School geography class: When is a natural disaster human-made?

This article picked by a teacher with suggested questions is part of the Financial Times free schools access programme. Details/registration here.

See our full list of IB DP geography picks and questions here.

Specification: 

• IB DP: Freshwater

Click to read the article below and then answer the questions:

When is a natural disaster human-made?

• State the date on which the floods around Paiporta caused the greatest loss of life

• Identify two human errors that contributed to the high death toll in Paiporta

• Suggest a definition for what is meant by a “human-made disaster” in the context of the Valencia floods

• Explain how climate change has influenced the likelihood of heavy rainfall events, according to the article

• Distinguish between the effects of natural forces (eg extreme rain) and human decisions (eg late warnings) in causing the Valencia floods’ fatalities

Richard Allaway, International School of Geneva/geographyalltheway.com