Tectonics - Case studies

indian ocean tsunami 2004 - Info

• December 26, 2004 - 9.1 mag earthquake (near Indonesia)

• lifted ocean floor 15 metres

• tsunami struck shallow coastline - 17 metres high

• Maldives - 4 metre swell

indian ocean tsunami 2004 - social impacts

• 300,000 dead

• 1.7 million homeless

• 5 million affected

• 1500 villages destroyed in Sumatra

• 70% of people killed in some villages

indian ocean tsunami 2004 - economic impacts

• infrastructure destroyed - e.g. Nicobar islands cut off as jetties washed away

• impacted fishing, tourism and agriculture

• 60% of fishing fleet/industrial infrastructure desotyed in Sri lanka

• thailand - tourism lost $25 million monthly, 120,000 jobs lost

• total economic cost $10 billion

indian ocean tsunami 2004 - environmental impacts

• ecosystems damaged e.g. mangroves, coral reefs

• vegetation and topsoil removed 800m inland

• freshwater and soil contaminated by salt water

indian ocean tsunami 2004 - other effects

countries effected - Sri Lanka, Maldives, Thailand, India (13 in total)

• secondary impacts of cholera

• £7 billion pledged in aid

• no warning systems (put in place by 2006)

Japan earthquake/tsunami 2011 - info

• 11 march 2011

• subduction zone earthquake 9.0 mag

• epicentre 100km east of sendai

• tsunami reached 10m high, travelled 10km inland

Japan earthquake/tsunami 2011 - Preparations

• good building standards = 75% earthquake proof, low corruption (regs. enforced)

• good disaster plans = weak areas has 10m walls, evacuation routes/shelters, basic earthquake emergency kits, early warning system

• education = emergency drills in schools/businesses

Japan earthquake/ tsunami 2011 - Response

• gvmt. immediate response - 110,000 defence troops within 24 hours

• all media switched to earthquake coverage - told what to do

• bank of Japan = $183 billion to banks so they could keep operating

• accepted help from teams from over 20 countries

  e.g. Haiti rescue delayed by poor gvmt. and infrastructure

Japan earthquake/ tsunami 2011 - Response - longer term

• closure of all 54 nuclear power stations

• $25 billion for relocation of coastal communities

• large scale coastal levees

Japan earthquake/ tsunami 2011 - Fukushima

• nuclear power plant Fukushima damaged

• forced 47,000 to be evacuated

• exclusion zone of 20km around the plant

• released tonnes of wastewater daily

Japan earthquake/ tsunami 2011 - impacts

• 15,800 deaths

• 105,000 buildings damaged by tsunami (18,000 by earthquake)

• $309 billion in damages

Japan earthquake/ tsunami 2011 - Japans energy policy

• before quake - 27% of energy was nuclear

• by 2013 - only 1% as 44 reactors were shut

• had to use and import more fossil fuels

• electricity prices increased 20%

• gvmt. debt rose as they had to buy more fossil fuels = more gg emissions

• had to reintroduce nuclear energy to improve economy

• led Germany to permenantly close all power plants

Haiti earthquake 2010 - Info

• conservative boundary 7.0 mag

• epicentre 24km from Port au Prince (densely populated)

• focus only 13km (shallow)

• lots of liquefaction

• gap per capita $1300

Haiti earthquake 2010 - factors of vulnerability

• developing = poor, limited resources spent on immediate issues, not on prep

• corruption = lack off resources, poor infrastructure and living standards

• lack of building regs = slums collapse easily, hard for rescue teams

• lack of prep = officials didn’t known what to do

• poverty = people didn’t have resources to prep/cope with effects of quake

Haiti earthquake 2010 - impacts

• only airport, main roads and ports damaged = prevent aid arrival and distribution (slowed rescue, so more deaths)

• ¼ gvmt. officials killed, key buildings destroyed = gvmt. struggled to organise relief

• oct 2010 = cholera outbreak, lack of supplies and healthcare workers

• cholera killed 9000, affected 720,000

Haiti earthquake 2010 - recovery

• still recovering after 5 years, despite $13 billion in aid, most controlled internationally

• int. orgs needed to provide emergency services, corruption meant orgs wouldn’t give money to Haiti directly

• orgs managed projects themselves, brought own staff = affected ability to become self sufficient (took money from locals)

• 80,000 still in temporary housing in 2015 - cholera ongoing

Haiti earthquake 2010 - positive recovery stats

• new buildings, roads, schools

• health statistics improved

• signs gvmt. is stronger when coping with hazards

• 2013 hurricane - gvmt. gave early warning to citizens and took role in organising aid

Haiti earthquake 2010 - progression of vulnerability (1)

root causes

• heavily in debt to us, Germany and france

• money used for debt repayment, not infrastructure investment

• extensive corruption

• 80% population below poverty line - less than $2 daily

• 30-40% of gvmt. budget was foreign aid

Haiti earthquake 2010 - progression of vulnerability (2)

Dynamic pressures

• lack of urban planning, preparedness, education systems, disaster management systems

• rapid urbanisation lead to slums, densely populated capital (306 ppkm²), significant deforestation and soil degradation (inc. risk of landslides)

Haiti earthquake 2010 - progression of vulnerability (3)

unsafe conditions

• soft soil amplified shaking and damage

• illegal housing e.g. on hillsides

• low gap mean building were quick and cheap = vulnerability and bad quality

• poor infrastructure = expensive to reach people

• before earthquake only 39% had safe water

Haiti earthquake 2010 - impacts stats

• 230,000 killed

• 5000 schools destroyed

• 180,000 homes destroyed

• $11.5 billion damages

• aid took 5 days due to damaged ports

Christchurch earthquake 2010/2011 - info

• 22 feb 2011, 6.3 magnitude earthquake

• epicentre 6 miles from Christchurch, New Zealand

• focus 3.1 miles (shallow)

• aftershock from a 2010 earthquake

• conservative boundary

Christchurch earthquake 2010/2011 - primary impacts

• 181 killed, 2000 injured

• 100s of km of water and sewage pipes damaged

• 50%+ central city buildings severely damaged

• liquefaction damaged roads and buildings

• part of the longest glacier broken off

• 80% city without electricity

Christchurch earthquake 2010/2011 - secondary impacts

• business put out of action = loss of income and jobs

• schools had to share classrooms due to damage

• road damage = services and people struggled to move around

• mental impacts

• couldn’t host rugby World Cup matches = lost tourism and income benefits

Eyjafjallakull volcano 2010 - info

• eruption began 20 April 2010

• flights over most Europe cancelled for a week

• lead to spreading ash cloud = clogs engines and stops them working

Eyjafjallakull volcano 2010 - impacts

• 100,000 flights cancelled worldwide

• over 10 million passengers stranded

• airlines lost $1.7 billion revenue

• 30% global airline capacity cut

• EU economy lost $5 billion

• 800 evacuated

Eyjafjallakull volcano 2010 - kenyan impacts

• 20% of Kenya economy based on export of green veg/flowers

• flights to Europe meant veg had to be dumped

• lost revenue $1.3 million daily

Montserrat volcano 1995 - info

• part of island arc in Caribbean Sea

• 16km long, 10km wide

• 18 July 1995 = soufriere hills volcano began to erupt

• eruptions continued for 5 years

• ash clouds and pyroclastic flows

Montserrat volcano 1995 - social impacts

• dozens lost lives

• 7000 out of 11,000 residents moved to other countries

• capital (Plymouth) destroyed = contained most of islands services

• top heavy population pyramid = older stayed, younger left

Montserrat volcano 1995 - economic impacts

• 2/3 all houses, ¾ infrastructure destroyed

• unemployment rose = tourism industry collapsed

• farmland destroyed because it was too close to volcano = affected agriculture

• capital covered by up to 3m of ash, town evacuated

Montserrat volcano 1995 - current situation

• volcano still active

• 2/3 island uninhabitable

• volcanic observatory in south to monitor

• infrastructure build in safer north - roads and airport

• trying to rebuild tourism industry

Mount Etna volcano 2002 - info

sicily - Italian island = on convergent boundary

• europes highest (3,310m) and most active volcano (composite)

• pressure of melting eurasian plate caused an eruption

Mount Etna volcano 2002 - impacts

• volcanic bombs, lava, gases, steam, pyroclastic flow

• 77 deaths

• magma 100m into the air, rained down on mountain

• 1000 evacuated

• 300 family businesses shut down

Nepal earthquake 2015 - info

• 7.8 magnitude earthquake, April 2015 (at midday)

• nepal in South Asia - on boundary between indian and eurasian plates

• epicentre 80km northwest of Kathmandu

• focus 15km

• experts met about preparing for large earthquake just a week before

Nepal earthquake 2015 - impacts

• several large aftershocks

• killed 8600, injured 21,000

• 3 million made homeless

Nepal earthquake 2015 - what reduced damage

• occurred midday - many not at home, reduced deaths

• low pop density in Nepal - affected rural areas more than dense capital

Nepal earthquake 2015 - vulnerabilities

• 197th for GDP per capita = poor and vulnerable

• week infrastructure easily destroyed - not built to withstand quakes

• large aftershocks and 100+ smaller - further destruction, made rescues dangerous

• in himilayas = mountainous, meant landslides cut off and damaged rural communities

• emergency services couldn’t cope with level of destruction

• tourism fell - loss of income

• economy lost $5 billion - 25% of its GDP

• needed %6.6 billion in aid to rebuild

Loma Prieta earthquake 1989 - info

• 17 October 1989 - mag 6.9

• near San Francisco

• soft sandy soil amplified ground shaking - some liquefaction collapsed buildings

• collapses 2 level Cyprus freeway - caused 42/67 deaths

• sections of freeway built on firmer ground remained standing

China Sichuan earthquake 2008 - info

• 7.9 mag near Sichuan (mountainous)

• affected 45.5 million people in 10 provinces

• made 5 million homeless (most in history)

• triggered landslides = ¼ of all deaths

China Sichuan earthquake 2008 - reasons for impacts

• corrupt officials took bribes to allow shortcuts - collapsed during shaking

• thousands of schools fell - killed 5335 (nearby gvmt. buildings stood)

• damage concentrated in rural areas - reduced deaths

• more wealthy - could pay for rescue efforts

• strong gvmt. responded quickly

China Sichuan earthquake 2008 - response

• 130,000 troops sent to affected areas within hours

• hiked/parachuted into isolated areas to reach survivors

• medical services quickly restored - prevented outbreak of disease

• relocated people in danger of landslides

• pledged $10 billion for rebuilding, wrote off insurance debts

• temporary homes/roads/bridges within 2 weeks

China Sichuan earthquake 2008 - aftermath

• corruption remains = unsafe building

  e.g. 40,000 moved to new build city, cracks appeared quickly

• 97% of planned reconstruction had begun 2 years later

• 99% of 196,000 farmhouses destroyed were rebuilt

• 216 transport projects were under construction

• now more resilient to hazard, better economy and lives

multiple hazard zone - the Philippines - why a MHZ

• across major convergent boundary = volcanos + earthquakes

• faces Pacific Ocean = most tsunami prone

• lies within major typhoon belts = affected by 15 annually, struct by 6-9

• increased risk of flooding and landslides due to typhoons

• tropical monsoon climate = heavy annual rain

• 47 volcanos - 22 active = 30% of pop. within 30km of a volcano

• steep topogtaphy, high rainfall and deforestation = landslides common

multiple hazard zone - the Philippines - info

• consists of 7107 islands

• population 101 million

• GDP per capita $7000 in 2014 (MIC)

• mountainous, coastal lowlands

multiple hazard zone - the Philippines - vulnerability

• rapidly developing MIC = urbanisation, high pop. density

• many of poor live in coastal areas = poor housing/infrastructure worsen surges, flooding and tsunamis

• 25% of country live in poverty

multiple hazard zone - the Philippines - challenges

• one hazard can cause/worsen other hazards

• e.g. 2006 earthquake - killed 15, damaged buildings = caused 3m tsunami, triggered landslides, breached volcano crater causing a flood

• several can occur while trying to recover from last

• drains resources and stretches emergency systems

multiple hazard zone - california - features

• conservative margin = san Andreas fault

• frequent earthquakes, less volcanos than Philippines

• no cyclones, flooding is rare

• drought very common (2008-2011 and 2012-2015)

• frequent landslides - due to earthquakes, heavy rain, coastal erosion, and wildfires

Bam, iran earthquake 2003 - info

• mag 6.6 - in iran (upper middle income country)

• focus only 7km

• S waves released directly under the city

• occurred 5:26 - most were asleep

Bam, iran earthquake 2003 - reason for impacts

• 26,000 dead

• old buildings - heavy roofs, collapsed easily

• recent construction was poor quality

• termites in wooden structures weakened them = more damage

• 3 main hospitals destroyed

• 20% health professionals killed

• cold temps - many trapped victims died

Pakistan earthquake 2005 - info

• October 2005, 7.6 mag quake

• struck South Asia - particularly Pakistan

Pakistan earthquake 2005 - impacts

• 73,000 dead, 128,000 injured

• 3.5 million homeless

• roads, sanitation and communication facilities destroyed

• affected mountainous areas, hard for search and rescue

Pakistan earthquake 2005 - NGO responses - immediate aid

• 500,000 tents, 6 million blankets

• water for 700,000 people

• food and clothing, emergency medical care

Pakistan earthquake 2005 - NGO responses - short term aid

• more permanent shelters built

• water supplies re established

• rebuilt/reroiuted roads closed by landslides

Pakistan earthquake 2005 - NGO responses - relief operations

occurred for next 5 years

• new schools, homes and medical centres built

• community disaster risk reduction programmes developed