Tectonics earthquake case studies

Question 1

Developing example + magnitude and focal depth

Answer 1

Haiti
7.0
13km

Question 2

Emerging example + magnitude and focal depth

Answer 2

Sichuan, China
7.9
19km

Question 3

Developed example + magnitude and focal depth

Answer 3

Sendai, Japan
9.0
29km

Question 4

Developing time, date, year

Answer 4

12th January 2010
16:53 local time

Question 5

Emerging time, date, year

Answer 5

12th May 2008
14:28 local time

Question 6

Developed time, date, year

Answer 6

11th March 2011
14:46 local time

Question 7

Haiti plate boundary + movement

Answer 7

Strike-slip fault (conservative)
NA + Caribbean plates

Question 8

Sichuan boundary + movement

Answer 8

Collision
Indo-Australian + Eurasian

Question 9

Sendai boundary + movement

Answer 9

Convergent
Pacific + Eurasian

Question 10

Haiti epicentre

Answer 10

25km from Port au Prince

Question 11

Sichuan epicentre

Answer 11

80km from Chengdu

Question 12

Sendai epicentre

Answer 12

100km east of Sendai

Question 13

Haiti duration

Answer 13

30 seconds

Question 14

Sichuan duration

Answer 14

over 2 mins

Question 15

Sendai duration

Answer 15

approx 6 minutes

Question 16

Haiti social impacts (primary + secondary)

Answer 16

316,000 deaths (government) or 220,000 (UN)
all 8 hospitals collapsed / damaged
only airport destroyed
prison collapsed -> 4000 inmates escaped
still people living in temporary shelters on streets
(S) cholera outbreak killed 9000 by 2015
(S) 1/5 jobs lost
(1) 1 million homeless

Question 17

Haiti economic impacts

Answer 17

$14b loss
1/5 jobs lost = rise in unemployment

Question 18

Haiti environmental impacts

Answer 18

plastic waste from tents + tarpaulin
areas of coast submerged
liquefaction

Question 19

Haiti vulnerability

Answer 19

Poorest country in western hemisphere
High levels of corruption -> organisations hesitant to channel aid through government
86% in Port au Prince in slums
Only seismometer was for teaching purposes
1/3 access to tap water

Question 20

Haiti preparation

Answer 20

no living experience

Question 21

Haiti response

Answer 21

international aid $13b
Hope for Haiti Now campaign
Red Cross 50 bed field hospital
small scale practice drills
buildings on stilts = aseismic design

Question 22

Sichuan social impacts

Answer 22

Over 70,000 fatalities (5335 children)
middle school collapsed = 900 pupils dead
Over 5 million homeless

Question 23

Sichuan economic impacts

Answer 23

$130b loss
Oil prices dropped by $1.73 (believed demand from China would drop)

Question 24

Sichuan environmental impacts

Answer 24

Livestock lost in large quantities
Large landslides
Blocked rivers caused flooding
Loss of clean water supply
Over 2000 dams damaged

Question 25

Sichuan vulnerability

Answer 25

Bribes + corruption meant building codes ignored Largely untouched by economic development compared to Eastern coast

Question 26

Sichuan preparation

Answer 26

building codes (but disregarded so ineffective)

Question 27

Sendai social impacts (primary and secondary)

Answer 27

1500 deaths from earthquake 1 collapsed dam + 1 damaged motorway airport closed (S) 16,000 deaths- 93% from drowning (half of deaths were over 65s) (S) 350,000 homeless

Question 27

Sichuan response

Answer 27

130,000 soldiers sent to affected areas Government pledged $10b for rebuilding Temporary homes built within 2 weeks

Question 28

Sendai economic impacts

Answer 28

$240b loss

Question 29

Sendai environmental impacts

Answer 29

2 nuclear reactors in meltdown (Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant) -> evacuation zone of 20km (140,000 evacuated)

Question 30

Sendai vulnerability

Answer 30

mountainous spine to country means high coastal population density no coal reserves = dependent on nuclear power 75% buildings designed aseismically e.g. counterweights, cross bracing planned evacuation routes + shelters pre-installed alert app on phones 10m high sea walls

Question 31

Sendai response

Answer 31

Disaster Prevention Day 1st September All lines of communication switched to official coverage Japanese Meteorological Agency monitors seismic activity tsunami predicted 3 mins after earthquake = time to evacuate Accepted help from over 20 countries Bank of Japan offered $183 billion to banks to protect economy