Enquiry Question 3 : How successful is the management of tectonic hazards and disasters? Flashcards
How have trends in hazardous events (deaths, population growth, infrastructure changes, preparedness) occurred overtime? e.g. less deaths, more floods, etc… (4+1)
-Improvements in monitoring/recording events, has contributed to a rise in reported events
-Improvements in communications technology
-The global population has increased
-An increase in occupied living space
+An increase in concrete/impermeable building materials
In 2011, what disaster did the world watch live coverage of?
Tohoku (earthquake) and tsunami
How many people were there in the world in 1960?
Less than 3 billion
Explain data sources: BBC News, social media. Are they reliable?
- BBC News - independent, newspapers are heavily biased
- Social media - less reliable as extra information could be added that is false, can’t fact-check everything
Factors affecting data reliability (5)
- Differences in the definition of some key terms (‘disaster’, ‘damage’)
- When a disaster strikes, the immediate focus is rescue efforts
- No single organisation is responsible for collecting data, therefore methods may vary
- Remote areas affected can be difficult to access, therefore deaths and damage could be under-reported
- Declaration of disaster deaths/injuries may be subject to political bias - e.g. the impact of the 2004 Boxing dat tsunami were later downplayed by the Thai government for fear it would affect the tourist industry
What is a tectonic mega-disaster?
Usually large scale disasters (spatially or economic/social impacts), pose serious problems for effective management to minimise their impacts, scale many mean that communities (and governments) will require international support both instantly and in the long-term aftermath
Japan (2011) regional impact facts (3+knock-on effects)
-Nuclear power stations close to the epicentre were shut down
-44 nuclear reactors closed down
-Due to inactive nuclear reactors, Japan started importing more fossil fuels…
•Electricity prices rose by 20%
•Government debt rose
•Greenhouse gas emissions increased
Japan (2011) global impact facts (2+1 knock-on effect)
-Started importing fossil fuels from other countries:
•Led to an increased demand for natural gas, which also increased prices
-Events in Fukushima led Germany to permanently shut down all of its nuclear plants
Iceland regional impact facts (3)
- Ash plume spread over Iceland, reducing air quality
- More than 100,000 flights were cancelled
- No direct deaths
Iceland global impact facts (3+1 knock-on effect)
-Impacted many countries, including Italy
-More than 100,000 flights were cancelled..
•This affected imports/exports all over Europe
-African countries many have lost US$65 million due to airspace shutdown on perishable exports
What is a multiple-hazard zone/disaster hotspot?
Places where a number of physical hazards combine to create an increased level of risk for the country and its population
Examples of multiple-hazard zones?
- Indonesia
- Philippines
- Japan
- India
- Caribbean countries
What are hydro-meteorological hazards?
Weather hazards = hurricanes, tornadoes, intense rainfall, etc…
Location of the Philippines
- South-East Asia
- In the Pacific Ring of Fire
- Its location makes it particularly vulnerable to hazards as it is on a fault line, meaning its susceptible to earthquakes, etc…
What makes the Philippines particularly vulnerable? (8)
- Poverty
- Very isolated
- Coastal settlements
- Rivers prevent communication
- Frequent storms
- Poor education
- Poor infrastructure
- ‘Power is in the hands of the few’ - government control a lot of land
How many islands make up the Philippines/
7107
Difference between prediction and forecasting?
- Prediction is stating when a hazard is going to take place
- Forecasting is giving a timeframe of when a hazard could happen (e.g. years to decades)
Earthquake - hazard prediction and forecasting (long answer)
- This is based on a statistical likelihood of an event happening at a particular location
- These forecasts are based on data and evidence gathered through global seismic monitoring networks, as well as historical records
- Warning signs (precursors) are used which can identify a characteristic pattern of seismic activity (foreshocks) or some other physical, chemical or biological change (such as animal behaviors of changes in radon emissions)
- For predictions to be useful - this is, to enable evacuation of affected areas - they must be highly accurate, both spatially, and temporally. This at present is impossible and many geoscientists do not believe that there is a realistic prospect of this happening in the foreseeable future
Volcanoes - hazard prediction and forecasting (long answer)
-Can be predicted with some accuracy
-By placing equipment on a volcano as well as using remote equipment (such as GPS and satellite-based radar), scientists can monitor a volcano for signs that it might erupt, such as:
•Small earthquakes - rising magma breaks rock, causing small quakes
•Changes of the shape of the surface - as it pushes upwards, the magma builds pressure causing the surface to swell
•Changes to the ‘tilt’ of the volcano - magma movement inside the volcano can change the slope angle or tilt
-Despite this accuracy, predictions aren’t 100% correct and not all volcanoes around the world are monitored
Despite its inaccuracies, why is forecasting important?
It can encourage governments to enforce better building regulations in areas of high stress or create improved evacuation procedures in areas of highest risk
Management techniques that were used in Japan (7)
- Strict building regulations (low levels of corruption)
- Offices/homes equipped with emergency kits
- Early warning systems in place
- Emergency drills practiced in schools and businesses
- Quick response - troops mobilised within 24 hours
- Radio and TV switched to official earthquake coverage
- Help quickly accepted from international rescue and recovery teams
Issue that was ignored in Japan that increased the level of impact
-Lack of preparation at the Fukushima nuclear power plant - resulted in severe damage and the release of dangerous levels of radiation
Management techniques that were used in China (4)
- Quick response - soldiers and relief workers sent to affected areas
- Medical services quickly restored
- US$10 billion pledged for rebuilding
- Within two weeks, temporary homes, roads and bridges had been built
Issues that were ignored in China that increased the level of impact (2)
- Lack of building regulations - resulted in lots of building being damaged or destroyed
- Several days worth of delays with acceptance meant international rescue teams weren’t allowed to enter the country
Management technique that was used in Haiti
None from the government (due to its corruption) - relied heavily on international help
Issues that were ignored in Haiti that increased the level of impact (2)
- Lack of investment in infrastructure and lack of building regulations - poor quality buildings couldn’t withstand shaking
- Lack of investments in living standards and disaster planning - high levels of poverty and a lack of resources in the community
Management technique that was used in Nepal
None from the government - relied heavily on international help
Issues that were ignored in Nepal that increased the level of impact
- Lack of investment in hazard preparation (due to having a very low GDP)
- Weak infrastructure - led to roads, bridges and safe water supplies being damaged or destroyed
- Lack of coping strategies - led to Nepal’s emergency services not being able to cope
In 2016, where was Nepal ranked in terms of GDP per capita?
197th, this makes it an extremely poor country
Name the 4 stages of the hazard management cycle
- Mitigation - preventing hazard events or minimising their effects
- Preparedness - preparing to deal with a hazard event
- Response - responding effectively to a hazard event
- Recovery - getting back to normal
Why might planning (for an event) not always work?
- The event is bigger than anticipated
- Unexpected secondary impact
- Regulations are ignored (e.g. corruption in China)
- Other hazards interfere (multiple hazard zone)
How does Park’s model help us to understand disaster impact?
- Shows a country’s resilience to a disaster (how effective government’s response is)
- Shows long and short term impacts of the disaster
- It can be used to directly compare how areas at different levels of development might recover from a hazard event
What are the timescales along the x-axis of the Park’s model? (4)
- Pre-disaster
- Relief (hours-days)
- Rehabilitation (days-weeks)
- Reconstruction (weeks-years)
What is hazard mitigation?
Strategies meant to avoid, delay or prevent hazard events
What is hazard adaption?
Strategies designed to reduce the impacts of hazard event
