A Hazardous Environment

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A Hazardous Environment

• An environment is hazardous when a physical event
  overlaps with human populations creating the
  hazard or disaster

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Climatic (Atmospheric) Hazards
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The Answers

1. Tornado, Oklahoma
2. Hurricane, Florida
3. Cyclone Sidr, south western Bangladesh (this
   week)
4. Drought, Darfur region, Sudan (ongoing)
5. Baobab tree, Savannah
6. Larsen B ice-shelf, Antarctica
7. El Nino Southern Oscillation
8. Acid rain, Jizera Mountains, Czech Republic
9. Ozone depletion which can lead to skin cancer
   apparently Nicole Kidman had some on her leg.
10. Photochemical smog, Los Angeles

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Climatic Hazards Summary

• Tropical cyclones, hurricanes, typhoons
• Tornadoes
• Drought
• El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and La Nina
• The enhanced greenhouse effect (climate change)
• Acid deposition
• Ozone depletion
• Modification of urban micro-climates
• Modification of rural micro-climates

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Climatic Hazards Event Key Questions

• What are the headline facts and figures?
• When? Where?
• Why? What are the causes?
• To what extent are human interactions with
  physical processes responsible for the hazard?
• How does the hazard affect people and the
  environment?
• What has been the human response?

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Factors influencing the impact of climatic hazards
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How do humans respond to climatic hazards?
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Forecast vs. Prediction

• Forecast is a relatively imprecise statement of
  time, place and nature of the expected event
  (Bishop)
• Prediction is a relatively precise statement of
  the time, place and ideally the nature and size
  of the event, i.e. a precise forecast (Bishop)

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Risk vs. Vulnerability

• Risk is the level of exposure of a population to
  a particular hazard.
• Vulnerability is the ability of a person or
  group to anticipate, cope with and recover from
  the impact of a natural hazard (Blaikie et al
  1994)