Section A - Tectonic Processes and Hazards Flashcards
What is a constructive plate boundary?
Also known as a divergent plate boundary - two plates pulling apart
What is a destructive plate boundary? (3 EGs)
Also known as a convergent plate boundary - two plates colliding - EG Pinatubo, Haiti and Japan
What is a conservative plate boundary?
Two plates sliding past each other
Case study - Japan (Tohoku) - Type of hazard, year, developed/developing
- Earthquake
- 2011
- Developed
Case study - Japan (Tohoku) - Magnitude
9.0 on the Richter Scale
Case study - Japan (Tohoku) - Cause of hazard
Sudden tectonic movement on the destructive boundary between the Pacific and Okhotsk plates
Case study - Japan (Tohoku) - Primary impacts (deaths and homeless)
15,500 deaths
450,000 homeless
Case study - Japan (Tohoku) - Secondary impacts (cost of damages)
$235 billion in damages
Case study - Japan (Tohoku) - Immediate responses
- Disaster shelters established
- People evacuated to safety
Case study - Japan (Tohoku) - Long term responses
- More earthquake prediction technology installed
- More earthquake proof buildings built
Case study - Haiti - Type of hazard, year, developed/developing
- Earthquake
- 2010
- Developing
Case study - Haiti - Magnitude
7.1 on the Richter Scale
Case study - Haiti - Cause of hazard
Sudden tectonic movement on the destructive boundary between the Caribbean and North American plates
Case study - Haiti - Primary impacts (deaths and displaced)
- 250,000 deaths
- 1.5 million displaced
Case study - Haiti - Secondary impacts (cost)
$8 billion in damages
Case study - Haiti - Immediate responses (rescue details)
- Army drafted in to help rescue people
- 2 million people rescued up to 90 days after the disaster
Case study - Haiti - Long-term responses (how many in temp shelters?)
- Some efforts to rehouse those affected, but over 1 million still live in temporary shelters
Case study - Iceland - Type of hazard, year, developed/developing
- Volcano
- 2010
- Developed
Case study - Iceland - Magnitude
3.1 VEI
What does VEI stand for?
Volcanic Explosivity Index
Case study - Iceland - Cause of hazard
Divergent boundary between the Eurasian and North American plates
Case study - Iceland - Primary impacts (deaths, ? destroyed)
- No deaths
- Homes and roads destroyed
Case study - Iceland - Secondary impacts (costs)
£3 billion in damages
Case study - Iceland - Immediate responses (3)
- 700 evacuated
- Exclusion zone created
- More than 1000 live stock evacuated
Case study - Iceland - Long-term responses
Icelandic gov rebuilt river banks higher than before
Case study - Philippians - Type of hazard, year, developed/developing
- Volcano
- 1991
- Developing
Case study - Philippians - Magnitude
6 VEI
Case study - Philippians - Cause of hazard
Convergent boundary between Eurasian and Philippine plate
Case study - Philippians - Primary impacts (deaths, homelessness)
- 350 deaths
- 200,000 homeless
Case study - Philippians - Secondary impacts (cost of damages)
$700 million in damages
Case study - Philippians - Immediate responses
- Initial 10 billion peso fund for aid and relief
- Evacuation camps set up in the immediate aftermath of the eruption
Case study - Philippians - Long-term responses
- 350 million peso resettlement scheme
- 7.5 billion peso infrastructure rebuilding scheme
Models - What is Deggs model?
Shows the interaction between hazards, disasters and human vulnerability
What is the PAR model?
Measures the progression of vulnerability = risk = hazard x vulnerability
Advantages of the PAR model? (1)
- Takes many factors into account such as how vulnerable the country is, economic pressures and physical exposures
Disadvantages of the PAR model? (2)
- No statistics so its hard to compare
- No timescale
Key trends of tectonic hazards in the last 50 years - What has happened to the total number of hazards?
The total number of hazards recorded over the last 50 years has increased
Key trends of tectonic hazards in the last 50 years - What has happened to the number of natural disasters since 2000?
The number of natural disasters has been falling since the early 2000s
Key trends of tectonic hazards in the last 50 years - What has happened to the number of deaths from disasters?
The number of deaths from disasters has decreased except in the case of mega-disasters
Key trends of tectonic hazards in the last 50 years - What has happened to the number of people affected by hazards?
The number of people affected by hazards is increasing especially for hydrological and meteorological hazards
Key trends of tectonic hazards in the last 50 years - What has happened to the economic cost of hazards and disasters?
Economic costs of hazards and disasters has increased significantly since the 1960s
What is a multiple hazard zone?
Multiple hazard zones are places where two or more natural hazards occur, and in some cases interact to produce complex disasters
MHZ case study - Philippians - Tropical storms
Tropical storms in the Philippians - Typhoon Haiyan - Nov 2013
MHZ case study - Philippians - Earthquakes - magnitude, deaths, injuries
Earthquakes in the Philippians - 2013 - Magnitude 7.2 earthquake - killed over 200 people and injured over 800
MHZ case study - Philippians - Volcanic activity
23 active volcanoes – Mount Pinatubo 1991 – early warnings saved around 5000 people – eruption then followed by Typhoon Yuana – final death toll around 850
