Conditions that Aggravate the Effects of a Hazard Event on Citizens and Property

Abstract

Location is an important factor that affects the impact of a hazard on society and its environment be it urban or rural. An impact is great when people are close to the point where the force of a hazard is strongest such as close to the epicenter of an earthquake, proximate to an erupting volcano, or in hilly terrain with a history of landslides. Citizens living in the path of a hazards such as a lava flow, a mud/debris flow, a high energy hurricane (typhoon, monsoon) or cyclone, or a tsunami are similarly in danger from the event. Population downwind of airborne industrial pollution or volcanic ash fall, or down flow of flood waters or contaminated effluents or groundwater can likewise suffer great harm. The threats to people can be magnified when the ecosystems around them are disrupted by hazards, albeit temporarily. Topographically, citizens living in urban centers, sometimes in valleys other times in areas of moderate to low relief, and encircled to some degree by industrial operations and with large volume vehicular traffic risk breathing harmful airborne particulates (<2.5 μm) and metals/chemicals aerosols. Depending on weather conditions, deadly urban smog can form that can sicken and kill people. Location of a population at or close to the outbreak (node) of an infectious disease puts people at risk of contracting the disease from airborne or contact transmission.