The challenge of natural hazards- earthquakes Flashcards
What is an earthquake?
- sudden and violent movements of the earth’s crust
- occur at all four major plate boundaries
- most severe normally found on conservative and destructive boundaries
What are the features of an earthquake?
- focus=where the earthquake begins. Seismic waves radiate from the focus
- epicentre=point n the Earth’s surface directly above the focus
How are earthquakes measured?
-Richter scale, used to measure magnitude of an earthquake
What is a primary effect of a tectonic hazard?
-the impact on people or property e.g buildings collapsed
What is a secondary effect of a tectonic hazard?
-fires due to ruptured gas mains because of the ground shaking
What is an immediate or short-term response of a tectonic hazard?
- search and rescue
- providing shelter, water and food
- organising evacuations
What is a long-term response of a tectonic hazard?
-repairing infrastructure and resettling displaced residents
Why do the effects and responses to a tectonic hazard vary between areas of contrasting levels of wealth?
-Due to differences in Gross National Income (GNI), population density, building density, and the amount of planning and preparation that has taken place prior to a hazard occurring.
Where is Haiti?
- Northern hemisphere in North America, Haiti is located on the island of Hispaniola, east of Cuba in the Caribbean Sea.
Where is Christchurch, New Zealand?
- New Zealand is located in the Southern hemisphere and is part of Oceania.
- New Zealand is in the south-western Pacific Ocean
- Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand.
When was the Haiti earthquake?
-Just before 17.00 on January 12th 2010, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Haiti, about 15km southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
When was the Christchurch earthquake?
-22nd February 2011 at 12.51pm.
What caused the Haiti earthquake?
-Haiti sits near the border between the North American and Caribbean plates. The Caribbean plate is moving eastward, while the North American plate moves westwards.
What caused the Christchurch earthquake?
- New Zealand is located on the boundary between the Australian and Pacific plates and sits on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’.
- the two plates grinded together along an alpine fault
What were the primary effects of the Haiti earthquake?
- 160,000 people were killed and approximately 300,000 people were injured.
- 90% of the city’s buildings were destroyed, including large portions of the National Palace.
What were the primary effects of the Christchurch earthquake?
- 185 people were killed.
- People from more than 20 countries died in the earthquake.
- Approximately 2,000 people suffered major injuries.
- Over 50% of the city’s buildings were damaged including Christchurch Cathedral.
What were the secondary effects of the Haiti earthquake?
- A cholera outbreak led to the loss of over 9,000 lives.
- Three years after the earthquake, 400,000 people were still living in refugee camps.
What were the secondary effects of the Christchurch earthquake?
-10,000 homes had to be demolished as they were unsafe.
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What were the immediate responses to the Haiti earthquake?
- Able-bodied survivors extracted the living and the dead from the rubble of the many buildings that had collapsed.
- Dominican republic provided aid
What were the immediate responses to the Christchurch earthquake?
- An emergency response plan was in place within two hours of the earthquake happening; the government established a command centre to co-ordinate departments and rescue services.
- Welfare centres were established throughout the city by the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
What were the long-term responses to the Haiti earthquake?
- the EU promised €330 million for long-term aid.
- Oxfam continue to work in Haiti, supporting employment creation and the construction of long-term sanitation services.
What were the long-term responses to the Christchurch earthquake?
-Fundraising events were held throughout the following year to help those affected.
