Responding to Physical Processes and Natural Hazards
Hazard, risk and vulnerability
Separate the three: a hazard is a potential event (cyclone, bushfire, earthquake), risk is the probability of harm given exposure, and vulnerability is the susceptibility of people and assets. Risk rises with exposure and vulnerability, not just hazard magnitude. Questions frequently test this distinction - a high-magnitude hazard in an unpopulated area carries low risk.
Process knowledge
For atmospheric hazards, know the conditions for formation (warm sea surface temperatures above roughly 26.5 °C, low wind shear, Coriolis effect away from the equator) and the hazard sequence (storm surge, wind damage, flooding). For hydrological hazards, link catchment characteristics - shape, slope, vegetation, urbanisation - to lag time and peak discharge. For tectonic hazards, distinguish divergent, convergent and transform boundaries and the hazard types each produces. For bushfires, link fuel load, slope, weather and ignition.
Impacts and responses
Classify impacts as social, economic, environmental and political, and as short-term versus long-term. Responses split into structural (levees, sea walls, retrofitting) and non-structural (land-use zoning, building codes, education, insurance, early warning). Preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery form the management cycle. Be ready to evaluate: structural works can create a false sense of security and transfer risk downstream.
Traps
- Confusing mitigation with adaptation.
- Describing a hazard event rather than analysing risk.
- Ignoring spatial variation in impact within one event.
- Assuming wealthier nations always have lower losses - economic losses can be higher while deaths are lower.
Rule of thumb
For any hazard question, run H-E-V-R: Hazard characteristics, Exposure, Vulnerability, Response capacity. Then judge which factor dominates.