JUST CASE STUDIES

Question 1

Give context for the Montserrat eruption

Answer 1

It erupted in 1997 - Composite volcano

It had suffered from earthquakes 2 years prior

4km^2 inundated by pyroclastic flows in Plymouth

5 million cm^3 of material released

Question 2

What were the primary human impacts of Montserrat

Answer 2

$1.2 billion
19 dead
2/3 of homes destroyed causing a 2/3 population decrease
“Cities buried under ash” like Plymouth

Question 3

What were the primary responses of Montserrat

Answer 3

Observatory in 1995

Mapped the most hazardous areas and evacuated 11,000

NGO’s like the Red Cross

Question 4

What were the secondary responses of Montserrat

Answer 4

£420 million in aid from the UK

UK granted residency and even citizenship after 4 years

Upgraded tsunami warning system which gos off at 12 everyday , although 2/3 of areas remain hazardous

Featured in national geographic to rebuild tourism

Question 5

Give context for the Mount Saint Helens eruption

Answer 5

It erupted in 1980 - Composite volcano

It had suffered from earthquakes and a bulge 2 months prior

8km^2 inundated by pyroclastic flows

540 million tonnes of ash released

Question 6

What were the primary human impacts of mount saint helens

Answer 6

$1.1 billion
57 dead
200 homes destroyed
Miles of infrastructure affected
240km^2 of forest destroyed
Water table raised 60m
Thousands of animals dead

Question 7

What were the primary human responses of mount saint helens

Answer 7

2,000 evacuated

FEMA arranged emergency aid such as face masks and water

Question 8

What were the secondary human responses of mount saint helens

Answer 8

900,000 tonnes of ash cleaned up

18.4 million trees planted

Recut shipping channels - monitored water

Question 9

Give context for the Indian Ocean tsunami

Answer 9

It happened on Boxing Day 2004 and was triggered by a 9.3 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Indonesia

It effected 12 countries, but Indonesia the worst, with a 20m high tsunami wave

Question 10

What were the primary impacts of Indian Ocean tsunami

Answer 10

$10 billion
£250 million in Thai fishing
230,000 dead
0.5 million homeless
Villages completely destroyed

Question 11

What were the primary responses of Indian Ocean tsunami

Answer 11

Over 160 aid organisation provided aid and relief such as shelter, food and water

The tsunami warning system didn’t go off in certain areas until hours after the event had already taken place

Question 12

What were the secondary responses of Indian Ocean tsunami

Answer 12

Aid was extremely slow due to political barriers like the Tamil Tigers and government prejudice were highlighted

New warning systems put in place, but mostly in tourist areas like Thailand

Focus on education and drills

Question 13

Give some context for the Tohoku Tsunami

Answer 13

It occurred in 2011 and was triggered by a magnitude 9 earthquake caused when the submerging NA plate slipped up the Pacific plate

10-15m high tsunami wave
700 aftershocks
Shifted earths axis by 10cm

Question 14

What were the primary human impacts of the Tohoku Tsunami

Answer 14

$300 billion in damages
18000 dead
0.5 million homeless
500km^2 area flooded
Nuclear plant caught fire spreading worldwide panic - 100,000 children being tested for thyroid issues

Question 15

What were the primary responses of the Tohoku Tsunami

Answer 15

100,000 soldiers deployed to keep the peace
63 Search and rescue specialists from the UK

Question 16

What were the secondary responses of the Tohoku Tsunami

Answer 16

1. Set up the ‘reconstruction design council’ to encourage new development and set up things such as an enterprise zone
2. Improved their tsunami warning system in 2013
3. Still years later people could not move in around the nuclear plants 100,000 children being tested for thyroid issues
4. Use of Nuclear power has reduced

Question 17

Give some context for the Haiti earthquake

Answer 17

It occurred in 2010 and was a magnitude 7 earthquake, releasing the power of an atomic bomb

Question 18

Give some primary physical impacts of the Haiti earthquake

Answer 18

$8 billion
230,000 deaths
1.5 million homeless
50% of key government buildings destroyed
“Whole city flattened in 1 minute”
1500 dead from cholera
Looting and violence

Question 19

Give some primary physical responses of the Haiti earthquake

Answer 19

16,000 troops deployed
100,000 free health appointments
240,000 free water purification tablets
11,000 camps set up

Question 20

Give some secondary physical responses of the Haiti earthquake

Answer 20

They rebuilt the city using local people for labour. The buildings are much better, cheaper and safer, as they demolished all of the slums

Rebuilt government buildings in much safer areas

$11.5 billion in aid

Question 21

Give some context for the Hurricane Katrina typhoon

Answer 21

It happened in August 2005. The storm originated in the Bahamas before hitting Louisiana and Mississippi 6 days later as a CATEGORY 5 typhoon with 280kmh wind speeds and a 8.5m high storm surge

They had been hit by a similar event 40 years prior but the governor said “Resilience had been eroded”

Question 22

Give some primary impacts for the hurricane Katrina typhoon

Answer 22

$200 billion in damages

1800 dead

1 million refugees

80% of New Orleans was flooded and looted

Area the size of the UK without power and water for 2 months

Gulf of Michigan completely destroyed

20% of marshland destroyed effecting turtles and fish

Question 23

Give some primary responses for the hurricane Katrina typhoon

Answer 23

150,000 people didn’t evacuate and stayed in the Louisiana superdrome for 3 days to receive food and water

Coastguard saved 33,500 lives out of 60,000 stranded people

Question 24

Give some secondary responses for the hurricane Katrina typhoon

Answer 24

$61.8 billion given in aid

70 countries pledged to give aid and organisations such as the red cross. They raised more than that of 9/11

FEMA had to rehouse 700,000 but only could rehouse 1/5 in New Orleans. Every state has a Katrina refugee and black Americans suffered the most. 4 years later lots are still in temporary trailers - local government blamed

New Orleans has had a potential 50% decline in population, insurance was to much for people to afford

Question 25

Give some context for Cyclone Nargis

Answer 25

It happened in 2011. It originated in the Bay of Bengal before heading to Burma Myanmar as a category 4 with windspeed 215kmh

Question 26

What were the primary impacts of cyclone nargis

Answer 26

$10 billion in damages
130,000 killed
5 million refugees
95% of low lying land was completely destroyed
600,000 hectares of farmland destroyed

Question 27

What were the primary responses of cyclone nargis

Answer 27

Response was slow as the country didn’t allow aid for weeks due to fear of invasion, when aid was allowed, it was extremely slow

Question 28

What were the secondary responses of cyclone nargis

Answer 28

The government have made little improvement, the whole thing has overwhelmed them and years later people still live in ruined villages

Question 29

Give some context for the Alberta Wildfire

Answer 29

Alberta Canada 2016 caused by a lack of snowfall headed towards fort mcmurray and ‘spotted’ a 1km river in some areas

Question 30

Give some primary human impacts of the Alberta wildfire

Answer 30

$9 billion in damages
600 work camps closed down - global oil was effected

2400 homes destroyed
Increased anxiety

Millions of tonnes of Co2 released
Water pollution and death of Boreal ecosystem

Question 31

Give some primary human responses of the Alberta wildfire

Answer 31

90,000 evacuated safely

85% of buildings saved

$1250 provided to each person via the government

Declared a state of emergency allowing for extra aid and support - set up an online registry to find housing

Question 32

Give some secondary human responses of the Alberta wildfire

Answer 32

Area was quickly rebuilt and a safe phased re-entry occurred - they talked about clearing land to rebuilt

Sparked a political debate about climate change

Fire aid in June 2016 to raise money for the disaster