Cav's geography homework 2.6

1 When did Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin?

 In the early hours of 25th December 1974 Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin

2 What role did the local police and community leaders play in responding to the hazard?
 They restrored basic order and established evacuations and medical help.
3 What is the National Disaster Organization and why did it become involved in the response to Cyclone Tracy?
It is a federal government organization that specializes in responding to natural disasters. They became involved in the response to Cyclone Tracy because it had severe needs to repair basic services for Darwin. 
4 Why do you think the evacuation of Darwin was an essential response to Cyclone Tracy?
 Because most people were lacking basic needs such as water and shelter. Sickness and Disease could have also broken out from to contaminated water due to leaking sewage.
5 Calculate the percentage of Darwin’s population that was evacuated in the week following Cyclone Tracy.
Over 80% of Darwin's population was evacuated in the following week.
6 How has Cyclone Tracy better enabled communities to prepare for this type of hazard?
It has better enabled communities to prepare for this type of hazard as it has taught us a valuable lesson on the destructive powers of tropical cyclones and now there are strict building  codes when building in any areas prone to tropical cyclones.
7 Where and when did Hurricane Katrina occur? List two impacts of the hurricane on Louisiana.
On 29 August 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf of Mexico and the state of Louisiana in the United States, it caused major flooding to over 80% of the city of New Orleans and killed over 1400 people.
8 Which geographical feature of New Orleans compounded the effects of Hurricane Katrina?
New Orleans low lying nature.
9 What criticisms were there of the response to Hurricane Katrina?
It took days for food, water and evacuation to be fully implemented.
10 Compare the responses of the NDO to Cyclone Tracy and FEMA to Hurricane Katrina.
The difference between the response to Cyclone  Tracy and Hurricane Katrina is that in the case of Cyclone Tracy the NDO within 20 hours of the cyclone hitting had the first helicopter with provisions for the devastated city of Darwin. Within a week the NDO had restored order and basic services to Darwin as well as evacuating over 80% of the population. In the case of the FEMA responding to Hurricane Katrina, they did not have basic food, water and evacuation methods implemented until days after the disaster had struck.

Cav's geography homework 2.5

1 What are tropical cyclones?
 Tropical cyclones are intense low-pressure systems that form over warm oceans.

2 Where do tropical cyclones occur?

Tropical cyclones form over the northern areas of Australia in the months from November to April.

3 Name the areas of Australia most at risk from tropical cyclones.
 North Queensland, the Northern Territory and some parts north of western Australia.

4 How many tropical cyclones are expected to cross the Australian coastline each year?
 Only six of the ten tropical cyclones that form each year cross Australia's coastline.

5 What are some other names for tropical cyclones?
Some other names are typhoons and hurricanes.
6 Complete the passage below.
Word bank: high, moist, surface, tropical, spiral, heat
Tropical cyclones develop in the tropical regions of the world. Heat from the sun causes warm, moist air to
rise into the atmosphere. As the air rises, a low pressure system forms and condensation occurs, which releases latent heat causing the air to rise further into the atmosphere. If the air pressure in the upper atmosphere is high then the rising column of warm air will spiral outwards in the upper atmosphere and
air will rush from the surface to replace it, forming a tropical cyclone.
7 What is the eye of a tropical cyclone?
It is the very center of the cyclone and it is what the rest of the cyclone circulates around. Inside the eye are clear, calm skies whilst outside is a raging inferno of wind.
9 What causes a tropical cyclone to be downgraded to a tropical storm?
When cyclones travel inland they lose their source of energy, the tropical moist air is no longer present and the cyclone tends to disperse and lose energy, thus being downgraded o a tropical storm.

Cavs Geography Homework 2.8

1) Refer to synoptic chart and satellite image in 2.33 and 2.34:

a)  Estimate the air pressure at

 i) Hobart:

 The air pressure at Hobart is 1016 Isobars

ii) Port Hedland

 The air pressure at Port Hedland is 1010 Isobars

iii) Melbourne

 The air pressure at melbourne is 1020 Isobars

iv) Perth.

 The air pressure at Perth is 1019 Isobars

b) Name a capital city that will most likely experience rain in the  next 12 hours.

Port Headland will most likely experience rain in the next 12 hours

c) Prepare a brief weather forecast for Melbourne for the next 24 hours.

 Melbourne will experience sunny weather with clear skies, later in the day a cold front will sweep through the city but all togteher some nice weather prodicted.

d)  Name the feature shown on the synoptic chart that has caused the cloud cover at the following locations: i ) The Tasman Sea

 The coldfront coming through has caused cloud cover over this area.
ii) Central Australia

 The low pressure system has caused cloud cover over this area.

iii) West of Tasmania.

 A low pressure system has caused cloud cover over this area.

e) Which location, Sydney or Hobart, would have the strongest winds? Give a reason for your answer.

Hobart will experience stronger winds as the coldfront sweeps through. Sydney will experinece high pressure systems which is associated with clear, sunny weather whilst Hobart will be experiencing a colfront which tends to bring cooler weather, strong winds and cloud cover.

Cavs geography blog 2.2

What is a landslide? Describe the main causes of landslides. In what way can human actions contribute to landslides?

A landslide is movement in the earth's crust that triggers large amounts of earth to suddenly shift destroying everything in its path. Human cause landslides when they build upon weak founadtion and put severe pressure upon the earth until eventually it gives way.

Corrosion, terrential rain, human action, earthquakes, volcanic action are all causes of landslides.

Building of roads and railways as well as devegetation can all cause landslides.

What are earthquakes and how are they measured?

Earth quakes are the movement of tech-tonics plates and are measued on the ricta scale

What is the main cause of earthquakes in Australia?

Tech tonic movement.

How frequently does Australia experience earthquakes of 5.5 on the Richter scale and why do they usually have minimal impacts on communities?

Every 15 months one hits Australia but they cause miniaml damage due to communities having lower population ratios to higher land occupation. 

List the impacts of the 1989 earthquake on the Newcastle community.

It killed 13 people and injured 113 as well as destroyed thousands of homes

Describe the difference between a landslide and an earthquake.

Lanslides are caused by weather most often and are not as large as earthquakes. Earthquakes are caused by tech-tonic movement and can effect far larger communities of people.

What is a tsunami?

A tsunami is a wave caused by movement of the earth's crust.

Name three events that will cause a tsunami.

Earthqaukes, landslides and volcanic eruptions all cause tsunamis

With the aid of a diagram, explain how a tsunami is formed.

When an earthquake hits it creates the crust to suddenly uplift causing millions of tonnes of water to suddenly rise above the ocean surface and travel out form epicentre 

Describe three tsunami warning signs.

Waves suddenly grow, suddenly retreat of water, sea life is revealed, wave resembles violent flood of water.  

What caused the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004?

The tsunami was caused by an earthquake suddenlly displacing millions of tonnes of water that raced out from the epicentre at unimaginable speeds caused incredible damage to the beach communities throughout the Indian Ocean.
There are 23 Erathquake moniter stations in Australia and only took one of these stations 20 minutes to pick up the 2004 Indian Ocean earthqauke.

Describe how a tsunami changes as it enters shallow water.

As it enters the shallow water it compresses rising far above the ocean surface and resembles a huge wall of water racing towards you.  

What steps has the United Nations taken to safeguard Indian cean communities from the tsunami hazard?
They have taken extra precautions in placing numerous moniters in the Indain Ocean so in the event of a tsunami they can be notified immediatley of the incoming wave and evacuate the sea side communities.  
Who is Ted Bryant? What warning does he issue in regard to tsunamis for Australia?

He is a geoscience professor and warned that qaukes on New Zealends Alpine fault line could hit Australia once every 500 years.  

Cav's geography homework 2.1

1 What is a natural hazard?
A natural hazard is anything that can cause harm to the surrounding environment and communities.
2 What is the difference between a natural hazard and a natural disaster?
A natural hazard is anything that can cause harm to the surrounding environment and communities and a natural disaster is something that has impacted on social, economical or environmental affairs.
3 What two broad categories of natural hazard exist in Australia?
Those related to weather and those related to movement in the earths crust.
4 Make a list of the types of natural hazards that fit each category.
1)Weather: Hail, floods, drought, heat waves, bush fires, strong winds, storms and tropical cyclones.
2) Tectonic movement: Landslides, earth tremors, earthquakes and tsunamis.
5 Why are natural hazards that occur in densely populated areas more noticeable than hazards that occur elsewhere in Australia?
Because they effect a larger community affecting social and economical growth.
6 Outline two specific impacts droughts have on rural communities in Australia.
Drought affects farmers in rural communities costing them thousands through the loss of crops and livestock, therefore also affecting them because they have less to spend locally.
7 Name the three categories geographers use to classify the impacts of natural hazards. Give examples of each.
1) Social Impact; Loss of life and destruction of community facilities and structures.
2) Economical Impact: Loss of income and damage to industry.
3) Environmental Impact: Death or injury of wildlife and dramatic changes to the environment.
8 Explain why it is essential that Australian communities study the nature and impacts of natural hazards.
Australian communities should analyze the effect of natural hazards in order to better prepare and recover from them if they should ever occur.
9 Explain how GIS is used to map the threat of natural hazards in Australia.
Geographers collect information from all 2573 post codes throughout Australia, data such as how many natural disasters have occurred. Then they can accurately graph the most hazardous prone zones.