Case Studies Flashcards
Hurricane Matthew
Haiti
3rd-5th October 2016
Category: 4
Deaths: >1,000
Cost: $1bn
Prediction and Preparation:
* Evacuations for high risk areas
* Poor rural areas didn’t get warnings
* Poor infrastructure (low quality mud roads damaged by rainfall) prevented effective evacuation
* Has been hit by earthquakes, drought, famine and hurricanes in the last ten years. It keeps
struggling to repair the damage before the next disaster hits
* Cholera epidemic due to lack of clean water
* 30,000 houses destroyed
* Long term unemployment
* Massive loss of trade in exports
* Storm wiped out crops
* Government very slow to respond
* Most rescue was by charity NGOs
Hurricane Matthew
Florida (US)
6th-9th October 2016
Category: 3
Deaths: 33
Cost: $4-6bn
* National Hurricane Centre in Florida tracks and predicts hurricanes using satellites
* Early warnings went out on radio and TV
* Residents stocked up on food, water and petrol
* Houses were improved with shutters and plywood boards
* Mass evacuations of coastal areas
* Traffic re-routed by army to allow people to escape
* Storm surge broke through some levees to flood many homes
* 600,000 people without power for a few days to a week
* 15,000 emergency people sent to respond
* 10,000 homes destroyed
* Businesses closed for weeks
* Obama released billions of $ that USA keep for disasters
* Helicopters used to get into more difficult locations
Earthquake
Haiti
12th January 2010
- 316,00 people killed
- 300,000 injured
- 1.3 million people displaced
- 8 hospitals and healthcare centres
in the capital collapsed - Presidential palace collapsed
- Shipping port and airport badly damaged
- Roads blocked by falling buildings - aid was difficult to bring in
- US$11.5 billion worth of damage
- Over 2 million people had no clean water or food
- Looting became a serious problem
- Outbreaks of diseases like Cholera
due to lack of sanitation – outbreak killed 8000 people - Homeless people had to live in
temporary shelters and tents - Tourist industry declined
- Frequent power cuts
- 1 in 5 jobs lost as Haiti’s clothing
factories were destroyed - made up 60% of exports - EU gave £3million in emergency aid
- EU gave 1,000s of military personnel
Earthquake
Japan
11 March 2011
- Thousands of buildings damaged
- Earthquake caused liquefaction causing buildings to sink into the ground
- 1 dam collapsed
- 2 nuclear power plants fractured and
an oil refinery set on fire by damaged gas pipes - US$235 billion worth of damage
- Earthquake trigged a tsumani, which
killed 15,900 people - 2,600 people missing
- 350,000 made homeless
- 93% of deaths caused by drowning
- Tsunami cut of power supplies to the Power Plant causing a melt down
- Road and rail networks suffered damage; railway tracks were washed away and the
motorway was badly damaged - Transport and communication restored after 2 weeks
