Natural Hazards Case Studies Flashcards
Volcano- Iceland 2010 facts and location
constructive plate boundary
on the mid atlantic ridge
3 on VEI
primary impacts of iceland volcano
homes and roads were damaged
crops destroyed by ash
during the eruption a no fly zone was established meaning airlines lost £130million a day - European airspace was brought to a standstill.
lahars
increased risk of flooding as ice caps were melted and 800 people were evacuated due to risk of flooding
secondary impacts of iceland volcano
farming impacted: animals had to be kept inside (fluoride deposits poisoned cattle). Pastures suffered where ash falls were deep-more than 10cm. In long term, improve soil fertility (produce rapeseed oil and grapes)
tourism-the impacts on tourism
were mixed. Inluany the eruptor in March attracted tourists to Iceland. Tourist organisations quickly exploited the situation by offering helicopter, bus and jeep tours to view the eruption. By the end of March, 10,000 people had visited the eruption. But airport closure and no fly zone impacted tourism.
local water sources contaminated with fluroide
fresh food and raw material imports were halted
international effects- felt as far as Kenya where 5000 workers fired and and flower industry lost $1.3m a day from lack of imports to europe
immediate responses for iceland
800 locals evacuated
100,000 european flights cancelled during 6 day ban
exclusion zone created
long term responses for iceland
Icelandic government rebuilt river banks even higher than previously
Earthquake case study: Christchuch facts
2011
6.3 richter scale
christchurch primary impacts
40% buildings in old town damaged beyond repair
185 dead, 6000 injured
economic damage of over $20bn
liquefaction destryoyed roads
christchurch secondary impacts
landslides
thousands displaced
rugby world cup was moved to other locations, affecting the economic influence of the city
1/5 population migrated
estimated to take 50-100 years for economy to recover
Responses for Christchurch
30,000 chemical toilets
2,200 in temporary housing
$7 mil aid
demolition of old and at risk buildings
national gov provided $8.8bn funding, providing the water sewage road and transport
christ church recovery strategy
initiative to improve and re develop Christchurch
careful monitoring of land use and a natural recovery programme
residential red zone (7000 buildings) which is where damaged buildingsare bought back and repaired to support local people and businesses
water and sewage was restored by august 2011
construction of 10,000 affordable homes
Turkey-Syria Earthquake facts
feb 2023
7.8 earthquake with a follow up of 7.5
occurred at night
turkey enviro impacts
-liquefaction in former lake beds and river valleys leading to ground failure
-canals affected leading to flooding
-water pipes and sewers affected increasing risk of disease
-300,000 buildings destroyed(suggests building codes were not followed)
turkey social impacts
affected nearly 18mil
55,000 dead and 130,000 injuries
millions displaced with 2.6m accommodated in tent cities and another 1.6million residing on streets
in affected areas, 5.4million at risk of mental health issues
only 1 in 7 heslth facilities functioning
economic impacts turkey
3rd costliest earthquake of the century accounting for 9% of turkey’s GDP
disruption of roads to rural areas devastated agriculture livelihoods and production resulting in short term food shortages and long term income disruption
political impacts turkey
population was already highly vulnerable due to ongoing civil war in Syria
political system in the affected regions exhibited corruption, resulting in disregard of building standards for a high risk area
turkey response
aid provided by 60 countries with 2.600 foreign personnel participating in international rescue efforts
-UN released $50m in funding and the EU pledged $7.5billion for reconstruction although it is estimated that is only 1/10 of the required amount
Typhoon Haiyan facts
category 5 Typhoon in the Philippines close to Tacloban in 2013
primary effects Typhoon
Tacloban experienced a 5 metre storm surge and 400mm of rainfall which flooded an area of 1km inland.
90% Tacloban was destroyed
6000 dead
29,000 injured
4mil homeless
14 mil affected
damage costs $12bn
1mil crop destroyed
1/3 famers and fishermen lost income leading to a total loss of $724mil
secondary impacts Typhoon
infection and disease spread due to contaminated surface and ground water
looting aas rife with eight people dying in a stampede for food supplies as aid was 3 days late.
-many schools destroyed so disrupted education
-sea water, chemicals an sewerage contaminated ground water and surface water
-an oil tanker ran aground causing an 800,000 L oil leak that contaminated fishing waters and 10 ha of mangroves were contaminated
immediate responses for typhoon Haiyan
800,000 people were evacuated following a TV warning from the president.
Manny took refuge in a stadium but died when it flooded
-there was a curfew two days after which reduced looting
-over 1200 evacuation centres were set up to help the homeless
Emergency aid arrived three days late when the airport reopened
Power was restored in some areas after a week
1 million food packs and 25,000 L of water were distributed within two weeks
$1.5 billion in foreign aid and 33 non-governmental organisations and countries promised help
long-term responses for typhoon haiyan
The build back better scheme launch in 2014 to upgrade damage buildings to protect them from future disasters. They also implemented no build zones along the coast.
A new storm system was implemented as well as the replantation of mangroves
Hurricane Katrina local impacts
1800 dead
300,000 homes were destroyed and a further 3 million without electric
Delicate coastal ecosystems were damaged due to the winds from the storm surge
There was mass looting as the hurricane impacted targeted marginalised people in society who had little support
80% of New Orleans was flooded and 53 levees permanently destroyed
wider scale impacts hurricane Katrina
The fuel prices rose due to the cutting off of the US’s oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico to over $70 per barrel
Infrastructure such as railways, roads and local airports which were valuable to the local economy were destroyed
$125 billion of total economic impact making it as the costliest tropical storm on record
Federal disaster declarations Covered 90,000 mi.² and area almost as large as the UK
Much of New Orleans is still damaged or unrecovered over 15 years later
Hurricane Katrina Facts
category 5
2005
winds of over 175mph
caused major flooding due to the fatal engineering flaws in the flood protection levees
