Unit 1 –Societies and their environment : a fragile equilibrium
Introduction : Different types of hazards
VOCABULARY
Societies : people, property infrastructures that could be affected by a natural
event or human-made event and endure significant damage.
Risk : Potential danger that could affect a population. It is a perception of a
situation that can be variable from one country to another. A risk is a social
construction
Hazard: when a contingency affects populations and settlements. It can be a natural
hazard or a anthropogenic hazard (or human-made hazard). + sometimes combined
hazards
Artificialization : Important human presence in an area, resulting in changes in
natural cycles and environments (--> can be caused by urban sprawl for example or
the use of pesticides killing bees)
Climate change: Changes in average weather conditions that persist over multiple
decades or longer. Climate change encompasses both increases and decreases in
temperature, as well as shifts in precipitation, changing risk of certain types of
severe weather events, and changes to other features of the climate system.
Resulting from anthropogenic activities (man-made), it is evaluated by experts of the
IPCC*.
A potential contingency (=aléa) can lead to a hazard. Hazards occur when
an event affects a society (population, property, etc.). This event can
either be natural (storms, floods, cyclones, earthquakes…) or they can
be anthropogenic ( pollution, chemical explosion…)
Very often, societies face combined hazards.
- The increasing urbanization of the planet results in an artificialization
of land. Consequences can be less water permeates  more surface
run-off  increased risk of floods.
- Natural events can also result in combined hazards (for example in
Fukushima in 2011).
Case study project : Presenting a news broadcas
Start by going on the interactive map : https://www.catnat.net and choose an event
that occurred in the last 30 days.
Your presentation will last approx. 5min and will need to
1/ Locate your territory on a map – give information regarding its population density and
its climate
2/ Mention the type of hazard that occurred and its causes
3/ Find maps and pictures of your territory before and after the natural hazard
4/ How does Climate Change increase the risks of hazards on the territory you are
talking about ?
5/ What short and long term consequences does this have on the population?
Deaths – cost of the damage/GDP – cost of rebuilding – economic impact –
ecological impact
5/ What immediate solutions are put in place to help the population ?
6/ What solutions can be instated to prevent a new catastrophe?
!! In your presentation, reuse as many vocabulary words as you can from the list above