Assess The View That Hazardous Events Have More Short- Term Than Long-Term Impacts On Populations.

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Jon Coupland G3                                                                                                  Jan. 12, 09

Assess The View That Hazardous Events Have More Short- Term Than Long-Term Impacts On Populations.

A hazardous event can incorporate many different Physical and Human disasters however for this specific essay I will be concentrating on Physical events only although it should not be forgotten that this question could lead to Human events too. A Short-term event is dictionary defined as, “Involving or lasting a relatively brief time.” However in this instance it could be defined as an impact that last for a short period of time and that is resolved quickly, where a Long-term event is dictionary defined as “Involving, maturing after, or being in effect for a long time” however regarding this topic it could be explained as an impact on populations that last a long time and do not resolve themselves immediately.

For this essay I will be looking at four specific case studies, each covering a different type of Hazardous Event.

For my first case study I will be looking at the volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens and how the long and short term effects of the eruption impacted on the population. I chose this study as it affects a MEDC. For my second case study I shall be considering the effects of the erosion of the coastline along the Holderness coast and how it is impacting on the population there. I chose this case study as it is local to me and could be affecting me someday soon.

For my penultimate case study I will be looking at flooding in Lynmouth (the River Lyn), and how this hazardous event has impacted on the population. I decided on using this case study as it is now relatively old, and I could compare the impacts and see how differently people coped in the past. For my final case study I will be examining a recent hazardous event, hurricane Ike, which struck America earlier this month. I chose this case study as it was recent and could contrast impacts with the flooding case study.

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My first case study looks at a physical event that occurred in America in 1980. It studies a hazard from the Earth Systems module. Mt. St Helens is a volcano located in the state of Washington. This event was caused by a series of small earthquakes which resulted in magma moving and swelling, along with numerous amounts of steam, to form a bulge on the north side of the volcano. Eventually on May the 18th, 1980 the north side gave way and the bulge erupted.

Short-term effects of this hazardous event were numerous. 57 people were instantly killed ...

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