This document provides an introduction to an essay that will examine how wealth affects the impacts of hazard events for societies and individuals. It defines hazards as destructive events in the physical environment and wealth as having abundant resources. The introduction notes that while hazards occur globally, their impacts vary between more and less economically developed countries. It poses the question of whether wealth influences the scale and magnitude of hazard impacts. The essay will use case studies of earthquakes in Kobe, Japan and Kashmir, Pakistan to explore this issue. Students are assigned to research the impacts of these quakes and compare them using Venn diagrams.

1. Essay Introduction – Hazards Mr R. Thomson “ To what extent does wealth affect the impacts of a hazard event for societies and individuals?”