Health and Hazzards Section 3 of Exam Flashcards
Name of the Volcano
Mount St Helens
Name of the Earthquake
The Haiti Earthquake
Name of the Hurricane
Hurricane Katrina
When did Mt St Helens erupt
18 May 1980
When did the Haiti earthquake happen
12 January 2010
When did Hurricane Katrina occur
along the Gulf Coast 10am Monday morning August 29th, 2005
Why did Mt St Helens erupt
Mt St Helens lies near the destructive plate boundary where the Juan de Fuca plate is. The small plate is being forced under the larger plate and into the mantle there it melts because of heat and immense friction as two plates grind together. Molten Rock rises into the crust. There it builds up in magma chambers until it is able to force its way through cracks in the crust.
What caused the Haiti Earthquake
Strong shaking associated with intensityIX on the Modified Mercalli scale(MM) was recorded in Port-au-Prince and its suburbs. It was also felt in several surrounding countries and regions. According to a survey approximately 3.5 million people lived in the area that experienced shaking intensity of MM 7 - 10 a range that can cause very heavy damage. The quake occurred in the vicinity of the northern boundary where the Caribbean tectonic plate shifts eastwards by about 20mm per year in relation to the North American plot. The January 2010 quake was caused by a rupture of the Enriquillo-Plantain garden fault which had been locked for 250 years, gathering stress.
How did Hurricane Katrina form?
The traditional recipe for hurricane formation (sea temperatures over 27 degrees c and rotating winds over the oceans surface) applies here. Katrina originated over the Bahamas on August 23 from the interaction between a tropical wave and the remnants of tropical depression ten. Early the following day, the new depression intensified into a hurricane only two hours before making landfall hallandale beach and Aventura on August 25. after very briefly weakening to a tropical storm, Katrina emerged into the Gulf of Mexico on august 26 and began to rapidly deepen. the storm strengthened to a category 5 hurricane over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, but weakened before making its second landfill as a category 3 hurricane on august 29 in southeast Louisiana
Main impacts of Mt St Helens
Approximately 57 people lost their lives and hundreds of homes, buildings and structures were destroyed. After the eruption, the summit of Mount St. Helens was gone, forests were obliterated and rivers followed new courses. More than 150 new lakes and ponds were formed, and existing lakes filled with sediment, flooding their banks.
Main impacts of Haiti Earthquake (social, economic, environmental and political)
*3 million in total affected
*30,000 commercial buildings collapsed leading to a loss of trade and income for the already crippled economy
*Deforestation and forest clearance to make way for temporary camps and for building materials
*Appeals for international aid were immediately requested by Raymond Joseph, Hairis ambassador to the united states and his nephew singer wyclef jean. the American red cross quickly announced that it had run out of supplies in Haiti and appealed for public donations
Main impacts of Hurricane Katrina (social, economic, environmental and political)
*Katrina redistributed over one million people from the central Gulf coast elsewhere across the united states. For example, Houston, Texas had an increase of 35,000 people
*The bush administration sought $105billion for repairs and reconstruction in the region, this didn’t include potential interruption of the oil supply, destruction of the Gulf coasts highway infrastructure and exports of commodities such as grain
*The storm surge caused substantial beach erosion in some cases completely devastating coastal areas. In Dauphhin island, approximately 90 miles to the east of the point where the hurricane made landfall, the sand that comprised the barrier island was transported across the island into the mississippi sound, pushing the island towards land.
*The government was criticised for its response with many critics claiming it was very slow to respond and that the management lacked coordination
Effects on health (Haiti)
Months after the earthquake a cholera outbreak happened this is likely due to poor sanitation after everything was destroyed
Effects on shelter (Haiti)
Houses were turned into rubble and brick all broken down needing to be rebuilt
Effects on food (Haiti)
The earthquake brought instability and widespread hunger. Even after two years many Haitians lacked food security
