Hazard characteristics: Flood as a case study
There are five basic characteristics that can be used to describe most hazards. These are:
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- intensity (how big, fast, powerful)
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- frequency/likelihood (the numer of times a hazard is likely to cause an event of a given magnitude?
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- extent (the area that it covers)
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- time-frame (warning time, duration, timeof day, week, or year)
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- manageability (can anything be done about
it).
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For each hazard these characteristics may mean quite different things. For example, in a cyclone, intensity might relate to wind speed, whereas in an earthquake, intensity means the number or strength of earth tremors.
Activity 5.1
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Write down how you think these characteristics apply to floods. Use point form (single words, short phrases). Spend about 15 minutes on this before reading on. We will explore each of these in detail following this activity. But it is important at this stage that you begin to think for yourself about how these characteristics can be expressed-remember, you must do this for your own hazard analysis within your risk assessment project.
- Intensity
- Frequency/likelihood
- Extent
- Time-frame
- Manageability
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Print this activity
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You can compare your answers to the following-see if you have covered the major ideas.
