4.b. There are a range of impacts people experience as a result of earthquake activity

Question 1

Outline Haiti’s general setting.

(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 1

The poorest country in the Americas; part of a volcanic island-arc.

Not regularly impacted by earthquakes.

Up until the 2010 earthquake, most of the seismic activity of recent times has taken place in the east of the island, in the Dominican Republic.

Question 2

Until 2010, what was Haiti’s largest earthquake?

(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 2

A 4.0 MW earthquake close to the capital Port-au-Prince.

However, there are records and physical evidence of much larger events in the past, notably, in 1751 (twice), 1770 and 1860.

Question 3

All of Haiti’s earthquakes have resulted from what?

(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 3

Resulting from/ on the Enriquillo fault.

These faults are lateral movements (transform margins) whereby the Caribbean plate is slipping eastwards relative to the North American plate.

Question 4

What did Haiti lack to record earthquake events?

(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 4

Haiti had no seismic network to record earthquake events.

Question 5

How many aftershocks?

(Haiti’s 2010 earthquake)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 5

Total of 51 aftershocks >4.5 MW in the year after the initial 12 January event.

Question 6

What was the magnitude?

(Haiti’s 2010 earthquake)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 6

7.0 MW.

Question 7

The quake was generated from a slipped section of what? How long?

(Haiti’s 2010 earthquake)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 7

A slip along a 40 km section of the Enriquillo fault.

Question 8

Where was the epicentre?

(Haiti’s 2010 earthquake)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 8

25 km southwest of Port-au-Prince (capital city).

Question 9

Where deep was the focus?

(Haiti’s 2010 earthquake)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 9

12 km.

Question 10

How long did shaking last? How long after the main event were the significant aftershocks?

(Haiti’s 2010 earthquake)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 10

Shaking lasted 12-14 seconds.

Significant aftershocks within 20 minutes of 6.0 MW and 5.7 MW and then another of 5.9 MW on 20th January.

Question 11

Haiti’s past plays a significant part in its economic story and current situation. Explain.

(Slavery and plantations, (late 15th century))
(Haiti’s History)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 11

Was a French colony devoted almost entirely to the production of sugar cane by enslaved African people on plantations.

Economy also destroyed the tropical rainforests.

It involved levels of brutality that were extreme even by the distorted standards of the time.

Question 12

What did economic historians calculate about Haiti’s profit?

(Slavery and plantations, (late 18th century))
(Haiti’s History)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 12

Economic historians calculated that more profit was made per unit area in Haiti (and its English equivalent - Jamaica), than anywhere else on the planet at the end of the 18th century.

Question 13

What allowed Haiti to become the first independent nation in Latin America?

(The French Revolution, (19th century))
(Haiti’s History)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 13

A slave rebellion.

It was the only state in history to be established by a slave revolt.

Question 14

When the French gave Haiti its independence, what happened? What did this lead to?

(The French Revolution, (19th century))
(Haiti’s History)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 14

France insisted that the new Haitian government should pay, $US21 billion in compensation to the loss of the enslaved people.

That debt, not fully repaid until 1947, was a major barrier to its subsequent development.

Question 15

Who is Haiti’s wealthy neighbour? Has this been positive? Why?

(Modern times, (20th century))
(Haiti’s History)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 15

Haiti has been impacted negatively by its relationship with its very wealthy near neighbour, the USA.

The USA military occupied the country between 1915 and 1934 and then supported a series of dictators that largely served US interests.

Question 16

What was Haiti’s economy like during US military occupation?

(Modern times, (20th century))
(Haiti’s History)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 16

The economy was agricultural, with rice as the main crop; farms were small but often self-sufficient.

Question 17

Who encouraged and adopted neo-liberal policies in Haiti? What was created as a result?

(Modern times, (20th century))
(Haiti’s History)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 17

The neo-liberal policies, encouraged by global institutions such as the ‘International Monetary Fund’ and the ‘World Trade Organisation’.

This was then adopted by the ruling elite in Hait.

This resulted in a reduction in tariffs and the construction of factories in export processing zones.

Question 17

What were EPZs used for in Haiti? Why was this detrimental to Haiti?

(Modern times, (20th century))
(Haiti’s History)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 17

Used for US-headquartered textile and clothing TNCs to establish factories.

The removal of tariffs was especially significant, as it allowed heavily subsidised US rice to be imported, undercutting local producers.

This led to bankruptcy for many small farmers and accelerated rural to urban migration, especially to Port-au-Prince.

Question 18

Government and the state institutions were widely regarded as what? What did this lead to after the event?

(Before the earthquake event)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 18

Government and the state institutions were widely regarded as weak and corrupt and were consequently not in control of decision making after the event.

Question 19

How were Haitians vulnerable before the quake?

(Before the earthquake event)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 19

• 50 % of Haitians had no access to fresh water.
• Over half had no access to the most basic health care.
• Literacy rates were among the worst in the world.

Question 20

For the last 70 years what was been under increasing pressure in Haiti?

(Before the earthquake event)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 20

Haiti’s natural resources.

Question 21

What contributed to extensive deforestation in Haiti?

(Before the earthquake event)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 21

• Population growth.
• Poverty.
• High level of consumption of firewood and charcoal for cooking.

Question 22

Why was Haiti’s countryside depopulating? What was happening instead?

(Before the earthquake event)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 22

Devastating changes to the economy had led to the rapid depopulation of the countryside in the years leading up to the earthquake.

People moved to ‘bidonvilles’ (slums) in the capital, these grew quickly.

Question 23

The growth of ‘bidonvilles’ in the urban areas resulted in what?

(Before the earthquake event)
(Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 23

The country had enjoyed a surplus of water resources but no longer had enough to satisfy the needs of a growing population, especially in Port-au-Prince.

Question 24

Why are social impacts often hard to analyse during the Haiti event? (Social impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 24

Poor record keeping and vested interests combined to make estimates of deaths and injuries highly unreliable, with official figures hotly disputed.

Question 25

How many deaths? (Social impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 25

316,000 deaths, but other estimates based on survey data suggest lower figures of 46,000-84,000.

Question 26

Since the first cholera case, how many cases have been recorded? How many deaths? (Secondary social impacts - cholera epidemic) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 26

Since that first case, over 800,000 cases of cholera have been recorded. The official number of deaths was, in 2020, put at just under 10,000; once again, this figure is disputed; one epidemiologist puts it at 8 times that number.

Question 26

How many people were displaced? What happened to them? (Social impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 26

1.5 million people were displaced, many of whom were forced to live in camps. By 2020, 10 years after the earthquake, over 30,000 people still lived in those camps.

Question 26

How many houses and commercial buildings were either damaged or destroyed? (Social impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 26

Over 300,000 houses and 30,000 commercial buildings were either damaged or destroyed. Many of these destroyed and damaged houses were in the poorest areas of the city, built on steep slopes prone to landslides.

Question 27

When did the cholera epidemic breakout in Haiti? Where was the first case detected? (Secondary social impacts - cholera epidemic) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 27

October 2010. The first case was detected close to the UN base for Nepalese troops bought in to help with the reconstruction effort.

Question 28

In 2009, what was Haiti's HDI? What about in 2020? (Secondary social impacts - cholera epidemic) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 28

In 2009, Haiti was ranked 149th in the UN's HDI global rankings; in 2020 it was ranked at 169th.

Question 29

Between 2009-2020, by how much had the number of undernourished people risen to? (Secondary social impacts - cholera epidemic) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 29

Risen 3.7 million (out of a total population 11.7 million).

Question 30

By 2018, how much aid had been spent in Haiti? (Secondary social impacts - cholera epidemic) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 30

A total of $US11 billions of aid.

Question 31

How many of the government buildings were destroyed? (Political impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 31

All but one of the 22 government buildings within Port-au-Prince were destroyed.

Question 32

Has Haiti's economy prospered post-event? (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 32

Since the earthquake the economy has barely recovered.

Question 33

What was aid money not directed at? (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 33

Not directed at economic recover; schemes such as the establishment of tourism and more diverse economies also have less reliant on US companies - not delivering very much.

Question 34

What are Haiti's largest income source? What exacerbates this? (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Haiti, 2010)

Answer 34

Remittances, these provide 25% of its GDP, followed by foreign aid, which provides 20% of its annual budget. This is exacerbated by a weak and corrupt government that still struggles to collect tax income.

Question 35

What is it important to remember that when comparing Haiti and Japan?

Answer 35

Japan's earthquake was x100 more powerful.

Question 36

How many earthquakes does Japan experience each day? What are these like? (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 36

Japan experiences 400 earthquakes every day; the vast majority of these are tiny. Throughout history, Japan has also been hit by many high-magnitude quakes, creating huge impacts on its people and society.

Question 37

Since 2000, how many earthquakes of 7.0MW have occurred in Japan? How many fatalities have been caused as a result? (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 37

23 earthquakes of 7.0 MW, causing nearly 16,000 fatalities.

Question 38

Are Japanese earthquakes of culture importance? (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 38

As with volcanoes, Japanese culture, folklore and traditions are full of references to earthquakes and their effects.

Question 39

What do Japan's earthquakes often cause? (Japan's tectonic setting) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 39

High risks of tsunamis.

Question 40

Movements along plate boundaries lying just offshore of the Japanese mainland create what? (Japan's tectonic setting) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 40

Create an ever-present risk of tsunamis.

Question 41

What Japanese zone especially vulnerable for tsunamis? What cities are located here? (Japan's tectonic setting) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 41

The Pacific coastal zone. Three huge densely populated conurbations: - Tokyo (36 million). - Osaka (19 million). - Nagoya (9 million).

Question 42

When did it occur? (The Great East Japan Earthquake: Tōhoku) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 42

On 11 March 2011.

Question 43

Was the quake big? (The Great East Japan Earthquake: Tōhoku) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 43

It was the largest recorded earthquake in Japan, and one of the top five in the world since accurate recording began in 1900.

Question 44

Where did the quake occur? (The Great East Japan Earthquake: Tōhoku) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 44

Along the boundary between the Pacific and North American plates.

Question 45

What type of earthquake was it? What magnitude? How long did it last? (The Great East Japan Earthquake: Tōhoku) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 45

Undersea megathrust earthquake. 9.0MW. Lasted 6 minutes.

Question 46

What was its epicentre? Focus? (The Great East Japan Earthquake: Tōhoku) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 46

Its epicentre was 70 km offshore of northeast Honshu Island. Focus was approximately 30 km.

Question 47

How far did Honshu Island move? How far did a 400km stretch of coastline drop? (The Great East Japan Earthquake: Tōhoku) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 47

Moved 2.4 m east. A 400 km stretch of coastline dropped vertically by 0.6 m., wit other sea beds rising by about 7 m and moving westwards by 40-50 m.

Question 48

Were there aftershocks? (The Great East Japan Earthquake: Tōhoku) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 48

There were many aftershocks, some of which were 7.0-8.0 MW in strength.

Question 49

How large did the tsunami waves reach? (The Great East Japan Earthquake: Tōhoku) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 49

Very large tsunamis were triggered, reaching heights of 40.5 m in places when hitting the coast.

Question 50

How did the tsunami waves affect Antarctica? (The Great East Japan Earthquake: Tōhoku) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 50

Reached Antarctica, breaking off 125 km2 of ice as giant icebergs.

Question 51

How did the tsunami waves affect California and Oregon? (The Great East Japan Earthquake: Tōhoku) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 51

Waves of up to 2.4 m affected the coastline of California and Oregon, causing damage of US$10 million.

Question 52

How did the tsunami waves affect Midway Atoll? (The Great East Japan Earthquake: Tōhoku) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 52

A wave of 1.5 m overwhelmed Midway Atoll, drowning 110,000 nesting birds in a wildlife refuge.

Question 52

How many people were killed? Injured? (Social impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 52

16,000 dead and 6000 injured.

Question 53

What fraction of victims were over the age of 60? Over 70? (Social impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 53

2/3 of the victims were over the age of 60, 1/4 were over 70.

Question 53

What percentage of deaths were due to drowning? What about the remainder? (Social impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 53

90 % of deaths were due to drowning, of the remainder, most died as a result of burns and being crushed by collapsing buildings.

Question 53

Mass mortality and destruction of crematoria, morgues and the power infrastructure created what problems? (Social impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 53

Problems of how to dispose of the dead bodies; authorities had no choice but to bury bodies in mass graves to reduce the chances of diseases being spread.

Question 54

What was a major social issue? (Social impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 54

People's whereabouts following the tsunami.

Question 55

People's whereabouts was a major issue following the tsunami, with many children being separated from their families. What did Save the Children report? (Social impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 55

Reported that 100,000 children were affected; exacerbated as most children were at school when the earthquake struck. 2000 young people were either orphaned or lost one of their parents.

Question 55

What happened to one Japanese elementary school? (Social impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 55

Lost 74 of 108 students and 10 out of 13 staff, to a tsunami.

Question 56

How devastating was the destruction of infrastructure? (Social impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 56

The destruction of infrastructure, e.g. housing, schools and health centres, was on such a scale that reconstruction was still taking place 5 years after the disaster. Some communities had to been relocated from their original settlement site.

Question 57

How much debris was created? How much did it cost to resolve? (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 57

25 million tonnes of debris was created by the earthquake, costing an estimated £181 billion.

Question 58

What did Japan's National Police Agency state? (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 58

45,700 buildings were destroyed, with 143,300 damaged.

Question 58

How many vehicles were damaged or destroyed? (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 58

230,000 vehicles.

Question 59

How many ports were affected? How many ports were destroyed? (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 59

15 ports were directly affected, with 4 destroyed in the northeast (Sendai).

Question 60

How many Japanese fishing ports were damaged? (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 60

10% of fishing ports were damaged, although most had reopened a year after the earthquake. 25 million tonnes of debris was created by the earthquake.

Question 61

How many households and businesses lost electricity? Was this significant? (Distribution of power supplies) (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 61

4.4 million households, and thousands of businesses lost electricity; this was very significant.

Question 62

The lack of power supplies led to what? (Distribution of power supplies) (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 62

The immediate shutdown of 11 nuclear reactors.

Question 63

Even after much of the damage had been resolved, what did Japan experience? What did this add to? (Distribution of power supplies) (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 63

Japan experienced several weeks of power cuts, which added to the economic cost of the earthquake.

Question 64

Why did Japan's stock market fall? (Distribution of power supplies) (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 64

Implications for businesses such as Sony, Toyota and Panasonic were realised; their production was hit by the shortage of electricity.

Question 65

Outline oil refinery impacts of the quake. (Distribution of power supplies) (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 65

Two oil refineries were set on fire during the earthquake, one fire taking 10 days to put out.

Question 66

What happened to Fukushima? (Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant) (Distribution of power supplies) (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 66

All 6 of its reactors were so severely damaged by the tsunami that the plant was decommissioned. The plant's cooling systems were disabled by sea water flooding, which led to a meltdown of reactor cores and the release of radioactivity.

Question 67

Fukushima release large amounts of radiation. What did this result in? What are long term effects? (Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant) (Distribution of power supplies) (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 67

A 30 km evacuation zone was established around the plant, and soils in the surrounding countryside were contaminated by radiation. Even today radioactivity continues to seep into the Pacific Ocean, affecting the fishing industry.

Question 68

How many train stations were swept away? What happened to others? (Transport) (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 68

23 train stations were swept away, while others suffered severe damage, such as collapsed roofs.

Question 68

How was transport infrastructure affected? (Transport) (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 68

Many road bridges were damaged or destroyed; in the northeast train services were badly disrupted.

Question 69

How was farmland affected? (Farming) (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 69

Over large areas, farmland flooded by sea water has been contaminated by salt and made uncultivable.

Question 70

How was oversees farming affected? (Farming) (Economic impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 70

Overseas operations were also affected, as supplies of parts exported from Japan were interrupted.

Question 71

What did the Japanese government do to bring stability? What was a negative of this? (Political impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 71

Injected billions of yen into the economy, especially the financial sector. This increased government debt at a time when its reduction was a prime political aim.

Question 71

Could the Fukushima disaster have been avoided? (Anti-nuclear movements) (Political impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 71

Inadequacy of the defences against tsunami hazards had been made several years before the disaster, so potential could have been solved before.

Question 71

What developed post-earthquake? Why? (Anti-nuclear movements) (Political impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 71

A large popular movement against nuclear power. This is because there were concerns over safety standards and regulation of the nuclear industry became a political issue.

Question 71

Has the Japanese government shut down nuclear power use? What did happen? (Anti-nuclear movements) (Political impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 71

The government has yet to make a clear decision about the role of nuclear power in Japan's long-term energy mix. Several executives of companies involved in the Fukushima power plant have resigned.

Question 72

Was the political fallout from the Fukushima disaster global? (Anti-nuclear movements) (Political impacts) (Case study: Living with earthquakes - Japan)

Answer 72

Yes, the nuclear accident spread around the world; e.g. in western Europe the anti-nuclear lobby in Germany used the incident to support their arguments against nuclear power.