case studies : excl. megadisasters

Question 1

Haiti earthquake (2010, developing)

Answer 1

-7.0m earthquake and 52 aftershocks
-killed 250,000 people
-located on complex fault
what made it so devasting?
-high frequency of destructive earthquakes- had a lot leading up to 2010: not enough time to recover
-shortage of healthcare workers and facilities
-unstable government
-country in huge debt, originating form french colonialism
-poor infrastructure
-vulnerable slums in Port au Prince (86% of PPs population lived in slums) : built on slopes (topography) landslides destroyed them: caused by rapid urbanisation: talk about Bill Clinton! (US rice outcompeting home produce putting local farmers out of work) link to economic governance!
-high unemployment rate (90%!)
-no organised response- very chaotic took aid a long time to reach Haiti
-long term effects: cholera outbreak

Question 2

Sichuan earthquake (2008, emerging)

Answer 2

-7.9m earthquake and 420,000 aftershocks
-69,000 deaths
-caused by convergence of the two plates leading to uplift
what made it so devastating?
-mountainous region (topography): hard for transport access to reach for aid
-landslides caused by deforestation
-politically one child policy made the social affects so much more devastating:
7000 school rooms collapsed- loss of one child, no other children left.
-corrupt local government? cutting corners on building regulations led to schools not following seismic building code.
-transport access cut off by landslide and building collapse
-people were unprepared

Question 3

Japan earthquake, tsunami (2011, developed)

Answer 3

-9.0m earthquake, 1235 aftershocks
-high frequency: 2 high magnitude earthquakes 2 days apart
-20,000 deaths: most deaths and damage because of resulting tsunami
-130,000 total building collapse
-tsunamis: 40m high max
capacity to cope?
-40% of Japans coast has seawalls of up to 10m high
-good warning system- message sent out on mobile network: predicted tsunami 3 minutes after earthquake giving people 20 mins to get to safety BUT many people did not react quickly enough
-buildings are designed to cope with earthquakes
what made it vulnerable?
-coastline: majority of people live on coast of Japan due to its physical geography (mountainous spine: thin coastal strip) which exposes high numbers of people to hazards of the tsunami.

Question 4

Amatrice, Italy earthquake (2008, developed)

Answer 4

100 deaths
despite being a developed country with strict building codes, these were not followed resulting in lots of building collapse
why?
-corruption in local government and mafia involvement: buildings weren’t built to code as mafia was allowed to build local building eg schools cutting corners to save money. these buildings also weren’t checked properly failing to meet codes

Question 5

Montserrat, volcano (1995-7, developing)

Answer 5

19 people killed as small number of people chose to stay behind and watch their crops.
hazards:
-pyroclastic flows
-lahars destroyed large areas covering the capital Plymouth in layers of ash and mud incl. airport
-volcano active for easy 5 years
vulnerability:
-small isolated island
-capital too close to hazards
-one airport- only one way out
-one hospital- low doctor:patient ratio
capacity to cope:
-is a British overseas territory
-had support of well developed wealthy country: UK
-knew and spotted early warning signs
-evacuation strategies were effective and efficient: population was evacuated with military support

Question 6

other volcano case studies

Answer 6

1. Nyiragongo 2002: composite but on a hotspot, makes it deadly: runny lava running down steep slopes.
   VEI of 1, 147 deaths
2. Mt Pinatubo 1991: composite, pyroclastic flows and lahars.
   VEI of 6, 1000 deaths