Hazards- Case Studies Flashcards
2011 Japanese tsunami- impacts
- debris covered streets
- transport links destroyed
- defences only designed to cope with 12m waves (these reached 40m)
- nuclear plant melted (but was saved)
- cost Japan $200 billion
- 16,000 people killed
2004 Indonesia tsunami- effects
- debris covered streets
- transport links destroyed
- buildings collapsed
- people killed and injured
- boats moved inland
- infrastructure destroyed
2011 Japanese tsunami- responses
- better machinery to search for people (MIC)
- Japan mainly funded rescue effort themselves
- 3 organ transplants took place- good temporary hospitals
- charities sent to Japan- but not relied upon
- nuclear experts fixed reactor in meltdown
- internal response teams at the scene in 6 minutes
2004 Indonesia tsunami- responses
- relied on foreign aid from countries such as US and UK
- some areas of Indonesia still in ruin- can’t afford repairs
- charities and foreign governments sent millions
- had no specialist rescue teams themselves or equipment
East African Rift Valley
LOCATION:
-along east coast of Africa
-extends 300km
-extension rate of 0.5cm per year
WHAT HAS FORMED:
-large lakes
-small lates evaporate-form thick salt deposits
-volcanoes eg. Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Kenya
BENEFITS:
-geothermal power source (millions get electricity)
-many paleo anthropological discoveries made
San Andreas Fault- background
- extends 800 miles through California
- forms tectonic boundary between Pacific Plate and North American Plate
- Desert Hot Springs and San Bernardino lie on the fault line
San Andreas Fault- predicted impact
- levelled San Francisco in 1906
- 7% chance of a magnitude 8 earthquake in the next 30 years
- hundreds of buildings would be destroyed
- estimated damage: $200 billion
- estimated 50,000 injuries and 2000 deaths
San Andreas Fault- monitoring
- holes drilled 2-3km into the ground
- instruments installed to measure physical and chemical process
- seismometers send background info
- seismologists predict where earthquakes will occur and their magnitude
Eyjafjallajökull 2010 eruption- effects
PRIMARY:
-people in rural areas had to wear goggles to protect themselves from gas
-500 farmers evacuated
-ash contaminated water supply (killed sheep)
-flights had to be cancelled due to ash cloud
SECONDARY:
-roads closed meaning people couldn’t reach schools/work/hospitals
-trans Atlantic flights and European flights cancelled which cost companies £130 million per day
-Kenya could not export 20% of its goods to Europe- impacted their economy
-3000 tonnes of CO2 released each day
-flooding from glacial melting
Eyjafjallajökull 2010 eruption- short term responses
- hundreds of people evacuated
- embankment deliberately breached to allow floodwater to pass through into the sea
- Netherlands Red Cross set up 1500 beds in Amsterdam Airport
- Belgian Red Cross distributed food and drinks
- over 8 days around 100,000 flights were cancelled
Eyjafjallajökull- long term responses
- main highway in Iceland reconstructed after a few weeks
- research conducted into effect of ash on aircrafts
- flood defences reconstructed
- EU funded research into better warning systems (£6 million)
Nepal earthquake 2015- background
- very poor (157th richest nation)
- government can’t build earthquake proof buildings
- located on a destructive plate boundary (Indo-Australian Plate and Eurasian Plate)
Nepal earthquake 2015- effects
SOCIAL -18 climbers and Sherpas killed -8000 killed -14,500 injured -2.8 million made homeless ECONOMIC -communication lines cut off -many tourist destinations damaged -roads needed reconstructing -country ‘put back’ 100 years by the event POLITICAL -epicentre was Kathmandu- the capital city
Nepal earthquake 2015- responses
SHORT TERM
-people fled from buildings
-people carried to temporary hospitals
-rescue teams searched through rubble
-solar lights and tents distributed
-emergency food and water provided
-£41 million donated by British citizens
LONG TERM
-medical teams remain active- provide psychological support
-millions of litres of clean water for survivors
-UN development programme in place
-stricter building codes enforced by government
Typhoon Haiyan 2013- causes
- sea level rise (around the Philippines is 3x greater than the global average)
- natural changes in the winds
- abstracting too much groundwater- some parts of the country sank
- climate change
Typhoon Haiyan 2013- responses
- World Food Programme supplies delivered by US military
- supplies carried by helicopters to outplaying regions
- UK’s Disaster Emergency Committee raised £13 million
- UK and US sent navy vessels
- 45 international humanitarian agencies used cash transfers
- Philippines government promised more restrictions on private buildings
Typhoon Haiyan 2013- effects
- 4m high cyclone
- category 5 typhoon- 195mph winds
- 9 million people affected
- 1.9 million homeless
- lack of proper sanitation led to spread of disease
- many areas flooded
- oil and sewage leaked into ecosystems
- economic impact estimated at $2.9 billion
Hurricane Sandy- social impacts
HAITI -1.5 million at risk of food shortages -70-80% of crops washed away -54 people killed USA -111 killed (37 in New York) -fire and ambulance services relocated -many people lost their homes (80 in Queens)
Hurricane Sandy- economic impacts
HAITI
-£24 million cost to replace lost food supplies
USA
-damage estimated at $63 billion
-major traffic in NYC
-business reports from companies across the world delayed (as stock market closed for 2 days)
Hurricane Sandy- political impacts
USA
- interrupted presidential election campaign
- Obama went to help those affected by the hurricane
- local politicians had to make tough decisions about rebuilding
Hurricane Sandy- environmental impacts
USA
- east coast experienced 144km/h winds
- storm surges rose 6-7m causing severe flooding
- snow storm in NYC
Hurricane Sandy- short term responses
- American Red Cross sent 17,000 volunteers
- $313.1 million in donations
- temporary shelters set up
- federal government provided $60 billion in emergency aid
- American Red Cross- $94 million on emergency food and water
- 17.5 million meals and 7 million emergency relief items provided
Hurricane Sandy- long term responses
- federal government funded $50 billion worth of rebuilding projects
- NYC and Wall Street repaired first
- American Red Cross set up Move-in Assistance Programme which provided financial assistance to 5100 households
Alberta wildfire 2016- social impacts
- 90,000 residents of Fort McMurray out of work
- 2400 homes destroyed
- lack of water and electricity
- several thousands left homeless
- 2600 residents of Fort McMurray had to stay at the university
Alberta Wildfire 2016- economic impacts
- oil production down by £1 million per day
- world oil prices rose briefly
- $98.5 million lost due to stoppages
- rebuilding efforts will cost $1.3 billion
- insurers payed out $9 billion
Alberta Wildfire 2016- political impacts
- government lost money on oil royalties
- more debates about the impact of climate change
- government had to oversea evacuation programmes
- reconstruction programmes coordinated
Alberta Wildfire 2016- environmental impacts
- Boreal ecosystem severely affected
- several million tonnes of CO2 released
- 230,000 hectares engulfed by fire
- toxins released by burning buildings
- sewage systems blocked by ash
The Philippines- Mt Pinatubo eruption 1991
- lots of ash and tephra
- tropical storm mixed ash with rain-formed lahars
- rivers altered
- climate cooled by 2 degrees for 2 years
- hundreds of thousands evacuated
- ash reached 100,000 feet into the air
