MANAGEMENT OF HAZARDS AND DISASTERS
NATURAL HAZARDS
HUMAN-INDUCED HAZARDS
Causal factors
Management
Definitions
climate change -- a pattern of change affecting global and/or regional climate, measured by yardsticks such as average temperature or alteration in frequency of extreme weather conditions
natural hazards
natural disasters
naturally occurring phenomenon triggered generally by natural factors such as change in climatic condition or plate tectonic movement, but can also be triggered by human-induced actions (e.g. deforestation, urbanisation, industrialisation). Natural hazards may or may not result in great damage and/or loss of life
major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the Earth, that results in great damage or loss of life
geographical location
climatic belts (diff in air temp and pressure) in areas near the equator, subtropics or temperate regions, are highly susceptible
Capacity (economic, political and social), Vulnerability, Severity
mitigation measures
3Ps 2Rs: prediction prevention preparedness response recovery
funding for social aid, rebuilding of home property and infrastructure, ability to tap on international aid, setting aside reserves, maintenance work, educate the community & organise evacuation drills to increase the level of preparedness of the people, establish good working r/s & cooperation between people and countries, hospital and other critical facilities to always be prepared to receive an emergency with all resources ready, flood mitigation systems, activating Federal Emergency Response Plans, installing shock absorbers, retrofitting buildings to prevent them from collapsing during earthquakes, land use policies
impacts (severity) -- Physical: destruction of natural landscapes & habitats, loss of agriculture and displacement of land. Economic: loss of property and infrastructure, funds needed for rebuilding works, decreased working population = decrease in income and productivity in the economy, tourism industry is impacted, destruction of agricultural plots leads to great financial losses Social: loss of lives, homeless people w/o livelihood, lack of accessibility to water, electricity and sewerage, food shortage, psychological impact on losing the loved ones, spread of diseases due to stagnant water or unsanitary environment
URBANISATION
MIGRATION
MEGACITIES
Diseases
communicable
non communiciable
epidemic
pandemic
infectious diseases: STIs, vector-borne diseases like dengue, flu, ebola, tubercolosis, zika, HIV / AIDS
chronic diseases
big scale spread, global; great and extensive impacts
small scale spread, usually within country or area
causal factors -- increased proximity & interaction w animals (spread of bacteria), increased accessibility and mobility of people w aviation industry advancements and global connectivity of people (spread of air-borne diseases), poor living conditions (poor sanitation and limited sewage facilities (overcrowding) & contaminated water (spread of diseases), damaged infrastructure: water pipe leakage leads to spread of water-borne diseases / lack of water leads to diseases, stagnant water leads to ^ breeding grounds for dengue & zika etc; lack of awareness: spread of false info leads to making misinformed decisions eg not gg for vaccination s, weakens overall immunity fo society
epidemiological cycle
agent, host, environment, vector
impacts -- negative: ^ cost of healthcare, strain on resources; decrease in productivity of economy due to diminished workforce = decrease in revenue; deaths, leading to psychological trauma for family members positive: change in management of diseases, improvement of the way the healthcare system addresses the diseases, pharmaceutical industry benefits from sales, forces people to build diplomatic ties, countries work hand in hand to address pandemics --> foster good r/s w other countries, improve govt's image if govt is able to tackle such diseases effectively & people have more trust in the govt
causal factors (push-pull factors)
effects (cost-benefit)
seeking better QOL and SOL; seeking safety and security in other countries, esp if home country is war-torn or has armed violence or violent discrimination against some groups of people; have basic necessities met only in other countries; wider rage of opportunities for education and employment; career progression
types of migration
forced migration, voluntary migration, rural-urban migration, highly-skilled persons
benefits: migrants can contribute significantly to the host country's economy, increase the diversity of people in the country; free migrant workers from poverty; migrants could receive benefits for contributing to the economy
costs: uncontrolled influx of migrants could lead to competition and deprivation of locals of employment; tensions due to locals' SOL / QOL affected by the migrants; may surpass fixed carrying capacity, stress on the resources of the host country to distribute between the migrants and locals --> SOL / QOL drops, leads to health problems; if they do not find proper housing, some may settle into slums and living in unsanitary envt ^ the spread of diseases; pollution
urban challenges & solutions
reasons for distribution / formation (site & situational factors)
ideal geographical location for trade, access to natural resources (from elsewhere or own site), large land area (using it for agriculture & setting up of industries), near water bodies (daily necessity, for trade), natural features (tourist attractions), cultural identity (tourism)
shanghai
tokyo
sao paulo
envt: high air, land & water pollution due to lack of enforcement of legislation to protect the envt ---> land zonation: concentration of heavy industries into one area so that air pollution is kept to one area and does not spread as quickly to other areas and affect other people; new industrial estates provide business premises and job opportunities, encourages people from unlicensed businesses to take up jobs here instead, where emissions are now regulated. sanitation: poor sanitation, lack of access to water, electricity & proper sewerage , as many ppl live in makeshift homes. housing: 40% of the people lice in shanty towns or makeshift homes due to rapid pop growth, govt is unable to keep up with the infrastructure improvements needed in favelas ---> Cingapura scheme, where slums are rebuilt in to high-rise / mid-rise flats w proper infrastructure in place. transport: ^ volume of traffic on poorly maintained roads inconveniences people and contributes heavily to air pollution, due to lack of planning, thus space constraints ---> underground metro system, and new roads, trains, buses brought about to improve connectivity in the area, central business district was pedestrianed & parking restrictions imposed to reduce vehicular traffic in crowded areas. Rising COL: due to unemployment, as ppl have low levels of education and thus can only take on menial jobs in the informal sector that pay them the bare minimum ---> new industrial estates offer employment for the people, w possibly higher pay, leading to eased social mobility of the people
envt: air pollution due to traffic congestion (^ ability to afford w ^ income of the people, and due to rapid urbanisation), and also due to high emissions from heavy industry --> negative impacts on health; water pollution due to lack of wastewater treatment plants and outdated drainage system -----> restriction of the number of cars on the roads,by ^ prices of cars to discourage private car ownership; engaging Canadian Cleantech business to use their electrochemical reaction technology to treat wastewater water shortage: due to rapidly growing pop, govt rapidly builds water infrastructure and invest heavily on sewage treatment,, world bank collaborate w Shanghai to ^ water management, leveraging on public and private capital to fund water infrastructure transport: govt focused on ^ road infrastructure to reduce congestion, by developing rapid transit systems (light rail, subway) & maglev system rising COL: older people migrating from rural areas have difficulties adapting to city life, difficult to find opportunities for skills upgrade & thus hard to find job opportunities. Ageing population + one child policy creates an increasingly lopsided dependency ratio, burdens on society crimes & vices: corruption & bribery of govt & ppl of authority, shoplift & theft ---> nationwide surveillance system using facial recognition technology
envt: air pollution due to urban sprawl, ^ air pollution w ^ vehicles & ^factory production to meet the ^ demands of the people.---> govt enforced strict regulations and mandatory introduction of flue gas desulphurisation in factories and plants, and instructed vehicle owners to install exhaust gas reduction devices, & promoting the shifting of main energy source from fuel to electricity and gas. water pollution ---> build efficient sewage-processing plants, use recycled water housing: demand exceeds supply of houses, and cost of houses are in relation to the cost of the land it is built on, thus many people cannot afford proper housing, putting constant pressure on standard of living due to compromised housing. as a result, there was a wide spread growth of vernacular settlements which lacked sufficient infrastructure, mostly wooden housing which were esp susceptible to earthquakes & fire disasters. transport: trains & subways alw run @ the limits of their safety capacities land: high demand of land exceeds supply due to competition for space amongst various urban functions growing ageing population: w increased life expectancy of over 80 years, theres now an imbalanced burden on the working population, and taxes struggle to fill the gaps between demand for social welfare programmes for elderly people and fiscal affordability illegal migrants: many people want to come to tokyo as it is a developed country with many job prospects. however, if they are employed, they are usually unskilled manual labourers, and many lie outside the social security net, lacking minimum medical care