Questions and Answers
1. How is a hazard different from a disaster?
A hazard is an occurrence where there is a threat to health, life, property or environment while a disaster is an occurrence that totally disrupts the normal ways of a community. Hazards can be prevented from becoming disasters if precautionary steps are taken (Haddow, Bullock & Coppola).
2. What is the most frequent and widespread disaster-causing hazard?
The most frequent and widespread disaster-causing hazard is Floods.
3. What scale is commonly used to describe the effects of earthquakes?
The scale that is commonly used to describe the effects of earthquakes is the modified, Mercalli intensity scale (Earthquake.USgs.gov).
4. How are earthquakes measured?
Earthquakes are measured using a seismometer. The instrument detects the vibrations resulting from an earthquake and then plots the vibrations on a seismograph (Earthquake.USgs.gov).
5. Describe the process by which hurricanes form?
Hurricanes form when the warm, moist air over the water in the ocean moves upwards from near the surface. Since this air rises and away from near the surface, there is less air left near the surface. The surrounding air, therefore, swirls to take its place. As the warm and moist rises and cools off, the water in the air forms hurricanes (Spaceplace.nasa.gov).
6. What scale is used to describe the intensity of hurricanes?
The scale that is being used to describe the intensity of hurricanes is the Saffir-Simpson scale (Spaceplace.nasa.gov).
7. What are the various ways that hurricanes cause damages to a community?
Hurricanes are associated with strong winds that usually cause a lot of damages to a community such as uprooting trees, knocking over buildings and homes. Hurricanes also cause storm surge that can cause significant flooding and lead to deaths and destruction in the community (Spaceplace.nasa.gov).
8. What is a SLOSH model used to measure?
A SLOSH model is used to measure the storm surge heights resulting from hypothetical, historical or predicted hurricanes (Nhc.noaa.gov).
9. Why was the Fujita-Pearson tornado Scale updated in 2006, and what changes were made?
The Fujita-Pearson Tornado Scale was updated in 2006 because in this year there was a significant tornado outbreak that occurred in the parts of western Missouri and eastern Kansas. The changes that were made include better examinations of tornado damage survey and better standardizing in order to account for factors such as differences in construction quality (Nhc.noaa.gov).
10. What are the three categories of wildland fires?
The three categories of wildland fires include the surface fire, ground fire and crown or canopy fire (Nps.gov).
11. How are severe weather storms measured?
The severe weather storms are measured using the Doppler radar (Nhc.noaa.gov).
12. What single disaster type caused the nine of the top ten natural disasters ranked by FEMA relief costs?
The single disaster type that caused the nine top ten natural disasters ranked by FEMA relief costs is the natural disaster (Edwards).
13. What is the source of most hazardous materials incidents?
The source of the most hazardous materials incidents is the chemical manufacturers (Ready.gov).
14. List and describe four categories of weapons of mass destruction.
The four categories of weapons of mass destruction include nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological. Nuclear weapons produce thermal effects, blasts and are both immediate and delayed. Biological weapons are either toxin that are specially produced by living organisms or living organisms. They may be lethal or incapacitating. Chemical weapons cause permanent or temporary harm by poisoning living things. Lastly, radiological weapons cause impacts by ionizing radiation (Hlsonline.eku).
15. What four steps are common to most risks assessment methodologies?
The four steps that are common to most risk assessment methodologies include hazard identification, exposure assessment, dose-response assessment and risk characterization (In.gov).
16. Name several of the social factors emergency managers must consider when assessing a community’s risk.
The social factors emergency managers must consider when assessing a community’s risk include deficiencies in building construction, security, process systems, loss prevention systems and protection systems (Ready.gov).
17. What are some of the factors that make up a community’s economic profile? How do these factors influence that community risk?
Some of the factors that make up a community’s economic profile include geography, climate, population and infrastructure. These factors make a community be more or less at risk. For instance, unfavourable climate such as too much rain results in floods (Edwards)
18. What is the purpose of the FSMAUGO methodology?
The purpose of the FSMAUGO methodology is to assess hazard risks (Edwards).
Works Cited
Earthquake.usgs.gov,. "Measuring The Size Of An Earthquake". N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.
Edwards, Chris. "The Federal Emergency Management Agency:". Downsizing the Federal Government. N.p., 2014. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.
Haddow, George D, Jane A Bullock, and Damon P Coppola. Introduction To Emergency Management. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann, 2006. Print.
Hlsonline.eku.edu,. "History And Types Of Weapons Of Mass Destruction | Homeland Security Degree Online". N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.
In.gov,. "IDEM: The Four Steps Of Risk Assessment". N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.
Nhc.noaa.gov,. "Sea, Lake, And Overland Surges From Hurricanes (SLOSH)". N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.
Nps.gov,. "Wildland Fire: Fire Spread | U.S. National Park Service". N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.
Ready.gov,. "Hazardous Materials Incidents | Ready.Gov". N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.
Spaceplace.nasa.gov,. "How Do Hurricanes Form? :: NASA Space Place". N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.
