geography PT examples

search and rescue efforts 

• 2020 Aegean Sea, Turkey earthquake Mw 7.0

• 106 people rescued

timely evacuation 

• tsunami 

  • 2011 Tohuku Japan earthquake Mw 9.0 

  • almost all 3000 students survived in Kamaishi city 

    • quickly evacuated to high grounds

provision of basic social and psychosocial services 

• water 

  • 2010 Haiti, Port Au Prince Mw 7.0 

  • International Committee Red Cross provided water supply for 12,000 people 

lack of resources 

• 2010, Haiti, Port Au Prince Mw 7.0 

• critical shortage of ambulances to transport injury + heavy machinery to remove rubble → more loss of lives + more time taken to remove debris and rubble to search and rescue people 

challenges in engagement relevant stakeholders to collaborate and integrate disaster management strategies into their practices

• Phillipines, only 10%-25% of buildings are insured against earthquake due to high cost 

land use planning

• 1933 Japan tsunami → land use planning implemented 

• houses on coastal grounds shifted to higher grounds 

  • 2010 Tohuku Japan tsunami, houses on higher ground not destroyed

reducing vulnerability through hazard-resistant building designs

• Taipei 101 Skyscraper build in earthquake prone zone → has a weighted damper 

reducing vulnerability through monitoring and warning systems

• 2011 Tohuku Japan earthquake Mw 9.0 

  • monitoring and warning systems detected strong seismic waves → alert was sent to stop bullet trains → save people 

conducting evacuation drills

• 2011 Tohuku Japan earthquake Mw 9.0 

  • almost all 3000 students survived in Kamaishi city 

  • quickly evacuated to high grounds 

extent of communities resources

• Bangladesh, LDC, prioritise economic development 

• 21% of buildings in the capital,  Dhaka not reinforced, 77% of buildings reinforced but cannot withstand ground shaking during earthquakes 

• Dhaka vulnerable to earthquakes

capability of the community to organise itself for disasters

• 2010 Haiti earthquake Mw 7.0 → 220,000 deaths 

• community cannot organise itself due to lack of education by government 

• poor law enforcement → looting is common to survive 

• chaos and unrest as survivors found it difficult to take care of themselves and survive

duration of shaking

• 2011 Tohuku Japan earthquake Mw 9.0 

• 6 minutes shaking → massive damage to buildings

time of shaking

• 1995 Kobe, Japan earthquake Mw 6.9

  • occurred at 6am → many people asleep → 6000 dead

quality of building design and construction

• 2010 Haiti earthquake Mw 7.0 → 220,000 deaths 

• concrete pillars holding up buildings not reinforced, 90% of buildings near epicentre destroyed 

rock and soil properties

• 2010 Haiti earthquake Mw 7.0 → 220,000 deaths 

• large areas of Port au Prince lies on soft soil

population density

• 1995 Kobe, Japan earthquake Mw 6.9 → 6000 dead, 40,000 injured 

• population density, 3000 people/km^2 

distance from epicentre

• 2010 Haiti earthquake Mw 7.0 → 220,000 deaths 

• epicentre 25km west of city 

composition of magma

• 2018 Kilauea, Hawaii 

  • 24 injured, 600 homes destroyed, USD$800 million property damage 

availability of surface and groundwater

• 1991, Mount Pinatubo → >100,000 destroyed 

•  many lahars developed due to heavy rain during monsoon season 

prevailing wind conditions

• 1991, Mount Pinatubo 

• ashfall spread large distances due to fast wind speed 

• 90,000 hectares of damaged crops

presence of human settlements

• Mount Sinabung, Philippines → active volcano 

• many still work due to presence of fertile soils

tephra

• 1991 Mount Pinatubo, Philippines 

  • buried >180km^2 of forests in ash about 25cm 

  • 7 airports closed + flights cancelled 

  • destroyed 800 km^2 of rice field

volcanic gases

• 1979 Dieng volcano 

  • released deadly amounts of CO2 

  • 150 killed

pyroclastic flows

• 2010 Merapi, Indonesia → 350 killed due to burns and blast injuries 

  • blasted series of pyroclastic flows down slopes of volcano where people lived

lava flows

• 2018 Kilauea, Hawaii 

  • >600 homes destroyed 

  • destroyed huge areas of forests

lahars

• 1991, Mount Pinatubo → >100,000 destroyed 

•  many lahars developed due to heavy rain during monsoon season 

landslides (volcanoes)

• 1980 Mt Helens, USA 

  • north face of volcano collapsed, landslides travel 23km from volcano

ground shaking

• 2010 Haiti earthquake Mw 7.0 → 220,000 deaths 

  • surrounding areas around earthquake polluted 

  • debris pollute rivers

  • 250,000 houses collapsed

soil liquefaction

• 2010-2011 Christchurch, New Zealand 

  • lies on former swap which as loose and saturated soil –. liquefaction occurs

  • >60,000 buildings destroyed 

  • liquefied soil enter rivers → pollute

landslides

• 2008 Great Sichuan, Chiana Mw 7.8 

  • 15,000 landslides 

  • 20,000 deaths

tsunamis

• 2011 Tohuku Japan earthquake Mw 9.0 

  • tsunami 40m in height 

  • coastal city of Sendai → half its population killed + suffer extensive damage

fertile soil

• Bali, → has several volcanoes such as Mount Agung 

• best rice growing region 

extraction of precious minerals

• Mount Merapi, many people employed to mine volcanic sand for constructing buildings 

harnessing geothermal energy

• Iceland’s electricity is generated from geothermal power plants due to large number of volcanoes in the country 

tourism activities

Hawaii → tourism generates an annual income of US$88 million and provides locals with jobs