Tectonics Flashcards
1.4c - What are the social and economic impacts of volcanoes?
Tend to have less social and more eco/enviro impacts
Rarely happen
Can be predicted
People evacuate but property cannot
Generally people don’t live near volcanoes
Short term negatives but can have longer term positive impacts eg fertile land
Can have high social impacts due to secondary hazards like a lahar
1.4c - What are the social and economic impacts of earthquakes?
Tend to have very high social impacts Can't be predicted but can be forecasted In LICs mostly due to low prep Can't evacuate effectively Waves travel quickly so can't evacuate in time Pretty damaging and common
1.4c - What are the social and economic impacts of tsunamis?
Tend to have social, econ and enviro impacts
Coastal areas tend to be quite highly populated _ can be tourist areas
Lots of people who don’t know/have experience in response
Predictable
20 or 20 mins till wave hits/warning
Can evacuate people
Need good communication for evac
Rare
1.6a - How does lack of education infleunce vulnerability & resilience?
Often work in Primary sector - hazards affect their income more
May not know how to recover/dangers of hazards/evac procedures
Communication can be difficult between locals + NGOs
Don’t know how to build safe structures
Lack of knowledge of he hazard - chaotic response
1.6a - How does lack of access to health care infleunce vulnerability & resilience?
Running out of space/resources
May not be healthy enough to cope with the hazard
Death from injuries
Can lead to higher death rates after the hazard has occurred
Diseases can spread and kill more after the hazard
1.6a - How does low income infleunce vulnerability & resilience?
Lack of insurance - no rebuild
Can’t afford to recover - rely on international aid
Can’t afford materials to construct safe housing
Less likely to have saving/prediction + monitoring tech
Slow response - slow recovery - can’t afford to evacuate
Many work in primary sector already and income can be lost due to hazards
1.6a - How does weak housing infleunce vulnerability & resilience?
High levels of homelessness
Home built house - far more likely to collapse
Less likely to survive if home collapses
Temporary housing/shelter often unsanitary + can lead to diseases spreading
1.6b - What is governance and the different types of governance
Governance: refers to the processes by which a country or area is run. ‘Good governance’ implies that the local and national government are efficient at keeping people safe, healthy and educated
Political governance - determines how good the policy outcomes are and how well state, non-state and private sector players work together
Administrative governance - major implications for how well policies are implemented
Economic governance - major implications for equality, poverty and people’s quality of life
1.6b - What other factors affect vulnerability?
Population density - buildings tend to be closer together + high rise, more people around
Isolation/accessibility - difficult for aid to get there or people to evacuate, less likely to be reported
Degree of urbanisation - slums built in marshes or soft rock can lead to increased vulnerability to secondary hazards
1.6c - How does a hazard effect a developing, emerging and developed country?
Developing - Haiti, Port-au-Prince - HDI 0.48
160,000 deaths, 1.5 mil homeless, 250,000 homes destroyed
Context - Decades of corruption - Ineffective and brutal governance left Haitian people hugely vulnerable because of slum housing - building codes cut = poorly built infrastructure- Ineffective water supply and endemic poverty - Post-earthquake cholera epidemic killed more than 10,000 people and infected more than 800,000
Emerging - Sichuan, 2008, - HDI - 0.73
69,000 deaths, 375,000 injured , Economic costs of $140 billion
Context - Economic losses in China were high reflecting its development progress - Destroyed formal homes, businesses and infrastructure - Immediate response was rapid due to 2008 Beijing Olympic Games only months away so the Communist gov mobilised the army and other responders rapidly
Developed
Major death tolls from tectonic hazards rare - 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan exceptional - Countries such as Japan, the USA and Chile have advanced and widespread insurance - allows people to recover - Gov run prep such as Japan’s Disaster Prevention Day on 1st Sept every year as well as public education about risk, response and evac- Sophisticated monitoring of volcanoes and defences eg tsunami walls- Regulated local planning systems - use of land-use zoning codes to ensure buildings can withstand hazards and are not located in areas of unacceptable risk
1.8a - What is prediction of volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis like?
Volcanoes - Closely monitor physical changes - Small earthquake beforehand
Bulging of the ground - Sudden changes to atmospheric gas chemistry
Gases given off - Temperature of the volcano and hot springs
Earthquakes - Can only forecast them - Done through hazard maps and probability tables
Tsunamis - Dart II system - monitors movements of the ocean floor - Recorder on the seabed that transmits data about anomalies to a buoy on the surface - Then the data is transmitted every 15 seconds via satellite to ground stations
1.8a - What is warning systems like in Japan?
Early warning systems and Damage Assessment
Early warning needs to be followed by action to make any difference
Government agencies must have emergency infrastructure, for example, working channels of communication in place in order to communicate warnings to local communities
Systems such as TriNet and ShakeMaps and damage assessment/prediction tools such as GPS, GIS mapping systems predict and illustrate probable damages from a number of disaster scenarios
Early warning responses in Japan
Controlling trains and elevators - prevent people from being trapped
Suspend work in progress - to avoid mistakes
Workers performing hazardous task - to secure safety
At home - to enable personal protection
Altering schools + assembly halls - to guide evacuation
1.8b - What is the importance of response in the hazard management cycle?
Emergency services Saves time Lowers impacts Get situations under control However, rely aid + good international relations, unexpected obstacles eg landslides, good comms needed
1.8b - What is the importance of recovery in the hazard management cycle?
Building codes Emergency services Reduces secondary effects + econ losses Builds economy + improves it However, expensive, takes long time, aid isn’t always given without conditions
1.8b - What is the importance of mitigation in the hazard management cycle?
Building codes
Sea wall
Lowers econ and social impacts
However - only hic’s can afford - feeling of security but doesn’t protect against mega hazards
1.8b - What is the importance of preparedness in the hazard management cycle?
Education Evac systems Lower impacts Prevent deaths Less chaotic Can be cheap However- can be expensive - needs good governance
1.8b - What are some disaster management stratgies?
Prepped pop = reduced death toll
Prediction = warning = evac = save lives but unlikely to reduce econ losses
Immediate rescue and relief essential
Rapid response improved
International relief occurs quickly = save lives but numbers affected + econ losses still high
1.9a - What are the stratgies to modify the event of hazards?
Land use zoning
Asesimic buildings
Tsunamis defences aka sea walls
Lava diversion methods
Examples of event modifying
Lava diversion barriers - Mt Etna Italy 1993
Draining crater lakes to reduce lahars Mt Pinatubo, Philippines 2001
Offshore barriers in Ofunato Bay Japan - reduce tsunami height
Spraying seawater to cool and solidify a lava flow, Heimaey Iceland 1973
1.9a - What are the advs and disadvs of modifying the event stratgies?
Land Use Zoning
Advs - Built in surfaces, Low cost, removes people from high risk areas Eg 10k people moved from red zone areas in NZ
Disadvs - Have to leave homes, location expensive, overcrowding issue, prevents economic development
Aseismic Buildings
advs - 85% of buildings in Tokyo are aseismic, reduced risk of destruction
dis - 4 times more expensive, compliance of building regulations can be difficult
Tsunami Defences AKA Sea Walls
advs - Reduce wave height by 83%
dis - Expensive, japanese sea walls cost 1.4mil, not aesthetically pleasing - can hinder tourism
Lava diversion methods
advs - Reduces econ losses, protects infrastructure, reduces social impacts eg Iceland 2010
dis - Unethical eg Hawaii, can be difficult to achieve, enviro damage, some only work in certain circumstances
1.9b - What are stratgies to modify the vulnerability and resilience of a hazard?
Hi-tech scientific monitoring
Community preparedness and education
Adaptation - moving out of harms way - relocate
Examples of modification of vulnerability and resilience
Tsunami warning systems gave people in Japan 20 mins to evac
Creating evac plans like the Regional Catastrophic Earthquake Mass Transportation/Evacuation Plan writing in San Francisco in 2011
Diversifying econ base so not all jobs lost in disaster
Investment in healthcare + education eg practise drills in Japan
1.9b - What are the advs and dis of modifying the vulnerability + resilience stratgies
Hi-tech scientific monitoring
adv - More accurate predictions eg Japan 2010, more successful response
dis - Very expensive - HICs only afford, $6 mil to retain, false warnings - 75% on Dart system
Community preparedness and education
adv - Spreads around the community (more prep), relatively cheap
dis - Econ losses which community can’t prep for, illiterate - may not understand importance, lack of formal education in LICs eg Haiti
Adaptation: Moving out of harm’s way - relocate
adv - Move out of danger zones eg Iceland 2010 - 0 casualties, governments save money as damage isn’t repeated
dis - Relocation is expensive eg Christchurch, income generation disrupted as people move away from jobs
1.9c - What are the Strategies to modify loss in hazards?
Short term emergency aid
Long term aid
Insurance
Examples of modifying the loss
Internal aid from governments
Volunteers - 1.2 Japanese volunteered in Kobe 1995
Insurance companies
Long term reconstruction - Kashmir 2005 earthquake Pakistan government set up Earthquake Rehabilitation and reconstruction Authority (ERRA)
International aid emergency aid in the form of water blankets, food, shelter and sanitation
Short term emergency aid
Rescue teams, first aid kits + other types of immediate aid can save lives eg Haiti earthquake 2010, countries may lack resources, NGOs providing can save lives
Increases dependence/debt, corruption can lead to aid not reaching those who need it most, can decrease effectiveness
Long term aid
Trade with dono country may continue in future, important infrastructure eg schools can be built eg 13.5 bil was given to Haiti in 2010
Tied aid can make recipient countries reliant on donor, debt
Insurance
Helps lower econ losses, provides econ security , helps people bounce back/recover quickly
Expensive,not everyone can afford, LICs - nothing to insure, not very available - cant get insurance in hazard prone areas eg public health insurance is 3.3% in Haiti
