LEDCs are more vulnerable to hazard events than MEDCs. Discuss.

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Charlene Su, Geography HL, P1

“LEDCs are more vulnerable to hazard events than MEDCs. Discuss.”

        Natural hazard events occur all throughout the world and subject many people to negative impacts, however in different degrees due to certain factors which depend on the countries affected themselves. Impacts of such hazard events can be classified into three categories, namely social, economic and environmental impacts. These impacts can vary spatially or temporally - depending on the area subjected as well as the span of time the disaster lasts for, affecting assessment of vulnerability. Vulnerability is defined as the conditions that increase the susceptibility of a community to a hazard or to the impacts of a hazard event. Deciding whether some impacts are greater than others in terms of vulnerability is difficult due to this variation, however the extent of impact is often influenced by the wealth of the area which the hazard event is subjected upon - LEDCS are less economically developed, and usually have little capital to start off with, leaving even less on the technology that is often more readily available in MEDCs, the more economically developed countries, making the population in the former already more vulnerable than the latter. However, this does not prevent hazards from occurring in MEDCs and the monetary status of a country cannot influence the magnitude or frequencies of hazard events, two factors which are crucial in determining level of vulnerability.

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        The nature of the society and its level of development in a subjected area is an important factor which affects the vulnerability of the area to hazard events. This is mostly due to the fact that LEDCs usually do not have enough capital to invest in “up-to-date” prediction and monitoring technology, and with the absence of effective early-warning systems, people may not know when or how to evacuate effectively when a hazard event occurs. LEDCs may also not have the necessary education system to be able to educate and teach their citizens to understand the geography of the area; ...

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This essay does review the vulnerability of LEDCs in comparison to MEDCs. It gives a good generic overview which is then explored in more depth through two relevant case studies. This answer would benefit from greater use of paragraphs. 4 stars