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Hazardousness of a Place

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Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition

Hazard: Probability of occurrence of a certain natural or human-induced phenomenon that poses threat to life, property, and the environment within a certain period of time and within a given area (Varnes, 1984).

Hazardous place: A location with a high probability of experiencing a natural event that may be hazardous.

Introduction

Hazards broadly can be classified into three types: (a) hazards related to geophysical events, such as mass movement, land subsidence, earthquake, volcanic eruption, flood, tsunami, and fire; (b) atmospheric events, such as climate change, geomagnetic storms, winds (including hurricanes, tornadoes, and straight winds), drought, hail, freeze, and lightning; and (c) hazards created by anthropogenic activities, such as pollution, deforestation, use of herbicides and pesticides, chemical spillage, dam and reservoir failure, and fire. Every location is unique with regard to the events that can occur and those events only become hazards if people are...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Desert Research Institute, 2215 Raggio Parkway, Reno, NV, 89512, USA

    Dr. Netra Raj Regmi

  2. Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

    Dr. John Rick Giardino & Dr. John D. Vitek

Authors
  1. Dr. Netra Raj Regmi
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  2. Dr. John Rick Giardino
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  3. Dr. John D. Vitek
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Netra Raj Regmi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada

    Peter T. Bobrowsky

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Regmi, N.R., Giardino, J.R., Vitek, J.D. (2013). Hazardousness of a Place. In: Bobrowsky, P.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_166

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