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