Why Do People Live In Hazardous Environ

Objective
Explain the reasons why people live in

hazardous areas.
Discuss vulnerability as a function of demographic and socio‑economic factors, and of a community’s preparedness and ability to deal with a hazard event when it occurs.
Explain the reasons for some sectors of a population being more vulnerable than others.

A Distinction
A hazard / Hazard event / Disaster
Hazard -is a perceived natural event which

threatens both life and property
Disaster - is the realisation of this hazard.
Hazard event – the occurrence or realization of a hazard
An event only becomes a Hazard event if it has a negative impact on people or their property. A Distinction

Environmental hazards are caused by

people’s use of dangerous environments.
A large part of environmental hazards is caused by human behaviour, namely the failure to recognise the potential hazard and act accordingly.
Hence the term “natural hazard” is not a precise description, as natural hazards are not just the result of “natural” events.

Classification/Examples of Hazards
Natural
Human
Climatological
Physical
Biological
Combinations

Characteristics of Hazards
Duration
Magnitude
Predictability
Frequency
Speed of Onset
Spatial concentration
Areal extent
Number of hazards

Hazard Hotspots
A country that suffers from multiple hazards is

known as a hazard hotspot. El Salvador, Indonesia and the Philippines are all considered to be hazard hotspots because they can suffer from:

Earthquakes
Volcanoes
Landslides
Tropical storms
Floods
Tsunamis

The Poor
Environmental hazards occur only when

people and property are at risk.
Although the cause of the hazard may be geophysical or biological, this is only part of the explanation.
It is because people live in hazardous areas that hazards occur.
So why do people live in such places.
The behavioural school of thought considers that environmental hazards are a result of natural events and people sometimes put themselves at