🌋Case Study - Caracas Local Hazards

Question 1

Where is Caracas?

Answer 1

Venezuela

Question 2

How does infrastructure make Caracas vulnerable?

Answer 2

Infrastructure is poor and run across seismic faults

Question 3

How many main water pipes run across a seismic fault?

Answer 3

3

Question 4

How many people live per km2 in barrios?

Answer 4

25,000/km2

Question 5

How is the population of the city growing?

Answer 5

Rapidly, 3.1% per year

Question 6

Why may the main bridge have to be rebuilt?

Answer 6

Due to a slip in the plates

Question 7

What is a major inequality in Caracas?

Answer 7

Economic, unequal wealth

Question 8

Is there any planning around hazards in the city?

Answer 8

No, and none in the country as a whole

Question 9

What is the issue with the government in Caracas?

Answer 9

There is a lack of stability

Question 10

What hazards is Caracas exposed to?

Answer 10

Tropical storms
Earthquakes
Drought
Sea level rise
Landslide/rockfalls

Question 11

What are social class divisions reflected by?

Answer 11

The occupancy of residential areas

Question 12

How did members of the upper class gain wealth?

Answer 12

Through sale of land and real estate

Question 13

Where do the upper class live?

Answer 13

On the Eastern margins of the valley and the Caribbean coast

Question 14

What do the upper class homes avoid?

Answer 14

Landslide and earthquake risk

Question 15

Where do lower class people live?

Answer 15

In hillside shanty towns overlooking the West and South

Question 16

How do building regulations differ between the city centre and shanty towns?

Answer 16

On the hillside there are no building regulations and no means of escape, everything would be destroyed. In city centre, international building regulations and flat land provides safety

Question 17

What is high in Caracas?

Answer 17

Unemployment

Question 18

What percentage of Venezuela’s GDP is based on oil sales?

Answer 18

50%

Question 19

What has the city focused its service in?

Answer 19

Banks, NGOs and shops

Question 20

How do planned responses vary around the city?

Answer 20

Each company has its own individual planned responses, rather than city wide, common plans

Question 21

What are the areas most at risk in Caracas?

Answer 21

Transportation and utilities as well as squatter settlements

Question 22

Which university recently developed a framework plan for building disaster resilience?

Answer 22

Columbia Univeristy

Question 23

What are the immediate disaster avoidance goals?

Answer 23

Strengthening critical infrastructure, housing stock and emergency services

Question 24

What are the more intermediate goals?

Answer 24

Upgrading fragile housing units, creating detailed hazard maps and incorporating disaster education into cultural activities

Question 25

What are the long term goals?

Answer 25

A fully redundant transport and water delivery framework, establishing legitimate land title for squatters and re-locating critical facilities

Question 26

Which plate boundary is Caracas located on?

Answer 26

The South American and Caribbean boundary

Question 27

At what rate are the plates moving?

Answer 27

2cm/year

Question 28

How is flooding risk increased by the environment?

Answer 28

The steep slopes of the valley decrease movement time of run off

Question 29

How could Caracas be cut off from the rest of the world in a major event?

Answer 29

If the single highway that links it to the airport and seaport is damaged. It is located in steep, landslide prone valleys.

Question 30

What is the preferred hazard response by the government?

Answer 30

Risk zoning, due to lack of funds

Question 31

Why is the city prone to landslides?

Answer 31

It is at the base of a valley, and tropical storms or tectonic activity can cause them

Question 32

Why is the city prone to liquefaction?

Answer 32

Alluvial fans make up the valley floor, which are prone to liquefaction

Question 33

What type of view do residents of the barrios have?

Answer 33

Fatalistic

Question 34

Why do different groups respond to hazards in different ways?

Answer 34

Due to a lack of equality in the city

Question 35

How are residents instructed to build their homes?

Answer 35

To orientate them parallel to any debris flows so to minimise the amount of material hitting the building

Question 36

How are the streets laid out?

Answer 36

In a parallel pattern

Question 37

GDP?

Answer 37

$17,000

Question 38

Venezuela is the _______ wealthiest country How it the wealth distributed?

Answer 38

70th Uneven

Question 39

Social: Where do the wealthy build their homes?

Answer 39

Away from earthquake prone areas Built to international building standards

Question 40

Social: Where do the middle class build their homes?

Answer 40

City centre Mainly flat- deepest part of the basin = most shaking Mainly apartments- high population density

Question 41

Social: Where do the poor build homes?

Answer 41

Hillsides Landslides + flooding Shanty towns (barrios)

Question 42

Social: How much of the city’s water is from 3 pipes? How much is stored in the city?

Answer 42

95% 1 days supply in the city

Question 43

Economic: Why does the building quality vary?

Answer 43

Wealth varies 50% of economy is oil Most of the rest is services- low paid

Question 44

Economic: How close is the bridge that connects Caracas to its sea and airports from collapsing? Problems this would create?

Answer 44

23cm Transport and commerce gone

Question 45

Political: What has allowed squatters to build shanti towns?

Answer 45

Lack of building codes Lack of regulation

Question 46

Political: How long does the transport minister stay on average? Problems with this?

Answer 46

6 months Doesn’t stay long enough to do anything

Question 47

Community responses to the risk?

Answer 47

Build in different areas Government doesn’t have money to implement building codes

Question 48

Local government response to risk?

Answer 48

Told to organise and plan disaster management plan- more coordinated and effective response Include military, NGOs, public

Question 49

Why is the local government disaster management plan unlikely to work?

Answer 49

Faces strong opposition from parties involved So they won’t agree

Question 50

Recommended that slums residents are educated in ….

Answer 50

Safer building techniques

Question 51

What is the boundary like?

Answer 51

Situated on boundary of Caribbean and South American plates with faults running through the city and under the main airport.

Question 52

When was the last major earthquake and how many did it kill?

Answer 52

In 1967 (mag 6.5) and killed over 300 people

Question 53

What makes up much of the basin’s floor and what does this mean/

Answer 53

Alluvial fans. These are prone to liquefaction during earthquakes

Question 54

Slope angles

Answer 54

Regularly exceed 80% making landslides and runoff major hazards in the Caracas basin

Question 55

Where is the safest and therefore most valuable land ?

Answer 55

On the valley floor

Question 56

What are the buildings of the wealthy like?

Answer 56

Many have earthquake resistant technologies such as using triangular steel reinforcement of shock absorbing foundations

Question 57

How are the valley floor buildings spaced?

Answer 57

Widely spaced to enable easy evacuation

Question 58

Issue with the water supply

Answer 58

All 3 supply lines cross major faults which could be lost in a disaster

Question 59

Issue with the main road access to the airport and sea port

Answer 59

Crosses a fault as well as using a large bridge which is at risk of landslides

Question 60

What is the Venezuelan economy based on?

Answer 60

Oil

Question 61

Issues with being a service focussed economy regarding hazard response

Answer 61

Each organisation/service often plans its own response rather than following an organised city wide plan

Question 62

What is the government like?

Answer 62

Democratic and relatively stable for South American standards

Question 63

What has the high crime rate done?

Answer 63

Moved government focus away from hazard prevention

Question 64

Why don’t slum dwellers care about what the government say?

Answer 64

Don’t have an address so don’t vote

Question 65

What is the preferred method of management?

Answer 65

Risk zoning - Designating certain high risk areas of the steep valley sides as ‘no build zones

Question 66

Issue with risk zoning

Answer 66

Limited by weak governance and the fact that most of the barrios (shanty towns) are constructed illegally

Question 67

Who do the wealthy residents employ to build their offices?

Answer 67

Western builders to adhere to western building codes which are stricter

Question 68

Who do the government fund?

Answer 68

Research bodies such as the Venezuelan foundation for seismological research