Hazards Flashcards
Give an example of where human perception has affected human responses to hazards.
1992 Hurricane Andrew:
Category 5
- destroyed 63,000 homes + put 12 insurance companies out of business because of the unprecedented force of the hazard
- Killed 65 people
- even though Southern Florida had mandatory evacuation procedures residents refused to leave because never in their memories had hurricanes reached so far inward, result of frequent exposure to such hazards
Haiti Earthquake: Overview
(back-up for flexing pm examiners)
Park Model P1
Haiti Earthquake 12/01/2010:
-located between Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean
- 7.8 magnitude on Richter scale
- Killed over 200,000 & 3 million affected by the ‘quake
- 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings destroyed
- High national debt bc of price of independence from French in 1825 ($21 billion)
- after earthquake French refused to forgive that loan unlike another recent one of $77m
- led to worsened death toll and impacts after earthquake
- NEVER RECOVERED because anarchy = political instability and widespread poverty
- Stage 5 shows that they are supposed to be entering an improvement phase but haven’t because of endogenous factors and anarchy and more events such as Hurricane Matthew in 2016
- In 2010 their HDI dropped to 0.43 from 0.51 in 2009
Doesn’t incorporate socio-economic factors of country
In-depth case study on Tohoku earthquake and tsunami
Overview
Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami (March 11, 2011, Japan)
- one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded (magnitude-9.0)
- epicentre = 130km east of city Sendai, Miyagi
- 18,500 deaths
- tsunami not only destroyed coastal towns but also triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster , left parts of region permanently uninhabitable - unable to return to normal, much more long term than Park Model presumes
- water is treatable but takes a lot of effort to do so and is expensive.
- the earthquake was a megathrust event - sudden release of built strain along fault line between N American and Pacific Plate, Plate subducted underneath, plate stuck and suddenly released cause N American plate to lurch upward = displaced loads of water = tsunami
- Also where there is a convergence of 4 plates
Process isn’t as short terms as it shows
Give an example of where hazard response models are not useful/limited.
(back-up for flexing on examiners)
Hazard Management Cycle P1 (Cyclone Idai)
Cyclone Idai (2019 Mozambique):
- Made landfall in Mozambique on 14/03/2019, south-eastern Africa
- Had a regional impact where there were cholera outbreaks of just under 6000 ppl and over 10,000 cases of malaria
- Btwn 15 and 16th march moved inland through Zimbabwe and caused extensive flooding in Malawi
- Before the event Mozambique had undertaken mitigation efforts such as building flood defenses but these were overwhelmed by the intensity of the storm
- not much is being done either in the recovery stage as are training women in farming and distributed farming tools to 2000 ppl and started to repair and rebuild
- isn’t equal between each stage
- In Mozambique, ActionAid distributed sanitary kits, school books and established women-friendly spaces.
In Zimbabwe, ActionAid provided thousands of kilograms of food and cooking oil, distributed sanitary pads, underwear packs, towels and soap.
In Malawi, ActionAid reached around 12,700 people with our initial rapid response. We worked with local women’s forums to ensure the protection of women and girls in evacuation camps, and distributing food, lamps, utensils, sleeping mats, soap and mosquito nets.
Mount Nyiragongo
Overall stats and causes
Overall Physical:
- An active shield volcano, erupted 34 times since 1882 (1997,2002 and May 2021)
- 3470m tall
- Located in DRC, Africa (central Africa), part of Virunga Mountain Range
- On a divergent plate boundary, the Nubian plate (African plate) is being pulled into the Somalian Plate(?)
- Has basaltic, alkaline lava (unususally fluid), meaning can flow downhill at 100km/h bc of low silica content
- eruptions send large amount of lethat carbond dioxide gas to surface as it settles in low-lying areas, asphyxiated 1800 people in nearby villages in 1986
Human factors:
- located 16km north of city of Goma, pop = 2m
- Has very fertile soil because of volcano, encourages many people to live there (in volcanoes = Mg and K)
- DRC has low HDI = 0.481 (2022), has a history of conflict and political instability
- Over 120 armed groups operate in the region, making it difficult for scientists to monitor and collect data on the volcano
- Many people have an emotional connection to the area, particularly through tourism and farming as very few places have such fertile soil
Mount Nyiragongo
Impacts of eruption
2002 eruption:
Environmental:
- released 147,000 tonnes of SO2/day = acid rain,
- pH levels reached as low as ** 3.1** as a result in rainwater, = damaged crops (i.e Cassava and maize)
- 25million m^3 of lava, divided Goma into two, there were concerns that if it were to reach Lake Kivu that there would be a catastrophic release of CO2
Social:
- 45/150 schools were destroyed, 24000 children out of school
- High levels of fluoride in the water (6.9mg/l = 5x higher than WHO limit for drinking water) = endemic dental fluorosis
- 400,000 residents displaced, many fled to neighbouring Rwanda in east
- 140-160 people died, mainly from asphyxiation
- 3 hospitals and 27 clinics destroyed
Mount Nyiragongo
(potential responses - not included in booklet)
Immediate Responses (link to stage 3 of the park model?)
- 33 tonnes of water heating kits for 50,000 people in refugee camps distributed
- w/in first week, plastic sheets, cooking sets and blankets were given to 67,000 households
- Governments around the world gave total of $35m
Long-run responses:
- 30 new warning systems were introduced and were part of the reason why the next eruptions weren’t as bad (need to check)
what about over time?
- Global distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes
RING OF FIRE!! (around Pacific Ocean)
- 75% of volcanoes occur here
- Highest concentration occurs between Philippine plate and Eurasian plate and pacific plate and and Australian plate,
- however vulcanicity can still occur outside of plate boundaries through hotspots
- Ring of Fire = 90% of world’s earthquakes
- East Asia and South America are at particularly high risk
Mt Nyiragongo impacts
Economic
- destroyed 80% of Goma’s economic infrastructure, including city’s commercial centre
- 1/3 of airport runway + 21% of electricity -> couldn’t be used for several months
- total damage estimated by world Bank to be $1.2bn
- 120,000 homes destroyed = 30% of Goma’s housing stock.
- Lava flows destroyed 13% of Goma
- The airport was cut in two by one of the flows
- BUT has erupted again in 2021 and estimated costs of $20m
- HAD BEEN CUT OFF FROM FUNDING BY WORLD BANK, OBSERVATORY COULDN@T GET MSG OUT IN 2021!!!
Impacts of Tohoku earthquake and tsunami
Social:
- 470,000 people were displaced
- 56% of fatalities were people aged** 65 or older** - bc lived in coastal regions + couldn’t evacuate
- cultural losses, in towns like Rikuzentakata lost cultural landmarks inc temples and historical sites
- From Fukushima
Environmental:
- 5m tonnes of debris washed into P Ocean because of tsunami
- 561km^2 of land was inundated
- Fukushima released radioactive isotopes inc cesium-137 into air, ocean, soil etc
- earthquake caused significant subsidence (ground sinking) along Japan’s northern coastline, w some areas sinking up to 1.2m
Impacts of Tohoku earthquake and tsunami
Economic
Economic:
- 120,000 buildings destroyed
- estimated cost of $235bn, costliest natural disaster in history
- Fukushima led to 54 nuclear reactor closures, supplied 30% of Japan’s energy,
- Global insurance claims exceeded $40bn, Japan allocated $300bn for reconstruction alone
- Bc couldn’t produce energy, imported from M East = incr oil prices globally
Sichuan Earthquake: overview (back-up for flexing to examiner)
Date: May 12, 2008
Time: 2:28 PM local time (06:28 UTC)
Location: Epicentre near Wenchuan, Sichuan Province, China
Magnitude: 7.9 (Moment Magnitude Scale)
Depth: 19 km (shallow)
Affected Areas: The earthquake primarily impacted Sichuan Province, but the effects were felt across a large portion of China, including parts of Gansu, Shanxi, Yunnan, and even areas as far as Tianjin and Beijing. (Beijing is 1600 km away!!)
Sichuan Earthquake: impacts (back-up for flexing to examiner)
Social:
- 69,000 confirmed deaths, 87,000 estimated to be killed
- 4.8m displaced
- 4 floors of a school collapsed, 7000 schools in total collapsed, 5000 children died
- many survivors were left with severe psychological trauma - particularly children as they lost their parents or witnessed horiffic scenes, PTSD then became a major concern
Environmental:
- 6 pandas escaped from Wolong National Park, 2 were injured, one died after being crushed by zoo wall
- the earthquake triggered 60,000 landslides , destroyed entire villages and blocked rivers, because epicentre was in a mountainous region
Sichuan Earthquake (back-up for flexing to examiner)
Economic impacts
- 1.5mha of farmland were affected in the surrounding area, particularly in the Wenchuan county at the epicentre, rice and vegetable crops, subsistence farmers
- in Mianzhu, south east of sichuan there was significant flooding and liquefaction = affected rice and oilseeds mid seasons = affected diet and income
-
Shifang Chemical plant was destroyed (located in Shifang city), it produced fertilisers: ammonium bicarbonate and phosphoric acid used in processing
-> bc of obvious lower output, prices increased by 10-20%, one farmer saw a 30% decrease in yied
Sichuan Earthquake: Responses (back-up for flexing to examiner)
Short-term responses:
- 14 minutes after earthquake struck, Chinese gov sent 113,000 troops to area, however was difficult to access because it is a mountainous area
- 45,000 medical workers provided to ensure no epidemic
- Within weeks, 3.5m tents and 14m quilts distributed, camps with basic facilities established for 5m homeless survivors.
- Roads to Wenchuan and other remote areas reopened within 72 hours, despite 34,000 km of road damaged
Long-term responses
- By 2012, 99% of collapse buildings were rebuilt, these were built to be earthquake proof as in 2013, 6.6m struck - only 200 died
- Government built $1.6bn copper mine in one of towns as would bring money into area but bad for locals and env
- to prevent landslides, 200,000 ha of trees were reforested in damaged hillsides to protect vulnerable areas
Responses to Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami
Short-term:
- Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown prompted the evacuation of over 154,000 residents within a 20-kilometer radius of the plant.
- Japan’s Earthquake Early Warning system alerted millions of residents seconds before the quake’s impact, minimizing casualties in areas where warnings were received.
- Over 12,000 healthcare workers deployed
- Immediate financial donations reached $1.2 billion globally to support relief efforts.
Long-term:
- Japan reduced its reliance on nuclear energy from 30% to less than 5% of its energy mix by 2020 , increasing imports of natural gas and coal to meet demand. = bad or good?
- By 2015 , approximately 85% of basic infrastructure (roads, railways, utilities) was restored.
- Farmlands and fisheries: ~80% recovered, but issues with soil salinity and radiation persist in some regions. (by 2021)
What is the distribution and frequency of wildfires?
Wildfires are most common in the tropics and subtropics
Countries that experience the highest number of wildfires include Brazil, Indonesia and Australia
(back-up for flexing lol) Wildfires in South Korea
Key facts
- wildfires are quite uncommon here
- 21 Mar - (ongoing, is April 25th 2025)
Social impacts
- 18 people died as a result
- several heritage sites destroyed 1300 year old Buddhist temple destroyed
- 23,000 people evacuated
Spatial distribution of hotspots - how do they link to plate tectonic theory and how influences volcano formation
Predicting volcanoes. is it always possible, when has it gone wrong and what does this mean for the predicability of volcanic eruptions
- Mount Ontake = Japan’s second highest volcano, erupted killing 31 people on Sep 27 2014
- monitored since first recorded eruption in 1980 and just before eruption in 2014, was slight increase in volcanic tremors starting at beginnig of sep,
- but scientists think eruption then was one that doesnt cause typical symptoms - NOT ALL VOLCANOES ARE THE SAME
- videos show mainly white ash cloud, = mostly steam making it a phreatic eruption - therefore couldnt have been predicted before hand
- similar one in New Zealand where Dec 9th 2019 Whakaari volcano erupted without warning
- 22 people killed 25 suffered major injuries inc severe burns, 47 on island, everyone injured in some way
- was phreatic too was tephra released as well (rocks and ash)
How do urban forms influence the scale of impacts of seismic hazards/volcanic/tropical/wildfires (back-up for flexing lol)
(back-up for flexing lol) 2025 Myanmar earthquake!!!!!
Key facts and background about countries affected:
- 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar (Burma), near Sagaing, on March 28, 2025 (12:50 local time). Several strong earthquakes – as high as 6.4-magnitude –followed immediately afterward
effectiveness of ngos in managing hazards
How does the HMC compare to the Park Model?
- Similarities
- both model highlight the importance of response immediately after hazard + recovering to pre-disaster levels and recognise the importance of preparedness + mitigation
- both show a time-dependent process ?- PM: focusses on how QofL changes over time after a hazard event, showing the different stages of responses
- HMC: shows how time influences different stages of management
++ differences
- PM: focusses on the impact on QofL over time after a hazard occurs > shows how people’s lives are affected + how they eventually recover (or not)
- HMC: focusses on the management of the hazard itself > how authorities + communities plan, respond + recover
- concentrates on the action taken rather than the direct impact on people
- PM: doesn’t outline specific management actions
- HMC: outlines what should be done at each stage
- PM: goal = recover QofL back to normal (or better)
- HMC: goal = continuously reduce risk + prepare for future hazard
6. PM = better for analysing social impacts > shows how bad the impact was
HMC = better for planning + managing disasters > shows how the impact was managed
BUT- it being a cycle allows for continuous improvement -> impr recovery and reconstruction leads top improved preparedness and mitigation
