Online Geography Resources

Starter and Something to think about ...

The definition of a disaster as provided by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction:

“A disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that causes serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic and/or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own level of resources."

For a disaster to be entered into the database of the UN's International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, at least one of the following criteria must be met:

• a report of 10 or more people killed
• a report of 100 people affected
• a declaration of a state of emergency by the relevant government
• a request by the national government for international assistance

Activity

Task One - Describe the methods used to quantify the spatial extent and intensity of disasters.

Aid agencies 'must use new tools' [11 December 2009]

Social networks and the web offer a lifeline in Haiti [15 January 2010]

Task Two - Explain the causes and impacts of any one disaster resulting from a natural hazard.

Using a natural hazard case study you have previously researched produce revision notes under two sub-headings:

• The causes of the disaster which resulted from a natural hazard.
• The impacts of the disaster which resulted from a natural disaster [impacts could be further categorised using SEEP: Social, Economic, Environmental and Political]

You should have six case studies you can choose from: a LEDC earthquake, a MEDC earthquake, a LEDC drought, a MEDC drought, a LEDC hurricane and a MEDC hurricane.

Task Three - Explain the causes and impacts of any one recent human-induced hazard event or disaster.

Using a human-induced hazard case study you have previously researched [Chernobyl] produce revision notes under two sub-headings:

• The causes of the disaster which resulted from the human-induced hazard event.
• The impacts of the disaster which resulted from the human-induced hazard event [impacts could be further categorised using SEEP: Social, Economic, Environmental and Political]

This is a good opportunities to condense your original case study notes - why not work onto index cards?

Task Four - Examine the ways in which the intensity and impacts of disasters vary in space and have changed over time.

Using the data provided above produce an explanation of the following:

How does the intensity and impacts of disasters vary in space and time?

You will need to analysis the data by means of producing some visualizations - graphs and/or maps.