Natural Hazards and Society

This is a 3 AU course available to NTU undergraduates under the course code ES8001 and to graduate students under the course code ES7001. The current version of the course is taught by Prof. Shengji Wei. Typical enrolment: 200-500 students.

This course is an introduction to the range of natural hazards that affect society. You will learn about and discuss the geological and geographic settings of different natural hazards, the physical processes that create the hazards, their potential social impacts and how or if the impacts can be mitigated. Course includes weekly quizzes to track learning, interactive discussion questions, peer-graded essays, and a final exam.

By the end of this course, you (as a student) will be able to:

• Identify the range of natural hazards, and explain where they occur, why and how.

• Formulate well-reasoned arguments about the assessment and management of past hazards and disasters, based on the literature and your new knowledge of hazards and impacts.

• Articulately present to others the hazards expected in any location around the world.

Hazards covered:

• Earthquakes

• Volcanoes

• Tsunamis

• Flooding, including urbanization

• Cyclones and storms

• Climate, including anthropogenic climate change

• Human-induced hazards

"Always makes our lectures fun and interactive. I always look forward to lecture."

"Prof Jud explains the material so well it is as if she is telling us a story that totally mesmerises her students."

"She knows which concepts we will need more time to understand and helps us to visualize these concepts by using small-scale representations and activities."