Indonesia- Somatra ( Boxing Day Tsunami )

Question 1

How the Boxing Day was triggered (3)

Answer 1

. Building up of pressure/ tension between the subducting plate and the non subducting plate ( indo Australian plate subducts beneath Eurasian plate)
. Non subducting plate bend or warp ( upwarping) downwards
. A rebound on the non subducting plate snaps back up and causes a vertical displacement from the sea floor ( 15 m vertical displacement )-The Tsunami spreads out at this point (800kph)

Question 2

Time/ duration (2)

Answer 2

. 2004( Boxing Day )
. 7:59 Am local time

Question 3

Scale /magnitude:

Answer 3

9.1

Question 4

Location:(3)

Answer 4

. Épicentre was on the west coast of nothern Sumatra , Indonesia and 30km under the seabed ( shallow)
. The Java trench is located at the southern part of Java Island, where the indo Australian plate subducts beneath the Eurasian plate
. Destructive plate boundary

Question 5

Physical causes

Answer 5

. Earthquake that struck off the west coast of northern Sumatra caused a vertical displacement, triggering a tsunami in the Indian Ocean

Question 6

Human causes

Answer 6

. Authorities said the soft and loose soil on hills also led to more destruction- the damage was compounded by the area’s infrastructure- many buildings where not designed to survive earthquakes

Question 7

Economic impacts (2)-(2)

Answer 7

Short term:
. Businesses, particularly the fishing industry and tourism suffered the most- equipment was destroyed
. Transport and communication links were destroyed ( roads, rail networks )

. After the triggered Tsunami, the region resorts ( suck as Phuket ) dropped 80% by 2005
. Increase in population- duration of the hazard impact tourism internationally

Question 8

Social impacts: (4)-(1)

Answer 8

Short term:
. 230,000 deaths
. 1.7 millionhomeless
. 5 million people needed emergency aid, food and water
. west coast of northern Sumatra (near epicentre) destroyed 1,500 villages

Long term:
. Threat of diseases from mixing freshwater, sewage and salt water-the rates for cholera and other gastrointestinal problems increased

Question 9

Environmental impacts: (3)

Answer 9

Short term:
. Crops were destroyed and farm land was ruined by saltwater
. The coral reefs and coastal wetlands were destroyed
. 8 million litres of oil escaped from oil plantations in Indonesia

Question 10

Immediate response: (2)

Answer 10

. The UK government gave £75 million public donations
. Relocated 5 million people straight from refugee camps into homes- these homes took longer to build than expected due to the lack of building materials and destruction of main transport

Question 11

Long term responses:(4)

Answer 11

. Reconstruction of houses and infrastructure
. Restoration of bridges, Canals, roads and fishing harbours
. Large scale water and sanitation projects
. Education to more than 2,000 teachers and 137,000 children