Earthquake case studies

When was Haiti earthquake

12th January 2010

What is the population of Haiti

10,700,000

What is the HDI of Haiti

0.49

What is the GDP per capita of Haiti

$818

By what % did the economy in Haiti get set back by post the earthquake

5.8%

What was the seismic activity that caused Haiti

Movement along the conservative boundary between Caribbean and North american plate (specifically the Enriquillo fault)

How many people died from the earthquake

230,000

how many people were injured (haiti)

330,000

How many people were made homeless (haiti)

2.3 million

Plate diagram of Haiti

How many people were IDP

1.5 million

How many IDP camps were there

1,100

How much did Haiti lose in economic losses

$8 billion

What magnitude was Haiti

7

What percent of the country’s GDP were damages equal to

120%

Some more impacts (2ndary) of Haiti

2 million left without water and food

Regular power cuts

How long did Haiti’s shaking last

one minute

How deep was Haiti’s focus

10km

How far was the epicentre of Haiti from port-au-prince

25km

How did the geology of Haiti impact the severity of the eathquake

Sedimentary rocks of the surrounding area are more prone to shaking than the other rock types

How many aftershocks followed the main event (Haiti)

52

How many of those aftershocks were over 5.0 in magnitude (haiti)

14

How many people per square kilometre are there in Port-au-prince’s city centre

15,000

What percentage of people living in PaP’s metropolitan area live in slum conditions

80%

How do the slums make it more vulnerable to earthquake damages

generally made out of concrete with no steel reinforcement. At tremors they collapse and cause death

Why was Haiti already vulnerable in 2010

2008 hurricanes. Many public services were already run by aid charities and the UN

What percentage of Haiti work in agriculture

85%….. everything being destroyed led to a lack of fresh produce and therefore malnourishment

How much money do over half of Haitians live off of

Less than £1 / day

Pre earthquake what was Haiti’s unemployment rate

80%

Pre quake what % had access to toilets

50%

Pre quake what percentage had access to tap water

1/3

What percentage of people attend school in haiti

60%

What does the poor schooling mean for preparadness for earthquakes (haiti)

Knowledge of hazards is poor as they aren’t taught them well

What was the biggest 2ndary impact for Haiti

Cholera.. may have been brought by the nepalese UN, or the poor sanitation. Nevertheless a LOT of dead (check haiti disease notes)

How many UN members died

100

Why did so many buildings collapse (haiti)

underfunded, corrupt government - uninterested in building regulations.

Why were impacts exacerbated (to do w/trained professionals)

As the UN members + other gov. officials died, there were minimal people alive who were equipped for managements

What percentage of rubble remained uncleared in Haiti 7 months later

98%

Hurricane Mathew 6 years later

People were STILL living in IDP camps and died

Problems relating to managements (geographical) Haiti

Haiti is an island, so long travel time for international aid/rescue effort

Problems relating to managements (travel) Haiti

• Haiti only had one airport capable of landing large planes (delaying the rescue operations).

• The airport watchtower was damaged, causing queues in the sky for relief planes trying to land. Haiti handed over control to the airport to the USA

• Port got damaged - no aid ships could deliver

How long did it take dominican republic to bring in aid

24 hours. They sent food, water and heavy lifting machinery

Who else sent in a response team within 24 hours (haiti)

Iceland - built temp. hospitals (positive management)What

Why wasn’t Dominican Republic’s support the best for haiti

They were also impacted by the earthquake and struggled for supplies

What did Obama send Haiti

5,500 troops and 6 military ships Lowk prioritised US military defence planes over aid shipments

Example of bilateral aid for Haiti

UK gov. offered £20 million to provide food, shelter, health and relief work

Criticism of the bilateral aid for Haiti

Tracking of aid shows its mostly a political move - offered aid isnt always fully given/used - see human NGO case study

Two years post disaster, what % of pledged aid was released to Haiti

53%

issues with the multilateral/NGO based aid in Haiti

Earthquake destroyed UN headquaters, so were unable to massively help

• lead co-ordinator died so 3 weeks post event was the first time a meteing even got arranged

• many aid teams didn’t speak creole so inhibiting communications

• no linkage between aid orgs so projects left half done/aid sent two time

What did the world bank do for Haiti (moneywise)

cancelled half of Haiti’s debt adn gave them 5 years to begin repaying the rest

What else did world bank do for Haiti

Community driven projects 0 local communities rebuilt homes w/ earthquake resistance. Only happend in a small no. of areas - small scale

How many children did world bank fund food for

200,000

How many kids did world bank provide schooling for

140,000

Population of New Zealand

4.4 million

GDP per capita of New Zealand

$38,388

HDI of New Zealand

0.908 (5th)

When was the Darfield earthquake

4th September 2010

What time was Darfield

4:35am

What magnitude was darfield

7.1

How long was ground shaking for darfield

40 seconds

How far was the epicentre of Darfield from Christchurch

55km Nw (in a rural area)

What was the depth of the focus for Darfield

12km

How many deaths from darfield

0

Impacts of darfield

• Damage to buildings, bridges, roads, railways

• 2 injured by falling masonry

• 10,000 left without power & water

When was the christcurch earthquake

22nd February 2011

What magnitude was Christchurch

6.2

Something unique about christchurch & link to darfield

It was an aftershock of the original darfield earthquake

Causes of earthquakes in NZ

• NZ lies on pacific ring on fire & is on a destructive margin between indo-australian and pacific plates

• Conservative (transform) faults run off the main boundary

• Greendale fault caused 2010/2011 activity. Wasn’t known about before, as was underneath sediments.

Why is the fact that the Greendale fault wasn’t known about significant

It shows that even in well developed countries seismic mapping remains in its infancy.

How did Christchurch’s geology worsen impacts

• Soft sedimentary rock next to hard dense basalt caused seismic lensing

• Sedimentary rock also caused liquefaction

What is seismic lensing, and how did it intensify damages (Christchurch)

Shock waves from the earthquake travelled through soft sedimentary rock, and then hit dense basalt of port hills. The waves bounced back off these rocks & intensifying the shaking

What is liquefaction

Shaking frees particles in water-saturated loose soil (sand/silt), turning it into a liquid & causing buildings to collapse/sink

How many tonnes of silt were upwelled into Christchurch

200,000

Death toll of christchurch

185

How much was the economic cost of Christchurch

$17 billion USD

How long was Christchurch

12 seconds

Depth of focus for christchurch

5km

How far was Christchurch’s epicentre from city centre

6-10km

How did time of day heighten Christchurch’s impacts

Earthquake occurred at lunchtime on a weekday - central area crowded with people

How many deaths occurred in Canterbury TV building

115 (62%)

Canterbury TV building further info

Declared that it should have never been issued with a permit

How did Darfield intensify Christchurch’s impacts

It had weakened the city’s infrastructure (but damage wasn’t visible), so everything collapsed more easily

What was the greatest hinderance in the success of Christchurch’s managements

Event was unprecedented, so took some time to get everything organised

Management in Christchurch to ensure industry wasn’t hit that bad

Temporary bank offices in portacabins (allowing for the economy to stay moving)

Evacuation for christchurch?

City centre was instantly evacuated

International (bi-lateral) support for Christchurch

Minimal. The UK came to help (travel time was a factor so not immediate)

How long did it take Christchurch to rebuild

By late 2011 (8 months ish later) reconstruction & demolition was well underway

Another factor inhibiting rescue, recovery & reconstruction from Christchurch

Aftershocks

Was there a strategy to the management for Christchurch?

Yes. ‘Christchurch Central Recovery Plan’

Factor that mitigated against mass financial impact of Christchurch

Majority of housing was covered by insurance

Depth of focus for Christchurch

4.99km