Impacts of hazards (earthquake) Flashcards
Lorms
Ground shaking
Violent movement of the ground, with vibrations that can sometimes be strong enough to topple buildings, pipes, cables, and various infrastructure on the Earth’s surface.
Eg. 2010 Haiti Earthquake (Mw7.0)
○ Pollution in areas around the factory, river pollution from debris
○ More than 250, 000 houses collapsed, 220, 000 deaths
○ Water pipes burst, causing water shortages
Soil liquefaction
Soil liquefaction occurs when the violent ground shaking causes saturated and loose soil to lose its structure and transform into a thick fluid after mixing with groundwater or moisture in the soil. Makeing the ground unstable.
Eg. 2010-2011 Christchurch, New Zealand
○ Severe liquefaction occurred as the city lies on a former swamp
○ 60, 000 residential buildings and infrastructure covering 1⁄3 of the city area was damaged
○ Liquefied soil entered rivers, and untreated sewage from broken pipes polluted rivers.
○ Caused reduction of some species (eg. caddisflies)
Landslides
Occurs when the violent vibrations from earthquakes form cracks on steep slopes, loosening the rocks and soil, which triggers the loose rocks and soil to move downslope rapidly.
Eg. 2008 Great Sichuan, China earthquake (Mw 7.9)
○ Triggered more than 15, 000 landslides.
○ Destroyed many buildings and infrastructure
○ Caused nearly 20, 000 deaths
Tsunami
series of ocean waves caused by undersea earthquakes
2011 Tohoku, Japan earthquake (Mw 9.0)
○ Triggered a tsunami up to 40m in height.
○ Waves destroyed homes and infrastructure
○ Tsunami waves carried debris inland, flooding and polluting large areas of land.
○ Coastal city of Sendai suffered extensive damage, and half its population was killed.
○ In Iwate, 70, 000 pine trees were knocked down. Resulted in forest and biodiversity loss
○ The tsunami hit the Pacific Islands (eg. Tahiti, Easter Islands), devastating ecosystems there
○ Thousands of fish were washed ashore and suffocated.
