ERTH 2415 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Meteoroid, Formation And Evolution Of The Solar System, Lightning
21 Dec 2015
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Document Summary
Natural disaster: an extreme natural event in which a large amount of energy is released in a short period of time with catastrophic consequences for life and infrastructure in the vicinity impact on society. Natural hazard: a source of danger that exists in the environment and that has the potential to cause harm examples: high water levels, unstable snow and rock on a mountain slope, lightning bolt. Vulnerability: likelihood that a community will suffer, in terms of fatalities and physical damage, when exposed to hazards in the environment. Frequency: number of similar events per unit time example: 4 former tropical cyclones affect canada every year so the frequency would be: 4 occurrences per year. Return period: length of time between similar events example: a severe hurricane strikes the u. s. on average every 6 years but this does not mean that there is a hurricane exactly every 6 years.
