Y13 MG - Hazards Case Studies

Question 1

What is the multi-hazard setting?

Answer 1

The Philippines

Question 2

What is the setting and nature of hazards in the Philippines? (Physical)

Answer 2

• It is located along the Pacific Ring of Fire at a destructive-subduction plate boundary (there is a high frequency of earthquakes and high risk of volcanic eruptions)
• It lies on a tropical storm belt where 1/3 of all tropical storms occur

Question 3

What is the setting and nature of hazards in the Philippines? (Human)

Answer 3

• 60% of people live in low-lying coastal areas
• 75% of the population live in poverty (more likely to live in high risk areas)
• The Philippines is an NEE so has limited resources to invest in disaster management

Question 4

What is the risk from hazards in the Philippines?

Answer 4

Typhoons (Typhoon Haiyan 2013)
50% of agricultural exports lost
Widespread flooding
Over 6000 people died

Volcanic eruptions (Mt Pinatubo 1991)
Crop failure due to ash fall
Ash in the lower atmosphere led to lowered global temperatures
500 died

Question 5

What are the reasons for continued human occupation of the Philippines?

Answer 5

Resilience - rebuilding done by local people after Typhoon Haiyan 2013 as part of the ‘cash-for-work’ scheme set up by the Red Cross
Adaption - the Red Cross is supporting the use of land-use mapping to reduce risk in vulnerable areas
Mitigation - Aid agencies play a role in distaster relief and recovery e.g the Red Cross and the United Nations
Management - the United Nations claims that the Philippines has some of the best risk-reduction laws in the world

Question 6

What is the local scale hazardous setting?

Answer 6

New Orleans, USA

Question 7

What are the physical vulnerabilities of New Orleans?

Answer 7

• 50% of the land is below sea level (surrounded by levees which creates a bowl effect)
• Lies on the Gulf Coast so there are frequent storms

Question 8

What are the human vulnerabilities of New Orleans?

Answer 8

• Densely populated city (2300/km^2)
• History of racial segregation (wealth inequality)

Question 9

Give background information about Hurricane Katrina

Answer 9

• August 2005
• Made landfall on the 29th August 2005 in Louisiana and curved to Mississippi
• Category 3 tropical storm when it hit Louisiana
• New Orleans was affected by the edge of the eye wall

Question 10

What were the primary impacts of Hurricane Katrina?

Answer 10

• 80% of New Orleans flooded with 60% of houses
• More than 1000 fatalities
• More than 1 million people became refugees, displaced from their homes
• Over 1 million acres of land destroyed

Question 11

What were the secondary impacts of Hurricane Katrina?

Answer 11

• Costs of the storm broke all US records with damages of $125 billion
• Racial tensions exposed with reports claiming that those most affected were black (political critisism of the response)
• Loss of the population (may struggle to rebuild)

Question 12

What were the immediate responses to Hurricane Katrina?

Answer 12

• Superdome used as a sanctuary for those left in the city (e.g those without Insurance wanted to stay and protect their homes) but there were insufficient supplies so conditions were squalid and unsafe
• Most aid from the USA with $10 billion in the first week
• State of emergency declared and evacuation ordered (political issues meant a lack of respect for leaders so some people did not obey)

Question 13

What were the long term responses to Hurricane Katrina?

Answer 13

• Nearby states provided emergency shelter
• $800 million spent on repairs and rebuilding flood defences
• $17 billion provided by congress to rebuild housing (highlighted racial tensions as those who required it were mainly black)

Question 14

What were the reasons for ineffective response for Hurricane Katrina?

Answer 14

• Low levels of literacy in some groups meant that there was a lack of understanding in the evacuation plans
• The inadequate levee system around New Orlands meant that they collapsed quickly, leading to very intense flooding around the city (80% was flooded)
• Lack of trust in the government (shown by low voter turnouts) meant people were reluctant to follow emergency instructions and seek assistance

Question 15

Give some background information about the Alberta Wildfire

Answer 15

• In May 2016 a wildfire nicknamed ‘The Beast’ spread across the Alberta province of Canada, particularly impacting the city of Fort McMurray
• Cause is unknown
• ‘Fire spotting’ helped the fire spread (burning embers carried by the wind ignited fires ahead of the fire front and a change in wind direction meant that it became very difficult to control)
• Temperatures exceeded 30°C and the wind speed increased following the start of the fire

Question 16

What were the primary impacts of the Alberta Wildfire?

Answer 16

• 90,000 residents (the entire city) of Fort McMurray were evacuated by the 3rd May
• No one was killed or injured
• 600,000 hectares of land were burned and destroyed

Question 17

What were the secondary impacts of the Alberta Wildfire?

Answer 17

• Insurance companies estimate $9 CAN billion damage to Fprt McMurray
• 2400 homes and businesses destroyed
• Boreal forest ecosystems severely affected due to scorched earth and burned tree roots

Question 18

What were the immediate responses to the Alberta Wildfire?

Answer 18

• Satellite and meteorological data was used to monitor and forecast the track of the wildfire so that emergency services could be mobilised and warnings issued
• Complete evacuation of Fort McMurray by the 3rd May meant no lives were lost
• Alberta province government declared a state of emergency which triggered support from the Canadian armed forces with fire-fighters and helicopters brought in by neighbouring states

Question 19

What were the long term responses to the Alberta Wildfire?

Answer 19

• The Alberta government provided evacuees with CAN$1250 per adult
• In Edmonton in June, money was raised as a part of ‘Fire Aid’ to help those affected

Question 20

What percentage of Fort McMurray was saved from the Alberta Wildfire?

Answer 20

85%

Question 21

Give some background information about Typhoon Haiyan

Answer 21

• Deadliest tropical storm ever recorded in the Philippines
• Became a category 5 storm on the 6th November 2013 before it hit the Philippines on the 7th November 2013
• Devastated the city of Tacloban

Question 22

What are the reasons for the vulnerability of the Philippines to Typhoon Haiyan?

Answer 22

• Tacloban is found at the end of a bay (water was funnelled inland from the storm surge)
• The Philippines is on a tropical storm belt
• Tacloban and many others urban areas in the country have experienced rapid rural to urban migration so there is a high population density

Question 23

What are the primary impacts of Typhoon Haiyan?

Answer 23

• Over 6,000 fatalities
• Over 2 million made homeless and 6 million displaced from their homes
• 50% of agricultural exports lost (130,000 tonnes of rice lost altogether)

Question 24

What are 5be secondary impacts of Typhoon Haiyan?

Answer 24

• Widespread looting and violence
• Total damage costs of $2.9 billion

Question 25

What are the immediate responses to Typhoon Haiyan?

Answer 25

• The United Nations released US$25 million in emergency funds
• After declaring a state of emergency, the UK supplied 200,000 tonnes of aid
• Tacloban airport was repaired quickly to create a centre of international relief

Question 26

What are the long term responses to Typhoon Haiyan?

Answer 26

• A lot of rebuilding was done by the location residents due to the ‘cash for work’ scheme set up by the Red Cross
• Afforestation schemes to stabilise the soil took place to reduce future impacts (landslides)
• the UN Development Program,e helped to improve disaster management there

Question 27

Give some background information about the Eyjafjallajokull eruption

Answer 27

• VEI of 4
• 20th March 2010
• Stratovolcano on the mid-Atlantic Ridge (constructive plate boundary)
• In the west of Iceland, 100km south essay of Reykjavik

Question 28

What were the primary impacts of the Eyjafjallajokull eruption?

Answer 28

• No deaths or injuries
• 700 people evacuated
• Volcano released 270 million cubic meters of ash

Question 29

What were the secondary impacts of the Eyjafjallajokull eruption?

Answer 29

• 20 farms destroyed
• Ash caused widespread impacts over Europe such as a six-day travel ban where 48% of air traffic was stopped
• London lost £102 million from tourist income

Question 30

What were the immediate responses to the Eyjafjallajokull eruption?

Answer 30

• Island warning systems sent out text alerts to nearby residents within 30 minutes
• When ash entered the Gulf Stream, flights were cancelled to not put people’s lives at risk

Question 31

What were the long term responses to the Eyjafjallajokull eruption?

Answer 31

• European volcano monitoring project FutureVol was set up in 2012
• Government paid to dredge rivers to help direct floodwater into the sea

Question 32

What made the Eyjafjallajokull eruption more explosive?

Answer 32

There was an ice cap over the vent of the volcano

Question 33

Give some background information of the Nepal earthquake

Answer 33

• Epicentre 80km north west of Kathmandu
• Magnitude of 7.8 at the collision plate boundary
• Occurred on the 25th April 2015

Question 34

What were the primary impacts of the Nepal earthquake?

Answer 34

• 9,000 deaths and 23,000 fatalities
• 700,000 damaged / destroyed houses
• Centuries old buildings destroyed in Kathmandu Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site

Question 35

What were the secondary impacts of the Nepal earthquake?

Answer 35

• Avalanche triggered on Mount Everest, killing 19 people
• 5000 landslides, cutting off roads and villages
• Damage costs of $5.17 billion

Question 36

What were the immediate responses to the Nepal earthquake?

Answer 36

• 90% of Nepal”s military forces deployed
• ‘Tent cities’ created across Kathmandu

Question 37

What were the long term responses to the Nepal earthquake?

Answer 37

• Oxfam set up ‘cash for work’ scheme during reconstruction
• One year following the hazard, 4 million people were still in temporary shelters