Emergency Management Exam 1
what is the percent of deaths and damage due to floods?
80%
What is Palmer Drought Index?
A formula developed to measure drought using temperature and rainfall information to determine relative dryness.
Droughts
A period of unusually dry weather that persists long enough to cause serious problems such as crop damage or water supply shortages -can persist for months or years
A in STAPLEE
Administrative -can the community do this? -proper funding -staffing -can it be maintained?
Risk Perception Fallibility Conclusion 4
Disagreement about risk should not be expected to evaporate in the presence of evidence
1st E in STAPLEE
Economic -cost of actions -benefits of actions -financial burden? -economic impact?
L in STAPLEE
Legal -liability? -authority? -legal challenges
Avalanches
Movements of debris composed of snow, ice, earth, and rock- occurs when gravitational stress that pulls downward on the snow exceeds the ability of the snow cover to resist it.
Risk Perception Fallibility Conclusion 2
Perceived risk is influenced by the imaginability/ memorability of the hazard. People may not have valid perceptions of familiar risk
Forced Migrants
people who are forced to flee their homes to escape anticipated or realized violence, often leaving behind their possessions
Windstorms
periods of high wind not associated with convective events
Ice Storms
precipitation events involving freezing rain that accumulates on exposed surfaces to a thickness greater than a quarter inch
Hailstorms
precipitation of balls or lumps of clear ice and compact snow
What is the enhanced Fujita-Pearson Scale?
rates the intensity of tornadoes in some countries, including the United States and Canada, based on the damage they cause.
Environmental Vulnerability
refers to how health and welfare of the natural. environment within the area of study factors into the propensity of the affected population to incur disaster consequences; deforestation, hazardous materials, etc
Factor 1
related to dread
Factor 2
related to how much is known about the risk
Risk Perception Fallibility Conclusion 3
risk perceptions correspond closely to statistical frequencies of death
Tropical cyclones
spinning marine storms that affect costal zones but can also travel inland
Monsoon
strong, seasonal winds that exist throughout the world and reverse in direction at predictable intervals every year
likelihood
the frequency/ probability of an event
Risk
the likelihood of an event times the consequences
Vulnerability
the measure of the propensity of an object, area, individual, group, community, country, or other entity to become subject to the consequences of a hazard
Desertification
the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture. -poor land management is the primary cause
What is the Saffir-Simpson scale?
this scale assigns ratings of 1 to 5 to cyclonic storms based on a measurement of the storms present intensity; used to give an estimate on the potential property damage and flooding expected
Recovery
trying to bring back normalcy after a disaster
Blizzards
type of snowstorm accompanied by very low temperatures and high winds
Sandstorms
very strong winds blow over loose soil or sand, picking up significant amounts of material in the process.
Landslide
when physical mechanisms that prevent soil or bedrock from moving down a slope are weakened or disturbed
Scale
measure distance on a map in relation to distance on earth.
Economic Vulnerability
measures the financial means of individuals, town, cities, communities, or whole countries to protect themselves from the effects of disasters
Floods
most common natural hazard, most commonly a secondary hazard due to things such as prolonged rainfall
Straight-line winds
move in a linear fashion; any thunderstorm related winds
Describe the types of tectonic hazards ?????
-Earthquakes -Landslides, rockslides, avalanches -Tsunamis -Volcanoes -Calderas -Cinder/scoria cones
Describe the types of Hydrologic Hazards
-Floods -Droughts -Desertification
Describe the types of Biological / Health Hazards
-Human Epidemics -Animal Epidemics -plant/ag epidemics
Describe the types of Mass Movement Hazards.
-Landslides -Rockfalls -Debris flows -Avalanches
What are the differences in disasters impact between rich and poor countries?
-Rich countries tend to suffer higher economic losses, but can absorb these costs, have immediate emergency and medical care, and employ mechanisms to prevent loss of life -Poor countries have less financial risk, but little or no buffer to absorb any costs. Sustain massive primary and secondary casualties, lack resources necessary to take advantage of technologies.
According to the UNDP, what are the characteristics of urbanization that contribute to risk and vulnerability
-Risk by origin -increasing physical exposure -social exclusion -modification/generation of hazard patterns -increasing physical vulnerability -urbanization of new regions -access to loss mitigation mechanisms
What are the 5 characteristics most commonly seen in CHEs?
1. Civil conflict accompanied by widespread atrocities 2. National government authority deteriorates 3. Mass population movements occur in search for food 4. Economic system suffers dislocation resulting in hyperinflation and the destruction of the market 5. General decline in food security, leading to starvation
What are the rural factors?
-poverty -environmental degradation -nondiversified economies -isolation
What should be included in the base map?
1. Geography 2.Property 3.Infrastructure 4.Demographics 5. Response Capacity
Describe the types of Meteorological Hazards
-tropical cyclones -monsoons -tornadoes -straight line winds -ice storms -snowstorms -blizzards -hailstorms -frost -sandstorms -windstorms -wildfire -fog
What is the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale?
Assigns a Roman numeral in the range I - XII to each earthquake effect. -based on observation rather than scientific measurements
According to the book, why is the number of disasters increasing each year?
Climate change and environmental degradation are together resulting in a greater overall number of hazards, and increased human settlement into vulnerable areas; the higher the population density the more at risk
Risk Perception Fallibility Conclusion 1
Cognitive limitations, coupled with anxieties generated by facing life as a gamble, cause uncertainty to be denied, risks to be distorted, and statements of fact to be believed with unwarranted confidence
2nd E in STAPLEE
Environmental -impact on natural environment -endangered species -land/water effects -federal laws
Preparedness
Equip the people who will be impacted
Which states lead the country in flood damage?
Florida, Texas, and Louisiana
Tectonic hazards
Hazards that are associated with the movement of the earths plates
P in STAPLEE
Political -political support -local champion -public support
S in STAPLEE
Social -Community acceptance -cultural value -effect on population
STAPLEE
Social, technical, administrative, political, legal, effective, environment
Risk statements
Summarize all necessary information for each identified hazard in a manner which communicates cause and effect -tell disaster manger how each hazard impacts, allowing for more accurate treatment of risk
T in STAPLEE
Technical -feasibility -Secondary impacts
What state is flash flood alley located in?
Texas; dallas to san antonio
Technological Hazards
The negative consequences of human innovation that result in the harm or destruction of life, property, or the environment.
Map
a 2d representation of a 3d object
Wildfire
a brush for woodland fire burning out of control over great geographic range spread by weather conditions
Social Vulnerability
a measure of the behavioral, social, political, and cultural factors that increase or decrease a populations propensity to incur harm or damage as a result of their exposure to a specific hazard
What is Haines Scale?
a stability index designed for fire weather use; determined by combining the stability and moisture content of the lower atmosphere into a single number
Hazard
an event causing death, injuries, property damage, infrastructure damage, etc
Response
bringing relief to people who have been impacted
Plant/Agricultural Epidemics
can cause both economical and environmental damages -can simply be the result of a change in climate
Retention Systems
designed to contain a hazard, preventing its forces from ever being released -dams, slope stabilization covers,
Deflection Systems
designed to divert the physical force of a hazard, allowing it to change course so that harm is avoided. -chutes, avalanche bridges, diversion trenches
Detection Systems
designed to recognize a hazard that might not otherwise be perceptible to human senses. -imaging satellites, weather stations, flood gauges
Barriers
designed to stop a physical force dead in its tracks; absorb the impact of the force. -can be made of natural materials or foreign materials -seawalls, flood walls, HAZMAT lining
Animal Epidemics
epidemics that affect the life of any animal other than humans. Often strike livestock on a large scale, resulting in large economic loss
what is the difference vulnerability and exposure
exposure is the measure of whether a person, building, population, or nation is likely to experience a hazard, whereas vulnerability is a factor of how small or great the hazards consequences will be
Snowstorms
extra-tropical, cold-weather cyclonic weather hazards associated with excessive precipitation of snow, sleet, and ice.
Refugees
forced migrants who are able to leave their country to seek asylum abroad; host country generally provides basic life needs -defended by a set of universally accepted laws that offer them some protection
Frost
formation of ice crystals when water vapor freezes upon contact with a surface. damages agriculture.
Rockfalls
free-falling, rolling, and tumbling of very lose material
Tornadoes
funnel clouds; rapidly spinning columns of air extending downward from a cumulonimbus cloud; vortex must be in constant contact with the ground to be considered this event.
Consequence
how bad the result of the event is
Human Epidemics
illness caused by single pathogenic sources that afflict a population at a rate that rises faster than the disease can be controlled. -epidemic or pandemic
Debris flow
introduction of great amounts of water allows for debris to descend down affected slop at greater speeds and distances.
Mitigation
lessening the impact
Geographic data
location information and descriptive information
Physical Vulnerability
looks at the interactions between living things, structures, material objects, systems, and the physical forces of hazards