Geography Edexcel B Paper 1 Case Studies

bangladesh vulnerability

60% of the size of the UK but has 2-3 times more people
one of the worlds poorest countries
80% of bangladesh is less than 10m above sea level and 10% is below 1m
three of the worlds largest rivers join there and make a large floodplain (if one floods, they all flood)

cyclone aila

May 2009
began as a tropical storm in the bay of bengal, reached south western bangladesh on 25th may
200mm of incredibly intense rain fell
wind strength high (360 km/h)
low air pressure (967 mb) caused a huge storm surge (sea level rose loads)

social & economic impacts of cyclone

destroyed several villages
over half of the earth embankments in southern bangladesh built to hold back floods were washed away
190 killed
750 000 made homeless, homes either destroyed by floods or winds (90% of those displaced were from bangladesh's lowest income groups)
salt water flooded the area which killed the crops
3.5 million affected
59 000 animals killed

longer term effects

by mid 2010, 200 000 people still were staying in temporary shacks
many migrated to cities in search of work and
poverty forced people to live in slum areas
people had to take labouring jobs
children's education very disrupted

environmental impact of cyclone

loss of animals meant animal dung (source of cooking fuel) was lost which put further pressure on firewood sources
sickness and typhoid were problems, flooding meant freshwater was contaminated by sewage and moist air brought mosquitos and therefore malaria
an area of mangrove forest was badly affected, home to protected endangered royal bengal tiger, mud embankments burst and drowned at least 30 tigers

ways in which bangladesh protects citizens against cyclones

predicting cyclones (using satellites etc)
developing warning systems
introducing evacuation strategies and building storm surge defences

weather forecasting in bangladesh

bangladesh's meteorological departments issues weather forecasts/warnings but outside of the capital, few people have access to radios etc
in 2009 households with radios had a lower death rate than households without
use of mobile phones have increased, with 50 phones per 100 people (potential new way of giving information)

satellite technology in bangladesh

weather forecasting is expensive (have to buy digital images from china, japan and US satellites) & costs US$12 million a year
3 radar stations transmit live weather updates (cyclone formation & tracking can be done quickly & accurately)
in 2012 bangladesh announced it was going to spend US$ 150 million developing its own space satellite

warning systems in bangladesh

since 300,000 people were killed in cyclone bhola in 1970, warning system was developed
enables coastal communities to be evacuated
runs awareness campaigns, using village meetings, posters, leaflets, film shows and demonstrations to give information about cyclones and how to prepare
45,000 cyclone warning volunteers who live and work in threatened areas

evacuation strategies in bangladesh

construction of cyclone shelters and coastal embankments has reduced deaths
there are 3500 cyclone shelters in coastal districts, some taking up to 5000 people
death rates are double when there are no shelters

storm surge defences in bangladesh

embankments are built to protect against storm surges
bangladesh has 400km of coastline and thousands of km of low lying rivers which are liable to flooding
main roads are built on embankments but it's not possible to protect whole country

measuring success in bangladesh

the protection methods are expensive but they have reduced death toll and damage caused
challenges - illiteracy means some don't understand or follow warnings, instead of going to shelters, some believe they should wait and see if it's needed
fear of losing property and previous false warnings mean people don't want to evacuate

hurricane risks in USA

july - october is season for hurricanes
florida has 22% of a hurricane every year
hurricanes can even make it all the way to new york before decaying

forecasting, warning & satellite technology in USA

USA has over 20 weather satellites operating every day
frequent weather forecasts
warnings on TV and radio
almost everyone has has access to media
103 phones per 100 people
national hurricane centre in miami, who issue forecasts and warnings of hazardous weather and educate people about hurricanes etc

problems with weather satellites in USA

in 2012 (hurricane sandy) one satellite didn't work, and an older backup one had to take over, but software was out of date and only gave broad predictions
a weather centre in Reading UK gave an accurate prediction of the path
these warnings were given to people in new york where the storm was the second costliest in US history bc of damage caused

risk & evacuation in USA

USA has warning and evacuation systems in place to help plan evacuations
in florida, towns and cities are classified into risk zones
areas are assessed for risks from high winds/storm surges using a scale from low-extreme
only people who need to leave are evacuated & emergency services focus on getting people out w/out being overwhelmed

effects of hurricane katrina (USA)

1833 people died
damage estimated at US$108 billion
destruction along gulf coast bc of 4m high storm surge in New Orleans (most deaths here)
New Orleans flooded after artificial river levées (embankments) collapsed
80% of city was flooded for weeks
700 people died in one small suburb where a levée collapsed
government cuts had left levées poorly maintained
80% of 1.3 million population were evacuated but people like the poor, elderly in care homes, homeless and prisoners who were left by guards were left behind

storm surges and defences in USA

after failure of hurricane katrina from the government, softer and cheaper measures are now in place against storm surges
eg. beach nourishment, creating reefs and wetlands to absorb water & wave energy & artificial islands to weaken wave energy

japan 2011 earthquake

magnitude - 9.0
focus - 30km deep on a convergent plate boundary
epicentre - 70km from coast in Sendai Bay

japan 2011 earthquake primary effects

one dam collapsed, 2 nuclear power stations fractures and an oil refinery set on fire by damaged gas pipes
tohoku motorway badly damaged in northern japan, sendai airport closed by tsunami, one rail link near sendai badly damaged
US$235 billion of damage caused by earthquake & tsunami (costliest disaster in history)

japan 2011 earthquakes secondary effects

mostly caused by tsunami
15,900 people died, 2600 missing, 6150 injured, 350,000 homeless (most were at work or school when it hit)
93% of deaths caused by drowning
2 nuclear reactors went into meltdown and locals were evacuated (hadn't returned by 2015)
businesses disrupted by damage, clearance, and rebuilding
homelessness, disrupted schooling, unemployment and increased stress lasted years as authorities struggled to cope with damage

haiti 2010 earthquake

magnitude - 7.0
focus - 13km deep on conservative plate boundary
epicentre - 25km from Port-au-Prince (population 2.5 million)

haiti 2010 earthquake primary effects

316,000 died and 300,000 injured
many houses were poorly built and collapsed instantly, 1 million homeless
the port, communication links and major roads were damaged beyond repair
rubble from collapsed buildings blocked road and rail links

haiti 2010 earthquake secondary effects

water supply system destroyed - cholera outbreak killed 8000
port destroyed - hard to get aid to area
important clothing factories destroyed (provided over 60% of haiti's exports)
1 in 5 jobs were lost
by 2015 most people displaced by earthquake had been rehoused

long term planning in japan

developed country so can afford it
70% chance of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hitting japan in the next 30 years (no way of accurately predicting)
yearly earthquake drills & emergency services practice
people keep emergency kits (water, food, torch & radio) at home
many buildings are earthquake proof
gas supplies cut off automatically (reduce fire risk)
tsunami walls are designed to protect coast

earthquake-proof buildings in japan

deep foundations to prevent collapse
strong flexible steel frame
cross bracing stops floors collapsing
shock absorbers built into cross braces
damper in roof acts as a pendulum and reduced sway