Tectonic Hazards & Development (Edexcel A Level Geography)

• Inequality is closely linked vulnerability, the greater the levels of inequality experienced the more vulnerable the population
• People are more vulnerable and less resilient if they lack access to:
  • Education
  • Housing
  • Healthcare 
  • Income
• The Human Development Index (HDI) is used to measure the level of development
• Low HDI is often reflected in:
  • Lower education levels which means that people have a lower awareness of the risk and less perception of the hazard 
  • Poor quality housing, unregulated building and the use of poor construction materials
  • A lack of access to healthcare
  • Poor access to clean water and a healthy diet during 'normal times'
• Other factors linked to inequality which further increase the risk include:
  • High population density
  • Young population 
  • Poor infrastructure
  • Rapid urbanisation
• When a natural hazard event occurs, such as the 2015 Nepal earthquake, the high level of vulnerability and lack of resilience meant there were devastating impacts:
  
  • Buildings were poorly constructed and although there were building regulations these were usually not enforced
  • Search and rescue was difficult due to poor quality infrastructure
  • Government corruption meant that infrastructure and planning lacked investment
  • Many people, particularly in rural areas, were not educated about what to do in the event of an earthquake
  • Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world so there was a lack of funds for preparation and planning

Governance

• The way in which a country or region is run is known as governance, this also impacts vulnerability and resilience
  • National governance refers to how the whole country is run
  • Local governance is how local areas are run
• If a place has good governance that means it is well run and the local or national government is effective
  • These areas are more able to cope with hazard events and will have a faster recovery
• Alternatively, weak or poor governance leads to increased vulnerability and impacts the area's ability to cope with a hazard event
• Poor governance impacts on the ability of governments to:
  • Plan for hazard events using techniques such as hazard mapping and land use zoning
  • Educate the population about the risks and how best to protect themselves 
  • Predict events as they do not have the technology and equipment available
  • Prepare by ensuring that stocks of water, food, medical equipment and shelter are available
• Poor governance may also be linked to
  • A lack of openness which means that governments are not held to account 
  • Corruption can have a number of impacts:
    • Money is not spent on preparation
    • Construction companies can get around building regulations or land use zoning by bribing officials 
    • In Turkey corruption related to construction led to increased deaths in the Izmit earthquake (1999) and the more recent Kahramanmaras (2023) earthquake 

Geographical factors

• There are a number of geographical factors which impact the vulnerability of an area:
  • Population density - a higher population density:
    • Makes it harder to evacuate 
    • Buildings are more tightly packed which increases the impact if some collapse
  • Accessibility/isolation - the more inaccessible or isolated an area is:
    • The more difficult it is to reach and supply aid - in Nepal 2015 some of the hardest hit regions were remote rural areas and they were not reached for days
    • The less likely people are to have methods of communication
    • The poorer the infrastructure will be
    • The fewer facilities there are such as medical assistance
  • Urbanisation - the increasing numbers of people living in cities means:
    • There is a higher concentration of people and buildings
    • In developing and emerging countries large numbers of poorly constructed houses on steep slopes are particularly vulnerable 

• The overall context of a hazard can have a significant influence on its impacts

Influence of Context on Impacts