Vulnerability and the impacts of tectonic hazards: why people live in hazardous areas, the factors that affect vulnerability, and the contrasting social, economic and environmental impacts of a tectonic event in places at different levels of development.

What this dot point is asking

This is part of Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) Theme 3, Tectonic Landscapes and Hazards, the optional theme in Component 1. Eduqas expects you to explain why people live in hazardous areas, the factors that affect vulnerability, and the contrasting impacts (social, economic and environmental) of a tectonic event in places at different levels of development. This is where the high-tariff comparison questions sit.

Why people live in hazardous areas

It seems strange to live near a volcano or a fault, but there are good reasons.

• Fertile soils: volcanic ash weathers into rich soil, ideal for farming (the slopes of Mount Etna, Vesuvius).
• Geothermal energy: heat from the ground provides power and hot springs (Iceland generates much of its electricity this way).
• Minerals and tourism: valuable minerals form near volcanoes, and the dramatic scenery draws tourists.
• Home and family: it is where people were born, with jobs, family and community.
• Poverty: many people are too poor to move away.
• Rare events: hazards are infrequent, so people accept the risk or assume it will not happen to them.

The factors that affect vulnerability

Vulnerability is how badly a hazard affects people, and it varies hugely.

The impacts of a tectonic event

Eduqas wants impacts sorted under three headings.

• Social: deaths and injuries, people made homeless, disease from contaminated water, disrupted schools and hospitals, and trauma.
• Economic: the cost of rebuilding, lost business and farmland, damaged infrastructure, and the cost of aid (richer countries lose more money, poorer countries lose a larger share of their economy).
• Environmental: land buried by ash or lava, fires, landslides, and ground and water pollution.

Contrasting development levels

The key idea is that development, not just the size of the hazard, decides the impact.

• In a lower-income country (LIC), weak buildings, dense population, poverty and a slow response mean high death tolls even from a moderate quake. The 2010 Haiti earthquake (magnitude 7.0) killed over 200,000 people because of poor-quality housing and a slow, under-resourced response.
• In a higher-income country (HIC), earthquake-proof buildings, education, drills, warning systems and a fast, funded response mean far fewer deaths even from a huge quake. The 2011 Japan earthquake (magnitude 9.0) was far more powerful, yet most deaths came from the tsunami, not the shaking, because buildings withstood it.

A top answer judges that the difference in vulnerability explains the difference in impact.

Try this

Q1. Define vulnerability in the context of tectonic hazards. [2 marks]

• Cue. The degree to which a population is likely to be harmed by a hazard, depending on development, building quality, density and preparedness.

Q2. Explain one reason why a tectonic event causes fewer deaths in a high-income country. [4 marks]

• Cue. Wealth pays for earthquake-proof buildings, education and drills, warning systems and a fast emergency response, so fewer people are killed.