Geography 2152F/G Lecture 1: Lecture 1 Typed Notes
22 Feb 2016
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Hazards affect millions of people around the world every year. Within n. america, every location is at risk from at least one hazardous process. Some hazards pose a risk to both humans and the environment. Hazard: a process that poses a potential threat to people or the environment. Risk: the probability of an event occurring multiplied by the impact on people or the environment. Disaster: a brief event that causes great property damages or loss of life. Oil spill gulf of mexico, apr 2010. Hazards differ in their potential to cause a catastrophe based on the size of the area affected. More likely to be catastrophic tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, floods. Less likely to be catastrophic landslides, avalanches, wildfires, tornadoes. The impact of a hazard is a function of both its magnitude (energy released) and frequency. It can also be affected by other factors (geology, land use, population density, etc)
