MOUNT ONTAKE, JAPAN 2014

AC

How many volcanoes does Japan have, according to the Global Volcanism Programme?

• 110 active

• Several are submarine, just offshore from mainland

How has volcanic activity impacted Japan’s natural characteristics?

• 70% of land mass is mountainous

• Volcanic activity over millions of years.

How are volcanoes important to Japan?

• Mount Fuji & several other volcanic peaks

• Important part of Japanese culture, tradition, myth & legend

Why is there so much volcanic activity in Japan?

4 tectonic plates meet & widespread subduction gives rise to intense volcanic activity.

How many volcanic eruptions in Japan in the last 2000 years?

• 1200

• Average frequency of different scales - suggests more explosive the eruption, the less variable its frequency.

Where does Mount Ontake lie?

• On the Eurasian plate

• Close to plate boundary between Eurasian & North American plates

Why would people chose to live in Japan, given its volcanic location?

• Place to live, employment etc.

• Don’t choose where we’re born, attachments develop to a place.

• Expensive/impractical to leave - poverty is limitation to avoidance of hazardous environs.

Why does Japan exist?

• Plate subduction occurring has produced large amounts of molten material.

• Accumulated to form island-arc archipelagos.

• Make up land mass of countries.

• Home to 125 million.

Why would people be attracted to living on the slopes of volcanoes?

• Weathered lava produces fertile soils - especially in wet tropical regions.

• Steep-sided slopes of strato-volcanoes = terraced to allow farming.

How does this farming support high density populations?

Japan’s agricultural sector used 13% of country’s land area - very intensively

Social: How many did Mount Ontake’s eruption kill?

63 people

Social: Who were most of the casualties?

climbers & hikers on slopes of volcano

Social: How were areas surrounding the volcano affected?

• Ash fall

• Pyroclastic flows

• Volcanic bombs

• Lahars

Social: How many survivors?

• 200 made it down the mountain.

• Search & rescue teams = 500 firefighters & Japanese Self Defence Force.

• Deployed to recover injured

• 31 rescued on foot.

Social: How much ash covered the local area?

• 0.5m

• Collected on roofs - caused collapse under weight.

Social: How many people were majorly injured & unable to work?

40

Economic: How was tourism affected?

• Previously a popular tourist destination.

• No clear sense tourist attractions will open again.

• Businesses forced to close down.

  = Devastating economic vitality.

Economic: What tourist attraction shut down?

Ski resorts

Economic: Damage to farmland?

• 18 hectares of farmland damaged

• In Kiso & nearby villages

Economic: Damage to products from farms?

• 30/32 cabbage farms damaged

• Hokusai crop = most affected

Economic: Transport impacts?

Flights cancelled - people unable to work

Political: How was the eruption responded to?

• Japanese Prime Minister: Shinzo Abe

• Ordered military to assist with emergency rescue operations

Political: What was found that damaged governments reputation?

• 2 seismographs were found faulty (pre-eruption) & left unfixed.

• Lot of country lost confidence in government.

Political: How did this cause legal problems?

£1 million lawsuits brought by families of the dead against government.