Hazards Flashcards

(37 cards)

1
Q

Give an example of where human perception has affected human responses to hazards.

A

1992 Hurricane Andrew:
Category 5
- destroyed 63,000 homes + put 12 insurance companies out of business because of the unprecedented force of the hazard
- Killed 65 people
- even though Southern Florida had mandatory evacuation procedures residents refused to leave because never in their memories had hurricanes reached so far inward, result of frequent exposure to such hazards

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2
Q

Haiti Earthquake: Overview

(back-up for flexing pm examiners)

Park Model P1

A

Haiti Earthquake 12/01/2010:
-located between Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean
- 7.8 magnitude on Richter scale
- Killed over 200,000 & 3 million affected by the ‘quake
- 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings destroyed
- High national debt bc of price of independence from French in 1825 ($21 billion)
- after earthquake French refused to forgive that loan unlike another recent one of $77m
- led to worsened death toll and impacts after earthquake
- NEVER RECOVERED because anarchy = political instability and widespread poverty
- Stage 5 shows that they are supposed to be entering an improvement phase but haven’t because of endogenous factors and anarchy and more events such as Hurricane Matthew in 2016
- In 2010 their HDI dropped to 0.43 from 0.51 in 2009

Doesn’t incorporate socio-economic factors of country

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3
Q

In-depth case study on Tohoku earthquake and tsunami

Overview

A

Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami (March 11, 2011, Japan)
- one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded (magnitude-9.0)
- epicentre = 130km east of city Sendai, Miyagi
- 18,500 deaths
- tsunami not only destroyed coastal towns but also triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster , left parts of region permanently uninhabitable - unable to return to normal, much more long term than Park Model presumes
- water is treatable but takes a lot of effort to do so and is expensive.
- the earthquake was a megathrust event - sudden release of built strain along fault line between N American and Pacific Plate, Plate subducted underneath, plate stuck and suddenly released cause N American plate to lurch upward = displaced loads of water = tsunami
- Also where there is a convergence of 4 plates

Process isn’t as short terms as it shows

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4
Q

Give an example of where hazard response models are not useful/limited.

(back-up for flexing on examiners)

Hazard Management Cycle P1 (Cyclone Idai)

A

Cyclone Idai (2019 Mozambique):
- Made landfall in Mozambique on 14/03/2019, south-eastern Africa
- Had a regional impact where there were cholera outbreaks of just under 6000 ppl and over 10,000 cases of malaria
- Btwn 15 and 16th march moved inland through Zimbabwe and caused extensive flooding in Malawi
- Before the event Mozambique had undertaken mitigation efforts such as building flood defenses but these were overwhelmed by the intensity of the storm
- not much is being done either in the recovery stage as are training women in farming and distributed farming tools to 2000 ppl and started to repair and rebuild
- isn’t equal between each stage
- In Mozambique, ActionAid distributed sanitary kits, school books and established women-friendly spaces.
In Zimbabwe, ActionAid provided thousands of kilograms of food and cooking oil, distributed sanitary pads, underwear packs, towels and soap.
In Malawi, ActionAid reached around 12,700 people with our initial rapid response. We worked with local women’s forums to ensure the protection of women and girls in evacuation camps, and distributing food, lamps, utensils, sleeping mats, soap and mosquito nets.

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5
Q

Mount Nyiragongo

Overall stats and causes

A

Overall Physical:
- An active shield volcano, erupted 34 times since 1882 (1997,2002 and May 2021)
- 3470m tall
- Located in DRC, Africa (central Africa), part of Virunga Mountain Range
- On a divergent plate boundary, the Nubian plate (African plate) is being pulled away from the Somalian Plate(in West)
- Has basaltic, alkaline lava fluid meaning can flow downhill at 100km/h bc of low silica content
- eruptions send large amount of lethat carbond dioxide gas to surface as it settles in low-lying areas, asphyxiated 1800 people in nearby villages in 1986

Human factors:
- located 16km north of city of Goma, pop = 2m
- Has very fertile soil because of volcano, encourages many people to live there (in volcanoes = Mg and K)
- DRC has low HDI = 0.481 (2022), has a history of conflict and political instability
- Over 120 armed groups operate in the region, making it difficult for scientists to monitor and collect data on the volcano
- Many people have an emotional connection to the area, particularly through tourism and farming as very few places have such fertile soil

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6
Q

Mount Nyiragongo

Impacts of eruption

A

2002 eruption:

Environmental:
- released 147,000 tonnes of SO2/day = acid rain,
- pH levels reached as low as ** 3.1** as a result in rainwater, = damaged crops (i.e Cassava and maize)
- 25million m^3 of lava, divided Goma into two, there were concerns that if it were to reach Lake Kivu that there would be a catastrophic release of CO2

Social:
- 45/150 schools were destroyed, 24000 children out of school
- High levels of fluoride in the water (6.9mg/l = 5x higher than WHO limit for drinking water) = endemic dental fluorosis
- 400,000 residents displaced, many fled to neighbouring Rwanda in east
- 140-160 people died, mainly from asphyxiation
- 3 hospitals and 27 clinics destroyed

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7
Q

Mount Nyiragongo

(potential responses - not included in booklet)

A

Immediate Responses (link to stage 3 of the park model?)
- 33 tonnes of water heating kits for 50,000 people in refugee camps distributed
- w/in first week, plastic sheets, cooking sets and blankets were given to 67,000 households
- Governments around the world gave total of $35m

Long-run responses:
- 30 new warning systems were introduced and were part of the reason why the next eruptions weren’t as bad (need to check)

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8
Q

what about over time?

  • Global distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes
A

RING OF FIRE!! (around Pacific Ocean)
- 75% of volcanoes occur here
- Highest concentration occurs between Philippine plate and Eurasian plate and pacific plate and and Australian plate,
- however vulcanicity can still occur outside of plate boundaries through hotspots
- Ring of Fire = 90% of world’s earthquakes
- East Asia and South America are at particularly high risk

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9
Q

Mt Nyiragongo impacts

Economic

A
  • destroyed 80% of Goma’s economic infrastructure, including city’s commercial centre
  • 1/3 of airport runway + 21% of electricity -> couldn’t be used for several months
  • total damage estimated by world Bank to be $1.2bn
  • 120,000 homes destroyed = 30% of Goma’s housing stock.
  • Lava flows destroyed 13% of Goma
  • The airport was cut in two by one of the flows
  • BUT has erupted again in 2021 and estimated costs of $20m
  • HAD BEEN CUT OFF FROM FUNDING BY WORLD BANK, OBSERVATORY COULDN@T GET MSG OUT IN 2021!!!
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10
Q

Impacts of Tohoku earthquake and tsunami

A

Social:
- 470,000 people were displaced
- 56% of fatalities were people aged** 65 or older** - bc lived in coastal regions + couldn’t evacuate
- cultural losses, in towns like Rikuzentakata lost cultural landmarks inc temples and historical sites
- From Fukushima

Environmental:
- 5m tonnes of debris washed into P Ocean because of tsunami
- 561km^2 of land was inundated
- Fukushima released radioactive isotopes inc cesium-137 into air, ocean, soil etc
- earthquake caused significant subsidence (ground sinking) along Japan’s northern coastline, w some areas sinking up to 1.2m

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11
Q

Impacts of Tohoku earthquake and tsunami

Economic

A

Economic:
- 120,000 buildings destroyed
- estimated cost of $235bn, costliest natural disaster in history
- Fukushima led to 54 nuclear reactor closures, supplied 30% of Japan’s energy,
- Global insurance claims exceeded $40bn, Japan allocated $300bn for reconstruction alone
- Bc couldn’t produce energy, imported from M East = incr oil prices globally

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12
Q

Sichuan Earthquake: overview (back-up for flexing to examiner)

A

Date: May 12, 2008
Time: 2:28 PM local time (06:28 UTC)

Location: Epicentre near Wenchuan, Sichuan Province, China

Magnitude: 7.9 (Moment Magnitude Scale)
Depth: 19 km (shallow)

Affected Areas: The earthquake primarily impacted Sichuan Province, but the effects were felt across a large portion of China, including parts of Gansu, Shanxi, Yunnan, and even areas as far as Tianjin and Beijing. (Beijing is 1600 km away!!)

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13
Q

Sichuan Earthquake: env + soc impacts (back-up for flexing to examiner)

A

Social:
- 69,000 confirmed deaths, 87,000 estimated to be killed
- 4.8m displaced
- 4 floors of a school collapsed, 7000 schools in total collapsed, 5000 children died
- many survivors were left with severe psychological trauma - particularly children as they lost their parents or witnessed horiffic scenes, PTSD then became a major concern

Environmental:
- 6 pandas escaped from Wolong National Park, 2 were injured, one died after being crushed by zoo wall
- the earthquake triggered 60,000 landslides , destroyed entire villages and blocked rivers, because epicentre was in a mountainous region

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14
Q

Sichuan Earthquake (back-up for flexing to examiner)

Economic impacts

A
  • 1.5mha of farmland were affected in the surrounding area, particularly in the Wenchuan county at the epicentre, rice and vegetable crops, subsistence farmers
  • in Mianzhu, south east of sichuan there was significant flooding and liquefaction = affected rice and oilseeds mid seasons = affected diet and income
  • Shifang Chemical plant was destroyed (located in Shifang city), it produced fertilisers: ammonium bicarbonate and phosphoric acid used in processing
    -> bc of obvious lower output, prices increased by 10-20%, one farmer saw a 30% decrease in yied
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15
Q

Sichuan Earthquake: Responses (back-up for flexing to examiner)

A

Short-term responses:
- 14 minutes after earthquake struck, Chinese gov sent 113,000 troops to area, however was difficult to access because it is a mountainous area
- 45,000 medical workers provided to ensure no epidemic
- Within weeks, 3.5m tents and 14m quilts distributed, camps with basic facilities established for 5m homeless survivors.
- Roads to Wenchuan and other remote areas reopened within 72 hours, despite 34,000 km of road damaged

Long-term responses
- By 2012, 99% of collapse buildings were rebuilt, these were built to be earthquake proof as in 2013, 6.6m struck - only 200 died
- Government built $1.6bn copper mine in one of towns as would bring money into area but bad for locals and env
- to prevent landslides, 200,000 ha of trees were reforested in damaged hillsides to protect vulnerable areas

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16
Q

Responses to Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami

A

Short-term:
- Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown prompted the evacuation of over 154,000 residents within a 20-kilometer radius of the plant.
- Japan’s Earthquake Early Warning system alerted millions of residents seconds before the quake’s impact, minimizing casualties in areas where warnings were received.
- Over 12,000 healthcare workers deployed
- Immediate financial donations reached $1.2 billion globally to support relief efforts.

Long-term:
- Japan reduced its reliance on nuclear energy from 30% to less than 5% of its energy mix by 2020 , increasing imports of natural gas and coal to meet demand. = bad or good?
- By 2015 , approximately 85% of basic infrastructure (roads, railways, utilities) was restored.
- Farmlands and fisheries: ~80% recovered, but issues with soil salinity and radiation persist in some regions. (by 2021)

17
Q

What is the distribution and frequency of wildfires?

A

Wildfires are most common in the tropics and subtropics

Countries that experience the highest number of wildfires include Brazil, Indonesia and Australia

In 2015 Indonesia fires lead to hige hazes and smog, 2.6m ha and trees burnt in that year only

  • 2019 unexpected level of destruction - 7600 sqkm by october w/in year.
  • C.C and slash-and-burn
  • In Australia mainly New South Wales and Victoria
  • Mediterranean = Sicily, Cyprus
  • USA = Florida and Califronia
  • Europe - Greece and turkey and S France
18
Q

(back-up for flexing lol) Wildfires in South Korea

A

Key facts
- wildfires are quite uncommon here
- 21 Mar - (ongoing, is April 25th 2025)

Social impacts
- 18 people died as a result
- several heritage sites destroyed 1300 year old Buddhist temple destroyed
- 23,000 people evacuated

19
Q

Spatial distribution of hotspots - how do they link to plate tectonic theory and how influences volcano formation

20
Q

Predicting volcanoes. is it always possible, when has it gone wrong and what does this mean for the predicability of volcanic eruptions

A
  • Mount Ontake = Japan’s second highest volcano, erupted killing 31 people on Sep 27 2014
  • monitored since first recorded eruption in 1980 and just before eruption in 2014, was slight increase in volcanic tremors starting at beginnig of sep,
  • but scientists think eruption then was one that doesnt cause typical symptoms - NOT ALL VOLCANOES ARE THE SAME
  • videos show mainly white ash cloud, = mostly steam making it a phreatic eruption - therefore couldnt have been predicted before hand
  • similar one in New Zealand where Dec 9th 2019 Whakaari volcano erupted without warning
  • 22 people killed 25 suffered major injuries inc severe burns, 47 on island, everyone injured in some way
  • was phreatic too was tephra released as well (rocks and ash)
21
Q

How do urban forms influence the scale of impacts of seismic hazards/volcanic/tropical/wildfires (back-up for flexing lol)

22
Q

(back-up for flexing lol) 2025 Myanmar earthquake!!!!!

A

Key facts and background about countries affected:
- 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar (Burma), near Sagaing, on March 28, 2025 (12:50 local time). Several strong earthquakes – as high as 6.4-magnitude –followed immediately afterward

23
Q

effectiveness of ngos in managing hazards

24
Q

How does the HMC compare to the Park Model?

A
  1. Similarities
    - both model highlight the importance of response immediately after hazard + recovering to pre-disaster levels and recognise the importance of preparedness + mitigation
    - both show a time-dependent process ?
    • PM: focusses on how QofL changes over time after a hazard event, showing the different stages of responses
    • HMC: shows how time influences different stages of management

++ differences
- PM: focusses on the impact on QofL over time after a hazard occurs > shows how people’s lives are affected + how they eventually recover (or not)
- HMC: focusses on the management of the hazard itself > how authorities + communities plan, respond + recover
- concentrates on the action taken rather than the direct impact on people

  • PM: doesn’t outline specific management actions
  • HMC: outlines what should be done at each stage
  • PM: goal = recover QofL back to normal (or better)
  • HMC: goal = continuously reduce risk + prepare for future hazard
    6. PM = better for analysing social impacts > shows how bad the impact was
    HMC = better for planning + managing disasters > shows how the impact was managed

BUT- it being a cycle allows for continuous improvement -> impr recovery and reconstruction leads top improved preparedness and mitigation

25
Kobe: a local multi-hazard env
**Great Hanshin earthquake:** Key facts: Kobe is located in the eastern hemisphere, towards the north of the country of Japan, located 250km SW of Tokyo - struck at 5.46am on 17th Jan 1995 - 6.8 on moment magnitude scale, worst earthquake of 20th century since Great Kantó (straight line on top 'o') 1923 - Epicentre = 2km SW of Kobe - Focus was northern end of Awaji island, 20km SW of Kobe - 180,000 buildings were destroyed - Kobe was inaccessible for 3 days - Eurasian and Philippine (subducting) plate
26
Factors contributing to Kobe's earthquake in 1995
Physical: - a lot of the land was reclaimed by the sea and 1/3 of the coastline is soft land? soil liquefaction occured where the soil became waterlogged making it unstable - when the fault snapped much of the energy was dissipated under kobe - 4 platesintersect here - eurasian, N American, Pacific and Philippine plates - vibration lasted 20 seconds. (quite a while) Human: - Houses had a traditional tile roof which aren't earthquake proof - -> the engineering is not consistent with all buildings, some resilient some not mitigated against -north-south divide is prevalent in japan too, south received less funding bc not big economic priority - reliant on fishing as main industry - w Hanshin motorway, concrete pillars werent reinforced enough by wires so broke easily.
27
Kobe earthquake impacts
**Economic Impacts:** - 150,000 buildings destroyed - Hanshin expressway completed toppled over - $100bn damage - Kobe Steel Ltd sustained damages of 110bn yen **Social Impacts:** - **6000 confirmed deaths** - 43,000 injured - 300,000 displaced - no access to (**80% w/o gas**)heating/water, many lived together in tents and makeshift shelters because of **fear of it happening again (psychological impact)** - 80% victims crushed to death by collapsing houses **Environmental impacts:** - within 5 minutes, fires were caused immediately - -> 300 fires in total - had shortage of water = diff - reclaimed land shook for 2-3 min
28
Preparedness + Responses to Kobe Earthquake
Short-term: - Volunteerism became a major part of Japanese culture as a result of this event, with people joining together to become a community - Even the MAFIA was said to help with donations - japanese army helped to distribute aid - cabinet members gave up month's salary for relief (£10k each) - 600 shelters housed 236,000 - took 1 week for electricity to be restored Long-term: - sunflowers were planted in sympathy for those who were killed - they took more time to come to a decision on what to do, slower than US but more targeted efficient help - most ports were rebuilt by March 1997 - Govt declared 17 Jan national 'Disaster Prevention and Volunteerism Day' - rubber block absorbers installed - now focused more on preparation and mitigation too
29
Kobe's preparedness
**- no one knew what to do during the earthquake** **- Kobe officials didnt get national guards help till later bc wanted to prove could handle it - only after 4 days were they deployed** **- they only focused on major faults under tokyo** - Japan has a culture of prediction over preparation - for hurricanes, houses were made of wood but this made them flammable - impacts seen as far back as 1923 where Great Earthquake caused deaths of 100,000 people as a result of this flammable housing (8.3 magnitude
30
Black Saturday Wildfires | key facts and physical factors leading up to fire.
Key facts: - occured 7 Feb 2009 - Mainly in Victoria, Australia, within an 80km radius in Melbourne - 173 people were killed 414 injured - 2100 properties were destroyed in 78 communities' - it scored 300 on the fire Danger Index Leading up to the wildfires: Physical factors - Australia is dominated by eucalyptus trees which have fire-proof seeds and so are dependent on wildfires to germinate them that are high in crowns of trees - The Indian Ocean dipole ( AKA "Indian Nino) is a climate phenomenon characterised by a see saw pattern of sea surface temperature anomalies, during the positive phase winds are weaker which means pick up less moisture, means that S Eastern Australia experiences drier conditions - Mildura in the v NW of Victoria saw temp of 40C for 12 CONSEC DAYS!, Hope Town had 48C temp - strong winds of 100km/h (for example on the 7th Feb) caused extreme spot fires 35km from the source - There was a drought for 10 years prior, meant there was a build up of highly flammable litter from trees - tinder dry veg
31
Impacts of Black Saturday Wildfires
Environmental - 1m wild + domesticated animals lost - 450,000 hectares of land lost - 1m acres of forest land destoyed Social: - 7000 people were displaced - 13 houses left - impacts on perception of place, likely negative - 2000 houses destroyed - 26% of people impacted by the fires suffered from mental health issues, 22% still suffer Economic - $4.4 BILLION aud of damage - many year 10 and 11 students dropped out
32
Responses to Black **SUMMER** bush fires
Short term: - 80,000 firefighters from australia and other countries like New Zealand, Canada and the USA tackled the fires - ADF (Australian Defence Force) provided support, 6500 soldiers deployed - The government paid out a Disaster Recovery Payment of $1000 per adult affected - Fundraising campaigns raised money for the response e.g. animal rescue groups such as the RSPCA and WWF raised almost $200 million for animal rescue and rehabilitation (impacts of NGOs on hazard management) Long Term: - Government committed over $2 billion to bushfire recovery and provided financial assistance to affected communities and businesses - Provision of mental health services for affected people
33
Responses to Black **Saturday** bushfires
Short-run - Federal Government announced a $10 million package of emergency assistance, available from 9 February, providing $1,000 per adult and $400 per child for those who had been hospitalised with injuries or who had lost their home (government help example) - Woolworths Limited donated $1 million (supermarket) - some others donated part of profits from all branches - 4,000 fire-fighters from the Country Fire Authority (CFA) – which primarily responsible for fires on priv property – & the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) – who are responsible for fires on public land – have worked to settle the fires. - firefighters sent not only by states of NSW, South Australia, ACT, Tasmania, and Western Australia, but also from firefighting personnel from New Zealand and 74 from USA Long-run: - $2 billion recovery fund is ensuring the families, farmers and business owners hit by these unprecedented bushfires get the support they need as they recover. - broader Australian community is helping by taking holidays in affected areas and buying local produce. - A new system was implemented to predict severness of fires and residents could then get live advice on what to do - Housing was banned in forested areas (fire-prone) - 50,000 homes rebuilt - COUNSELLING WASNT DONE FOR VERY LONG - but did become more aware of how these events impacted emergency staff, 5 different help links for police and young people were put in place (mid-2009)
34
Super Storm Sandy | Key Facts and background on this case study
Key Facts: - occured : 2012 - DEADLIEST MOST DESTRUCTIVE AND STRONGEST hurricane of 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, largest in Atlantic on record - 233 people killed along path of storm which covered 8 countries - Storm surge hit NYC on Oct 29th, flooded streets, tunnels, subway lines and damaged electricity - 53 died in NYC alone Background on country and People's perception: - Hit both rich and poor countries - Nicknamed 'Frankenstorm' because it ravaged mid-Atlantic, NE and Ohio Valley regions, and was expected to merge with another storm before Halloween
35
Causes of Superstorm Sandy
Causes: Physical: 1. started in tropical waters of Caribbean, south of Kingston, Jamaica 2. Oct 24th eye developing, during day updated to hurricane status, made landfall first in Kingston, Jamaica 3. this storm intensified RAPIDLY - same day went to Cat 3 storm but did weaken from frictional drag in Cuba's highlands but then went back up to category 2 over eastern USA
36
Impacts of Superstorm sandy
Social: - more than 1m people forced to evacuate - 125 people died in total - 1m people went without power in New Jersey with 750,000 in NY - 24 states impacted Economic: - 20,000 airline flights were cancelled from 27th Oct to 1st Nov - 600,000 homes and businesses were destroyed - $63bn of damage done Environmental: - In New Jersey - storm surge of 6m - New Jersey: 3 towns w over 1.5m of water after levee on Hackensack River overtopped
37
Responses to Super Storm Sandy
Short-term: - Red cross housed 11,000 people across 16 states (those evacuated) - National Guard deployed 45,000 personnel in at least 7 states - 4000 disaster workers sent across affected areas - 7000 people spent night in emergency shelters - FEMA deployed 7000 personnel, established 65 recovery centres and approved $600m in direct assistance Long-term: - 28th Jan 2013, Senate passed $50.5bn Hurricane Sandy relief bill - took 3 MONTHS - shows impacts of divided/ general governments STORM DESCRIBED AS: storm of a lifetime predictions were also pretty accurate, but people didnt trust the forecast making them not want to evacuate EVEN MORE - 42% Americans believed that Global Warming causing more extreme weather patterns -> incr awareness