Hazards - Mt Eyjafjallajokull Flashcards
location/date
Iceland
14th April 2010
geographical context
constructive (divergent) plate boundary - N America & Eurasian and hotspot
description of event - magnitude
4 on VEI scale
3.1 Richter scale earthquakes
description of event - duration
20 March magma broke through crust
14th April second eruption phase, day turned to night
description of event - linked events
caused glaciers to melt, causing floodwaters of 17 degrees Celcius with icebergs to rush down rivers
high level winds took ash east and south
primary environmental impacts
crops damaged by falling ash, other areas with long grass trapped ash + benefitted it’s nutritional value
secondary environmental impacts
flooding due to melted glaciers - Jokulhaup river became 100x its normal capacity
Flouride deposits on grazing land poisoned cattle & contaminated water supply
primary social impacts
700 people evacuated due to flooding of melted glacier
no loss of life
farmers had to move livestock
secondary social impacts
European countries forced to shut shown their airspace
supplies of fresh food interrupted effecting producers + consumers around world
secondary economic impacts
airspace shut down cost airlines £130 million per day for 6 days
Europe lost US $2.6 billion GDP
horticulture lost £3 million a day
Ash made Icelandic soil fertile so farmers could produce rapeseed oil & grapes
tourist industry damaged in summer of 2010 - income and jobs effected - since then tourism boosted
primary economic impacts
homes, roads, flood defences damaged by ash + floodwater
electricity + water supplies disrupted
response (park model) - pre-disaster
civil protection (police check if people evacuated)
120 GPS trackers measure activity + 80 seismometers to track tremours
earthquakes and smaller eruptions since March gave warnings to evacuate and set up exclusion zones
text messages used to warn people embankments built to help prevent flooding
response (park model) - relief strategies
800 people evacuated
immediate response from local authorities, firefighters, rescue teams
allowed controlled flooding of farmland to protect the M1 bridge
meteorologists + ash safety monitored ash cloud closely
response (park model) - rehabilitation strategies
roads quickly repaired as only 1 main road round island
response (park model) - reconstruction
make houses as solid as possible for weight of ash on houses
improved regulations for air travel during volcanic ash event
EU developed integrated structure for air traffic management
embankments repaired + strengthened
tourism boosted: 1.7million a year (5x pop) main economic sector
volcano E Visitors Centre 300,000 visitors
Icelandic government initiated campaign to increase tourism in response to eruptions negative publicity
