Disaster Risk Management: Practice Questions

• a.

  To resist, adapt, and recover from impacts of disasters in a timely and efficient manner

• b.

  To move the entire global population away from plate boundaries

• c.

  To increase the magnitude of volcanic eruptions to release pressure

• d.

  To prevent tectonic plates from moving altogether

• a.

  The presence of prevailing wind conditions

• b.

  The chemical composition of the magma

• c.

  The duration and time of the shaking

• d.

  The quality of building design and construction

• a.

  Zoning active fault rupture zones as permanent open-space nature reserves to prevent settlement.

• b.

  Deploying early warning sensors along active subduction faults to measure initial P-wave arrivals.

• c.

  Retrofitting older residential structures with base isolators and cross-bracing to resist ground shaking.

• d.

  Conducting search-and-rescue operations immediately following the collapse of building infrastructure.

• a.

  Distributing emergency food rations after a tremor has occurred.

• b.

  Conducting regular evacuation drills in schools and workplaces.

• c.

  Rebuilding collapsed bridges weeks after a disaster.

• d.

  Assessing economic losses following a volcanic eruption.

• a.

  Enforcing land-use zoning laws that restrict residential construction in high-risk coastal tsunami zones

• b.

  Installing automated seismic shut-off valves on urban gas pipelines to prevent fires after an earthquake

• c.

  Retrofitting existing residential buildings with base-isolation systems to withstand intense ground shaking

• d.

  Conducting community earthquake drills to improve public evacuation response times and awareness

Write your answer out first, then check it against the worked solution.