The Challenges of Natural Hazards

Question 1

What is the Earthquake that hit in Nepal called?

Answer 1

Gorkha earthquake.

Question 2

What was the magnitude of the Earthquake?

Answer 2

7.8

Question 3

How many were dead & injured & homeless?

Answer 3

8841 dead and 16800 injured. 1 million homeless

Question 4

How many aftershocks in the Gorkha Earthquake?

Answer 4

352 aftershocks.

Question 5

What kind of management responses were there?

Answer 5

• International help was requested.
• Temporary Shelters were placed.
• $274 million given to aid in 8 months.

Question 6

What day was this and where?

Answer 6

28 April 2015, Nepal in the Gorkha District. The epicentre was in Barpak 80km NW of the Capital Kathmandu.

Question 7

What is a Natural Hazard?

Answer 7

A natural process which could cause death, injury or disruption to humans, property and possessions.

Question 8

Geological hazard?

Answer 8

Hazards caused by land and tectonic processes.

Question 9

Meteorological Hazard?

Answer 9

Caused by weather and climate.

Question 10

What is the structure of the Earth?

Answer 10

The Crust made of several large plates (5-10km beneath the ocean).

The Mantle, Widest layer (2900km thick) The heat and pressure means the rock is in a liquid state that is in a state of convection.

The Inner and Outer Core, Hottest section (5000 degrees) and is mostly made of iron and nickel and is 4x denser than the crust. Inner section is solid whereas outer layer is liquid.

Question 11

What are hazards of a volcano?

Answer 11

• Ash cloud (pulverised rock and glass which are thrown into the atmosphere).
• Gas (Sulphur dioxide, water vapour and carbon dioxide comes out from the volcano).
• Lahar (Volcanic mudflow which usually runs down a valley side of the volcano).
• Pyroclastic flow (fast moving current of super-heated gas and ash. Travel at 450 mph).
• Volcanic bomb (Thick, viscous lava fragment that is ejected from the volcano).

Question 12

Monitoring techniques of volcanic eruptions.

Answer 12

Seismometers are used to detect earthquakes.

Thermal imaging and satellite cameras can be used to detect heat around a volcano.

Gas samples may be taken and chemical sensors may be used to measure sulphur levels.

Question 13

Types of plate margins:

Answer 13

Destructive (Melt and become molten magma caused by friction)
Constructive (Two plates moving apart causing new magma to reach the surface through the gap).
Conservative (Slide past each other in opposite directions)

Question 14

Causes of earthquakes:

Answer 14

Two plates become locked causing friction. The stress from this, allows pressure release, triggering the plates to move into a new position. This movement causes energy in the form of seismic waves to travel from the focus towards the epicentre. As a result of this the crust vibrates triggering an earthquake.

Question 15

Predicting Earthquakes?

Answer 15

• Satellite surveying (tracking changes in the earth’s surface)
• Laser reflector (surveys movements across the fault lines)
• Radon gas sensor (radon gas is released when the plates move).
• Seismometer
• Water table level

Question 16

Protection against Earthquakes?

Answer 16

Cannot stop earthquakes.

• Build earthquake resistant buildings
• Raising public awareness
• Improving earthquake protection

Question 17

Where was the Tohoku earthquake in 2011?

Answer 17

Japan

Question 18

What was the magnitude of this earthquake?

Answer 18

9.0

Question 19

How many aftershocks were there?

Answer 19

1235 aftershocks.

Question 20

88893 buildings, 3790 roads and 71 bridges destroyed.

Question 21

How did they manage?

Answer 21

• Around 140000 residents were evacuated in a 20km radius around the Fukushima nuclear point.
• Dead buried in mass graves by the military to prevent spread of diseases.
• Millions of people did the earthquake drills at schools or work that they learned.
• 147000 people reached with emergency aid and supplies.

Question 22

In air circulation, name all the cells. (3)

Answer 22

Hadley cell.
Ferrel cell.
Polar cell.

Question 23

“Super typhoon” case study?

Answer 23

Typhoon Haiyan. 2013. Started as a tropical depression on the 2nd Nov and gained strength.

Question 24

Effects of Haiyan?

Answer 24

Almost 6500 deaths.
130,000 homes destroyed.
Water and sewage systems destroyed and had caused diseases.
Emotional grief for the dead.

Question 25

Management of Haiyan?

Answer 25

The UN raised £190m in aid.

Education on typhoon preparedness.

Question 26

Management of tropical storms.

Answer 26

Protection, aid development, planning, prediction, education.

Question 27

Primary effects of Tropical storms?

Answer 27

Intense wind can destroy whole communities.
Can cause high seas and flooding in coastal areas.
Destructive energy.

Question 28

Secondary effects of Tropical storms?

Answer 28

People are left homeless.
Shortage of clean water and proper sanitation.
Businesses are damaged or destroyed causing employment.
Shortage of food as crops are damaged.

Question 29

Where is the case study of floods in the UK 2009.

Answer 29

Cumbrian floods.

Question 30

What was the causes of the Cumbrian floods?

Answer 30

Heavy rainfall for 36 hours. Soil was already wet causing the new rainfall to not soak in.

Question 31

Effects of the Cumbrian floods?

Answer 31

1500 homes flooded.
Businesses closed.
Hundreds of trees washed away.

Management - New flood systems are now in place to improve the flooding warnings and structure.
There is also help for the businesses to recover.

Question 32

What is climate change?

Answer 32

Large-scale, long-term shift in the planet’s weather patterns or average temperatures. Earth has had tropical climates and ice ages many times in its 4.5 billion years.

Question 33

Evidence for climate change?

Answer 33

Global temperature
Ice sheets and glaciers
Sea level change

Question 34

Managing Climate?

Answer 34

Carbon Capture (involves new tech)
Planting trees (absorb carbon from atmosphere)
International Agreements (aim to cut emissions by signing deals and setting targets)
Renewable Energy (Replacing fossil fuels based energy with clean/natural sources of energy)