Earthquake case studies

Question 1

Haiti, Caribbean

Answer 1

• 2010
• M7.0
• 310,000 dead, 280,000 buildings destroyed
• N.American plate sliding past Caribbean (conservative)
• Shallow focus(5 miles)&raquo_space; P & S waves more concentrated&raquo_space; more vibration
• Epicentre only 16 miles from Port-au-Prince
• Shaking lasted 35-40s
• Airport, 50+ hospitals, 1300+ schools damaged
• Lack of planning & immediate aid(port damaged)
• 98% of rubble remained after 1 year
• $100m aid from USA, $330m from EU
• Cholera outbreak lasted years (820,000 cases 2010-2019) after none in century before quake

Question 2

Tohoku, Japan

Answer 2

• 2011
• M9.0
• 20,000 dead
• Pacific subducted under Eurasian (destructive)
• Wave up to 40m in height surged 10km inland
• Costliest disaster in history, up to $360bn
• Meltdown of 3 reactors at Fukishima nuclear power plant&raquo_space; toxic mateirals in the air&raquo_space; 20 mile evac zone
• 75% of Japans buildings constructed with earthquakes in mind
• 110,000 troops mobilised within 24 hr
• Tsunami barriers raised from 12 to 18m
• SMS warning sent to entire population within 2 mins
• Majority of deaths were old people who struggled to evacuate
• Much of the important infrastructure such as Sendai Airport, Tohoku Expressway etc repaired within weeks of disaster

Question 3

Istanbul Earthquake Master Plan

Answer 3

• Istanbul at highest risk from tectonic disaster itw
• Plan: quake stations, studies on geology, emergency transport plan (72 helicopters), international meetings for potential aid, retrofitting infrastructure
• 5000 volunteers trained w first aid
• $15m to modernise fire service
• 40% of Turkey’s homeowners have quake insurance
• Predicted multiple scenarios, some up to 90k death toll
• 2 response centres built

Question 4

Loma Prieta, California

Answer 4

• 1989
• M6.9
• San Andreas Fault (conservative)
• 63 dead
• 30 fires due to burst pipelines
• Collapse of Cyprus Freeway killed 42
• Many more would have been killed if it weren’t for the baseball game in quake proof stadium
• Bay area most damaged due to liquefaction of reclaimed land
• Cyprus Freeway rebuilt with quakes in mind
• $3bn aid from US gov & private investment

Question 5

Great Kanto Earthquake, Japan

Answer 5

• 1923
• M8.3
• 140,000 killed
• Fires due to pipeline damage coincided with typhoon causing fire storms&raquo_space; 90% of destruction done by fire
• Ethnic Koreans accused of looting&raquo_space; up to 10,000 killed by citizens
• Plan to rebuild city with safer open spaces etc but rebuild limited by WW2

Question 6

Kobe, Japan

Answer 6

• 1995
• M6.9
• 6,500 dead, 300,000 homeless
• No warning/evacuation
• Phillipine & Eurasian plate boudary (destructive)
• Nothing in or out of Kobe for 3 days due to infrastructure damage
• Liquefaction in reclaimed land (shaking lasted 20s on normal land, up to 2 minutes on reclaimed)
• $100bn in damage
• Very quick to recover
• After 1 year, 80% of ports functional
• New building laws in place

Question 7

Indian ocean tsunami

Answer 7

• 2004
• M9.0
• Approx. 250,000 dead
• Indo-Australian plate subducts under Burma microplate (destructive)
• 20m uplift of sea floor&raquo_space; mass displacement of water
• Sumatra had 15 mins, Thailand 90 mins, Sri Lanka 2hr, Maldives 3.5hr , Somalia 7hr
• Up to 500mph speed
• Spread of cholera estimated to have killed 150,000
• Hotels behind mangroves significantly less damaged
• Rising of land by 1.5m killed significant proportion of coral
• Low lying islands e.g. Maldives left inhabitable
• Over $7bn provided by govs & NGOs
• Tsunami early warning system installed at cost of $20m

Question 8

Sichuan, China

Answer 8

• 2008
• M7.9
• 87,000 killed
• Indian plate colliding with Eurasian (destructive)
• $190bn cost (2nd costliest ever)
• Epicentre 50 miles from provincial capital, Chengdu
• 100 schools collapsed killing 10,000 pupils
• 391 dams damaged
• Central gov acted quick & effective: 13,000 rescue workers within hours, those in danger of more landslides relocated, temp homes within 2 weeks
• Gov saw as an opportunity to build from scratch

Question 9

L’Aquila, Italy

Answer 9

• 2009 (3:32 AM)
• M6.3
• 309 dead
• No prediction despite several foreshocks&raquo_space; 6 scientists found guilty of manslaughter
• Historic buildings not quake proof&raquo_space; significantly damaged
• Number of aftershocks increased damage
• Economic damage to city&raquo_space; University population decreased, property price increased due to decreased supply
• New ‘earthquake proof’ wing of hospital collapsed
• $550m EU aid
• Taxes lifted for residents in 2010
• Uni students given free transport, updated equipment, exemption from fees for 3 years
• Study in 2013 shows there were a nuumner of magnetic pulses 3-6 days prior to quake

Question 10

Nepal

Answer 10

• 2015
• M7.9
• Indian plate subsides below Eurasian (destructive)
• Almost 9,000 dead, 3m homeless
• Epicentre 60km from Kathmandu
• Low temperatures made it almost unbearable in unheated tents
• Economic loss of 9-50% of GDP
• 17 killed by avalanche at Everest base camp
• $1bn aid from India & China
• Over 100 search & rescue responders from UK

Question 11

Alaska

Answer 11

• 1964
• M9.2 (most powerful ever in N.America)
• 131 deaths (9 from quake, 122 from subsequent tsunami)
• $790m damage
• Pacific subsides under N.American (destructive)
• Buildings in Anchorage not designed w quakes in mind
• 8.2m tsunami
• Very limited resources to deal & experience to deal w quake
• US Navy & Coastguard deployed
• Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre set up