Better geog case studies

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Which EQ had higher human impact?

Turkey–Syria Earthquake (2023) >59,000 deaths and >120k injured

Which EQ had a lower human impact?

Haiti EQ 2021 2,200 deaths and >12000 injured

Magnitude of Turkey-Syria 2023 EQ?

7.8

Magnitude of Haiti EQ 2021?

7.2

Epicentre location of each EQ?

Turkey-Syria: Densely populated cities
Haiti EQ: Rural area

Time of occurrence of each EQ

Turkey-Syria: 4am, when everyone was asleep
Haiti: 8am, when most people were awake

Economic capacity of each EQ city?

Turkey-Syria: On Turkey’s side, upper middle income with advanced rescue tech. On Syria’s side, it is a LIC with less advanced rescue tech
Haiti: LIC with weak enforcement of building codes and limited emergency services

Demographics of EQ places?

Syria: many IDPs in shelters, high pop density
Haiti: Lower density but vulnerable housing

Social preparedness in EQ cities

Syria: minimal drills in Syria due to war, uneven education
Haiti: Limited disaster awareness, disaster fatigue

Political factors of EQ cities

Syria hindered by border politics, Turkey was able to coordinate nationally

Haiti had political instability and gang violence that slowed down aid

Secondary hazards by EQ cities

Turkey-Syria faced winter cold and landslides

Haiti faced landslides and Tropical Storm Grace flooding

Isolation and access of EQ cities

Syria conflict zones hard to reach and bottlenecked road access

Haiti Remote areas cut off by landslides, poor roads

Volcanic hazard events and where they occurred

Iceland, Fagradalsfjall 2021 at a divergent plate movement/ constructive boundary and happened near Reykjavik, sparsely populated (0 deaths, minimal injuries)

Phillippines, Taal Volcano 2020 at a convergent plate movement/ destructive boundary near Manila around 60km, densely populated lake basin (39 deaths, hundreds injured and thousands displaced)

Economic factors of VE cities

Iceland is HIC, robust monitoring, quick warnings

Philippines is Middle Income, good monitoring but evacuation efforts were overwhelmed by large scale

Demographic factors of VE cities

Iceland has low density, mostly tourists and locals in the rural area

Philippines has high density with millions within the hazard zone

Social preparedness of VE cities

Iceland had high public hazard awareness, volcano tourism management

Philippines had moderate awareness but the rapid eruption caught many off gua

Political factors of VE cities

Iceland had strong central coordination with clear evac routes

Philippines had effective local evac but strain on resources

Secondary hazards of VE cities

Iceland had minimal: lava fields

Philippines had ashfall, lake acidification and lahars

Isolation and access of VE cities

Iceland had good road access that was unaffected by VE

Ph had island access disrupted and ash grounded flights

Mass movement types, locations and human impact.

Shovi Landslide, Georgia in 2022 was fast and loose, resulting in >27 deaths and dozens missing. It is a rapid debris flow triggered by heavy rainfall and glacial melt at a mountain resort area with seasonal tourism.

Slumgullion Earthflow, Colorado, USA is ongoing and is slow and solid with no fatalities and slow damage to infrastructure. It is an extremely slow-moving earthflow of clay-rich soil and rock

Material and speed of mass movements

Shovi Landslide Georgia 2022 was made of loose rock, mud, water and saturated sediments and moved at tens of meters per second

Slumgullion Earthflow is made of cohesive fine-grained soils, clay and moves a few meters per year

Economic factors of MM

Shovi Landslide Georgia- Middle income country, limited early warning for MM

Slumgullion Earthflow Colorado- HIC, highly monitored

Demographic factors MM

Shovi Landslide- Tourists and local workers had no time to escape due to the sudden onset

Slumgullion- no impact

Social Preparedness MM

Shovi Landslide- Minimal awareness, disaster seen as low prob

Slumgullion- no human impact

Political factors MM

Shovi Landslide - Response coordinated nationally, search and rescue quickly deployed

slumgullion earthflow - not an immediate danger

Secondary hazards and isolation MM

Shovi Landslide - River damming and flooding downstream, located in a remote mountain, access blocked by debris

Slumgullion; Road disruption over time

URBAN infrastructure growth

Ongoing investments into infrastructure in SG including TEL, growth of Tuas Port, construction of the Deep Tunnel Sewage system and Tuas Nexus intergrated water waste facility. There was also a nationwide 5G rollout and Smart Nation intitatives. These project increase resilience, capacity and the technological and circular economy capablility of sg

URBAN air pollution in one city

Delhi’s highest PM2.5 readings occurred in 2024. To meet air quality standards, PM2.5 reading need to be cut by 62%. Air pollutiomn comes from waste burning, dust construction, residential solid fuel use and industrial activity.

Elevated PM2.5 exposured is linked o respiratory and cardio diseases, espcially among vulnerable grps

Regional haze spikes occur where seasonal open burning of agri stubble and waste briefly spikes pollution

National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) - funds allocated but only 33% utilised in dust control, mobility planning, partial EV adoption, but not fully addressing major source s(fuel use, industry)

Traffic congestion

London Traffic Congestion → increased air pollution, higher risk of road injuries, longer travel times and economic costs from delays

Management responses → expansion of Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) (charging owners for not having low emission vehicles) and Congestion Charging (get charged if you go through a congestion charging zone), implementation of Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods, cycle lanes and pedestrian friendly streets to cut traffic, investments in bus priority measures and improved public transport to provide alternatives to driving

As a result, air quality improved, up to 50% reduction in road injuries, reduction in congestion during peak times

Beneficial land use change

HafenCity, Hamburg Germany.

Former industrial and port land was transformed into mixed-use urban neighbourhoods

S: Improved QOL with new public spaces, cultural venues, walkable streets, enhanced community cohesion

Eco: Creation of thousands of jobs in construction, tech, creative industries, rising property values boost local economies

Env: Reclamation of contaminated land, addition of flood resilient green infra, increased urban biodiv

Political: Transparent planning and funding

Demographic: Attraction of young professionals and families, diverse socio-economic mix maintained with affordable housing quotas

Not beneficial land use changes

Dharavi Slum Clearance Mumbai India. Largest slum in Asia.

S: Displacement of vulnerable populations, loss of social networks and informal economies, increased risk of homelessness

Eco: Job loss in informal secotrs, increased living costs in living costs with widening eco inequality

Env: Depletion of scarce green spaces, increased pollution and flood risk due to poor planning, loss of natural drainage areas

Political: Top-down policies with limited community consultation, rising tensions and protests over forced evictions

Demographic: Forced migration of marginalised grps to peripheral, less serviced areas