Mr Macdonald's homework for 1/11/16
The video from PBS provides a really good insight into why Typhoon Haiyan was so devastating and the impacts on Tacloban.
The Challenge of Natural Hazards
Natural hazards pose a significant threat to people living in vulnerable parts of the world. Em-Dat (an organisation that categorises natural hazards) recorded that between 1994 and 2013 there were 6,873 natural disasters worldwide which claimed 1.35 million lives (an average of 68,000 per year). In addition 218 million people were affected each year in this period.
Tectonic hazards (earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) have remained broadly constant during this period. However there has been a sustained rise in climate based events (mainly flood related). Moreover, flooding accounted for the majority of disasters between 1994 and 2013 accounting for 43% of all recorded events and affecting nearly 2.5 billion people. Storms were the second most frequent type of disaster killing more than 244,000 people and costing US$936 billion in recorded damage.
Earthquakes (including tsunamis) killed more people that all other types of disasters put together, claiming nearly 750,000 lives between 1994 and 2013.
Drought affect more than one billion people between 1994 and 2013 despite the fact that droughts accounted for only 5% of disaster events. This is largely due the the size of the affected area.
The slide show below provides a thorough introduction to natural hazards and some background about tectonic hazards.
Tectonic hazards (earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) have remained broadly constant during this period. However there has been a sustained rise in climate based events (mainly flood related). Moreover, flooding accounted for the majority of disasters between 1994 and 2013 accounting for 43% of all recorded events and affecting nearly 2.5 billion people. Storms were the second most frequent type of disaster killing more than 244,000 people and costing US$936 billion in recorded damage.
Earthquakes (including tsunamis) killed more people that all other types of disasters put together, claiming nearly 750,000 lives between 1994 and 2013.
Drought affect more than one billion people between 1994 and 2013 despite the fact that droughts accounted for only 5% of disaster events. This is largely due the the size of the affected area.
The slide show below provides a thorough introduction to natural hazards and some background about tectonic hazards.