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AQA A-Level Physical Geography > 🌋Case Study - Caracas Local Hazards > Flashcards

🌋Case Study - Caracas Local Hazards Flashcards

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1
Q

Where is Caracas?

A

Venezuela

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2
Q

How does infrastructure make Caracas vulnerable?

A

Infrastructure is poor and run across seismic faults

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3
Q

How many main water pipes run across a seismic fault?

A

3

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4
Q

How many people live per km2 in barrios?

A

25,000/km2

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5
Q

How is the population of the city growing?

A

Rapidly, 3.1% per year

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6
Q

Why may the main bridge have to be rebuilt?

A

Due to a slip in the plates

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7
Q

What is a major inequality in Caracas?

A

Economic, unequal wealth

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8
Q

Is there any planning around hazards in the city?

A

No, and none in the country as a whole

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9
Q

What is the issue with the government in Caracas?

A

There is a lack of stability

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10
Q

What hazards is Caracas exposed to?

A

Tropical storms
Earthquakes
Drought
Sea level rise
Landslide/rockfalls

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11
Q

What are social class divisions reflected by?

A

The occupancy of residential areas

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12
Q

How did members of the upper class gain wealth?

A

Through sale of land and real estate

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13
Q

Where do the upper class live?

A

On the Eastern margins of the valley and the Caribbean coast

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14
Q

What do the upper class homes avoid?

A

Landslide and earthquake risk

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15
Q

Where do lower class people live?

A

In hillside shanty towns overlooking the West and South

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16
Q

How do building regulations differ between the city centre and shanty towns?

A

On the hillside there are no building regulations and no means of escape, everything would be destroyed. In city centre, international building regulations and flat land provides safety

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17
Q

What is high in Caracas?

A

Unemployment

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18
Q

What percentage of Venezuela’s GDP is based on oil sales?

A

50%

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19
Q

What has the city focused its service in?

A

Banks, NGOs and shops

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20
Q

How do planned responses vary around the city?

A

Each company has its own individual planned responses, rather than city wide, common plans

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21
Q

What are the areas most at risk in Caracas?

A

Transportation and utilities as well as squatter settlements

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22
Q

Which university recently developed a framework plan for building disaster resilience?

A

Columbia Univeristy

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23
Q

What are the immediate disaster avoidance goals?

A

Strengthening critical infrastructure, housing stock and emergency services

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24
Q

What are the more intermediate goals?

A

Upgrading fragile housing units, creating detailed hazard maps and incorporating disaster education into cultural activities

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25
Q

What are the long term goals?

A

A fully redundant transport and water delivery framework, establishing legitimate land title for squatters and re-locating critical facilities

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26
Q

Which plate boundary is Caracas located on?

A

The South American and Caribbean boundary

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27
Q

At what rate are the plates moving?

A

2cm/year

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28
Q

How is flooding risk increased by the environment?

A

The steep slopes of the valley decrease movement time of run off

29
Q

How could Caracas be cut off from the rest of the world in a major event?

A

If the single highway that links it to the airport and seaport is damaged. It is located in steep, landslide prone valleys.

30
Q

What is the preferred hazard response by the government?

A

Risk zoning, due to lack of funds

31
Q

Why is the city prone to landslides?

A

It is at the base of a valley, and tropical storms or tectonic activity can cause them

32
Q

Why is the city prone to liquefaction?

A

Alluvial fans make up the valley floor, which are prone to liquefaction

33
Q

What type of view do residents of the barrios have?

A

Fatalistic

34
Q

Why do different groups respond to hazards in different ways?

A

Due to a lack of equality in the city

35
Q

How are residents instructed to build their homes?

A

To orientate them parallel to any debris flows so to minimise the amount of material hitting the building

36
Q

How are the streets laid out?

A

In a parallel pattern

37
Q

GDP?

A

$17,000

38
Q

Venezuela is the _______ wealthiest country

How it the wealth distributed?

A

70th

Uneven

39
Q

Social: Where do the wealthy build their homes?

A

Away from earthquake prone areas
Built to international building standards

40
Q

Social: Where do the middle class build their homes?

A

City centre
Mainly flat- deepest part of the basin = most shaking
Mainly apartments- high population density

41
Q

Social: Where do the poor build homes?

A

Hillsides
Landslides + flooding
Shanty towns (barrios)

42
Q

Social: How much of the city’s water is from 3 pipes?
How much is stored in the city?

A

95%
1 days supply in the city

43
Q

Economic: Why does the building quality vary?

A

Wealth varies
50% of economy is oil
Most of the rest is services- low paid

44
Q

Economic: How close is the bridge that connects Caracas to its sea and airports from collapsing?
Problems this would create?

A

23cm
Transport and commerce gone

45
Q

Political: What has allowed squatters to build shanti towns?

A

Lack of building codes
Lack of regulation

46
Q

Political: How long does the transport minister stay on average?
Problems with this?

A

6 months
Doesn’t stay long enough to do anything

47
Q

Community responses to the risk?

A

Build in different areas
Government doesn’t have money to implement building codes

48
Q

Local government response to risk?

A

Told to organise and plan disaster management plan- more coordinated and effective response
Include military, NGOs, public

49
Q

Why is the local government disaster management plan unlikely to work?

A

Faces strong opposition from parties involved
So they won’t agree

50
Q

Recommended that slums residents are educated in ….

A

Safer building techniques

51
Q

What is the boundary like?

A

Situated on boundary of Caribbean and South American plates with faults running through the city and under the main airport.

52
Q

When was the last major earthquake and how many did it kill?

A

In 1967 (mag 6.5) and killed over 300 people

53
Q

What makes up much of the basin’s floor and what does this mean/

A

Alluvial fans. These are prone to liquefaction during earthquakes

54
Q

Slope angles

A

Regularly exceed 80% making landslides and runoff major hazards in the Caracas basin

55
Q

Where is the safest and therefore most valuable land ?

A

On the valley floor

56
Q

What are the buildings of the wealthy like?

A

Many have earthquake resistant technologies such as using triangular steel reinforcement of shock absorbing foundations

57
Q

How are the valley floor buildings spaced?

A

Widely spaced to enable easy evacuation

58
Q

Issue with the water supply

A

All 3 supply lines cross major faults which could be lost in a disaster

59
Q

Issue with the main road access to the airport and sea port

A

Crosses a fault as well as using a large bridge which is at risk of landslides

60
Q

What is the Venezuelan economy based on?

A

Oil

61
Q

Issues with being a service focussed economy regarding hazard response

A

Each organisation/service often plans its own response rather than following an organised city wide plan

62
Q

What is the government like?

A

Democratic and relatively stable for South American standards

63
Q

What has the high crime rate done?

A

Moved government focus away from hazard prevention

64
Q

Why don’t slum dwellers care about what the government say?

A

Don’t have an address so don’t vote

65
Q

What is the preferred method of management?

A

Risk zoning - Designating certain high risk areas of the steep valley sides as ‘no build zones

66
Q

Issue with risk zoning

A

Limited by weak governance and the fact that most of the barrios (shanty towns) are constructed illegally

67
Q

Who do the wealthy residents employ to build their offices?

A

Western builders to adhere to western building codes which are stricter

68
Q

Who do the government fund?

A

Research bodies such as the Venezuelan foundation for seismological research

AQA A-Level Physical Geography (28 decks)

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