hazards case studies

• eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption

  iceland, march-june 2010, constructive margin between north american and eurasian plate, magnitude of 4vei, erupted for 8 days
• eyjafjallajokull impacts

  primary- 0 deaths, people had to wear face masks and goggles, 500 farmers and families evacuated, pyroclastic flow and ash clouds which contaminated water and affected livestock, ash plume 11000m in the air

  secondary- 8 day travel ban and stopped flights which cost airlines £130 million per day and left people stranded, released 30000 tonnes of co2 a day but had positive effect on tourism and good harvest
• eyjafjallajokul- responses

  entirely domestic, prepared due to a smaller eruption, emergency services well funded and prepared, high quality tech (seismometers and tilt meters) and good warning systems (text sent within 30 mins), legal, technical and infrastructure systems so had the capacity to cope, eu sent over food as cost to import was very high
• eyjafjallajokull risk management 


  preparedness- part of eu trading bloc so financially able to cope, GPs, seismic monitoring and satellite radar interferometry to track volcano

  adaptation- other transport mechanisms e.g. the eurostar and the eu developed an integrated structure for air traffic management (FABs)

  prediction- IMOs weather radar showed the height of the plume
• mount pinatubo


  located in the philippines (7000 islands) on the pacific ring of fire, destructive plate margin (philippine pate subducted), 12-15th june 1991 3 large and 13 smaller eruptions
• mount pinatubo- impacts

  primary- 700 died (6 directly), ash contaminated water, covered 800km2 of rice growing farmland and collapsed roofs of 150000 homes, 1 mile3 of volcanic ash/rock fragments deposited on volcano slopes

  secondary- torrential rain created lahars (32km/h) which transported 3km to lowlands destroying 10k homes, 800k livestock died through asphyxiation, ash plume reflected sunlight back to space so global temps dropped by 0.5C, sulfric acid formed and depleted ozone layer, food shortages causing gdp to decline by 3%
• mount pinatubo- responses

  many have a fatalistic attitude so do nothing, UN says they have the best risk reduction laws but not yet put in place as responsibility of local governments, 70% of disaster spending gone towards long term plans only 30% on aid, many believe they are the most resilient
• haiti earthquake 


  12th jan 2010 at 4:53pm, conservative boundary, 7.0 magnitude, 25km away from port au prince. haiti- poorest countryin western hemisphere (163/191 HDI, gni per capita $3130, literacy rate 61%) so reliant on US
• haiti impacts

  primary- 222.5k deaths, 1.5mil homeless, 100k buildings collapsed, $13 mil worth of damage, 80% of schools, UN hq and the port destroyed

  secondary- no running water, electricity of sewage systems, 21st oct cholera outbreak, tornado killing 5 in sept and hurricane in nov, US army sent 5500 troops, leaders corrupt so wanted to spend money internally
• haiti responses

  rescue and medical services dont exist, people searching for others in rubble, used hospitals in the dominican republic, celebs raised $35mil in a telethon, UN launched an appeal for $562mil and the wfp for 14mil ration packs, tent cities, US took over airport, relief couldnt be distributed due to infrastructure damage, governments/organisations pledged $13bil of aid
• tohoku earthquake

  japan, 11th march 2011 2:46pm, destructive margin, 9 on richter scale, 100km off coast, waves 40m high so mainly affected sendai. japan- located on ring of fire and 4 plate boundaries (9/191 HDI, gni per capita $42620, literacy rate 99%)
• tohoku impacts

  primary- 18k dead/missing (90% drowning), 300k buildings collapsed 1mil damaged, 500sqkm flooded, Honshu moved 2.4m east, parts of coast dropped 60cm, oil refinery engulfed in flames, 4000 roads damaged

  secondary- 150k in temporary shelter, 1mil no water, 6mil no electricity, hard to dispose of dead bodies (disease), 700 aftershocks for next 2 weeks, agriculture contaminated by seawater, explosions and radiation leaks from Fukushima, government debt increased
• tohoku responses

  helicopters used to save people, 100k soldiers to establish order, aid from US/china/UK (search and rescue, medical aid etc), evacuations, iodine tablets given to prevent radiation, doctors flew from elsewhere in country, roads quickly cleared, japenese red cross got $1bil in donations and gave out 30k relief and 14k sleeping kits, rebuilding immediately (23mil yen), replaced defence and tsunami barriers with 18m tall ones
• tohoku risk management

  over £70mil spent on lasers to monitor movement, 1st sept every year earthquake and tsunami drills, earthquake resistant buildings, network of seismographs for early warnings
• typhoon haiyan

  philippines, 8th nov 2013 4:40am, super typhoon (catagory 4/5 on saffir simpson scale), low pressure 895mb, wind 196mph, storm surge 15m, rainfall 400mm
• typhoon haiyan impacts

  primary- 6201 deaths, 28628 injured, 1785 missing, 1.1mil homes destroyed, 90% of tacloban destroyed, roads blocked by debris, economic loss of $13bil

  secondary- flooding 1km inland, storm surge near shelters, no food, water, electricity, seawater, chemicals and sewage contaminated water, 5.2m storm surge destroyed tacloban airport, 95% of fishing boats and equipment lost, coconut trees and paddy fields destroyed so 10k without income, not recovered from 7.2 magnitude eartquake 1 month earlier
• typhhon haiyan responses

  800k evacuated, 4mil in temp homes 1 month later, aid sent by international charities, no electricity so cant communicate, mass burial to contain disease, airports and harbours closed, street sellers reset up stalls, 30k homes rebuilt, 324k households given materials for emergency shelters, international aid to remove timber (attracts pests), build back better scheme, one stop shop, cash for work programmes to clear debris
• hurricane sandy

  north east usa, october 2012, started in west coast of africa and travelled across atlantic so hit cuba, haiti and bahamas first, nyc, washington dc and atlantic city worse affected, 1500km in diameter
• hurricane sandy impacts

  primary- 60mil people affected, 1000s homes destroyed, 160 killed in us, 230 deaths in haiti, no electricity, roads covered in sand/debris or flooded and subways, 18k flights cancelled, torrential rainfall, storm surges, sewage contaminated water, 10km beach lost in new jersey

  secondary- US $75bil damages, floods damaged crops so food shortages, fires ignited form ruptured gas pipes
• hurricane sandy responses

  provision of food, water and shelter for those with damaged homes, american red cross supplied 4000 volunteers, rebuilding communities, money raised for the victims, $20mil raised in a telethon, relief aid packages worth over $50bil, stricter building regulations introduced after US army conducted a post-flood survey
• hurricane sandy risk management

  7 states closed schools protecting 2mil children, atlantic city protected using sand bags
• black saturday bushfire

  victoria aus, 7th feb 2009, caused by a 10 year drought (so build up of highly flammable litter from trees and eucalyptus which is oil rich so flammable), temps above 40C, Indian ocean diphole- alternating pattern of ocean temps in north and west aus- positive phase so weak winds so dont pick up moisture so drier conditions and limited rain
• black saturday bushfire- impacts

  primary- 173 deaths, 414 injured, 2030 homes destroyed, 11800 livestock, 62kha of grazing pasteur and 32k tonnes of silage lost, ash contaminated water, species at risk from extinction

  secondary- loss of communication, no power for days so businesses closed, psychological impact, smoke travelled over antarctica , localised climate change in aus and higher co2 levels in victoria, bushfire royal commission estimated cost of fires to be $4.4bil AUD
• black saturday bushfire- responses

  wittlesea community shelter set up for safety, 5000 firefighters, military aid sent by the commonwealth, evacuations, $1000 given to adults and $4000 to children affected, medical and psychological support, rebuilt communities $5000AUD for funeral expenses
• multi hazardous case study- the philippines

  located in south east asia on the pacific ring of fire and consists of 7000 islands on a destructive plate boundary. population of 11mil, gdp $3597, literacy rate 96%, life expectancy 71 years
• types of hazards in the philippines

  volcanos- 23 active volcanoes(mount pinatubo, mayon), earthquakes (Luzon, Bohol), tropical storms-multiple per year, cause the most deaths (typhoon haiyan
• local scale case study- gili trawangan


  located in indonesia off the coast of lombok, largest island in a chain of 3 island arc, destructive margin (australian subducting under eurasian), risen 30m above sea level, 3km long by 2km wide. population 1500
• gili trawangan earthquake- impacts

  impacts- 8 died, 30% buildings damaged, 40% destroyed, water and electricity cut off, horses running free (usually pull carts as car free), looting, took days for the military to arrive, number of tourists fell dramatically (before 3000, after 900)
• gili trawangan earthquake- responses

  doctors, dive instructors and tourists set up a basic camp with oxygen and medical supplies, water and electricity bills reduced, many camped outside overnight as scared to sleep indoors, tourists left asap (slept at airports), indonesian national agency for disaster responded slowly, feb 2019 50% of hotels and restaurants were open