Managing natural hazards

Topics

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Sample objectives

What this unit covers

• Earthquakes and volcanoes: Students should be able to: outline the Earth's structure, including the crust, mantle, and core; describe and clarify the global distribution and causes of earthquakes and volcanoes, focusing on plate movements such as constructive, destructive, and conservative; and comprehend the concept of magnitude as well as the Richter scale.
• Tropical cyclones: Students should be able to describe and explain where tropical cyclones (including storms, hurricanes, and typhoons) occur, specifically noting that they are found between 5° and 20° north and south of the Equator, and that they require an ocean surface temperature of at least 27 °C and an ocean depth of at least 60 m.
• Flooding: Students should be able to identify and clarify the factors that lead to flooding, including: intense rainfall, extended periods of rain, melting snow, topography, soil conditions such as saturation and compaction, human activities like deforestation, farming, and urban development, as well as natural events like storm surges and tsunamis, and the impact of rising sea levels due to climate change.
• Drought: Students should be able to identify and clarify the factors that lead to drought, including the absence of rainfall due to extended periods of high atmospheric pressure, the influence of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and La Niña on sea temperatures and evaporation rates, as well as the impact of climate change.
• The impacts of natural hazards: Students should be able to describe and explain the effects of natural hazards on individuals and the environment, including: tectonic events causing damage to structures and infrastructure, fires, tsunamis, landslides, loss of agricultural land and habitats, waterborne diseases, fatalities, psychological trauma, and economic impacts; tropical cyclones leading to flooding, fatalities, economic losses, damage to structures and infrastructure, loss of crops and habitats, and waterborne diseases; flooding resulting in fatalities, loss of livestock and crops, damage to structures and infrastructure, contamination of drinking water, waterborne diseases, and economic losses; droughts causing organism deaths, depletion of water sources, reduced crop yields, starvation, increased soil erosion, desertification, poorer air quality, and heightened wildfire risks.
• Managing the impacts of natural hazards: Students should be able to describe and assess various strategies for managing the effects of natural hazards before, during, and after an event. This includes: - For tectonic hazards: monitoring and warning systems, land use zoning, building structures, disaster preparedness (including plans, drills, emergency supplies, and rescue teams), evacuation procedures, reconstruction of affected areas, and international assistance. - For tropical cyclones: monitoring and warning systems, building structures, disaster preparedness (including plans, drills, emergency supplies, and rescue teams), evacuation procedures, emergency shelters, reconstruction of affected areas, and international assistance. - For flooding: monitoring and warning systems, utilizing storm hydrographs (including run-off, through-flow, and groundwater flow), shelters, rescue operations, reconstruction of affected areas, and flood management techniques. - For drought: monitoring, emergency water supplies, water conservation methods, increasing water supply (through dams, reservoirs, wells, aquifers, water transfer, desalination, and rainwater harvesting), and international assistance.
• Opportunities presented by natural hazards: Students should be able to identify and explain the benefits that natural hazards can offer to humans, such as how flooding can enrich farmland with silt, and how volcanic activity can lead to fertile soils, mineral extraction, and geothermal energy. Additionally, students should compare and contrast the approaches taken by a specific more economically developed country (MEDC) and a specific less economically developed country (LEDC) in managing the effects of tectonic events. They should also examine the strategies used to address the impacts of tropical storms, floods, or droughts.