As Earth's growing population makes demands on the use of more marginal and hazard prone lands, more and more people are becoming exposed to risk from relatively low frequency but high magnitude natural events - for example, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, 2005's Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, the 2010 eruptions of Mount Merapi in Indonesia and Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland, the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan, the 2019-2020 wildfires in Australia, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Technological development also increases our exposure to natural hazards, such as perturbations in the Earth's magnetic field, or solar flares, which would not have impacted pre-technological civilisation. The study of such natural hazards, and consideration of measures for adaptation and mitigation, are therefore more crucial than ever. This module provides a topical and adaptable focus to the study of these natural hazards, using examples from the present and the geological past.

This module will examine the nature, extent, frequency, risk, and potential for mitigation against a range of natural hazards, including volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, storm surges, flooding, wildfires, pandemics, extreme weather, the climate crisis, and extraterrestrial hazards. Drawing heavily on case studies, including media coverage and the academic literature, students will explore these hazards from both physical and social geographic perspectives. They will consider the causes and geographic distribution of these natural events, as well as examining how risk, vulnerability, and consequences vary in different geographic areas due to geology, geomorphology, hydrology, demographics, socioeconomic factors, and more. They will develop the skills necessary to assess the hazardousness of particular geographic areas, and how to cartographically illustrate risk by creating hazard maps.

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: 1. Describe the causes, processes, consequences, risk, and mitigation of select natural hazards 2. Recognise and explain the factors which can turn natural events into natural hazards or natural disasters 3. Critically evaluate and review information on natural hazards from a range of sources, including the academic literature 4. Analyse individual natural hazard events, and compare and contrast these with other events 5. Assess the hazardousness of specific geographic locations in relation to the spatial distribution of different natural events, and create hazard maps of geographic areas

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: 6. Demonstrate an appreciation of the involuntary risk factors which leave people vulnerable to natural hazard events

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This module will be delivered through a combination of lectures, case studies, tutorials, digital geography exercises, and self directed learning. Students will develop the skills to analyse readings, improve their capacity for critical assessment, and communicate their own work in written and digital form. Case studies for the module will include recently published research on a wide range of locations in both developed and developing nations, encouraging students to adopt a global perspective. Digital geography exercises will include active use of data from current research, and recent real-world events. Assessments will challenge students to apply their discipline knowledge to real world events or circumstances, including appreciation of social responsibility, sustainability, and both local and global impacts of decisions and actions. Committed participation is essential for developing cognitive and presentation skills that hone their attributes as articulate, creative and original thinkers.