Global Hazards

• What is our UK Based weather Hazard and where is it Located?

  Bostcastle in South West England Cornwall.
• What are the Physical causes of The Bostcastle Flooding?

  • Torrential rain: 7cm of rainfall in just 2hours leading to rising river levels of 2.15m an hour.
  • Bostcastle is at the confluence of 3 rivers.
  • Bostcastle is in a steep sided valley therefore causing water to travel quickly
• What are the Human causes of Bostcastle's flooding?

  • Old sewage systems were inefficient and could not cope with the high volumes of water
  • Urbanisation - The village was built at the bottom of a valley meaning water would flow quickly and would fill up the valley.
• When did the flooding of Bostcastle happen?

  16th of August 2004
• What are the Social Impacts of Bostcastle's Flood?

  • One Person was seriously Injured
  • 150 cars were destroyed limiting social transport subsequently
• What are the Economic Impacts of Bostcastle's Flood?

  • 58 properties and 4 businesses were destroyed as a result.
  • Loss of business and tourism(Which is a negative as 90% of the economy relied on tourism)
• What are the Environmental Impacts of Bostcastle's Flood?

  • Tress were uprooted(Meaning during summer the tree will die statistically)
  • Natural and Physical gardens were ruined along with social pavements.
• What is Short-Term response of Bostcastle's flooding?

  • 6 sea king Helicopters Uplifted over 150 residents.
  • Emergency centres were open for residents and tourists.
• What is Long-Term response of Bostcastle's flooding?

  • 10 million pounds was spent on upgrading the villages Flood defences.
  • 400,000 pounds was raised for villagers after a fundraiser campaign.
• What is our Non-uk Weather Hazard and where did it occur?

  • Horn of Africa Drought(HOA) East Africa.(Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda)
• What are the Physical causes of the HOA?

  • Lack of rainfall for two consecutive seasons.
  • Climate Change
• Why was this Drought not prevented HOA?

  • Terrorist Group Al-shabaab causing conflict leading to the government spending their money on dealing with them instead of preventing drought.
• When did the HOA occur?

  July 2011 to mid 2012.
• What are the Social Impacts of the Horn of Africa?


  • In 2months (September) 920,000 refugees had fled from Somalia.
  • 260,000 deaths in Somalia alone from 2011 and 2012.
  • Cholera spread in overpopulated areas of water
  • Tribes clashed causing conflict over land.
•  What are the Environmental Impacts of the HOA?

  • More and more wells were dug leading to further deforestation.
  • Increased in soil erosion
• What is the Economic Impact of the HOA?

  • Staple food Prices were 68% over the Five year average. including increases of up to 240% in Somalia and 117% in Ethiopia.
• What are the responses of the Horn of Africa?

  • Super Pump by Kick Start
  • Eden fruit tree foundation
• Evaluate the Eden Fruit Tree Foundation Response?

  • POSITIVE - no expensive equipment or tools needed.
  • POSITIVE - The fruits and berries produced by the trees and bushes can be eaten by people or animals and do not require watering.
  • POSITIVE - could potentially reduce the effects of drought.
  • NEGATIVE - Takes Several Years to grow making the response quite inefficient.
• Evaluate the response of Kickstarts Super Pumps?

  • Provided Employment
  • No expensive electricity was required
  • Prices were cheap and it supplied plenty of water.
  • Negative - Damages land in the Future.
• What is our Tectonic Hazard Case Study?

  Sichuan Earthquake China
• When did the Sichuan Earthquake Occur?

  12th may 2008.
• What was the STRENGTH of the Sichuan earthquake?

  7.9 Magnitude
• What are the Physical Causes of the Sichuan Earthquake?

  • Sichuan is located near the collision plate boundary of the eurasian plate and the Indian plate this caused a build up of pressure leading to the earthquake.
• What are the Social Impacts of the Sichuan Earthquake?

  • 69,000 deaths and 18,000 people missing after 2 months.
  • between 5-10 million people were left homeless.
  • 400,000 people injured.
  • Juyan middle school collapsed killing 900 pupils.
  • Families left in depression due to their only child dying.
• What are the Economic Impacts of the Sichuan Earthquake?

  • Oil prices Dropped because of the fear of demand.
  • Cost of rebuilding Infanstructure was put at $75million.
• What're the environmental Impacts of the Sichuan earthquake?

  • 6 Pandas escaped from the Wolong national park.
  • Flooding occurred because landslides had blocked the rivers.
• What were the responses of the Sichuan earthquake?

  • After 14 minutes the Chinese government sent out army troops and 20 helicopters.
  • Spent $135 billion on a reconstruction program to rebuild 99% of the buildings destroyed by 2012
  • Terrible response: Many of the schools and hospitals were turned into Hotels and tourist destinations. :(