Tectonics - Topic 3 Flashcards
Disaster Risk Management
What are tectonic disaster risks?
- The potential damage to properties, injuries and loss of lives from a disaster, in a given period of time.
- It is determined as a product of the interaction between hazard, vulnerability and exposure to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
What is disaster risk management?
Disaster risk management refers to the plans and action that are in place to:
- Prevent disaster risk before the occurrences of tectonic hazards
- Reduce disaster risks as tectonic hazards occur
- Manage disaster risks after the occurences of tectonic hazards
Disaster risk management strengthens resilence as it enables communities and countries to resist, adapt and recover from the impacts of tectonic hazards in a timely manner
How do you prevent disaster risks before the occurrences of tectonic hazards? Provide an example with your explanation
- Strategies include designing hazard-resistant building to ensure structures can withstand hazards and do not collapse easily, hence preventing disaster risks
Example:
* Taipei 101 is a skyscraper built in an earthquake-prone zone
* It has a weighted damper near the top of the building to balance out ground shaking from the earthquakes. This reduces the shaking from earthquakes. This reduces the sway of the building during an earthquake and therfore the threat of the building collapsing
How do you reduce disaster risks as tectonic hazards occur?
- Strategies include tsunami and earthquake early monitoring and warning systems . This enables timely evacuation and reduces potential loss of lives
How do you manage disaster risks after the occurrences of tectonic hazards?
- Strategies include insurance coverage, which offers financials payouts to rebuild when properties are damaged or destroyed
- This brings about quicker recovery from the impacts of a tectonic hazards
How do disaster risks and losses hinder development?
Disaster risks can bring serious environment, social and economic consequences, affecting both indivduals and countries
These consequences may hinder development of countries
* When countries have to channel money to rebuilding after a tectonic hazard, their development may be slowed down as less money can be invested in other areas such as infrastructure and education
* These costs are especially detrimental to developing countries where the need for development is the highest, abd where funds may be lacking
* Poverty reduction progress may be affected aks people are driven into poverty and their standards of living drop when they lose their source of income and homes
Examples:
1. For instance, farmers may be unable tp irrigate due to the contamination of water sources, and fisherman, who lose their bost to tsunamis are note able to fish
2. Schools and healthcare facilities may be damaged. disrupting social services to disadvantaged communities, resutling in a drop of their standard of living
- The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami pushed the proportion of people lviing below the poverty line in Aceh, Indonesia, from 30 to 50%. Many loss their homes, jobs and sources of incomes, hindering Aceh’s development
Countries’ economic growth may also be slowed down, affecting their development progress:
* For instance their entire tourism may be severly affected due to damage to infrastructure, facilities and amenties, resutling loss of revenue to people and the government
How does disaster risks result in environmental consequences?
- Tectonic hazards such as landslides caused by volcanic eruptions can bury huge areas of forests and wetlands , destroying entire ecosystems and causing biodiversity loss
- The debris from landslides pollutes rivers, killing aquatic life
- The debris may block rivers, causing floods that can damage nearby ecosystems
How does disaster risks result in social consequences?
- Tectonic hazards such as tsunamis can result in injuries and loss of lives as people drown and get hit by fast-moivngd ebris carried by the waves
- People may become destroyed. They may be fored to live in temporary housing which lacks proper sanitation, resuytling in poor standards of living
- The sea water brought inland by tsunami may contiminate wellls and other sources of drinking water, causing water pollution. This may result in the spread of diseases such as cholera
- Individuals may suffer from psychologcal trauma from the loss of their homes or love ones. In addition, the constant threat of losing their libves and being physically harmed while living in these areas can affect their mental well-being
How does disaster risks result in economic consequences?
- Tectonic hazards can cause the destruction of homes are properties
- Individuals may suffer financially as it is costly to repair or rebuild their damaged homes
- Business owners can lose incomes caused by damage to their properties
- Governments need to spend money to repair and rebuild because of the damage from tectonic hazards
Why is it important to reduce disaster risks?
Reducing disaster risks is important for disaster-prone developing countries because:
* The social, economic and environmental consequences can be very severe, and may hinder development
* Developing countries are foten disproportionately affected by tectonic hazards because they often lack the capacity (e.g. technological know-how and resources) to adequately prevent, reduce and manage disaster risks
Example:
* During the Mw 7.0 Haiti earthquake in 2010, most of the city was destroyed. This is because they lacked the finances to invest in earthquake-resistant buildings, leading to many collapsed buildings and over 220,000 deaths.
* In comparison, the Mw 9.0 Tohoku, Japan earthquake and tsunami in 2011 had a lower death toll (about 19,000 deaths) even though it was higher in magnitude. As a developed country, Japan had more earthquake-resistant buildings. While the tsunami led to devastating damage, Japan was also in a better position to recover due to their available resources.
However, there are developing countries which do manage to reduce their disaster risk through investment and planning.
* Reducing disaster risk is a cost-effective investment in preventing future losses, and therefore contributes to sustainable development.
* The additional investments to reduce disaster risks are often small compared to the costs incurred from disasters.
* With less losses, the money to rebuild will be minimised, and development gains achieved will not be lost, thereby contributing to sustainable development.
Example:
* The Mw 8.8 Chile earthquake in 2010 resulted in lesser building damage and a lower casualty count of about 500 when compared to the 2010 Haiti earthquake which had a lower magnitude. One reason was due to Chile’s modern earthquake-resistant buildings.
Define “chemical composition of magma”
Chemical make-up of magma. Different types of magam may contain different substances (e.g. silica or iron) in different amounts
What is the “distance from epicentre”
The space between where earthquakes begin and where earthquakes are experienced. Seismic enegry decreases as it radiates outwards from the epicentre
Define “exposure”
Refers to the situation of people and their belongings located in hazard-prone areas
Define “Nature of hazard”
Characteristics of the hazard, such as its duration
Define “population density”
The number of people in a unit area of land. When population density is high, more people will be at risk from an earthquake
Define “prevailing wind”
Wind blpwing from the dominant wind direction
Define “vulnerable conditions”
The conditions deteermined by physical, social, economci and environmental factors, which increase the susceptinility of people and their belongings to the impacts of hazards
What factors affect the extent of tectonic disaster risks across places?
The extent of tectonic disaster risks experienced in a place is determined by the interactions between tectonic hazards, and vulnerability and exposure to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions:
Factors influencing disaster risks include:
* Nature of hazard
* Vulnerable conditions
* Exposure
The greater the vulnerabilityh and exposure to tectonic hazards, t,he greater the potential loss of human lives and damage to properties
Depebnding on the level of vulnerability and exposure to tectonic hazarfs, each place will experience tectonic disaster risks to different extents
What are the factors affecting the extent of tectonic disaster risks for volcanic eruptions?
For volcanic eruptions:
Nature of hazard:
* Chemical composition of magma
Vulnerable conditions
What are the factors affecting the extent of tectonic disaster risks for earthquakes?
For earthquakes:
Nature of hazard:
* Duration of shaking
* Time of shaking
Vulnerable conditions:
* Quality of building design and construction
* Soil and rock properities
Exposure:
* Population density
* Distance from epicentre
Give an example where disaster risks caused by earthquakes be influenced by vulnerable conditions, more specifically on the quality of building design and construction
Example:
* Druing the 2010 Mw 7.0 earthquake that occurred in Port-au-Prince Haiit, many buildings and infrastructure collapsed
* The buildings in Haiti are made up of poor-quality materials, and the concrete pillars holding up the buuildings are poorly reinforrced
* More than 80% of all buildings near the epicentre were destroyed during the earthquake, contributing to more than 220,000 lives lost
How can disaster risks cause. by earthquakes be influenced by the nature of the hazard, more specifically on the time of shaking
The time of day influences the activitie carried out by people and how they respond when the earthqauke strikes.
* If people are asleep at night, they will be less alert and are unable to evacuate quickly
* On the other hand, as people are at work or school during the day, they are more alert and able to evacuate quickly
* Hence, they will less likely be trapped, leading to less injuries and loss of lives
Example:
* The 1995 Kobe, Japan earthquake (Mw 6.9) occurred in the early morning at around 6am. As many people were asleep, they were trapped at home, leading to more than 6,000 lives lost.
How can disaster risks caused by earthquakes be influenced by the nature of the hazard, more specifically on the duration of shaking
1. Duration of shaking
The length of time of ground shaking can influence the extent of shaking can influence the extent of disaster risks
The longer the duration of ground shaking, the more damaging an earthquake will be.
- Structures such as buildings and bridges subjected to a long period of stress are more likely to collapse
- People will more likely be trapped in collapsed infrastructure, leading to more injuries and loss of lives
Example:
* The 2011 Tohaku, Japan earthquake (Mw 9.0) lasted for 6 minutes, causing massive damage to buildings
How can disaster risks caused by earthquakes be influenced by vulnerable conditions, more specifically on the quality of building design and construction
The quality of building design and constructiton plays a huge part in determing the extent of disaster risks
In general, earthquakes do not kill people, buildings and their contents do.
The poorer the quality of building deisgnn and construction, the more vulnerable the buildings are collapsing, leading to more trapped people, injuries and loss of lives.
Hence, the disaster risks are higher.
Buildings and infrastructure are more vulnerable to collapsing when they:
* Are poorly built with low quality materials such as zinc sheets or materials that are rigid that are unable to withstand the shaking
* Do not follow building codes set by authorities
* Lack earthqauke-resistant features such as reinforced steel walls
How can disaster risks caused by earthquakes be influenced by vulnerable conditions, more specifically on the soil and rock properties
The soil and rock properties of the area can also contribute to the extent of disaster risks caused by earthquakes
It can potentially open the area up to other earthquake hazards like liquefaction
When the soil is staurateed and loose, shaking may resulting in liquefaction.
* Buildings may be more vulnerable to collapse as theyh may sink into liquefied soil and tip over
* People will more likely be trapped in the collpased buildings, leading to more injuries and loss of lives
The softer the soil, the higher the disaster risks
As seismic waves travel from hard rocks to soft soil, the waves get amplified.
* Passing from rock to soil, the waves slow down but become bigger.
* Soft, loose soil will shake more intensely than hard rock, increasing the likelihod of buildings and bridges collpasing
* People will more likely be trapped in buildings, leading to more injruies and loss of lives. On the other hand, solid rock is much more compact and will shake less intensely
Give an example where disaster risks caused by earthquakes be influenced by vulnerable conditions, more specifically on the soil and rock properties
Example:
* Large areas of Port-au-Prince, Haiti lie on layers of relatively soft soil
* When the 2010 Mw 7.0 earthquake occurred, the sesimic waves were amplified
* This led to the collapse of many buildings and mor than 220,000 people losing their lives
How can disaster risks caused by earthquakes be influenced by exposure to earthquakes, more specifically on the population density
Population density refers to the number of people per unit area usually quoted as per square kilometre (km2)
The higher the population density, the greater the number of people abd building that are exposed to earthquakes
* When large number of people are located within buildings, more people will be trapped when the buildings collapse, causing more injuries and loss of lives
How can disaster risks caused by earthquakes be influenced by exposure to earthquakes, more specifically on the distance from epicentre
The nearer the city is the epicentre, the greater the number of people and building exposed to the hazard, hence the greater the disaster risks.
When the city is nearer to the epicentre, less energy is absorbed by the rocks before seismic waves reach the city
The seismic waves reaching the city will be stronger, causing more violent shaking
* as a reult, buildings will be more likely to collapsen, and people will mor elikely to be trapped, leading to more injuries and loss of lives
Give an example whereby disaster risks caused by earthquakes be influenced by exposure to earthquakes, more specifically on the population density
Example:
* In 1995, the densely populated Japanese industrial city of Kobe was severely affected by a Mw 6.9 earthwquake
* It killed over 6,000 people and injured about 40,000 people
* The population density then was about 3,000 people per km2
Give an example whereby disaster risks caused by earthquakes be influenced by exposure to earthquakes, more specifically on the distance from epicentre
Example:
- The 2010 Mw 7.0 earthquake in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti reuslted in more than 220,000 deaths as its epicentre was only about 25km west of the city
How can disaster risks caused by volcanic eruptions be influenced by the nature of the hazard?
The chemical composition of the magma affects the nature of the eruption
* The type of magma may determine if the eruption will be explosive or effusive
The two types of magma being
* High silica magma
* Low silica magma
Depending on the nature of the eruption, different hazards may occur thus influencing the extent of disaster risks
How can disaster risks caused by volcanic eruptions be influenced by the nature of the hazard, elaborating on low silica magma
Viscosity of magma
* Less viscous
Nature of eruption
* Gentle, effusive eruption
Nature of hazards:
* Lava can flow far from the volcano before cooling.
* Damage infrastructure and properties over large areas withon the geographic region of the volcano
* Rarely kill people as they can avoid the pathway of lava
Give an example where low silica magma, where disaster risks caused by volcanic eruptions be influenced by the nature of the hazard.
208 eruption of Kilauea in Hawaii:
* 24 injuries
* Destroyed 600 homes
* USD$800 million in property damage
Give an example where high silica magma, where disaster risks caused by volcanic eruptions be influenced by the nature of the hazard.
2010 eruption of Mount Merapi Indonesia:
* Pyroclastic flows travelled 3km down the heavily populated mountain sides
* Volcanic bombs spread over a distance of 10km
* 350,00 people evacuated
* About 350 people were killed
How can disaster risks caused by volcanic eruptions be influenced by the nature of the hazard, elaborating on high silica magma
Viscosity of magma
* More viscous
Nature of eruption
* Explosive eruption
Nature of hazards
* May form highly destructive flows, causing widespread damage to infrastructure, significant injuries and loss of lives
* Explosion of volcanic materials (e.g. volcanic bombs) may steike people and properties, reuslting in injuries and loss of lives
How can disaster risks caused by volcanic eruption be influenced by vulnerable conditions?
Disaster risks caused by volcanic eruptions can be influenced by:
* Availability of surface and groundwater
* Prevailing wind conditions
How can disaster risks caused by volcanic eruption be influenced by vulnerable conditions, more specifically on the availability of surface and groundwater
The greater the availability of surface and groundwater, the more likely lahars can develop
This increases the vulnerability of people and properties, increasing disaster risks as lahars can bury and destroy properties, increasing likelihood of injuries and loss of lives
Large quantities of water come from a range of sources:
* Rapid melting of snow and ice on the volcano’s summit
* Groundwater released through cracks and fractures during a volcanic eruption
* Existing rivers or lakes nearby
* Heavy rainfall
How can disaster risks caused by volcanic eruption be influenced by vulnerable conditions, more specifically on the prevailing wind conditions
The strength and direction of the prevailing winds affect the distribution of ashfall and tephra, influencing the extent of disaster risks:
* Ashfall and tephra may be carried to human settlements, affecting the extend disaster risks
The larger the areas affected, the higher the number of people and properties that become vulnerable:
* Heavier and larger particles are deposited close to the volcano
* Finer ash particles, which are smaller and lighter, may. be carried and deposited hundreds or thousands of kilometers away from the volcano
* People will likely experiences health, particularly respiratory, problems
* Properties may be dmaaged when the weight of the ash accumulated on the roofs causes the roofs to collapase
* Farmland and crops may be destroyed
Give an example whereby disaster risks caused by volcanic eruption be influenced by vulnerable conditions, more specifically on the availability of surface and groundwater
Example:
- Many lahars following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, Phillipines (1991) were triggered by heavy rain associated with the monsoon season, destroying more than 100,000 homes
Give an example whereby disaster risks caused by volcanic eruption be influenced by vulnerable conditions, more specifically on the prevailing water conditions
Example:
* In 1991, Mount Pinatubo, Phillipines eruption resulted in ashfall and tephra spreading a large distance due to fast wind speed (more than 20m/s)
* More than 90,000 hectares of damaged farmland
How can disaster risks caused by volcanic eruption be influenced by exposure to volcanic eruptions?
Presence of human settlements increases exposure of people and propertirs to volcanic hazards, increasing disaster risks cause by volcanic eruptions.
However, many people choose to live near active volcanoes because:
* Volcanic soils are rich and fertile, which are ideal for farming
* Geothermal energy can be harnessed to provide electricity
* Valuable minerals such as sulphur can be mined
Give an example whereby disaster risks caused by volcanic eruption be influenced by exposure to volcanic eruptions
Example:
* Mount Sinabung is an active volcano in Indonesia. Despite several explosive eruptions of the volcano since 2010, many continue to live and work within the restricted zone 3km from the volcano. This is due to the presence of fertiel soils for farming
What does “community resilence” refer to?
The ability of a community to resist, adapt to, and recover from impacts of disasters in a timely and efficient manner
What does “land use planning” refer to?
- Organising and regulating land use of development in an area
Define “monitoring and warning systems”
A et of devices used to detect seismic waves and ground deformation that can help make predicitions and send warnings about potential hazards
Define “disaster response”
Actions taken directly before, during or immediately after a disater to save lives, reduce health impacts, ensure public safety, and meet the basic needs of the people affected
Define “disaster recovery”
- Restoring or improving of livelihoods and health of people affected by the disaster, including economic, physical, social, cultural, and environmental activities and belongings
How can land use planning reduce exposure to hazards?
Land use planning aims to reduce the community’s exposure to tectonic hazards by controlling and minimising devlopment in high-risk areas
This decreases potential loss of lives and damage to properties.
Using hazard maps, strict guidelines to control development are implemented
Hazards maps identify areas at risk and uses data on past earthquake events to:
* Suggest levels of risk (high, medium or low) based on the likelihood of the disaster occuring
* Indicate the likely extent of disasters
Give an example whereby a country used land use planning reduce exposure to hazards
Example:
* After the 1933 tsunami in Japan, land use planning was implemented. Residential land use on coastal areas, such as the Touni-hongo village, were shifted to higher ground
* When the tsunami caused by the 2011 Tohuku, Japan earthquake (Mw 9.0) struck the houses on higher ground were not destroyed
How do hazard-building designs and monitoring and warning systems reduce vulnerability of hazards?
- Reducing vulnerability through hazard-resistant building designs
- Reducing vulnerability through monitoring and warning systems
Explain how to reduce vulnerability (to hazards) through hazard-resistant building designs
Earthquake-resistant building designs that can withstand ground shaking include:
* Using shock absorbers or dampers in buildings to absorb vibratipons
* Reinforcing buildings using diagonal cross braces to retain building shape during earthquake events
These prevent buildings from swaying too much, reducing the vulnerability of buildings to collapse
People are less liekly top get trapped in collapsed buildings, reducing loss of lives
Explain how to reduce vulnerability (to hazards) through monitoring and warning systems
Monitoring and warning systems are a set of devices used to detect seismic wave and ground deformation.
They can help make predicitions and send warning about potential hazards.
The warning enable people to evcauate to a safer place, reducing their susceptibility to tectonic hazards.
The wrnings enable people to evacuyate to a safer place, reducing their susceptibility to tectonic hazards.
For instance, Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) systems use a network of sensor and monitors.
* Seismic waves are detected during an earthquake
* Alerts are sent to smart devices to inform people of when the seismic waves might reach them
* Provide advance warning to people
* Critical for saving live as it gives time for authorities andm people to respond and evacuate quickly
* Earthquake sensors identify risk areas, allowing aid to be directed where most needed
Give an example whereby a country used monitoring and warning systems to reduce vulnarability to hazards
Example:
* During the 2011 Tohoku, Japan earthquake (Mw 9.0), monitoring and warning systems detected strong tremors, and a signal was sent out to stop the bullet train
* The saved the lives of thousands of passengers.
How does increasing preparedness for response and recovery build community resilience?
Being prepared for disasters means knowing what to do in the event of a tectonic hazard means knowing what to do in the event of a tectonic hazard so that the community can avoid the dangers associated with the hazards
Strategies to increzase preparedness include:
* Raising public awarenesss of hazards through education
* First-aid training
* Conducting evacuation drills
Increasing preparedness also includes devloping plans to ensure that people are able to get back to their lives as soon as possible. These invludr having plans for makeshift shelters, and provision of medical care, food and water.
Elaborate on how raising public awareness of hazards through education help increase preparedness
- Provides people with the knowledge of the hazards, and how to respond to them. For instance, taking temporary shelter from volcanic ash during an eruption, and sealing doors and windows
Elaborate on how first-aid training help increase preparedness
- Enables people to administer basic medical care to the injured and keep them mobile so that they can evacuate if needed.
Elaborate on how conducting evacuation drills helps increase preparedness
- Enables people to be familiar with the evacuation procedure and routes. This reduces the likelihood of them being trapped in collapsed buildings
- For volcanic eruptions, the drills would familiaise them to avoid avoid areas downwind of the volcano to avoid volcanic ash
- For tsunamis, the drills would familiarise people with the designated tsunami inundation zones and the marked evacuation routes, so they can avoid the tsunami waves
Give an example where conducting evacuation drills helped increase preparedness
Example:
- During the 2011 Tohuku, Japan earthquake (Mw 9.0), nearly all of the 3,000 students of Kamishi city surivived the 2011 earthquake and tsunami
- Schools in Kamaishi city have disaster prevention education programmes, including evacuation drills
- Hence, they were able to respond quikcly and evacuate to higher ground, away from the tsunami
What are the challenges in building community resilence?
Challenges in building community resilience may arise, depending on the:
1. Extent of the community’s resources
2. The capability of the community to organise itself for disasters.
How is the extent of community’s resources a challenge in building community resilence?
- The lack of resources, including technological and financial resources, may cause challeneges in building community resilience.
- It may influence the ability of the community to reduce vulnerability (e.g. investing in hazard-resistant building designs) and exposure to tectonic hazards (e.g land use planning), and to recover from the impacts of disasters.
- Developing countries often lack the resources to build community resilience
- The governments of developing countries may choose to prioritise economic development instead of preparing for and dealing with tectonic disasters.
Give an example whereby the extent of community’s resources was a challenge in building community resilence?
Example:
* Bangladesh, a developing country, lies along a plate boundary
* As about 30% of Bangladesh live below the poverty line, much of the country’s resources are devoted to economic development.
* It has been found that 21% of buildings in the cpaital, Dhaka, are easily damaged and unreinforced. 77% are reinforced but have not been designed to resist earthquakes.
* This makes Dhaka very vulnerable to the impacts of earthquakes
How is the capability of the community to organise itself for disasters a challenge in building community resilence?
A lack of capability of the community to organise itself may cause challenges in building community resilence
It may limit the community’s ability to respond and recover from tectonic disasters
The capability of the community to oragnise itself may be limited by:
* Lack of efforts to educate and train the community to respond and recover from tectonic disasters.
* Political instability, such as civil unrest
* Corruption, which may lead to loss of funding mant to build community preparedness
Give an example whereby the capability of the community to organise itself for disasters was a challenge in building community resilence?
Example:
* The 2010 earthquake in Haiti (Mw 7.0) resulted in more than 220,000 deaths.
* The community in Haiti was not able to organise itelf for disasters as there were no measures put in place to educate Haitians on what to do during a disaster.
* It had no network of community healthcare worker, wwhich limited the medical and emergency response.
* Poor law enforcement led to looting becoming prevalent as the need oto survive
* There was chaos and unrest as survivors found it hard to take care of themselves and recover from the disaster
What is disaster managment?
Disaster managment refers to how communities can adopt strategies to:
→ Respond to disasters (immediately after the disaster). These include:
* Search and rescue
* Timely evacuation
* Provision of basic social and psychosocial services
→ Recover from disasters (may continue for a long time after the disaster). These include:
* Restoration and improvement of facilities and living conditions of affected communities
Various stakeholders need to work together for these strategies to be successful.
* Local governments are required to assess the damage and to take immeidate action such as search and rescue
* Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and private organisations may aid in the provision of necessities and establish relief funds
What are the strategies to respond to disasters?
Disaster response aims to save lives, minimise health impacts, ensure public safety and meet the immediate basic needs of those affected by the disaster
These measures are undertaken immediately after a disaster
They include:
1. Search and rescue efforts
2. Timely evacuation
3. Provision of basic social and psychological services
Explain why search and rescue efforts is a strategy to respond to disaster
- Important and immediate life-saving response to a disaster.
- Invlve finding and saving survivors trapped in buildings or disaster zones
- Aim to rescue the largest number of people in the shortest time with minimal risk to rescuers
- Having skilled rescuers and specialised equipment such as heat sensors and listening devices can reduce time taken to locate and evcauate survivors
- Without search and rescue, the survivors would otherwise die from injuries, crush syndrome, dehydration, burns or other conditions
Give an example whereby search and rescue effort was a strategy to respond to disaster
Example:
* In the 2020 Aegean Sea, Turkey earthquake (Mw 7.0), more than 8,000 search, rescue and first aid teams were deployed and over 106 people were rescued
Explain why search timely evacuation is a strategy to respond to disaster
This involves moving people away from areas of risk of hazards as quickly as possible to safer locations to reduce loss of lives due to:
→ Earthquakes
* Buildings and infrastructure may collapse
— People need to be evacuated quickly from buildings to open spaces, to avoid getting trapped under collapsed buildings
* Powerful aftershocks can occur soon after an earthquake
— Buildings and structures already weakened from initial shaking may collapse due to aftershocks, trapping people who are still in them
* Basic services may be disrupted
— People need to be evacuated to higher ground and way from the coast
→ Tsunami waves
* People need to be evacuated to higher ground and away from the coast
→ Volcanic eruptions
* Lahars, pyroclastic flows flows and tephra can cause loss of lives
— People need to be evacuated from the danger zone around the volcano
Give an example where timely evacuation was crucial in response to tsunami waves
Example:
* During the 2011 Tohaku, Japan earthqualke (Mw 9.0), nearly all 3,000 students in Kamaishi city survived
* The student were evacuated to higher grounds immediately after the earthquake struck, saving them from the tsunami caused by the earthquake
Give an example where timely evacuation was crucial in response to volcanic eruption
Example:
* In 2010, after a warning of Mount Merapi’s immiet eruption was issued by scientists, Indonesia’s authorities organised massive evacuation efforts that comprimised more than 700 evacuation centres. The quick and massive evacuation efforts were credited for saving more than 10,000 lives.
Explain why provision of basic social and psychological services to affected communities is a strategy to respond to disaster
Water
* After disasters, there may be water shortages
* Ground shaking during earthquakes can rupture water pipes cutting off or contaminating water supplies.
* Volcanic ash can pollute water sources such as rivers
* Providing clean water can prevent dehydration or water-borne diseases, which may occur when affected communtieis drink from contaminated sources of water
Food
* After disasters, there may be food shortages, or people may not have access to food due to shop closures, and damages to crops
* Available food may not be safe for consumption
* Frozen food may turn bad due to damaged storage equipment
* Providing food can prevent hunger and starvation
Healthcare
* Healthcare services may be dlisrupted due to damage to hospitals.
* Many require healthcare support after disasters
* Providing access to medicine, doctors and hospitals can prevent the spred of diseases and save the loives of the injured
Psychological services
* Experiencing a disaster can result in great emotional distress due to severe injuries, the loss of family members and friends, homelessness, or the loss of likelihoods
* Many survivors will need counselling from mental health experts to come to terms with the disaster and rebuild their lives for the future
* Providng psychological services helps survivors cope with psychological truama, which can last for a long time after the disaster
Give an example how the provision of basic social and psychological services (water) to affected communities was a strategy to respond to disaster
Example:
* During the 2010 Haiti earthquake (Mw 7.0), water supply was disrupted in the capital city Port-au-Prince.
* The International Committee of the Red Cross provided water supply for 12,000 people by trucking water into Port-au-Prince daily.
Give an example how the provision of basic social and psychological services (healthcare) to affected communities was a strategy to respond to disaster
Example:
* Ater the 2018 Fuego eruption in Guatemala, World Vision, an international charity, provided 30,000 boxes od medical supplies and 1,000 hygiene kits to affected communities
Give an example how the provision of basic social and psychological services (food) to affected communities was a strategy to respond to disaster
Example:
* After the 2017 Mount Agung eruption in Indonesia, stakeholder such as the government and international NGOs provided food for more than 75,000 evacuees
Give an example how the provision of basic social and psychological services (psychological services) to affected communities was a strategy to respond to disaster
Example:
After the 2018 Palu, Indonesia earthquake (Mw 7.5), volunteer groups focusing on mental health worked with children to help them deal with the trauam of losing their families and homes.
What are the strategies to recover from disasters?
Disaster recovery strategies include restoring and improving facilities and living conditions of affected communties
These may be achieved by:
* Constructing hazard-resistant buildings and infrastructure
* Retrofitting surviving buildings and infrastructure with hazard-resistant features
* Allowing residents to eventully return to their original homes. This keeps communties intact even after a disaster
* Providing housing assistane, which are hazard resistant and are of better quality, to those who lost their home or were displaced
These strategies enable affected communties to rebuild their lives after the disaste, as well as minimising their vulnerabiulity and exposure to tectonic hazards.
Give an example where a country used strategies to recover from a disaster
Example:
* The 2011 Tohuku, Japan earthquake (Mw 9.0) displaced about 500,000 people
* By 2016, a mority was rehoused in settlements with enhanced tsunami-resistant features
* In a port town, the ground level of sites for new houses was raised by ten metres and two more sea walls were built
What are the challenegs in disaster management?
Challenges in disaster management include:
* Lack of domestic resources, including technolofgical and financial resources
* Challenges in engaging relevant stakeholders to collaborate and integrate disaster management strategies into their practices
Explain why the lack of domestic resources, including technological and finanical reosurces, a challenge in disaster management
- The country may not have the financial and tecnological resources to effectively repsond to and recover from the disasters
- This may hamper the disaster response efforts, which may result in delays that can result in more lives lost
Explain why challenges in engaging relevant stakeholders to collaborate and integrate disaster management strategies into their practices, a challenge in disaster management
Authorities may face difficulties in getting stakeholders to collaborateand integrate disaster management strategies into their practices.
The difficulties include:
* Disagreements from other stakeholders on disaster management strategies
* Stakeholders underestimate or lack awareness of the disaster risks and the need for certain disaster management strategies into their practices
* The high cost of integrating disaster management strategies into their practices
→ Local communties might be reluctant to purchase insurance for tectonic disaster risks due to the high costs involved
→ Private insurance companies might not offer such insurance policies because of the hugh financial commitment required
→ Individuals might be reluctant to retrofit their buildings to ensure they are hazard-resistatt due to the high-cost involved
Give an example why the lack of domestic resources, including technological and finanical reosurces, was a challenge in disaster management
Example:
* During the 2010 Mw 7.0 earthquake, Haiti’s lack fo resources hampered the disaster management efforts
* There was a critical shprtage of ambulance to transport the injuried, and heavy machinery to remove the rubble from collapsed buildngs.
* As an result, the rescue team spent many hours removing tons of rubble manually with hammers or rods to pull thr trapped people under collapsed buildings
Give examples where challenges in engaging relevant stakeholders to collaborate and integrate disaster management strategies into their practices, was a challenge in disaster management
Example:
- Immediately after the 2015 Nepal Mw 7.8 earthquake, the government and oppositon parties created a new public body, the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), to oversee rebuilding
- However, due to political disagreements, it took nine months to appoint a leader for the NRA, hence hindering reocvery works in the country
Example 2:
* In the Phillipines, only 10-10% of buildings are insured against earthquakes, One reason cited for this is the high insurance cosst for building owners
