Hazards Case Studies Chars Flashcards
Give an example of a wildfire case study
Black Saturday, Victoria, Australia
When did black Saturday happen
2009, the worst bushfire in Australia history
Why did black Saturday occur
- depopulation of the area meant that there was a reduction in services
- low humidity
- high temp. (+40 degrees)
-covered in eucalyptus forest which is rich in oil and burns easily - extreme weather had power to bring down overhead cables
Impacts of black Saturday
-147 killed
- 3500 homes destroyed
- 7000 displaced
-12000 head of livestock killed
-1 million animals killed
-1 million acres of farmland burned
- 1.2 billion in insurance claims
Responses to black Saturday
- new warning system using fire danger index put in place, looks at weather and can warn residents in danger to evacuate
- gov fast tracked policy that prevents building in fire prone areas
- gov criticised for rebuilding Mary’s ville- 90% destroyed
Give an example of an earthquake
Kobe, Japan
When did Kobe quake hit
1995
Impacts of Kobe quake
- killed 5000
- 300,000 homeless
- 101,000 homes destroyed
- cost 95 billion to repair
- docks destroyed - only 70% of operations returned
- many historic traditional buildings destroyed
- centre of love liquified- sunk
Responses to Kobe quake
- operations in factories 96% returned after a year
- dock 90% rebuilt
-gas water and electricity returned after a day - gov swiftly put new policies in place to make more resilient
- community banded together to overcome stress/trauma
-gov pledged to use NGOs next time - 48,000 new homes built
- lots of volunteers
Why was the gov criticised after the Kobe quake
- historic buildings used very heavy tiles which killed ppl when they fell
- refused international aid
- didn’t handle scale - didn’t encourage enough volunteers to respond
Why was the Kobe quake especially traumatic
First quake in Kobe for 400 yrs
Give an example of a tropical storm
Typhoon haiyan, Philippines
Primary impacts of haiyan
-6190 killed
- 4 million homeless
- 1.1 million tonnes of crop destroyed affecting 1 million farmers and 600,000 acres of farmland
- rice, coconuts, sugarcane made up 12% of GDP most destroyed costing 50 billion
- 400 man of water flooded 1km inland
- airport/ roads destroyed
Secondary impacts of haiyan
- oil barge went ashore, spilling 800,000 litres contaminating fish
- 10 hectares of mangroves contaminated
- looting- 8 killed and rice prices rose by 8%
Short term responses to haiyan
- president sent message on tv
- 800,000 evacuated
- 1 million food packs sent after a week
- supplies returned after 3 wks when airport was repaired
- many evacuated to stadium in backlobane which flooded and died
- in 1 region supplies sent got washed away
- us pledged 1.5 billion
- 33 countries/ngos sent aid
- Coca Cola raised awareness
Long term responses to haiyan
- build back better program set up to rebuild stronger
- new storm surge warning system
- banned from building in certain areas along the coast
Give an example of a volcano eruption
Monseratt
Impacts of monseratt eruption
- killed 32
- 2/3 evacuated
-17 villages destroyed, 10 by huge pyroclastic flows inc. capital Plymouth - lost 2 main industries - farming and fishing
- riots broke out, didn’t think Yk were doing enough
- chemicals infused w water so no gd water supply
- uk sent £42 million in aid
- set up mvo conservatory to watch for future eruptions
Give an example of a multi hazard environment
California
Earthquakes in California
- 18000 per yr
- magnitude 4 every 5 days
- 20 billion every 2 yrs
- peuntos hills - 60 billion
- San Andreas - 54 billion
Wildfires in California
- 2020 - 1.1 million acres lost, 84 days of lightning, 935 homes destroyed
- cost 25 million in 2017 and 400 million in 2023
- causing: stress, poor air quality and less interceptions
- 2025 wildfires cost $60 billion with around $30 billion being uninsured
Flooding in California
- increased by 30-35%
- spent 2-3 billion on flood prevention
2025 California wildfires mainly for Nate
200,000 evacuated
18,000 homes destroyed
$160 billion in damages - over $90 billion being uninsured
30 dead
Responses to the 2025 wildfires -LA
Biden covered the cost of all aid and response for the first 180 days
California governor received $40 billion in immediate aid
S & R immediately
Around 10,000 firefighters deployed
