3 - Weather hazards

• Primary effects


  Immediate effects of the earthquake
• Primary effects


  • 8,841 dead, over 16,800 injured and 1 million made homeless
  • Historic buildings and temples in Kathmandu, including the iconic Dharahara Tower, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, were destroyed
  • Destruction of 26 hospitals and 50% of schools
  • Reduced supply of water, food and electricity
  • 352 aftershocks, including a second earthquake on 12 May 2015 measuring 7.3 magnitude
• Secondary effects


  Effects triggered by the earthquake
• Secondary effects


  • Avalanche on Mount Everest that swept through Everest Base Camp, killing 19 people
  • Damage to Nepal's tourism industry, which was 8.9% of GDP and provided 1.1 million jobs
  • Damage to rice crops and food shortages
• Nepal requested international help after the earthquake
• Immediate responses


  • UK's Disasters Emergency Committee raised US$126 million by September 2015 to provide emergency aid and start rebuilding
  • Red Cross provided tents for 225,000 people
  • UN health agency and WHO distributed medical supplies
  • Sherpas used to hike relief supplies to remote areas
  • Facebook launched a safety feature
• Long-term responses


  • Nepal's government carried out a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment to identify 23 areas requiring rebuilding
  • Durbar Square heritage sites reopened in June 2015 to encourage tourists back
  • Mount Everest reopened for tourists by August 2015
  • FAO started a recovery phase to expand crop production and growing seasons
• By November 2018, 34% of people affected by the earthquake were still living in temporary shelters or unrepaired homes
• Nepal's recovery needs are US$6.7 billion, roughly a third of the economy
• Early estimates suggest an additional 3% of the population has been pushed into poverty as a direct result of the earthquakes
• Geothermal energy


  In volcanically active areas, steam heated by hot magma in permeable rock is harnessed to turn turbines at power stations

  
• Volcanic soils


  Extremely fertile soil, rich in nutrients, left behind after weathering of lava
• Volcanic soils are found on less than 1% of the Earth's surface, but support 10% of the world's population
• Tourism


  Tourists visit volcanoes for the spectacular and unique views, relaxing hot springs, adventure activities
• Hellisheidarvirkjun (or Hellisheidi) power plant is the largest geothermal power station in Iceland and the second largest in the world
• Hellisheidarvirkjun power plant provides electricity and hot water for the capital, Reykjavik
• Geothermal energy produces approximately 30 per cent of Iceland's total electricity

  
• Lava and ash erupting from volcanoes kill livestock and destroy crops and vegetation
• After thousands of years, weathering of lava releases minerals and leaves behind extremely fertile soil, rich in nutrients
• Land can be farmed productively in these volcanic areas to provide a source of food and income
• Volcanic soils are found on less than one per cent of the Earth's surface, but support 10 per cent of the world's population
• Tourists visit volcanoes for the spectacular and unique views, relaxing hot springs, adventure and, for thrill seekers, the sense of danger
• More than 100 million people visit volcanic sites every year
• The revenue they generate benefits the locals and the countries they are in
• People do not wish to leave because their friends and family are there
• It is often cheaper and easier to stay, especially when the risks may not be perceived as dangerous enough or residents are in denial that a disaster may occur
• Settlements develop where valuable minerals are found, as jobs are created in the mining industry
• It is not just dormant and extinct volcanoes that are mined, but also active volcanoes
• Kawah Ijen is an active volcano in East Java, Indonesia. Its crater is one of the biggest sulphuric lakes in the world
• Sulphur is sold, for example, to bleach sugar, make matches, medicines and fertiliser
• Miners can afford little protective clothing
• Hydrogen sulphide and sulphur dioxide gases burn their eyes and throats and cause respiratory diseases
• In the last 40 years, 74 miners have died from the fumes
• Loads of sulphur weighing 100 kilograms are carried up and down the rocky and slippery mountain paths
• Nevertheless, miners can earn an average of $6 per day (more than on a coffee plantation), so miners continue to live and work in dangerous areas
• Global atmospheric circulation


  • It is a little more complicated than just one convection cell
• Global convection cells


  • 3 cells
• Hadley cell


  Circulation of air between the Tropics and the Equator
• Global circulation involves three cells because the Earth rotates on its axis, generating strong, high-altitude winds which wrap around the planet like belts
• Jet streams


  Strong, high-altitude currents of air