This topic summary covers Knowledge Organiser: Natural Hazards Overview within Natural Hazards Overview for GCSE Geography. Revise Natural Hazards Overview in The Challenge of Natural Hazards for GCSE Geography with 16 exam-style questions and 18 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 15 of 15 in this topic. Use this topic summary to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Knowledge Organiser: Natural Hazards Overview
Key Terms
- Natural hazard: Event threatening human life/property
- Natural disaster: Hazard that overwhelms coping capacity
- Risk: Hazard × Vulnerability ÷ Capacity to Cope
- Vulnerability: Susceptibility to harm — PEARL
- Resilience: Ability to absorb and recover
- Coping capacity: Resources to prepare, respond, recover
- DRR: Disaster Risk Reduction
- Sendai Framework: UN DRR agreement 2015–2030
Hazard Types
- Tectonic: Earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis — plate margins
- Atmospheric: Tropical storms, droughts, tornadoes
- Geomorphological: Floods, landslides, avalanches
- Biological: Pandemics, wildfires, pest swarms
Key Evidence
- Haiti 2010: 7.0 Mw → ~316,000 deaths (LIC)
- Christchurch 2011: 6.3 Mw → 185 deaths (HIC)
- Nepal 2015: 7.8 Mw → ~9,000 deaths (LIC)
- Chile 2010: 8.8 Mw → ~550 deaths (MIC)
- Climate disasters: +83% increase 2000–2019 vs 1980–1999
- Bangladesh: Bhola 1970 = 500,000 deaths; Sidr 2007 = 3,400 deaths (same hazard, better preparedness)
Exam Essentials
- PEARL: Poverty, Education, Access, Resilience, Location
- VERT: Vulnerability, Emergency response, Resilience, Type/magnitude
- Hazard ≠ Disaster: a hazard only becomes a disaster when it strikes a vulnerable population
- Magnitude alone does NOT determine deaths — development and preparedness matter more
- Hazard frequency rising; deaths falling in HICs; economic losses rising everywhere
- Sendai Framework 4 priorities: understand risk → strengthen governance → invest in resilience → enhance preparedness
Common Mistakes
- Confusing hazard with disaster: A natural hazard only becomes a disaster when it overwhelms a community's coping capacity — the same earthquake may be a disaster in an LIC but not an HIC
- Saying bigger magnitude = more deaths: Development level, preparedness and vulnerability matter far more — Haiti (7.0 Mw, ~316,000 deaths) vs Christchurch (6.3 Mw, 185 deaths)
- Vague vulnerability statements: Don't write "LICs are more vulnerable" — explain WHY using PEARL (Poverty, Education, Access, Resilience, Location) with a named example
- Ignoring rising economic losses: Deaths from hazards are falling in HICs, but economic losses are rising globally — examiners reward this nuance in evaluation answers
Practice questions for Natural Hazards Overview
Which of the following is the best definition of a natural hazard?
Explain why the same magnitude earthquake can cause far more deaths in one country than in another.
Quick recall flashcards
What is a natural hazard?
A natural event that threatens people or property.
What does risk mean in hazards?
The chance that people or places will be harmed by a hazard.