Edexcel Specification focus:
‘Use of Park’s Model to compare hazard event response curves in areas at different stages of development.’
Understanding Park’s Model
The Concept and Purpose of Park’s Model
Park’s Model, also known as the Disaster Response Curve, is a conceptual framework that illustrates the quality of life over time following a tectonic hazard. It helps geographers understand how communities respond and recover differently depending on their level of development.
The model enables comparison between countries at different development stages by mapping the temporal effects of a disaster. It visualises:
The impact of a hazard event
The duration and quality of the response
The speed and extent of recovery
It is especially useful in assessing the resilience of a society, the effectiveness of their emergency response, and their capacity for long-term reconstruction.
Park’s Model: A graphical representation that shows the change in quality of life, stability and infrastructure over time following a hazard event.
The model is typically presented as a graph where the x-axis shows time, and the y-axis shows quality of life. It includes stages from the pre-disaster phase, through disruption, and into recovery.
The Disaster Response Curve
The Five Key Stages of the Model
Stage 1: Pre-disaster (Normality)
Quality of life is stable.
There may be some mitigation and preparedness in place.
Vulnerability is often determined by economic development, education, and governance.
Stage 2: Disruption (During and Immediately After the Event)
Quality of life plummets due to physical destruction, injuries, and fatalities.
Infrastructure may collapse, and essential services are interrupted.
Emergency response begins here if available.
Stage 3: Relief (Hours to Days After the Event)
Emergency services and humanitarian aid arrive.
Search and rescue operations are conducted.
The effectiveness of this stage depends on national preparedness and international support.
Stage 4: Rehabilitation (Weeks to Months After the Event)
Restoration of basic services begins.
Temporary housing and infrastructure may be established.
Efforts are made to stabilise daily life and restore functionality.
Stage 5: Reconstruction (Long-Term Recovery)
Long-term rebuilding of homes, infrastructure, and the economy.
Quality of life gradually improves—sometimes returning to normal, or even exceeding pre-disaster levels if "build back better" strategies are used.
Each stage can vary significantly depending on a country's level of development, disaster preparedness, and governance quality.
Comparing Countries at Different Stages of Development
Developed Countries
In developed countries, such as Japan or New Zealand:
Preparedness is generally high due to effective governance, strong infrastructure, and well-funded emergency services.
The disruption phase is shorter, and the relief phase begins rapidly.
Rehabilitation and reconstruction are efficient and often incorporate resilient designs and risk-reducing engineering.
Quality of life tends to return to normal relatively quickly.
Emerging Economies
In emerging countries, such as Chile or Turkey:
Some levels of preparedness exist, though uneven.
The response may be partially delayed due to limited emergency infrastructure or regional disparities.
Recovery is slower, and international aid often plays a key role.
Reconstruction might rebuild to previous standards without significant improvements.
Developing Countries
In developing countries, such as Haiti or Nepal:
There is often low preparedness, with inadequate infrastructure and emergency planning.
Relief is slow due to limited national capacity and reliance on external humanitarian aid.
Recovery may take years, and full reconstruction is sometimes never completed.
Vulnerability remains high, and future hazards may have similarly severe impacts.
Application of Park’s Model in Real-World Contexts
Key Factors Influencing the Model Curve
The shape of the response curve is influenced by several critical factors:
Governance: Strong institutions ensure quicker mobilisation of aid and effective coordination.
Wealth and Resources: Affects the ability to fund emergency services, reconstruction, and preventative infrastructure.
Preparedness: Community drills, hazard mapping, early warning systems, and building regulations all reduce disruption.
International Aid: Can supplement domestic efforts but may cause dependency or delays due to bureaucracy.
DEFINITION
Resilience: The ability of a community to resist, absorb, and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner.
Park’s Model is not predictive but comparative. It helps assess how effectively countries manage the impacts of tectonic hazards and guides improvements in disaster risk management.
Strengths and Limitations of Park’s Model
Strengths
Visual clarity makes it easy to understand and apply in comparative studies.
Highlights the importance of development and preparedness.
Supports analysis of temporal aspects of disaster response and recovery.
Limitations
Oversimplifies complex disasters into a single curve.
Assumes all communities start at the same baseline, which may not be true.
Does not account for multiple hazards or protracted crises.
Difficult to quantify quality of life precisely on the y-axis.
Despite its limitations, Park’s Model remains a valuable framework in Edexcel A-Level Geography, helping students explore how different human and physical factors affect disaster response and recovery.
FAQ
Park’s Model assumes a uniform starting point where all communities begin at a stable level of quality of life before the disaster. This overlooks pre-existing inequalities such as poverty, political instability, or ongoing crises that can already place some communities in a state of vulnerability.
It also assumes a linear and sequential recovery process, which may not apply to areas experiencing repeated hazards or slow-onset disasters. The model does not account for the social or psychological impacts that may persist long after physical infrastructure is restored.
Park’s Model is designed around a single-event framework and is less effective at representing the impact of cascading or compound hazards.
In multiple-hazard zones, such as the Philippines, communities may face earthquakes, typhoons, and floods within short timeframes. Recovery from one event may be interrupted or reversed by another, making the clear stages in Park’s Model less applicable.
A more dynamic or layered model may be better suited for analysing complex hazard scenarios.
Governance plays a key role in shaping both the depth of disruption and the speed of recovery.
Good governance can:
Ensure faster emergency response through planning and coordination.
Promote effective resource allocation and reduce corruption.
Encourage long-term investment in hazard-resilient infrastructure.
Weak governance can delay relief, lead to unequal aid distribution, and prolong the recovery stage. As a result, countries with stronger governance tend to have shallower and shorter curves in Park’s Model.
Although used primarily to model responses to tectonic hazards in the Edexcel specification, Park’s Model can be adapted for other disaster types.
It can apply to:
Climatic events like hurricanes or droughts.
Biological hazards like pandemics.
However, the sudden-onset nature of tectonic events aligns better with the model's staged structure. Slow-onset disasters may not show a clear “disruption” point, making application less straightforward.
Income alone does not determine disaster outcomes in Park’s Model. Other factors include:
Quality and enforcement of building regulations
Cultural attitudes toward risk
Accessibility to affected areas
Experience with past disasters
International support mechanisms
Practice Questions
Question 1 (2 marks)
Define Park’s Model and identify one way it is used to compare responses to tectonic hazards.
Question 1 (2 marks)
1 mark for a correct definition of Park’s Model:
e.g., “Park’s Model is a graphical representation that shows changes in quality of life over time following a hazard event.”1 mark for identifying a valid use of the model:
e.g., “It is used to compare how different countries respond to and recover from tectonic disasters.”
Question 2 (6 marks)
Award up to 6 marks for a well-explained answer. Points may include:
1 mark for stating that Park’s Model shows how quality of life changes over time after a disaster.
1 mark for identifying that the model has five stages: pre-disaster, disruption, relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction.
1–2 marks for explaining how a developed country (e.g., Japan) typically has a short disruption phase and quicker recovery due to strong infrastructure and emergency response.
1–2 marks for explaining how a developing country (e.g., Haiti) may experience a prolonged recovery due to limited resources and external dependency.
1 mark for linking these differences directly to the shape of the disaster response curve in Park’s Model.
Level-based answers:
1–2 marks: Basic understanding of Park’s Model; limited development; may describe stages without linking to development levels.
3–4 marks: Clear explanation with at least one example comparing countries of different development levels.
5–6 marks: Detailed explanation with accurate use of terminology, comparative analysis, and well-developed examples.
