Plate Tectonics Case Studys Flashcards
1
Q
Describe the impacts of the Montserrat volcanic eruption.
A
ECONOMIC -
1. Estimated £1 billion total loss in value of houses and investments
- 20 villages and 2/3 of houses were destroyed by pyroclastic flows
- Schools and hospitals destroyed- airport destroyed on 21st September by p.flows
- Tourism declined and businesses destroyed- however now an incline in tourism as ppl visit volcano
SOCIAL-
- 19 people killed and 7 injured
- Hundreds made homeless
- Fires destroyed buildings- local government offices- police HQ- petrol stations
- Pop. Decline- 8000 out of 12000 inhabitants left- 4000 to U.K.- since 1995
ENVIRONMENTAL-
- Vegetation and farmland destroyed
- Increase in soil fertility due to ash
- Plymouth buried in 12m of mud and ash
2
Q
Describe the responses to the Montserrat volcanic eruption.
A
- People were evacuated from the south to the north- started in 1995
- UK provided £17 million in emergency aid to help redevelop the area
- Overall UK spent £41 million in long term aid for the north on airports docks hospital etc
- Temporary infrastructure set up such a roads to allow transport
- Local emergency officials sent out to search and rescue survivors
- Risk map created with exclusion zones- south is off limits whilst volcano is active
- The Montserrat Volcano Observatory created to predict volcanic eruptions
3
Q
Describe the management in place in Montserrat.
A
- Volcano was studied by scientists in 1982 in which reports weren’t given much attention
- There’s was no disaster management plan in place so impacts and responses made worse
- Key infrastructures set up in 1990s such as a school in high risk areas which hampered the responses
4
Q
Describe the economic impacts of the volcanic eruption at Mt. St. Helen’s.
A
- Total cost of the damage was $1.1 billion
- 200 homes and cabins destroyed with many more damaged
- $2.2 million spent on clearing ash from roads in Yakima
- Airports closed down for up to 2 weeks- over 1000 commercial flights were cancelled
- Timber industry affected by destruction of forest
- 27 bridges, 24km of railway and 200km of roads were destroyed
5
Q
Describe the social and environmental impacts of Mt St. Helens
A
SOCIAL
- 57 peoples were killed most by inhaling volcanic ash
- Social facilities and recreational parks were destroyed
- Some people experienced emotional stress
- Hundreds made homeless
- Unemployment rose as business were destroyed
ENVIRONMENTAL
- 240km2 of forest were destroyed
- Wildilife were affected- 7000 big game animals killed- thousands of birds- 12 million young salmon
- Water quality was temporarily reduced
- Sediment in Spirit Lake causes bottom to rise by 90m and water level by 60m
6
Q
What were the responses of the Mt St. Helens eruption.
Emergency responses Coordinated by FEMA
A
- Face masks were distributed to stop inhalation of ash
- 45 500 acres of forest were replanted with 18.4 million trees
- Domestic water supplies regularly monitored to ensure no contamination
- Ash clean up operations were organised- 800,000 tonnes of ash were removed from roads buildings and airports
- Shipping channels were cleared of sediment
- Emergency shelters were set up for stranded and homeless people
7
Q
Describe the management in place in Mt St Helens.
A
- In march when earthquakes began, the USGS began round the clock monitoring measuring- rate of growth if bulge, ground temperature, SO2 gas, gathering seismic data.
- USGS issued warnings to people and made recommendations about locations of hazardous zones
- Based on these recommendations, access to volcano was restricted and in march evacuation of 2000 people started
- Hard to accurately predict- no unusual changes on the day
8
Q
Describe the economic impacts of the L’Aquila earthquake.
A
- Estimated total cost of the earthquake was $15 billion
- Fire destroyed thousands of buildings
- Thousands of historic and modern buildings destroyed- part of city hospital, dorm at uni and L’Aquila cathedral
- Bridge near town of Fossa was destroyed and water pipe near Paganica was broken
9
Q
Describe the social and environmental impacts of L’Aquila.
A
SOCIAL:
1. 300 people died- mostly by collapsed buildings
- 1500 injured
- 70,000 made homeless
- Aftershocks hampered responses and caused more injuries
- People lost jobs and had to move to other areas of Italy and business were destroyed
ENVIRONMENTAL:
- Wilidlife habitiats destroyed
- Broken water pipe near Paganica caused landslide
- Around 1000km2 of land was affected by surface ruptures rockfalls and landslides
10
Q
Describe the responses the the L’Aquila earthquake.
A
- Camps were set up to provide the homeless with food shelter and medical treatment
- International teams with rescue dogs were sent in to look for survivors
- Ambulances, fire engines and army sent in to rescue survivors
- Italian prime minister promised to rebuild a new town in L’Aquila to become the capital
- By 2009, 4500 buildings had been put up to home 12,000 homeless people
- Cranes and diggers used to clear rubble
- 12,000 support and aid teams sent in to help with responses
- International aid paid for rents. Mortgage gas and water bills paid for.
11
Q
Discuss the management strategies in place in L’Aquila.
A
- Planning- Italy has a civil protection development that trains volunteers to help sit rescue operations
- After risks of an earthquake occurring strict building regulations were put in place to ensure buildings were earthquake proof
In San Salvadore the L’Aquila hospital was built in 2000 and was meant to have been earthquake proof
However it collapsed and patients had to be treated outdoors - Prediction- seismologists were monitoring area prior to event.
In August 2009 a group of residents made formal complaints that 6 seismologist hadn’t predicted earthquake and were responsible.
Issues a criminal investigation however it is impossible to predict
12
Q
Describe the economic and environmental impacts of Kashmir earthquake.
A
ECONOMIC
1. Total cost of the disaster was estimated $15billion
- Whole villages and buildings destroyed
Town of Uri 80% of town was destroyed
Up to 25km away from epicentre- 25% buildings destroyed and 50% damaged
Total cost of buildings was $3.5 billion
ENVIRONMENTAL
1. There were major landslides in Muzaffarabad and Jhelum Valley- covering over 0.1km2 of land
- Worst was in Jhelum Valley in which was 1km wide and travelled up to 2km from the top. It created dams which blocked two rivers
- As a result of ground rupture, ground shifted by 5m in areas of Kashmir
13
Q
Describe the social impacts of Kashmir earthquake.
A
- 80,000 people were killed-13th highest death toll from earthquake
- 3 million people were made homeless
- Hundreds of thousands of people were injured- 6000 of which were in India
- Diseases such as diarrhoea spread in contaminated water sources
- Freezing temperatures increased casualties
- Water pipelines and electricity lines broken cutting off supplies
- Landslides buried people and buildings, destroyed water and electricity and telephones lines
14
Q
Describe the responses to the Kashmir earthquake.
A
- Tents and medical supplies were distributed to help homeless people
- Government gave money to households so they could rebuild their own houses
- 40,000 people relocated from Balakot to new towns
- Pakistani government created FRC and ERRA with international agencies
- Total of $5.8 million of international aid was given for long term help
- Help took days and weeks to arrive, many people had to be rescued by hand without proper equipment
- New health centres were set up
15
Q
What management was put in place before Kashmir
A
- There was no local disaster planning
- Buildings were not designed to be earthquake resistant - many houses structurally poor as people couldn’t afford better buildings. Even government buldings in Muzaffarbad were structurally poor and collapsed
- Communications were poor. There were few roads and they were badly constructed.
