Case Study: Volcano - Mt Merapi

• Indo-Australian plate


  • Being subducted below the Eurasian plate
• Merapi


  A composite volcano located on the island of Java, Indonesia
• Merapi is part of the Pacific ring of fire and has erupted 68 times since the 16th century
• Merapi is the most active volcano in the region
• Indonesia has the world's greatest at risk population from tectonic hazards
• Indonesia is the most volcanically active region on earth
• Merapi was one of the UNs 16 Decade volcanoes designated in 1990
• Spiritual keeper or 'gatekeeper`

  Appointed to manage the volcanoes hidden spirits
• If there was going to be an eruption


  Many believed the gatekeeper would be warned in a vision
• In 2010 the gatekeeper wouldn't evacuate and locals followed him and so they all died
• Supernatural entities or 'creatures`


  Believed to live at the summit and control Merapi's behaviour
• If people go missing

  They believe the creature took them for not following the rules
• People say the 'creature will protect us`
• Indigenous warning signs


  Smoke plumes
• Some wouldn't evacuate unless these indigenous warning signs are seen
• 273 people died
• 176 died on the spot from pyroclastic gas, 97 after being hospitalised
• 577 injured
• 360,557 were forced to flee their homes
• 4000 dairy cows were killed
• Large areas of agricultural land were covered in ash
• Sulphur dioxide blown across Indonesia as far South as Australia
• The eruption produced ash plumes, lahars and pyroclastic flows
• Ash, rock and lava deposited on the sides of the volcano washed down into towns by rainfall creating a lahar
• Food shortages due to lost crops
• Price of vegetables increased
• People particularly farmers lost their homes and livelihoods
• Tourists may be put off visiting the location


  It will affect the local economy
• Planes were grounded in Western Australia because of an ash cloud
• The evacuation centres were overcrowded leading to poor sanitation, no privacy and serious disease risk
• Ash from the volcano will eventually lead to more fertile soils in the area
• Financial losses estimated at $781 million
• Responses:

  ·         210 evacuation centres set up.

  ·         2,682 people had to be moved to new safer houses permanently.

  ·         1,600 people either volunteers or military were part of the national aid response and distribution of food, medicine and blankets.

  ·         Rebuilding of infrastructure.

  ·         Government set up a specialist task force to support people affected.

  ·         Government made money available to farmers to help replace their livestock.

   
• Mitigating the event:

  ·         Monitoring the volcano using: Tiltmetres, seismometers, satellite imagery, geomagnetic monitoring and gas monitoring.

  ·         Currently have 6 seismometer stations, 4 tiltmetres, 2 CCTV web cams and 4 GPS stations.

  ·         Volcano status/warning scheme with four phases: Normal, Alert, Standby, Caution.

  Locals use CCTV cameras/camcorders in trees in order to record and recognise the signs of an eruption or progression of a lahar. Helps them to know when to evacuate
• Mitigating Vulnerability:

  ·         The National Disaster Mitigation Agency says there will be classes on disaster mitigation at the 250,000 schools/ 75% of schools that are in disaster prone areas.

  ·         Since 2013 the government have tried to relocate residents out of the danger zone around Mt Sinabung. So far 1,510 families have been relocated.

  20km around Mt Merapi is now a permanent exclusion zone
• Mitigating loss:

  ·         People were reluctant to evacuate in 2010 because they didn’t want to leave their livestock. As a result since 2010 the government has included the evacuation of livestock into the emergency plan, cows are now transported by truck at the same time as people.

  ·         Hazard maps have been created and show areas most at risk and which areas should be evacuated as a priority.