Tectonics EQ3

Question 1

Are geophysical hazards occurring more frequently, causing more deaths and more economic damage?

Answer 1

• No
• Occurrence is the same there is no real change
• Number have decreases since 2000. In 2000 there was 60,000 deaths while in 2010 there was only 20,000
• The number of disaster have increased from 1960 to 2000, but has decreased since 2000
• Cost has been increasing but thus has been skewed by major disaster spike events
• Number of people affected has been increasing since 1975

Question 2

How good are disaster statics? Are they reliable and accurate?

Answer 2

• Political bias may prevent accurate declaration of data. After the 2004 tsunami in Myanmar the government did not want to show weakness by stating losses. Importance in tourism meant the number of reported deaths were lower.
• In remote areas it is harder to get accurate data
• Trend scan be upset by a cluster of mega disasters such as 2004,2011 and 2015(Nepal)
• Hard to get data in densely populated areas and remote low HDI countries
• No single organisation is responsible, so different sources vary
• Do you include secondary deaths

Question 3

Case study Eyjafjallokul mega disaster

Answer 3

• A volcanic eruption is 2010 in Iceland causing an ash to spread to Europe
• There was no direct deaths but was a high profile impact due to air movements
• Imports and exports were greatly affected in Europe by air travel. Air travel accounts 0.5% of weight of products but 25% of trade by value.
• Delays in transport meant that large quantities of perishable goods rotted resulting a loss for producers. Afghan countries lost $65million.
• Tourists where stranded from home and airlines lost $200million
• Disruption to tourism costed $3billion
• Car manufacturing was disrupted as factories ran out of critical sensors which were produced in Ireland.

Question 4

Case study Tohoku tsunami Mage disaster

Answer 4

• Magnitude 9 earthquake produced a tsunami leaving 150,000 dead and 4000 missing. There was large scale destruction to coastal infrastructure and communities.
• Fukushima nuclear power plant was hit causing high radioactive release, contaminating Pacific Ocean and fishing waters.
• Loss of public acceptability of nuclear power plant and lead to other countries such as Germany and Italy to close reactors or abandon plans. There was increased capital costs because of safety measures. Japan shut down all there reactors.
• This lead to an increased demand of natural gas, where availability was less and price went up.
• There was a decline in Japan’s contribution to world industry, particularly the supply of semiconductors, high tech products and vehicle
• Changed the earth wobble by 17cm and the rate of spin by 1.8 microseconds.

Question 5

What is a mega disaster

Answer 5

• A large scale disaster on a spacial, economic or human impact scale.
• They pose serious problems when trying to reduce its affects in both long and short term
• International support is need with immediate impacts and long term recovery
• They are classified as high impact low probability events

Question 6

What is a hydrometerolgical hazard

Answer 6

A natural hazard caused by climate processes (including droughts, hurricanes and storms)

Question 7

What are multiple hazard zones

Answer 7

Places where a number of physical hazards combine to create an increased level of risk for its country and population

Question 8

Why is the Philippines a multiple hazard zone

Answer 8

• Sits across a mojar convergent plate boundary, so it faces earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes
• Faces the Pacific Ocean the most tsunamis prone ocean
• Lies within South-East’s typhoon belt, bringing strong winds, heavy rainfall which increases risk of flooding and landslides
• Has a tropical monsoon climate
• High level of deforestation
• High population density with 25% living in poverty and poor people living in coastal areas

Question 9

Name 4 hazards that occurred in the Philippines

Answer 9

Volcano Mt Pinatubo
Typhoon Haiyan
Earthquake Bohol
Typhoon Koppu

Question 10

Case study Mt Pinatubo

Answer 10

• Second largest volcanic eruption on earth that century emitting thousands tons of noxious sulfur dioxide, causing a pyroclastic flow and emitting 20million tonnes of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, dropping global temperature by 0.5 decrees.
• Jets encountered ash and sustained $100million in damage
• 20,000 highlander who lived on the slope were evacuated and have returned by face continuous threats from lahars
• Crops were buried by lahars and those areas will be out of use for years

Question 11

Typhoon Haiyan

Answer 11

• Most powerful storm to make landfall
• Killed 7000 and affecting 11.5million, displacing 550,000 and destroying 130,000 houses.
• Wind speeds reaching 230km/h
• Costing $2.86 billion
• Bodies are still being found in 2014
• One provenance had 8 trucks and aid from other countries was delayed.

Question 12

Earthquake Bohol

Answer 12

• Magnitude 7.2 with a focus of 12km.
• 208 people died with 797 injured
• Search and rescue was hampered by damaged roads and many buildings were destroyed including historical buildings.
• Two stampedes were reported in cities killing at least 3 people
• Earthquake hit 3 weeks after hurricane Haiyan.
• There was an undiscovered fault called north Bohol fault
• 4 hospitals damaged

Question 13

Typhoon koppu

Answer 13

• More than a meter of rainfall in a day causing flooding and landslides
• 100,000 people displaced due to risk of landslides, 58 people killed
• Cost $235.8million
• 200km/h wind speeds
• Flood water prevented military vehicles from reaching the worst hit villages.
• It was a slow moving typhoon so it stays over longer. This is because of a ridge of pressure trapped it.

Question 14

Forecasting earthquakes

Answer 14

Forecasts are based off data and evidence gathered through global seismic monitoring networks as well as historical records.
Forecasting in the long term are currently mor accurate than the short term. This is important as it allows government to prepare.

Question 15

What is a prediction

Answer 15

Identifying an actual events and times

Question 16

What is forecast

Answer 16

A broad pattern of when and where

Question 17

Volcanic prediction methods

Answer 17

• Measure thermal temperatures
• GPS positioning system measuring changes in size and shape of the volcano due to a build up of magma
• Robotic spiders can travel into the vent and collect rock samples and test mineral contents
• Collect gas samples e.g. Sulfur dioxide during eruptions emissions increase 5 to 10 times.

Question 18

What are the Hazard management stages

Answer 18

• Mitigation
• Preparedness
• Response
• Recovery

Question 19

What is the focus of mitigation stage

Answer 19

Identifying tidal natural hazards and taking steps to reduce their impact

Question 20

What is the focus of the preparedness stage

Answer 20

Minimising loss of life and property and preparing for facilitating the response and recovery stage

Question 21

What is the focus of the response stage

Answer 21

Coping with the disaster with the main aims to save lives, protect property, reduce economic cost and make affected areas safe.

Question 22

What is the focus of recovery

Answer 22

To focus on people immediate needs (short term) these may last for a week. This can be providing food and temporary shelter.
To focus on long term recovery which are steps to reduce vulnerability, this can include rebuilding homes and infrastructure

Question 23

Who are the emergency planners in the hazard ,management cycle

Answer 23

Governments
International organisations
Businesses
Community groups

Question 24

What does the park model show

Answer 24

It is a response curve that shows how a country or region may respond after a hazard event. It can be used to compare how areas at different levels of development might recover from a hazard.

Question 25

What are the factors of the park model

Answer 25

• The impact of hazards event change over time:depending on factors such as amount of aid received, size of the hazard and level of the area affected
• All hazards have different impacts so their curves are different
• wealthier countries have different curves than developing countries because they are able to recover much faster.

Question 26

What are the different phases of the park model

Answer 26

• The relief phase
• Rehabilitation phase
• Reconstruction, mitigation and preparedness

Question 27

What is the focus of the relief phase

Answer 27

The immediate response, focusing on saving lives and property. This includes search and rescue and urgent medical supplies, food, water, clothing

Question 28

What is the focus of the rehabilitation phase

Answer 28

This may last several months and efforts are made to restore physical and community structures at least temporarily.

Question 29

What is the focus of the reconstruction phase

Answer 29

Permanent changes are introduced to restore quality of life and economic stability. This include mitigation and preparedness reducing vulnerability

Question 30

Strategies to modify events (hazard mitigation)

Answer 30

• Land use zoning
• Diverting lava flows
• GIS Mapping
• Building design

Question 31

What is land use zoning and what is its pros and cons

Answer 31

Local government planners regulate land and how it should be used to protect people and property.
Pros:
-can reduce the number of people exposed to the hazard
-Low cost
Cons:
-hard to change the land use of urban areas
-Governments in developing countries may not have full control over planning

Question 32

What is diverting lava flows and what are its pros and cons

Answer 32

Diverts lava flows away from people by building barriers and digging channels.
Pros:
-protect buildings 
-reduce loss of life 
-protects valuable land 
Cons:
-Hard to predict 
-terrain has to be suitable 
-may divert lava into another community 
-Ineffective

Question 33

What is GIS mapping

Answer 33

Identifying evacuation routes and rescue options using population size, area affected and location of airports and airstrips.
Pros:
-faster and more coordinated evacuations and rescue operations
Cons:
-Based on current data available
-Can only be used on specific scales

Question 34

How does building design minimise a hazard and what are its pros and cons

Answer 34

Designing a building that can withstand hazard events 
Pros: 
-saves lives 
-protect buildings 
Cons:
-Can be expensive 
-Hard to achieve full protection

Question 35

What are strategies to modify vulnerability

Answer 35

• high tech monitoring
• crisis mapping
• public education
• community preparedness and adaptation

Question 36

What is high tech monitoring

Answer 36

Monitoring hazards so that scientists can predict them more accurately
Pros:
-allows advance warning
-in the future it may allow time for preparation
Cons:
-technology isn’t advanced enough to give an accurate result on the short term.

Question 37

What is crisis mapping and what are the pros and cons

Answer 37

Local people provide information such as where people are tracked etc. These locations are plotted on maps.
Pros:
-rescue and aid workers can decide how, when and where to direct resources
Cons:
-people may not be able to provide information because they don’t have access to a phone.

Question 38

How does public education reduce vulnerability

Answer 38

Better public awareness can reduce vulnerability
Pros:
-reduce number if deaths or injuries
Cons:
-may not be able to get education in less developed countries

Question 39

How community preparedness reduces vulnerability

Answer 39

People living in the community at risk are best suitable to develop plans and procedures
Pros:
-They have local knowledge
Cons:
-Plans may not be finalised and red de redes ineffective

Question 40

What are the role of aid donors in managing loss

Answer 40

• provide emergency aid: food, water, shelter, clothing
• provide short term aid: restoring water supplies, providing temporarily shelter
• long term aid: reconstructing buildings and infrastructure, redeveloping economy and magazine programs to reduce impacts

They provide cast, personnel, services or equipment. It can be distributed to the government or be controllers by aid agencies

Question 41

What are the role of NGOs in managing loss

Answer 41

They provide funds, coordinate search and rescue and help develop reconstruction plans. They are involved in all stages of the hazard management cycle. They help committees build resilience. An example is that the Red Cross provides seeds and tools and oxfam provide live stock.

Question 42

What are the roles of insurers in managing loss

Answer 42

Provide money to individual businesses so they can be repaired and built. But few people have insurance as more pressing economic needs take priority. This is only available in developed countries.

Question 43

The role of communities in managing loss

Answer 43

Local people are the first to respond and play an important role in the communities recovery.

• Immediate search and rescue
• temporary shelters
• long term strategies for rebuilding

Question 44

Mega disaster Boxing Day tsunami

Answer 44

• 300,000 killed and tens of thousands injured
• 18 counties affected
• Many were tourists
• Whole towns and villages swept away particularly Banda Areh
• Damage to tourist infrastructure
• 60% of sir Lanka fishing fleet was wiped out
• Salt water contaminated fresh water sources
• loss of tourism