Sichuan Earthquake - H

Question 1

What are disasters caused by

Answer 1

Lack of preparedness within communities, and by the inability of political authorities to organise and provide resources to guard against or withstand hazard effects. In this sense, there is little that is ‘natural’ about hazards - understanding environmental issues book

Question 2

When was the earthquake

Answer 2

2008

Question 3

What was the magnitude

Answer 3

7.9

Question 4

What was the death toll

Answer 4

69,185 (officially dead)

Question 5

What was the toll for missing and presumed dead

Answer 5

Over 18,000

Question 6

Where was the earthquake

Answer 6

Sichuan province located in the centre of south China. This is a rural area, unaffected by china’s economic growth

Question 7

What is the tectonic history of the area

Answer 7

225 million years ago: Africa, India and Antarctica joined as one large southern continent known as Gondwanaland.

It broke: India moved 5-10cn per year northwards.

40 million years ago: collided with Tibet to form the Himalayas.
The Eurasian plate thickened (creating the Tibetan Plateau), gilded and cracking during the convergence worth the Indian Plate.

Parts of China are heavily faulted as there are cracks in the earths crust.

Question 8

What is the tectonic setting

Answer 8

Eurasian plate and Indian plate margin

Continental/continental convergence

Question 9

What was the cause of the quake

Answer 9

Tectonic stresses built up and stored energy was related, rupturing along the Longmenshan fault

Question 10

Depth of focus

Answer 10

10km (very shallow)

Question 11

Epicentre of earthquake

Answer 11

92km North-West of Chengdu in Wenchuan country

Question 12

How many people like in the Sichuan Basin

Answer 12

100 million people

Question 13

What is the lithololgy of the Sichuan basin

Answer 13

Unconsolidated sediment

Question 14

What amplified the affect of the shaking

Answer 14

The unconsolidated sediment was prone to liquefaction

Question 15

Where was the shaking felt

Answer 15

In Bangladesh, Vietnam and Taiwan

Question 16

When did the string aftershocks continue until

Answer 16

August

Question 17

How strong were some of the aftershocks

Answer 17

6 on the Richter scale

Question 18

What were the primary economic effects

Answer 18

A cargo train carrying 13 petroleum tanks derailed in Hun Country, Gansu and caught on fire after the rail was distorted.
391 dams damaged by the quake.
5.6 million buildings collapsed - Seismic design code introduced in 1976 and most buildings were older than that.
21 million buildings damaged.

Question 19

How many people were killed (primary)

Answer 19

Over 69,000

Question 20

How many people were injured (primary)

Answer 20

Over 374,000

Question 21

How many people listed as missing (primary)

Answer 21

18,222

Question 22

How many people were left homeless (primary)

Answer 22

5 million (could be as many as 11 million) (the timing of the earthquake made this worse)

Question 23

How much of roads were destroyed or covered by landslides (primary)

Answer 23

5300km

Question 24

What were fractured or covered by landslides (primary)

Answer 24

Roads and several bridges and railway lines

Question 25

How much water pipeline was destroyed (primary)

Answer 25

8000km

Question 26

What was temporarily closed (primary)

Answer 26

Chengdu Airport and hospitals damaged

Question 27

How many dams were weakened (primary)

Answer 27

2300

Question 28

What were the secondary economic effects

Answer 28

Oil prices dropped over speculation that the demand from China would fall.
Cost exceeds $20 billion.
In Shifang, chemical plants collapsed killing hundreds and releasing toxic ammonia.
Loss of factories, hydro-electric power generation and tourist revenues - large impact on the economy.

Question 29

What were the secondary social effects

Answer 29

Communications such as telephones were cut off.
Damaged road, rail and airport network hindered the rescue effort.
158 rescue workers killed in landslides.

Question 30

What were the secondary environmental effects

Answer 30

6 pandas escaped from their enclosures in the Wolong National Nature Reserve. 2 pandas were injured and one was killed.
Rivers blocked by landslides forming ‘quake lakes’ (34 formed and risked flooding when dams collapsed)
The Food and Agriculture Organisation estimated that 32 million farm animals perished.
Hundreds of thousands of hectares of farm land left dry after irrigation systems damaged.
Two chemical factories collapsed in Shifang, releasing toxic gas.

Question 31

What were the short term responses

Answer 31

Rapid emergency response from the Chinese Prime Minister visited the affected area with the UN Secretary General.
14,000 Chinese troops sent in by boat, on foot, by helicopter and parachute.
100,000 volunteers.
Rescue effort impeded by mountainous terrains and damaged roads.
Foreign governments and NGOd sent aid.
The WTO warned of the threat of disease due to lack of lean water and poor sanitation.
Terrorised camps estbalished.
Government declared a three day period of national mourning for quake victims.
250,000 residents evacuated.
2000 soldiers excavated earth from Lake Tanagjiashan (formed by landslide) to widen a drainage channel.
By June, 248 out of 254 roads were repaired.
Government made last minute changes to the route of the 2008 Olympic torch itinerary to include visiting the earthquake zone but even the Olympic spirit could not overcome the problems in the Sichuan province.
10.7 billion yen was donated by the Chinese.

Question 32

What were the long term responses

Answer 32

Lack of reinforcement in school buildings meant that the floors collapsed on to each other, leaving little space for those trapped to survive. The government promised to crack down on the design of school buildings.
Beichuan, a town designated by the earthquake (80% of buildings destroyed and half the population killed) was not rebuilt, it has been left as a memorial to those who lost their lives.
Tourists now visit the ruined town.
Some buildings supported by probs to stop further collapse.
Remaining population were rehoused 12 miles away in a neighbouring town.
Because of the one child policy, many people lost their only child so the policy is being relaxed in the Sichuan area and the Chinese government was reported sending medics to reverse sterilisation operations.

Question 33

What are key to trying to rescue the impact of earthquakes

Answer 33

The 3 Ps: prediction, protection and preparation

Question 34

What is prediction

Answer 34

Involves trying to forecast when an earthquake will happen

Question 35

Why do Japan try to monitor earth tenors

Answer 35

They have a belief that warnings can be given, but this did not happen at Kobe

Question 36

Experts know when earthquakes are likely to happen, but what do they struggle at

Answer 36

Establishing when. Even looking at the time between earthquakes in a particular area does not seem to work. Also struggle to pinpoint exactly where along a plate margin they will occur.

Question 37

What does protection involve

Answer 37

Building to an appropriate standard and using designs to withstand movement

Question 38

What does preparation involve

Answer 38

Hospitals, emergency services and inhabitants practising for major disasters, including habitants drills in public buildings and a code of practice so that people know what to do to reduce the impact and increase their chance of survival

Question 39

Why is preparation the main way in which earthquakes can be managed

Answer 39

Because they are currently impossible to predict or prevent

Question 40

In Japan and the USA, how often do schools hold earthquake drills

Answer 40

Once a month, sometimes in earthquake simulation structures, and students are taught to ‘drop to their knees, over their heads and hold onto their desks’

Question 41

When an earthquake occurs, what is the emergency response

Answer 41

Vital and met big domestically and internationally

Question 42

Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake what were the emergency responses

Answer 42

National governments, international organisations and NGOs supported the Haitian government by providing military and disaster relief personnel, field hospitals and emergency facilities

Question 43

Why are designing and engineering buildings that are life-saving important in the long term

Answer 43

The collapse of buildings is the greatest risk to human life

Question 44

What have been put in place in high risk earthquake zones in Japan and the USA

Answer 44

Sophisticated engineering solutions e.g skyscrapers have been built on ball bearings, springs and padded cylinders which act like shock absorbers

Question 45

For low cost, informal housing, what can prevent collapse

Answer 45

Simply strengthening the corners using wooden buttresses

Question 46

Protection-earthquake proof building design

Answer 46

Computer controlled weights on roof to reduce movement.
‘Birdcage’ interlocking steel frame.
Fire resistant building material.
Roads to provide quick access for emergency services.
Rubber shock-absorbers to absorb earth tremors.
Foundation sunk into bed rock, avoiding clay.
Open areas where people can assemble if evacuated.
Automatic window shutters to prevent falling glass.
Steel framed that can sway during earth movements.

Question 47

What are the 7 steps to earthquake safety according to the American Red Cross (an American approach to preparation)

Answer 47

Identity earthquake hazards in your home.
Create a disaster plan.
Create disaster supplies kit.
Identity and fix your buildings weaknesses.
During earthquakes - drop, cover and hold.
After earthquakes - check for injuries and damage.
When safe, continue to follow your disaster plan.