Hazardous Earth - case studies

no tsunamis yet :(

DATES

Japan - Mt Ontake: 27 September 2014

Iceland - EYJ: 14 April 2010

Indonesia - Mt Merapi: 26 October 2010

Haiti - Port-au-Prince: 12 January 2010

New Zealand #1 - Darfield: 4 September 2010

New Zealand #2 - Christchurch: 22 February 2011

MAGNITUDE/VEI

Japan - Mt Ontake: 3

Iceland - EYJ: 4

Indonesia - Mt Merapi: 4

Haiti - Port-au-Prince: 7.0

New Zealand #1 - Darfield: 7.1

New Zealand #2 - Christchurch: 6.2

DEATH TOLLS/INJURIES

Japan - Mt Ontake: 57 but 6 missing so potentially 63

Iceland - EYJ: 0

Indonesia - Mt Merapi: estimated 350

Haiti - Port-au-Prince: 230000 deaths, 300000 injured

New Zealand #1 - Darfield: 0 deaths, 2 injured by falling masonry

New Zealand #2 - Christchurch: 185

PLATE BOUNDARY

Japan - Mt Ontake: destructive (convergent)

Iceland - EYJ: mid-Atlantic ridge, constructive (divergent)

Indonesia - Mt Merapi: destructive (convergent)

Haiti - Port-au-Prince: conservative

New Zealand #1 - Darfield: Pacific ring of fire, destructive

New Zealand #2 - Christchurch: Pacific ring of fire, destructive

MAIN IMPACTS

Japan - Mt Ontake: 40 injuries, typhoon Phanfone = local lahars, 2 seismographs were faulty = lost confidence in government, £1 million lawsuits, rescue hindered by continued activity over next 10 months

Iceland - EYJ: VEI double typical Icelandic shield volcano, 10km plume of ash (because the mix of water and lava increased explosivity), fine ash spread out far, 700 people evacuated, fresh fish exports badly affected with loss of income

Indonesia - Mt Merapi: 20000 within 20km radius evacuated, pyroclastic eruptions continued until beginning of Dec, ash disrupted aviation, 350000 people displaced for months, 870 hectares of forest destroyed = $3.6 million cost, 487 hospitalised, in Magelang district 3000 people affected by lahars, schools closed up to 120km away

Haiti - Port-au-Prince: 2.3 million homeless and living in IDP camps, 25% of civil servants died, damage lead to the escape of 4000 criminals, disease due to quick decomposition and delayed rescue, 52 aftershocks, 10 months later, cholera lead to 6900 more deaths, $8 billion economic loss, 85% work in agriculture = lost livelihood

New Zealand #1 - Darfield: land shifted laterally by 4m, damage to buildings, roads, railways, bridges, power outages, fires, 10000 without power and water, 40 seconds of shaking

New Zealand #2 - Christchurch: $30 billion loss, 12 seconds of shaking, liquefaction = 200000 tonnes of silt upwelled into the city, destroyed sewers, landslides, buildings already weakened

DEPTH OF FOCUS + DISTANCE OF EPICENTRE

Haiti - Port-au-Prince: 10km deep focus

New Zealand #1 - Darfield: 12km deep focus + rural area 55km from Christchurch

New Zealand #2 - Christchurch: 5km deep focus + 6-10km from Christchurch

MANAGEMENT

Japan - Mt Ontake: 1100 rescue workers were involved (but had to leave because of hydrogen sulphide in the air), Ontake was being monitored but no signs of an eruption, created a faster disaster warning system, rescue hindered by continued activity over the next 10 months

Iceland - EYJ: area around volcano evacuated (700 people), European Red Cross provided food for the farming population, as well as counselling and psychological support, the EU has since developed an integrated system for air traffic to reduce the risk of closing all European air space

Indonesia - Mt Merapi: 20000 within a 20km radius evacuated, $2.6 million allocated as support by the government, military built hospitals and public kitchens to help evacuees (assisted by NGO Action on Hunger), all schools up to 120km away closed because of ash, emergency shelters overcrowded and chaotic, WHO distributed blankets, 100000 face masks

Haiti - Port-au-Prince: government was reliant on UN assistance, aid took long to arrive because it is an island, port was damaged which stopped aid coming via boats, UK government offered £20 million, Nepalese UN peacekeeping forces rumoured to have brought cholera, delays lead to looting and violence, Iceland had an emergency response team there in less than 24 hours, 25% of civil servants died

New Zealand earthquakes: generally well-managed but hindered because it wasn’t predicted, secondary hazards made it more difficult, limited involvement of NGOs, focused on individual/community action and government operations, temporary banks in porta-cabins, demolition and reconstruction well underway by end of 2011, city centre evacuated, continuing aftershocks inhibited rescue, a lot of housing/infrastructure covered by insurance, Christchurch central recovery plan ensured better earthquake proofing