3.6.2 Hazardous Setting - Case Study

Question 1

Case study for Hazardous settings

Answer 1

Italy

Question 2

Why are earthquakes common in Italy?

Answer 2

Fault lines run north-south close to the Apennine Mountain rage and east-west across the centre of Italy. The fault lines are near the destructive plate margin between the Eurasian and African plates.

Question 3

Are earthquakes common in Italy?

Answer 3

Yes - for example:

• Three earthquakes up to magnitude 6.4 hit the area around Assisi in 1997.
• A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck L’Aquila in April 2009.
• A series of earthquakes hit the area around Amatrice from August to October 2016.

Question 4

L’Aquila earthquake

Answer 4

Caused by movement along the north-south fault line.

It killed around 300 people, made about 70 000 people homeless and cost Italy an estimated $15 billion.

Question 5

What were a key step taken to mitigate against earthquakes in italy?

Answer 5

There were strict building regulations to ensure that newer buildings were designed and built to withstand earthquakes.

However, much of the city was very old, and some newer buildings didn’t comply with regulations, so they were severely damaged or destroyed by the earthquake.

Question 6

Social, economic and political impacts of the 2009 earthquake

Answer 6