.

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What are atmospheric hazards?

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Hazards created from atmospheric and/or weather processes, e.g., storms, heat waves, cyclones.

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What are geomorphic hazards?

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Hazards created by the movement of the Earth’s surface or crust, e.g., earthquakes, volcanic eruptions.

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What are hydrological hazards?

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Hazards involving the movement and distribution of water, e.g., flooding, water-induced landslides.

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What are ecological hazards?

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Biological or chemical hazards that impact the wellbeing of people or the environment.

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What is an earthquake?

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The sudden and often violent shaking of the Earth’s crust, caused by seismic waves.