What do you understand by Primary, Secondary and Chronic Hazards? Examine the link between human activities and hazards.

A hazard is what creates the potential to cause harm to a vulnerable target. It can be either natural or man-made.

Primary Hazards

the example of primary hazards is ground shaking, surface runoff, and landslides, liquefaction (Mixing of soil and groundwater). This type of hazard causes destruction of buildings, physical injury, infrastructure damage, and life loss. Building houses on bedrocks could be a better solution to this problem. Heavy rainfall causes the landslide in water-saturated soils.

Secondary Hazards

The example of secondary hazards is Tsunami, earthquake. It is more severe than that of the primary hazards. It can also affect neighboring countries. The deadly tsunami of 2004 affected several Indian islands and the Indonesian islands.

Chronic Hazards

A chronic hazard has the potential for a long term impact. Often the impact of the hazard is hidden and noticed only after causing serious health complications. The example of chronic hazards is the nuclear plant disaster, gas plant disaster, etc.

Relations

Though the hazards are different in types and in terms of their severity, a link there among all types of hazards. Sometimes the chronic hazards are caused by secondary hazards. Each and every type of hazard provokes the other type in another form.

Topics: GS-IV: Ethics and Human Interface