TECTONICS Flashcards
Haiti context 2010
Between the Caribbean and North American plates
● Over a major fault line
● 7.0 mag (lasted over 1 min)
● Epicentre was 15 miles from nation’s capital, Port Au Prince
● Very shallow focus, 13km deep
Haiti vulnerability
Haiti was very vulnerable to this earthquake
● Close to nation’s capital with population of around 2 million
● Main source of income is remittances
● Haiti was spending 80% of its national budget on loan repayments by 1900
● 98% of Haiti deforested, meaning the land is less stable as the roots from trees are no longer there to bind it
● By the time all of the loans were paid off, Haiti was left destitute and trapped in a spiral of debt
● Unemployed (Unemployment rate = 75%) and People on $2 a day cannot afford quake-proof housing
● Capital is built upon many unstable soils and seismic waves amplified within the soil ○ Caused intense shaking and liquefaction
● Had a vulnerable population (2009 stats)
○ Nearly 40% of the population are u14
○ Life expectancy = 52
○ GDP was only $1,300
○ 80% of the population lived below the poverty line and
○ 25 doctors per 100,000 people
Haiti Capacity to Cope
Haiti did not have the resources to prepare
Building quality was poor and therefore easily collapsed
● At least 500,000 people in the slum of Cité de Soleil in Port-au-Prince live in abject poverty, these people were the worst affected
● Haiti was already reliant on international aid before the earthquake
Haiti Response
Short-term
● Aid effort from within Haiti was virtually non-existent
● Foreign aid was slowed due to lack of transport infrastructure
● Satellite imagery in London was used to guide relief efforts
● Many countries responded to the appeals for aid → Much confusion over who was in charge
Long-term
● USA took charge in trying to coordinate aid distribution
● The EU gave $330 million and the World Bank waived the countries debt repayments for 5 years
● Senegalese offered land to any Haitians who wanted it
● Dominican Republic offered support and accepted some refugees
● No. people in relief camps post quake = 1.6 million, no transitional housing had been built. Most of the camps had no electricity, running water, or sewage disposal, tents falling apart
● Between 23 major charities, $1.1 billion had been collected for Haiti for relief efforts, but 2% percent of the money had been released
● After 1 yr, 1 million people were still displaced
Haiti social impacts
● Looting and sporadic violence occurred
● Approx 315, 000 died
○ ¼ of gov officials died = no one coordinated
● Over 1 mil made homeless
● 3 mil in total affected
● The government of Haïti also estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged
● 1 in 5 jobs were lost as a result of the earthquake
Haiti Economic impacts
● The clothing industry, which accounts for two-thirds of Haïti’s exports, reported structural damage at manufacturing facilities
● Port was destroyed ∴ imports/exports ↓
2008 Sichuan earthquake Context
Indian plate collided with the Eurasian plate - pressure released along Longmenshan fault line (runs below Sichuan)
● 7.9 - tremors lasted 120 seconds
● Epicentre = 80km NW of Chengdu (provincial capital)
● Focal depth = 19km
Haiti environmental impacts
Sea levels in local areas changed, meaning some parts of the land were sinking below the sea level
● Animal habitats destroyed
Sichuan Vulnerability
Earthquake’s damage concentrated in rural and small towns (less densely populated) ● China is wealthier - growing economy ∴ had funds to pay for rescue & aid efforts ● Strong central gov able to respond quickly and effectively to disaster ● Population statistics
○ Approx 20% of the population are u14
○ Life expectancy = About 74
○ GDP was only $4.6 trillion
○ 13% of the population lived below the poverty line and
○ 93% were literate
○ Approx 2.5 million licensed doctors
Sichuan capacity to cope
Lack of preparedness
● Corruption of gov and law enforcement meant some unsafe building practices still exist
● Non governmental buildings not necessarily earthquake proof
● No fixed evac sports and no reg earthquake drills
● Resources to respond quickly
● Stronger buildings than Haiti ∴ safer buildings and better infrastructure
Sichuan response
Short-term
● Troops parachuted into Wenchuan to assess the situation, & hiked on foot, as landslides had made roads inaccessible
● Production of tents ↑ → Over 3 million needed to house people who had been made homeless
● > £100 million donated to Red Cross in the fortnight after
● Running camps, ensuring food, medicine & doctors were available, tents w/ blankets & mattresses and volunteers
● 20 helicopters assigned to rescue and relief efforts in Wenchuan, which was cut off by landslide
● Army troops helped to free trapped survivors
● Teams from Japan, Russia and South Korea joined the rescue effort
Long-term
● 1 million temp homes to house those that had lost theirs (expected to be built in next three years)
● Banks wrote of debt owed by survivors who didn’t have any insurance ● Chinese gov pledged $10 million rebuilding fund → towards collapsed structures and the 1 million temp homes
● China requested help from Japan, Russia and Korea
● Red Cross donated food and medicine
● After 2 yrs
○ 99% of about 200 000 farmhouses destroyed had been rebuilt
○ 97% of planned approx 30 000 reconstruction projects in the region had started
○ Over 200 transport projects underway
Sichuan social impacts
Schools
● School buildings meant to meet tougher regulations than normal buildings ○ Protecting the children
● Money spent on governmental buildings but some building codes ignored for schools as would cost more money (corruption)
● 5000 children died
● Approx 70, 000 people killed, approx 375, 000 injured
● Over 18, 000 listed missing
● 100 schools collapsed
● Communications (telephones) cut of
Sichuan economic
● Cargo train (13 petrol tanks) derailed in Hui Country & set alight
● Around 400 dams were damaged
● Oil prices dropped (speculation China demand would ↓ )
● Cost $191 million
● In Shifang, chemical plants collapsed, killing hundreds (& releasing toxic ammonia)
Sichuan environmental impacts
Landslides
● 6 pandas escaped at Wolong Nature reserve - 2 injured, 1 dead
● Rivers blocked by landslides, 34 quake lakes formed.
● Risk of flooding when dams collapsed
2010 Iceland volcano vulnerability
- Small pop (320,000) - low population density
- 3.6 doctors per 100 people
- Approx $12.5 billion GDP
- 4th on HDI
- People who live near water were more vulnerable to flooding
- 99% literacy rate
2010 Indian Ocean Tsunami Context
14 countries surrounding the Indian Ocean affected
● Economic losses and deaths in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Somalia among
others make this disaster one of the largest ever in terms of areal extent
● 9.0 magnitude
● 900 mile fault line
2010 Indian Ocean Tsunami Vulnerability
Inequality
● High state of vulnerability for surrounding nations due to lack of preparedness and education
Governance
● Preparedness and technology to cope with disaster was weak Geographical factors
● Very destructive fault line
● Warnings were inadequate
2010 Indian Ocean Tsunami Impacts
Social
● 250, 000 deaths
● Outbreak of cholera
● Lack of food supply
Economic
● $9.4 bn damage
● Fishing industry devastated in Sri Lanka
● Tourism collapsed
Environment
● Smaller islands completely destroyed
● Pollution and debris hazard
2010 Iceland volcano Capacity to cope
Prepared for the eruption because the first eruption occurred on 20th of March, so were prepared for larger eruptions
● High tech equipment for prediction
○ Warning systems (texts sent to residents with a 30 min warning)
● Professional response teams
2010 Iceland Response
Short-term
● Evacuation around volcano
● European Red Cross societies mobilised volunteers, staff and other resources
● Red Cross provided food for population living in vicinity of the glacier, as well as
counselling and psychosocial support
● 700 people were evacuated from the disaster zone
● People had to flee their homes in the middle of the night
● Immediate closure of airspace = death toll 0
Long-term
● EU developed an integrated structure for air traffic management
2010 Iceland Social
Sporting events were cancelled due to cancelled flights
● Flooding by melting glacier displaced people (Jökulhlaup)
● Respiratory diseases/problems
● Homes damaged
2010 Iceland Economic impacts
Airfreight = 25% of trade by value in UK
● No fly zone cost airlines approx £130 mil/day
○ Flights cancelled due to lack of visibility and microscopic particles of volcano rocks can clog up engines
● Car manufacturing
○ Nissan in Japan had to stop manufacturing of certain car models as sensor
shipped from Ireland could not get there ● Perishable goods
○ Large quantities of flowers and vegetables from Kenya left to rot
■ Kenya’s flower council = Approx $1.5 million a day lost shipments to
europe
○ WB estimated approx $65 mil lost by African countries due to shutdown of
transport of perishable goods
2010 Iceland Environmental Impacts
Gas released killed crop yields
● Affected part of Iceland’s coastal sand plain
● Local water supplies contaminated w/ fluoride as it was contained in the ash
● Ash from the volcano deposited dissolved into the North Atlantic, triggering a plankton bloom, driving an increased biological productivity
2011 Tohoku Context
Magnitude 9.0 earthquake
● Category VI (highest) on the Tsunami intensity scale
● March 2011
● Epicentre approx 70 km East of the Oshika Peninsula of Tohoku
● Focus was at an underwater depth of approx 32 km
● Japan located at the point of 3 tectonic plates (The Eurasian, Pacific and Philippine
plates)
● Had a significant nuclear impact
● Land subsided by 1-2 metres meaning sea walls were lowered
○ Tsunami ∴ easily passed over them
2011 Tohoku Capacity to cope
Overall high capacity to cope → Earthquakes & Tsunamis are common
● 40% of Japan’s coastline has sea walls up to 10m high
● Japan has a hazards agency, the Japanese Meteorological Agency, which is set up for
the prediction of earthquakes and tsunami
● Buildings in Japan are also designed to cope with Earthquakes, and Japan’s high
level of development means that buildings are made to be life safe and can actually move with earthquake waves and reduce damage
Tohoku 2011 Vulnerability
Coastline vulnerable as majority of people live on coast of Japan
● Upper 10m of soil in the zone was vulnerable, as the waves amplified in the soil,
liquefaction occurred
● High lit rate - 99%
2011 Tohoku Response
Short-term
● The Japanese government responded by sending in specially trained people such as
the Self-Defence Forces, a domestic response
● Many countries such as the UK sent search and rescue teams to help search for
survivors
● NGOs and other Aid agencies helped too, with the Japanese Red Cross reporting $1
billion in donations
● 100,000 Japanese soldiers sent out for search and rescue
● Specialist search and rescue teams flown from overseas
● 3 mins post quake, tsunami warning issued on TV
○ Not everyone listened to this & also underestimated the Tsunami ● Temp evac zones (shelters opened)
Long-term
● 6 days after the quake, a motorway was repaired
● Facilities were rebuilt over time
● Tsunami defence system was installed
● Total of 116 countries and 28 international organisations offered assistance
● Approx 10 tonnes of equipment was shipped out
2011 Tohoku Social
Approx 16,000 dead (approx 60% of dead 60+)(approx 90% died by drowning)
● Approx 6000 injured
● Approx 4000 missing
● Approx 350,000 displaced people in the region needed catering for & issues included
shortages of food, water, shelter, medicine and fuel for survivors
● Destroyed the Fukushima power nuclear power station
○ Caused loss of public trust in nuclear power (Germany & Italy even shut down some plants and scraped plans to build new ones)
● Electricity lost for 6 mil homes
● 4 million people left homeless
● Approx 20,000 still isolated weeks later
● 600 roads cut off, 32 bridges destroyed
● Approx 46, 000 buildings destroyed & approx 150, 000 were damaged
● Destroyed factories ∴ many left unemployed
2011 Tohoku Economic impacts
Capital costs of construction of nuclear power stations ↑ due to enforced safety
measures
● Global prices of Liquified Natural Gas ↑
○ Worldwide availability & affordability of LNG affected due to Japan’s sudden demand
● Treatment of nuclear damage
● Cost of recovery = $235 billion
● Tokyo stocks fell
2011 Tohoku Environmental impacts
Radioactive release from 3 cooling reactors into the sea and local fishing grounds
● 5000km2 of coastal plains hit, destroying farmland & settlements
● Ruptured gas pipes lead to fires
● Natural habitats and vegetation damaged
● Liquefaction covered large areas in mud
● Many animals killed
Multi Hazard Zone - Philippines
Has 37 volcanoes, 18 of which are active
● 7000 islands, 1000 inhabited
● 102 mil population
○ 74% have been exposed to 2+ hazards
● 60% of its land is exposed to multiple hazards
● 2% of annual GDP is spent on clearing up typhoons
● 1950-2015 - 555 major hazard events occurred
● 2015 - WRI placed it 3rd on the most at risk country list
Isle of Purbeck - Geological structure example
East Dorset
Concordant Coast
There has been erosion of the resistant limestone in Purbeck at the entrance to the Lulworth Cove
This has formed a cove/bay
How many sediment cells are there around England and Wales?
11
Holderness Coast - The sediment cell
Sources → Where sediment is eroded from cliffs (Flamborough Head’s chalk, Hornsea’s boulder clay). River systems (River Humber) are also important sources
● Transfer zones → Places where sediment is moving along the coastline by LSD &
offshore currents. Beaches, parts of dunes and salt marshes (Humber Estuary)
perform this function
● Sinks → Locations where dominant process = deposition; depositional landforms are
created such as offshore bars & spits (Spurn Head)
Some coastal features can act as sources and sinks (sand dunes), depending on whether the coastline is dominantly depositional or erosional
Holderness Negative feedback mechanisms
Storms (short-term) could erode Spurn Head, disrupting the equilibrium however it returns over time.
Negative feedback which helps to return the equilibrium:
● During a major erosive period (eg. winter), a lot of cliff collapse would occur resulting in a lot of chalk/boulder clay at the bottom of the cliff. This however protects the cliff base from further wave attack, slowing the erosion.
● Major erosion at Spurn Head = ↑ deposition offshore = offshore bar which protects the spit & allows it to recover
Holderness human intervention
Human intervention (coastal management, sea level rise etc) can impact long-term dynamic equilibrium. Examples of positive feedback that lead to this:
● ↑ storms due to climate change = beach eroded faster ∴ recent debris never protects the cliff for long leading to overall erosion ↑ in speed
● Rising sea levels = ↑ erosion of Spurn head (eg), as sediment removed faster than replaced
What is a delta?
Triangular landform created by sediment deposition from a river
The Nile Delta - Human actions
Built the Aswan High Dam
Has led to water withdrawals for industry, cities and farming from the reservoir behind the Aswan High Dam
● Sediment being trapped by the reservoir and dam; water in the dam flows very slowly allowing sediment to be deposited
