Part B Restless Earth

Question 1

When was the Kobe earthquake?

Answer 1

January 17th, 1995

Question 2

What was the magnitude of the Kobe earthquake?

Answer 2

7.2 magnitude

Question 3

What was the cause of the Kobe earthquake?

Answer 3

Phillipine subducting under Eurasian plate, reactivated out fault Nojima fault line running through Kobe CBD

Question 4

What were the primary effects of the earthquake in Kobe?

Answer 4

Over 6000 died
Infrastructure destroyed (buildings, offices, factories , houses and port facilities)
Hanshin Expressway collapsed
Older suburbs suffered extensive pancaking due to heavy typhoon proof roofs

Question 5

What were the secondary effects of the earthquake in Kobe?

Answer 5

Gas mains broke, so fires broke out
Many survivors in temporary accommodation suffered hypothermia as it was the middle of winter
Over 700 after-shocks in the days following
Some companies were forced to close (e.g Mitsubishi)

Question 6

What were the immediate responses to the earthquake in Kobe?

Answer 6

Thermal image equipment, listening equipment, listening equipment and sniffer dogs used to locate trapped bodies
Effective medical services treat the injured rapidly
3000 army troops sent to the areas of Hanshin and the older suburbs

Question 7

What were the long-term responses?

Answer 7

Government emergency funds help rebuild roads, power supplies and buildings
Home insurance means people can pay to rebuild their homes

Question 8

When and where was the Haiti earthquake?

Answer 8

It was in Port au Prince, Haiti and happened on 12th January 2010.

Question 9

What was the magnitude of the Haiti earthquake?

Answer 9

7.0 magnitude

Question 10

What were the primary effects of the Haiti earthquake?

Answer 10

Nearly 250,000 people died
1 in 3 buildings collapsed 
Infrastructure destroyed (buildings, offices, factories, houses and port facilities)
Liquefaction in the port
Many trapped in buildings

Question 11

What were the secondary effects of the Haiti earthquake?

Answer 11

Violence followed as the society in Haiti descended into chaos. Social unrest, looting and rape were all reported
7 million in temporary camps in January many faced hypothermia
Cholera broke out in the camps initially and spread across the whole of Haiti, many thousands died
Prison broke open, 4000 criminals escaped
1.5 million people made homeless
Families told they would have to pay for shelter on black market

Question 12

What were the immediate responses of the Haiti earthquake?

Answer 12

No rescue teams
Only one ambulance for medical aid
Aid was slow to arrive- the port was inaccessible for 5 days and the airport for 2 days
Responses from the UN and NGOs were slowed and hampered by social unrest, violence and fear.
Only 130 people pulled from the rubble alive, survivors left to search for loved ones themselves
Many dead laid not buried, decomposing on the streets

Question 13

What were the preparations of the Haiti earthquake?

Answer 13

No building codes. Many parts of the city were squatter settlements
Cheap building materials used to cut costs. Weak cement and poor concrete fracture easily. The Haitian House of Parliament collapsed
No training of police, army or emergency services of what to do in an earthquake emergency

Question 14

What were the long term responses to the Haiti earthquake?

Answer 14

Government had very little funds to rebuild city
City not built up to 2 years later
Many millions given to NGOs like the Red Cross did not actually help survivors
Up to one million people living in tents in refugee camps a year later
Many dying from cholera in the hurricane season 10 months later

Question 15

State the comparison between the Kobe and Haiti earthquake

Answer 15

Haiti- 250,000 deaths Kobe- 6,436
Koe had building codes so buildings have to be designed to withstand a certain amount of earth tremor- Haiti did not have this
Few buildings collapsed in Kobe, whilst thousands of buildings were destroyed in Haiti
Haiti had cheap building materials so were easily damaged. Kobe had strong building materials like steel and strengthened glass.
Kobe had a effective medical services treated the injured rapidly, Haiti had a lack of trained medical aid means people died of injuries and disease

Question 16

When was the Japan earthquake and tsunami?

Answer 16

Friday 11th March, 2011

Question 17

What was the earthquake that triggered the tsunami in Japan measured as on the richter scale?

Answer 17

9.0 on the richter scale

Question 18

How do tsunamis occur?

Answer 18

It is triggered by a earthquake that occurs at a destructive subduction plate boundary. The subduction of the oceanic plate thrusts up seabed, moving the entire ocean above it. As waved approach land the sea bed slows waves and their height increases. They may be up to 20 metres high when they crash into land

Question 19

What were the primary effects of the Japan tsunami and earthquake?

Answer 19

15,400 people were killed
2 million were left homeless
4 trains were swept away from their tracks
Power lines and gas and water services were severely disrupted, as the earthquake ruptured under-ground cables and pipes

Question 20

Where were the secondary effects of the Japan tsunami and earthquake?

Answer 20

500,000 were forced to live in shelters
The damage to the underground pipes caused fires which spread quickly and ignited wood carried by the wave
As clean water was scarce, water-born diseases such as cholera and typhoid spread quickly
The total cost of the rebuild was put at £185 billion
The earthquake caused a power cut at the Fukishima Daiichi nuclear plant which caused a failure in the cooling system

Question 21

What were the short-term responses to the Japan earthquake and tsunami?

Answer 21

A tsunami warning was issued 3 minutes after the earthquake
An estimated 100,000 people began the disaster relief mission
Shelters were set up in schools for those who lived near the Fukishima nuclear power plant

Question 22

What were the long-term responses to the Japan earthquake and tsunami?

Answer 22

Japanese governement started to question their huge walls and tsunami floodgates as they were prove to be inefficient
Reviewed methods of predicting earthquakes and tsunamis as well as cutting short the time between the disaster and the response by improving communication and sirens