Examples

Question 1

Palma

Answer 1

2021, canary islands
effusive volcanic eruption
no deaths but 1 billion euro in losses
fast evacuation

Question 2

Kobe vs Haiti

Answer 2

Kobe (1995) vs Haiti (2010)
both earthquakes same size, depth and location from affected cities
Haiti death rate 17 times that of Kobe
consequence of no risk mitigation
aid workers brought cholera = secondary effect
Kobe: motorway collapsed due to building codes not being followed
gas lines weren’t switched off in time

Question 3

Sumatra

Answer 3

2004, Indian Ocean
M9.15 earthquake at subduction zone triggered large tsunami
185,000-230,000
affected 14 countries
no tsunami warning place (pacific tsunami warning center had no jurisdiction)
thailand had 2 hours between earthquake and tsunami
football pitches on high ground

Question 4

Mount Tambor

Answer 4

Indonesia, 1815
volcanic eruption affected global climate
1816 known as year with no summer

Question 5

Nevado del Ruiz

Answer 5

Colombia, 1985
lahar triggered by volcanic eruption
23,000 killed in armero
town built on past lahar deposits
scientists recorded precursors but didn’t interpret in time
eruption from volcano was overdue

Question 6

Nevado del Huila

Answer 6

Colombia, 2008
scientists predicted volcanic eruption from seismic data
evacuated town of Belalcazar (population of 5,000)
town hit by giant lahar
shows people can learn and adapt

Question 7

Europe

Answer 7

2021
floods due to heavy rain in western and central europe
242 deaths with 184 in germany
result of poor communication system

Question 8

Ethiopia

Answer 8

1980s
followed drought in 1970s = population already vulnerable
impacted crops and exacerbated by conflict leading to major famine
economy and society heavily dependent on agriculture
1.2 million deaths
raised international awareness

Question 9

L’Aquila

Answer 9

Italy, 2009
tremors recorded in months and days leading up to M6.3 earthquake
scientists issued no warning and reassured public
300 died
scientists almost sent to jail
led to scientists scared to speak out
balance between false alarms and enough information

Question 10

Bangladesh

Answer 10

millions of people died from cyclones in 1970s
led to cyclone preparedness programme
volunteers trained to raise awareness and disseminate warnings and evacuation procedures
built cyclone shelters on stilts
massively reduced death toll in developing country

Question 11

Tohoku

Answer 11

Japan, 2011
M9.1 earthquake generated by a tsunami
land subsided by 0.5m leading to a failure of sea walls
vertical evacuation structures also failed
people didn’t evacuate due to false sense of security
okawa school: same warning for landslides and tsunamis (75 children and 10 teachers dead)
Fukashima plant built on past evidence of tsunami
most expensive natural disaster in world history

Question 12

Iceland

Answer 12

2010
volcanic eruption
closed airspace in europe and north atlantic for 6 days
cost £1.3-2.2 billion
what is safe level of ash?
social and economic drivers heavily influenced safe level

Question 13

Nevado del Huascaran

Answer 13

1970. debris avalanche killed 18,000 in Yungay Peru
      near miss of an earlier landslide in 1962, need to look at history to predict future
      peruvian government does now not permit the settling of towns in dangerous areas