Case studies

Question 1

Name one range of fold mountains in Europe

Answer 1

The Alps, which are in France, Switzerland, Italy and several other countries

Question 2

In which Asian country is Sichuan Province?

Answer 2

China

Question 3

How big was the Kobe Earthquake which happened on the 17th January 1995

Answer 3

7.2

Question 4

Which four US states does Yellowstone straddle?

Answer 4

Montana, Wyoming, Washington, Idaho

Question 5

To be classified as a super volcano, a volcano must emit how much material?

Answer 5

1000 cubic kilometres

Question 6

When did the Sichuan earthquake occur?

Answer 6

12th May 2008

Question 7

Give three likely effects of a super volcanic eruption in the USA

Answer 7

• 10 to 15cm of ash would fall over the whole of the USA
• People would die as buildings collapse and
• People would die as a result of pyroclastic flows and breathing in the ash which makes a cement in the lungs

Question 8

How many people died in the Boxing Day tsunami, 2004?

Answer 8

220,000

Question 9

How many countries saw deaths occur as a result of the tsunami which happened on 26th December 2004?

Answer 9

12

Question 10

What are the four main uses of fold mountains?

Answer 10

Farming, forestry, HEP and tourism

Question 11

Where did 69,000 people die?

Answer 11

Sichuan earthquake 2008

Question 12

How many people were made homeless by the Kobe earthquake?

Answer 12

3,000

Question 13

Why was it important to rebuild mangrove swamps as a long term response to the tsunami?

Answer 13

They are an important fish habitat which would help the main industry of fishing to recover

Question 14

How were the Alps formed?

Answer 14

The collision between the Eurasian and African plates

Question 15

Where is the volcanic island of Montserrat?

Answer 15

In the Caribbean

Question 16

At what time did the earthquake in Kobe strike and why might this have reduced the death toll?

Answer 16

People were in bed at 5.46AM

Question 17

How many people died in Montserrat when the Soufriere Hills volcano erupted?

Answer 17

19

Question 18

Why didn’t more people die during the Montserrat eruption?

Answer 18

A staggered evacuation from the South towards the North of the island was carried out, with people leaving the island via a temporary port at Little Bay, once the airport had been shut

Question 19

Three short term responses to the Boxing day tsunami

Answer 19

Refugee camps were set up.
Dead bodies were bulldozed into mass graves to stop disease spreading.
Temporary hospitals to help the injured.

Question 20

Three long term responses to the tsunami in 2004?

Answer 20

Early Warning system set up in the Indian Ocean to give warning of future tsunami.
£7 billion donated to help survivors and rebuild the coastal towns.
Restore mangrove swamps to enable fish to breed and help the fishing industry recover.

Question 21

Which tectonic event registered a higher reading on the Richter scale:

a) Sichuan Earthquake 2008?
b) Boxing Day tsunami 2004?

Answer 21

Sichuan registered 7.9 whilst the tsunami was triggered by an earthquake measuring between 8.9 and 9.3 (depending on the source!)

Question 22

Why was the Sichuan earthquake so controversial?

Answer 22

Schools which collapsed had reportedly been reinforced but this was clearly not the case: in one school, over 900 pupils were crushed to death.
It took 30 hours for the Chinese army to reach some areas, which raised the death toll.
The Chinese government refused international assistance to begin with.

Question 23

What was the financial cost of:

a) the Kobe earthquake?
b) the Sichuan earthquake?

Answer 23

a) $220 billion dollars

b) $10 million dollars