Volcanoe - Mt Merapi 2010

Question 1

Location of the volcanoe

Answer 1

• in central Java, Indonesia
• most active volcanoe in Indonesia
• Java is the 5th largest island in Indonesia

Question 2

Demographics

Answer 2

Population = 276 million
High population density (144 people per square km)
GDP per capita = $11,500 dollars

Question 3

perception of the event

Answer 3

Fear = many people evacuated their homes, however many of them later returned for livestock or their things
Fatalism = many locals saw the volcanoe as a supernatural being that had the power to erupt, and they would provide offerings to show respects

Question 4

Primary impacts

Answer 4

• 353 deaths
• 350,000 people displaced
• homes destroyed

Question 5

Secondary impacts

Answer 5

• 70% fall in tourism
• ash clouds meant that 2,500 flights were cancelled

Question 6

Immediate responses

Answer 6

• 75,000 people within a 20km zone were evacuated
• highest level volcanoe alerts were sent out
• the Indonesian red cross and military helped with rescue missions

Question 7

Long term responses

Answer 7

• 2,500 homes were permanently relocated

Question 8

Association of the event to plate tectonic theories:

Answer 8

• convergent plate margin (continental and oceanic)
• the subducted oceanic plate melts
• this reaction causes magma to rise
• bursts through the surface of the earth and erupts, forming a volcanoe