Restless Earth: case studies Flashcards
When and where was the St Helens Eruption?
1980, Washington State.
What caused the Mount St Helens eruption?
- The subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate udner the North American plate.
- A cryptodome on the secondary vent caused a blast.
What were the primary effects of the Mount St Helens eruption?
- 57 dead
- 500 year old cedar forest destroyed
- Debris in Spirit Lake and Toutle River
What were the secondary effects of the Mount St Helens eruption?
- Rain mixed with ash created lahars, or volcanic mudflows.
- Tourism increased in the area
- Estimated short term economic loss of $800 million.
What was the immediate responses to the Mount St Helens eruption?
- 8km no entry zone
- State of national emergency declared
- Army search and rescue helicopters mobilised
- 2 million gas masks distributed
What are the long term responses to the Mount St Helens eruption?
- The scientific organisation USGS now monitor the volcano with GPS, seismographs, digital cameras and COSPEC (correlation spectometer).
- Spirit lake was cleared
When and where was the Kobe earthquake?
1995 in the south coast of Japan.
What caused the Kobe earthquake?
The Philippine plate was subducted under the Eurasian plate causing an earthquake that was 7.2 on the Richter scale.
What were the primary effects of the Kobe earthquake?
- 6000 dead
- Older suburbs obliterated
- Hanshin Expressway collapsed
- Liquefaction in Osaka Bay
What were the secondary effects of the Kobe earthquake?
- Fire
- Pneumonia
- Hypothermia at night
- Companies forced to close
What was the immediate responses to the Kobe earthquake?
- 3000 troops dispatched
- Sniffer dogs
- Thermal imaging
- Jaws of life
- Hearing equipment
What were the long-term responses to the Kobe earthquake?
- Retro-engineering on Osaka Bay tower
- Regulation to enforce spacing between buildings
- Shock absorbers
- City rebuilt in 2 years
When and where was the Port au Prince earthquake?
2010 In Haiti.
What were the primary effects of the Port au Prince earthquake?
- 250,000 dead
- 1/3 of buildings collapsed
- Airport down for 2 days
- Port down for 5 days
What were the secondary effects of the Port au Prince earthquake?
- Hypothermia
- Cholera
- Looting, violence and rape
What were the immediate responses towards the Port au Prince earthquake?
- Aid was slow
- UN/charities were fearful because Haiti is dangerous and politically unstable
- 1 ambulance for city
- Only 130 pulled from rubble
What were the long term responses towards the Port au Prince earthquake? (Environmental, economic and political)
- City was not rebuilt in 2012
- Charities not spending their money (MercyCorps spent 1/3)
- Nepalese UN peacekeepers accused of spreading cholera outbreak
What caused the Port au Prince earthquake?
Conservative plate boundary (Caribbean and North American) that was 7.0 on Richter scale.
When and where was the Japanese tsunami?
2011, pacific ocean.
What were the primary effects of the Japanese tsunami?
- 15,000 confirmed dead
- 4,700 destroyed houses
- Coastal areas flooded
- Power outages to 4,000,000 houses
What were the secondary effects of the Japanese tsunami?
- Fukushima nuclear power plant leak
- Yen dropped in value
- Stocks fell
What was the immediate response the Japanese tsunami?
- Tsunami warning 3 minutes after earthquake
- Meteorological agency official telling people in affected areas to stay at home.
- Military deployed
- Fukushima power plant shut down
What was the international response to the Japanese tsunami?
-91 countries offered aid
In Livigno, what is an example of farm diversification?
Farmland has been converted to ski slope.
What percent of Livigno’s economy is based around skiing?
90%
What are some examples of alpine infrastructure in Livigno?
- Switzerland built a road and tunnel network
- Cable cars and ski lifts provide transport
- Roads are built with snow sheds
- Bendy roads reduce the gradient of roads
How is the threat of avalanche contained?
Controlled avalanches with detonations and avalanche gates.
