HAZARDS Flashcards
what is a MHZ?
multiple hazard zone
- where a country or region suffers two or more hazard types
what is an example of an MHZ?
the Philippines
what hazards does the Philippines face?
- volcanic eruptions
- tropical storms
- earthquakes
what is an archipelago?
a group of islands
e.g. the Philippines
What does the mercalli scale measure?
- the intensity of damage caused by an earthquake
Where is the Philippines located?
It is an island arc in South East Asia, located 5-10 degrees north of the equator
what plate margin does the Philippines lie on?
Destructive plate margin between the Eurasian and Philippine plate
Why is the Philippines a MHZ?
- it lies on a cyclone belt
- intense monsoon climate
- vulnerable to tsunamis, earthquakes and typhoons
Why is the Philippines vulnerable to tsunamis?
it has a high population density along its coastline
When did Mt Nyiragongo erupt?
17th January 2002
Where is Mt Nyiragongo?
the Democratic Republic of Congo
Why did people live near Mt Nyiragongo, and how many?
- fertile farmland
- 500,000 people
what were the responses to the eruption of Mt Nyiragongo?
- $15million worth of aid
- 400,000 people evacuated
- camps for displaced people
What has been done to reduce the impact of future eruptions of Mt Nyiragongo?
- educated location residents on volcanic eruptions
- built a volcanic observatory for data gathering
What were the impacts of Mt Nyiragongo’s eruption on Goma?
- 20% of homes destroyed
- 3m of lava coverage
- 100 deaths
Why were people caught unaware of the eruption of Mt Nyiragongo?
The radio had said that there was no risk, so people were told to stay where they were
What are some impacts of the Mt Nyiragongo eruption?
- frequent toxic gas emissions
- 147 deaths
- poisoned water source
- long-term respiratory problems
- unemployment
- buildings destroyed
What plate boundary does Montserrat lie on?
- a destructive plate boundary between the Caribbean and North American plates
When did the worst eruption in Montserrat occur?
25th June 1997
what were the short-term effects of the eruptions in Montserrat?
- pyroclastic flows
- lahars
- ash and tephra fall
- earthquakes
- release of volcanic gases
How many fatalities were there after the eruption in Montserrat?
19
How is the volcano in Montserrat monitored?
- tiltmeters
- GPS satellite location
- seismographs
- COSPEC is used to measure gases
- frequent rock samples
- measuring the pH of rainwater
what were the long-term effects of the eruptions in Montserrat?
- population shrunk
- no economic stability
- temporary housing
- heavily dependant on UK aid
- collapse of tourist and rice industries
- 2/3 of the island became an exclusion zone, forcing residents to the North
What plate boundary is Eyjafjallajökull on?
divergent plate boundary between the North American and Eurasian plates