SOC 2070 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Plate Tectonics, Water Cycle, Subduction
7 Dec 2016
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Document Summary
Hazards affect millions of people around the world each year. Within north america, every location is at risk from at least one hazardous process. Mid-continent: tornadoes, blizzard: all areas: drought. Natural hazards can arise from three main processes: Internal forces within the earth: driven by the internal energy of the earth. E(cid:454)ter(cid:374)al for(cid:272)es o(cid:374) earth"s surfa(cid:272)e: dri(cid:448)e(cid:374) (cid:271)(cid:455) the su(cid:374)"s e(cid:374)erg(cid:455) Gravitational attraction: driven by the force of gravity. A natural process that poses a potential threat to people and property: key word is potential. The probability of an event occurring multiplied by the impact on people and property. A brief event that causes great damage or loss of life: carrying out of a hazard. Natural hazards differ in their potential to cause a catastrophe based on the size of the area affected. The impact of a hazard is a function of both its magnitude (i. e. energy released) and frequency.
