9.3 Atmospheric Hazard case studies Flashcards
key facts of typhoon haiyan and primary impacts (hazards)
November 3rd-11th 2013
Time: 4:40 am: MIDDLE OF NIGHT
Location: originated in northwest Pacific Ocean hit the Philippines on November 8th
Category 5 typhoon
5-metre-high storm surge hit the city of Tacloban – 90% of the city destroyed
extremely strong: Wind speeds: 314 km/h
secondary impacts of typhoon haiyan
Social:
- 6,300 died from drowning/severe injuries, - widespread flooding caused by over 400mm of rainfall over a few days
- over** 600,000 displaced**, 400 homes damaged, 14 million affected
- power supplies cut off for a month impacting communication/relief, looting/violence in Tacloban (impact recovery)
Economic:
- 6 million lost their source of income.
- 30,000 fishing boats destroyed; flights/ferry services disrupted for weeks
Environmental:
- Samar and Keyte Islands suffered erosion from flooding, damage to coral reefs in Panay Island, landslides caused by flooding/heavy rain
response/management to typhoon haiyan
Immediate:
- before typhoon struck supplies delivered by Philippines Red cross (salt, sugar etc),
- Red Cross supplied over 1.1 million with clean water to limit outbreak of disease from poor sanitation, field hospitals set up (international help from France, Belgium and Israel),
- over 1,200 evacuation centres set up, military aircrafts from Canada/USA assisted in search and rescue
Long term:
- financial aid/medical supplies from donor countries (UK),
- UNDP set up cash-for-work programs that paid villages to clear debris/waste helping to rebuild livelihood whilst recover infrastructure
- vaccination of thousands of Children by UNICEF and WHO – mass immunisation scheme to ensure disease do not spread through shelters.
- ‘Build back better’ strategy: 205,000 homes rebuiltand no-build zone on coast where hazardous to live: (however, by 2016, only 1% of target achieved),
factor affecting impacts of typhoon haiyan
- strength: strongest to ever hit land at the time, storm surge 7.5 metres high
- low lying lands more exposed: Tacloban sits less that 5m above sea level
- regional languages meant gov not able to communicate with everyone
success of management of typhoon haiyan
- Government-led projects to build homes have moved relatively slow and 100,000 families still lived in temporary accommodation 2 years after.
- Income of coconut farmers and fishing still badly effected as takes time to regrow/marine life to recover. - survey showed 100 % of rice farmers and 90 percent of micro-enterprise beneficiaries said livelihood programme helped them recover either somewhat or completely from the effects of the typhoon.
details/primary impacts of cyclone nargis
Date: May 2nd 2008
Location: Myanmar
Category 4
Storm surge of 6.3m
Winds of 200km/hour: strong winds against bamboo housing
secondary impacts of cyclone nargis
Social:
- 500,000 missing, death toll of at least 138,000 (estimates vary)
- impacted 1.5 million people, 95% of infrastructure destroyed, 75% of health facilities effected (impact on workforce(economic))
Environmental:
- approx.38,000 hectares of mangroves destroyed, 43% freshwater ponds damaged, sedimentation of rivers, salination and erosion of agricultural land
Economic:
- approx. 65% of rice paddy fields destroyed (impact on rice exports)
- damage cost US$15.3 billion
responses to cyclone nargis
Immediate response:
- Myanmar gov initial reluctance to accept international aid
Bangladesh – emergency aid and aid workers used to deal with cyclones.
- Indian navy and air force supplied 140 tons of tents, blankets and medicines.
- Thailand sent US$100,000 in supplies from Thai Red Cross.
- UK gave ₤17 million of aid (approx US$33.5 million) and sent an international relief team to help with the co-ordination of the international relief effort.
- US donated US$40 million to the relief effort, including help from the American Red Cross
- Push by the government to hold the referendum vote - shows the political state
factors affecting impacts of cyclone nargis and effectiveness of management
Location: the Irrawaddy Delta’s low-lying topography made it vulnerable to storm surges/flooding
Population density: high population density **82 inhabitants per square km **
Political: Military junta’s blockade of aid, aid distribution controversy: foreign aid provided to victims modified to make it look like it came from military regime
: more than 2 weeks later only 25% people received relief
effectiveness:
- difficulty of aid distribution due to military control limited effectiveness
key details and primary impacts of hurricane katrina
Category 5
25th August 2005
Florida Coast
Landfall in Louisiana at around 6am
Winds of 175 mph
Storm surges over six metres
secondary impacts of hurricane katrina
Social:
- many of the poorest remained in New Orleans despite evacuation order because they wanted to protect their property/could not afford to leave.
- 1,200 people drowned in floods and 1 million homeless.
- 80% of New Orleans flooded.
Economic:
- oil facilities damaged (30 oil platforms damaged/destroyed) and price of petrol rose as a result in UK/USA,
- cost of about $300 billion, looting of businesses
Environmental:
- oil spills from 44 facilities throughout southeastern Louisiana, which resulted in over 7 million U.S. gallons (26 million L) of oil being leaked, pumping of flood water into Lake Pontchartrain (damage to fish)
response/management to hurricane katrina
- Superdome set up as temporary housing close to victims (however crime/poor conditions limited effectiveness, 100mph winds ripped part of the roof away)
- Red Cross: 275 shelters in 9 states quickly, 249 emergency response vehicles used
- Emergency services/government: mandatory evacuation of city, $50 billion in aid, National Guard mobilised to restore law and order in New Orleans
- Of 60,000 people stranded in New Orleans, the Coast Guard rescued more than 33,500.
- Approximately 58,000 National Guard personnel were activated to deal with the storm’s aftermath, with troops coming from all 50 states
factors affecting impacts of hurricane katrina and success of management?
Wealth: poor people did not want to leave possessions/did not have means to leave
Lack of organisation: meant some shelters reached capacity very quickly (superbowl) and late entry of federal rescue workers
Effectivness:
- Gov criticised for response as being to slow and lacking coordination
- Emergency centres failures as Superdome (designed to handle 800, yet 30,000 arrived) and the New Orleans Civic Center (not designed as an evacuation center, yet 25,000 arrived)
hurricane sandy key facts/primary impacts
Location: Cuba, Bahamas, eastern USA, Bermuda, eastern Canada
25th October 2012
Category 3
Strong winds: 115 mph
Heavy snow/blizzards in central Appalachian Mountains
Storm surge: waves close to 4m high in New York
Heavy rain: 125mm in Washington DC
secondary primary impacts of hurricane sandy
Social:
- 346,000 houses damaged in New Jersey and 305,000 damaged/destroyed in New York
- 286 deaths
- 18,000 flights cancelled. Fires broke out because of sea water short-circuiting the electrical system
Economic:
- impact of loss of power on businesses and flight cancellation on trading of goods – estimated 8.5million lost electrical service.
- Damage of $60 billion
responses to hurricane sandy
- political responses: Government: Obama signed emergency declarations states expected to be impacted by Sandy allowing them to request federal aid/prepare.
- National guard and US Air force (shows significant size) put 45,000 personel in at least 7 states on alert for possible duty
- NYC, mayor ordered mandatory evacuations **(over 375,00 evacuated) in vulnerable zones and shutdown subway **
Longer term:
- Investment into rebuilding and improving coastal defences: NY: East Side Coastal Resiliency Project ($1.45 billion) and strengthening Lower Manhattan’s seawalls,
- New Jersey: Army Corps of Engineers constructed dunes and berms along the Jersey Shore, including a $128 million project in Long Beach Island: protect for future
factors affecting impacts of hurricane sandy and effectiveness of resposne
Track:
- distribution of peak wind gusts: 90mph along NJ and NYC nearest to storm centre at landfall – not slowed by frictional drag of relief of land
- unexpected leftward turn into the east coast meant many were unprepared
- Insurance: few of the Sandy-impacted postcodes had high insurance pay outs
- Wealth: acute disruptive event for wealth areas e.g Lower Manhattan, poorer were worst affect and often under-insured experience long disruption/difficulties recovering
Effectiveness:
- Unemployment effects were short-lived and rebounded quickly and critical infrastructure restored within days-to-weeks
- better coordinated than Katrina, but $50.7 billion relief package was slow to materialise and over ¾ of the money yet to be distributed two years after event
super tornado in Moore, Oklahoma key fact/primary impacts
20th May 2013
Moore, Oklahoma
Time: 2:56pm touched down in Newcastle
Strong winds: 210 mph
Heavy rain and Hale
secondary impacts to super tornado in Moore
Social: 24 people dead, 212 injured, 1,150 homes destroyed, two elementary schools directly hit: Plaza towers and Briarwood, : shows lack of planning by state council
Economic: damage of up to $2 billion, over $1.5 billion in insurance claims
Environmental: 150,000 tonnes of debris left in Moore, local waterways e.g Little River contaminated
responses to super tornado in moore
- National weather service forecasted moderate risk of severe thunderstorms
- Search and Rescue: over 200 first responders deployed within hours, approx 100 individuals pulled alive from rubble in first 24 hours
FEMA: $57 million in disaster assistance
Medical response: 240 injured treated at area hospitals, American Red Cross sheltered more than 700 displaced in local facilities like First Baptist Church of Moore
$60 million cleanup cost, 95% of debris cleared within 3 months
School rebuilding of local elementary schools: $45 million with safe rooms for future tornadoes
Factors affecting the impacts of supertornado in moore
Time: during afternoon – kids at school = more casualties
Population density: Moore suburban city so densely populated = higher losses
Vulnerable infrastructure: lack of reinforcements/storm shelters
Warning: NWS warning 16 mins before touchdown = not enough time to prepare
Topography: flat, open terrain = no natural barriers to slow down strength
tornado, birmingham key facts/primary impacts
July 28th 2005
Birmingham, southeastern part of the city including Bordesley Green, Sparkbrook and Small Heath
F2 tornado
Path length: 1.5 to 2 miles
Lasted 10 mins
Time: 2:30 pm
Strong winds: 113-157 mph
secondary impacts of tornado birmingham
Social: 20 people injured, 100 homes damaged, over 30,000 homes power cuts
Economic: £40 million(costliest on record in UK), equivalent to £75 million in 2023
Environmental: tree uprooting, loss of biodiversity in urban parks/wooded areas,
response to tornado birmingham
Emergency:
Over 100 emergency workers deployed in Bordesley Green and same in Sparkbrook to the area assisting with rescue operations
Approx 30 families in Bordesley Green were relocated to temporary shelters, local red cross provided food, water
Approx 200 people accessed mental health services in the immediate aftermath
200 volunteers participated in debris clearance
Longer term:
Birmingham City council provided emergency grants/business loans totalling around £1.5 million
factors affecting impacts of tornado, birmingham and success of management?
Size: F2 intensity caused moderate damage but size of the path (1.5 miles long) meant relatively **large area affected **
Time of day: afternoon meant more people were exposed as out and about but emergency response teams able to react quickly as visibility was good
Population density: areas such asBordesley Green and Sparkbrook densely populated: urban vs rural impacts
Preparedness: don’t occur often so no tornado warning in place, so little time to prepare
Effectiveness?:
Strengths:
- Rapid deployment of emergency services: more than 100 workers on ground within first half-hour
- Good coordination between agencies meant shelters set up quickly/efficiently
- Support for businesses enabled quicker economic recovery
Weaknesses:
- Lack of preparedness: no early warning system, so no time to prepare
- Limited impact on vulnerable groups where help took longer
- Extended power outages of up to 4-5 days, impact on recovery efforts
