To introduce contextual perspectives on a variety of natural hazards, the different levels of impact on human societies and the mitigation/adaptation strategies adopted before, during and after an extreme natural event.

(LO1) An understanding of the physical and societal definitions of a natural hazard

(LO2) An understanding of the processes leading to geophysical, hydrological, meteorological and climatological hazards

(LO3) An awareness of the vulnerability of societies

(LO4) An appreciation of the costs of these extreme events on societies

(LO5) Acquire a sound knowledge on mitigation and adaptation strategies for each type of natural hazard

(S1) Communication skills

(S2) Teamwork

(S3) IT skills

(S4) Organisational skills

(S5) International awareness

Weeks 1-2: an introduction to natural hazards, including definitions. Review of the types of natural hazards, how to measure their impact and how they become natural disasters. Introduction to the course content and the teaching team, as well as the coursework, including the creation of student groups for the website exercise.

Weeks 2-10: Geophysical (volcanoes, earthquakes), Hydrological (flood, storm surge and coastal erosion), Meteorological (storms, cyclones, extreme weather) and Climatological (drought, wildfire) hazards will be covered. For each type, an assessment of the impacts on societies and the range of management responses to these events will be examined.

Week 11: a synthesis of the course.

Week 5 and week 8 Tutorial: two ~ 1 hour long tutorials will be given to small groups to introduce the website coursework using Microsoft Office Publisher (or equivalent software).

This module will be delivered through a series of lectures and tutorials for the group assessment.

Teaching Method 1: Lecture
Description: ~2 hour lectures covering course content

Teaching Method 2: Tutorial
Description: Tutorials to support the group assessment (website design exercise)