Case Study Earthquakes (Kashmir, Christchurch, Japan) Flashcards
Prediction for the Kashmir earthquake?
No extensive monitoring of seismic activity
- earthquake struck without warning
Preparation for the Kashmir earthquake?
- As a developing country, its building materials and technology are poor
- Buildings easily destroyed (made of wood, cement)
- No building laws, so they weren’t reinforced stably, making them extremely vulnerable
- Poor communication networks makes it difficult to alert the population
Long-Term planning for the Kashmir earthquake?
- Poor, remote settlements with few roads and communications: difficult evacuations
- No education programme for teaching people what to do
- Poor quality building materials
- Fault lines in Himalayas poorly monitored, so it was unpredicted
Primary Impacts of Kashmir earthquake?
- Caused around 80,000 deaths
- Tens of thousands injured
- Hundreds of thousands of buildings damaged or destroyed
- Around 3 million people made homeless
- Water pipelines and electricity lines were broken
Secondary Impacts of Kashmir earthquake?
- Landslides buried buildings and people, blocked roads
- Diarrhoea and other diseases spread due to lack of clean water
- Freezing winter conditions shortly after caused more casualties and meant rescue was difficult
Short-Term relief for Kashmir?
Slow
- Pakistani army was initially slow to respond to the disaster
- Help from India was refused due to political tensions
- Tents, blankets and medical supplies were distributed, although it took a long time to reach areas
Factors making Kashmir vulnerable
- Located on a collision plate boundary
- Poor remote settlements
- Steep mountainsides prone to landslides
- Poor diplomatic relations
- Developing place
Primary Impacts of Christchurch earthquake?
- 185 killed (mainly from buildings collapsing)
- 100,000 buildings damaged
- Over 3,000 people injured
- Power supply cut off
Secondary Impacts of Christchurch earthquake?
- Significant liquefaction leading to loss of infrastructure
- Large impact on transport networks
- Schools had to amalgamate
- Loss of tourism and finance
Short-Term Relief for Christchurch earthquake?
- Rescue crews from around the world helped within 12 hrs (Japan, USA, UK)
- Aid money poured in - Australia gave $5 million
- Chemical toilets provided for residents (5,000)
- Isolation tents to prevent gastroenteritis
- Power restored within 2.5 days
- Call centre took 73,000 calls from evacuees
Long-Term Planning for Christchurch?
- Significant seismic focus on newer buildings - strong materials
- Good geopolitical relations with other governments
- Trained emergency services are able to rescue people
- People are educated and know what to do in case of an earthquake
- Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority created and helped rebuild the region
Prediction for the Christchurch earthquake?
Despite experiencing regular earthquakes, this one struck without warning
No evacuation prior to the earthquake, however emergency services helped evacuations after the first strike
Why was the Christchurch earthquake particularly devastating?
The Earthquake epicentre was 5km from the city and 10km deep
Why did so many buildings get destroyed in Christchurch despite their frequent earthquakes?
Older buildings constructed in the mid 20th century were more vulnerable as they did not include the strict seismic regulations
Newer buildings are monitored for seismic protection with stronger materials to reduce the vulnerability
Prediction for Tohoku? (Japan)
- The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and local governments monitor seismic activity
- If an earthquake is detected, people are warned immediately
Preparation for Tohoku (Japan)
- Strict building laws help prevent major damage during an earthquake
- Buildings are reinforced with steel frames to prevent them from collapsing
- High-rise buildings have deep foundations with shock absorbers to reduce vibrations
- High-speed bullet trains automatically brake in the event of an earthquake - derailing
- Automatic alarms stop mechanical equipment to alert workers and prevent injuries
Long-Term Planning for Tohoku? (Japan)
- The population is educated on being prepared for earthquakes
- Schools carry out drills to teach children what to do in the event of an earthquake
- People living in coastal communities practise getting to higher ground or bunkers
Facts about Tohoku? (Japan)
- Struck NE Japan
- Measured 9.0 on the moment-magnitude scale
- Triggered a tsunami that overwhelmed coastal regions
- Scientists had predicted a much smaller earthquake
Primary Impacts of Tohoku?
- Thousands of buildings were damaged
- Caused severe liquefaction, causing buildings to sink and tilt
Liquefaction: when waterlogged soil behaves like a liquid
Secondary impacts of Tohoku? (Japan)
- Triggered a tsunami, killing 1,000’s of people
- 100,000’s of buildings completely destroyed
- Over 230,000 people made homeless
- Tsunami cut off power supplies to the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing a meltdown
- Road and rail networks suffered severe damage
Short-Term Relief for Tohoku? (Japan)
- International aid and search and rescue teams were brought in
- Rescue workers and soldiers sent to help deal with the aftermath
- Transport and communications were restored a couple of weeks after the earthquake
- Power supplies were also restored in the following weeks
Effects of Long-Term Planning in Japan?
- Japanese gave an advance warning of the earthquake and tsunami, giving people time to evacuate and get to higher ground
- In Tokyo, not a single building collapsed due to building design
- Nobody died on the bullet train network due to the automatic braking system
