Student
1.) (a) The areas at risk from two or more natural hazards are located mainly between the tropic of cancer and the tropic of Capricorn. The Philippines is an area that is at risk from two or more natural hazards and this is located on the pacific ring of fire that is very vulnerable to violent volcanic eruptions and severe earthquakes.
(b) A natural hazard can be one of two things; a geophysical hazard and a hydro-meteorological hazard. A geophysical hazard is one caused by the earth’s process such as earthquakes. A hydro-meteorological hazard is one caused by weather conditions such as tropical storms. A hazard is just the threat of these events; a disaster is when this threat is realised and the natural hazard comes into contact with people; only then does it become a disaster.
(c) D
(d) The Philippines is a disaster hotspot because it is at risk two or more natural disasters. Both physical and human factors have made the Philippines a disaster hotspot in a number of ways. Firstly, the Philippines is located on a destructive plate boundary at a subduction zone. This is where two plates converge, and the heavier oceanic lithosphere sinks beneath the continental lithosphere and this leads to violent volcanic eruptions and severe earthquakes. Another physical factor that makes the Philippines a disaster hotspot is that it lies in between the tropic of cancer and the tropic of Capricorn. It is within 20⁰ North of the equator; which means that the ocean temperatures around the Philippines are warm enough to trigger of tragic tropical storms. This creates the hazard but what makes it into a natural disaster is that it affects people. As the Philippines is a group of 7000 low-lying islands the people are more vulnerable to the tropical storms and when it comes into contact with humans it becomes into a severe disaster. There are also human factors that make the Philippines a disaster hotspot. Urbanisation is a major factor that increases the risk from natural
(b) A natural hazard can be one of two things; a geophysical hazard and a hydro-meteorological hazard. A geophysical hazard is one caused by the earth’s process such as earthquakes. A hydro-meteorological hazard is one caused by weather conditions such as tropical storms. A hazard is just the threat of these events; a disaster is when this threat is realised and the natural hazard comes into contact with people; only then does it become a disaster.
(c) D
(d) The Philippines is a disaster hotspot because it is at risk two or more natural disasters. Both physical and human factors have made the Philippines a disaster hotspot in a number of ways. Firstly, the Philippines is located on a destructive plate boundary at a subduction zone. This is where two plates converge, and the heavier oceanic lithosphere sinks beneath the continental lithosphere and this leads to violent volcanic eruptions and severe earthquakes. Another physical factor that makes the Philippines a disaster hotspot is that it lies in between the tropic of cancer and the tropic of Capricorn. It is within 20⁰ North of the equator; which means that the ocean temperatures around the Philippines are warm enough to trigger of tragic tropical storms. This creates the hazard but what makes it into a natural disaster is that it affects people. As the Philippines is a group of 7000 low-lying islands the people are more vulnerable to the tropical storms and when it comes into contact with humans it becomes into a severe disaster. There are also human factors that make the Philippines a disaster hotspot. Urbanisation is a major factor that increases the risk from natural