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
Memory Aid
- P — Poverty: Cannot afford earthquake-resistant buildings, early warning systems, or to relocate
- E — Education: Lower awareness of what to do when disaster strikes; cannot act on warnings
- A — Access: Remote communities cannot receive emergency aid quickly after a disaster
- R — Resilience: Countries with experience and investment in preparedness cope far better
- L — Location: Living near fault lines, active volcanoes, coastlines, or floodplains increases exposure
- V — Vulnerability of the population (PEARL factors above)
- E — Emergency response capacity (quality of emergency services; government capability)
- R — Resilience and preparedness (building codes, early warning, drills, community knowledge)
- T — Type and magnitude of hazard (physical characteristics of the event itself)