Management of Tectonic Hazards Flashcards

All 7 cards in this deck

Give three reasons why people continue to live in areas at risk from tectonic hazards.

Fertile volcanic soils for farming; jobs from tourism, mining or geothermal energy; family, home and work ties, or being too poor to move; belief that eruptions/earthquakes are rare or that protection will keep them safe.

Name two things scientists monitor to help predict a volcanic eruption.

Small earthquakes/tremors (seismometers), ground swelling or bulging (tiltmeters), gas emissions such as sulfur dioxide, and rising ground temperature.

Give two design features of an earthquake-resistant building.

Rubber shock absorbers (base isolators) in the foundations, cross-bracing or a steel frame that can sway, deep foundations into bedrock, and automatic gas shut-off valves.

State two ways that planning can reduce the damaging effects of an earthquake or volcanic eruption.

Plan evacuation routes and practise drills; prepare hazard maps of areas most at risk; stockpile blankets, clean water and food and educate people on what to do.

True or false? Monitoring and prediction can stop a volcanic eruption happening.

False. They cannot prevent the event, but warnings allow evacuation and preparation, which reduces deaths and damage.

Which management strategy is generally most effective at reducing deaths from earthquakes, and why?

Protection through earthquake-resistant building design and enforced building codes, because most deaths are caused by collapsing buildings and earthquakes cannot yet be reliably predicted.

True or false? Earthquakes can be reliably predicted, giving the exact date and place they will strike.

False. Unlike volcanic eruptions, earthquakes cannot be predicted reliably — monitoring only shows which areas are at risk, so protection and planning matter most.