Dangerous Earth

An introduction to the study of natural hazards on the Earth, at various different spatial and temporal scales, their impact on human populations and principles of planning, response and mitigation. The course will cover hazards of geological and meteorological origin, as well as major global catastrophes such as those that may be produced by climate change. Topics to be covered include: Earthquakes and their consequences; Tsunamis and other coastal hazards; Volcanoes and volcanic eruptions; Land instability and mass movements; Flooding and flood hazards, Drought and bushfire hazards; Tropical cyclones, thunderstorms and tornadoes; Climate change and its implications for human populations; Managing and reducing the risks from natural hazards. At the end of this subject, students will have acquired: an understanding of the nature and causes of natural hazards, their distribution and predictability; a knowledge of how natural disasters impact on human populations and activities, and the kinds of responses that are possible; an appreciation of what can be done to manage and minimise the dangers posed by natural disasters.

研究地震、火山、海啸等自然灾害的成因、影响及防范。

• 1Differentiate a natural hazard from a disaster
• 2Distinguish between geophysical, hydrological, meteorological, and climatological hazards
• 3Summarise the driving forces behind natural hazards
• 4Relate present-day hazards to historical contexts
• 5Compare mainstream and indigenous approaches to natural hazards
• 6Perform a hazard characterisation
• 7Summarise and explain the components (probability of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability) of the risk equation
• 8Perform a real-world quantitative risk assessment incorporating the risk equation with modelling on MS Excel spreadsheets
• 9Collaborate, coordinate, research, present, and defend a real-world project on natural hazard characterisation and risk assessment in a team environment