Hazard & Disaster Trends (DP IB Geography)
Revision Note
Written by: Bridgette Barrett
Reviewed by: Jenna Quinn
Hazard & Disaster Trends & Future Projections
Global disaster trends
The number of recorded disasters has increased significantly since 1960
There are a number of reasons for this, including:
Increased population – the world's population has grown from 3 billion to over 8 billion since 1960:
This means more people are likely to be impacted by any hazard event
Increased population density in urban and coastal areas increases the vulnerable population
Increased monitoring and reporting means more hazard events are recorded
Most of the increase has been the result of floods and extreme weather
Recorded global disasters 1900–2022
Geophysical hazard trends
The number of tectonic disasters has fluctuated since 1960 but has generally remained steady
The slight increase in the number of earthquake disasters does not mean there have been more earthquakes or higher magnitude earthquakes. It results from:
Greater urbanisation in seismic zones, which has led to higher population densities and increased building density
Population growth, which means more people are living in earthquake-prone regions
Population growth being focussed in some of the least developed countries, which are also the most vulnerable due to:
Poor building design and construction
Poverty
Lower levels of education
Poor governance
Global tectonic disasters 1900–2022
Global tectonic disasters 1900–2022
The number of deaths from tectonic hazards fluctuates depending on a range of factors, including:
Magnitude
Level of development
Location
Deaths resulting from tectonic activity
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
The impact of a mega-disaster such as the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami may skew the overall trend because it leads to so many deaths
Volcanic eruptions are less frequent than earthquakes and deaths from eruptions are now rare due to improved monitoring, exclusion zones and evacuation plans
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