Case Studies

• Typhoon Haiyan (2013) - Location

  The Philippines is an LIC with an average GDP of $2750 which is $10 000 lower than world average

  Developed over the Pacific Ocean and was blown towards Philippines

  The Philippines is a multi-hazardous area with a tropical climate so storms occur when water is warmer

  Categorised as a category 5 storm with wind speeds of 314Km/hr

  5m storm surge hit Tacloban City
• Typhoon Haiyan (2013) - Impacts

  6300 deaths

  90% of buildings destroyed

  5 million people's homes destroyed

  Trees uprooted and destroyed

  Tacloban Airport was damaged
• Typhoon Haiyan (2013) - Preparation and Response

  Storm was monitored by Joint Typhoon Warning Centre which helped predictions and evacuations

  UN brought aid supplies after national calamity was declared

  Canada and USA deployed military aircrafts to help search and rescue

  Government created 'build back better scheme' which would provide 205 000 homes

  Oxfam supported the replacement of fishing boats
• Haiti (2010) - Location

  Located in Caribbean and forms parts of Hispaniola

  2 conservative faults within the Enriquillo Plantain Fault System

  Sits on complex set of plate margins

  7 on Richter Scale and 9 on Mercalli Scale

  65Km rupture and 52 aftershocks
• Haiti (2010) - Impacts

  230 000 deaths

  60% of infrastructure destroyed in Port-au-Prince

  4000 prisoners escaped Prison Civile

  $8 billion damage

  1.5 million people left homeless

  6900 deaths as a result of cholera outbreak

  8 hospitals destroyed
• Haiti (2010) - Response

  Dominican Republic sent aid and machinery to rescue people

  Iceland sent emergency response team in 24 hours

  1500 camps set up in Port-au-Prince

  World Bank cancelled half of Haiti's debt

  New water supply systems in 6 rural locations

  World Bank funded food for 200 000 children
• The Philippines - Large Scale - Location

  Group of islands in South-East Asia

  Vulnerable to a variety of hazards :

  • Volcanoes --> Near destructive plate boundary
  • Seismic --> Occurs along plate boundary and fault lines
  • Tropical storms --> Develop over the Pacific Ocean and more westwards over the islands

  Philippine plate is subducted beneath Eurasian Plate
• The Philippines - Large Scale - Impacts

  Volcano - Mt. Pinatubo , 1991

  • 700 people died
  • 200 000 left homeless
  • Ash destroyed agriculture

  
  

  Seismic - Luzon Island , 1990

  • 7.8 magnitude
  • 1500 people died

  - Moro Gulf Tsunami , 1976

  • 7.9 magnitude
  • 6500 people died

  Tropical storms - Typhoon Xangsane , 2006

  • 200 died
  • Manila lost power
  • $130 million in damage
• The Philippines - Large Scale - Response and Preparation

  Communities prepare by widening river and stockpiling food

  2009 Philippine Policy to focus on adaptation rather than actual response

  Prevention of building in high risk areas and monitoring hazards included in the policy

  Mt. Pinatubo , 1991 --> Government offered facilities and personnel for basic services in evacuation centres

  Luzon Island , 1990 --> International Rescue Corps sent 16 memebered team to Manila
• Haiti - Local Scale - Location

  Lies South of Tropic of Cancer on a conservative plate

  Located on western side of Hispaniola

  Mountainous topography and limestone geology

  Hurricane Matthew - category 5 with winds of 160mph

  2010 earthquake - magnitude 7 caused by slip on Enriquillo Plantain Garden Fault System
• Haiti - Local Scale - Impacts

  Hurricane Matthew (2016)

  1600 died

  140 000 left homeless

  2nd cholera outbreak in 7 years

  80% of crops destroyed
• Haiti - Local Scale - Response

  200 health representatives from American Red Cross to limit cholera outbreak

  100 troops deployed to Port-au-Prince

  US sent $5 million in aid

  Shelters built but could only accommodate 90 000 people
• Montserrat (1997) - Impacts

  Economic

  • £1 billion total loss in home and investment
  • 20 villages and 2/3rds of homes destroyed

  Environmental

  • Plymouth was buried under 12m of mud and ash
  • Volcanic ash from eruption improved soil fertility

  Social

  • 19 people died and 7 were injured
  • 8000 of population left after eruption
  • Schools and airport was destroyed
• Montserrat (1997) - Responses


  UK provided £41 million of aid - built Montserrat John A. Osborne airport and new docks

  Montserrat Volcano Observatory was setup to predict future eruptions

  Evacuation to the North

  Risk map and exclusion zone created

  UK gave £17 million of emergency aid and temporary infrastructure
• Montserrat (1997) - Location

  Soufriere Hills , a small island in Caribbean Sea

  Montserrat is above a destructive plate margin

  Eruption released about 4-5 million m^3 of material over 20 mins

  Pyroclastic flow cause large ash clouds over the area

  12 000 population
• Iceland (2010) - Impacts

  Economic

  • 1.87 millions barrels of fuels weren't demanded so loss in oil industry
  • Cost airlines $200 million a day

  
  

  Environmental

  • 150m thick ice cap melted leading to flooding which lead to 20 farms being destroyed

  
  

  Social

  • 700 people evacuated
  • Ash contaminated water supplies
  • Rural areas people had to wear goggles
• Iceland (2010) - Location

  E15 sits on Mid-Atlantic Ridge

  Explosive eruption due to meltwater in volcanic vents

  Fissure eruption with lava flow on west

  Ash plume rose 11 000 into air
• Iceland (2010) - Response

  High tech equipment installed to predict future eruptions

  Texts sent out 30 mins prior to eruption

  Rivers re-built even higher

  Government drain rivers due to contamination
• Hurricane Katrina (2005) - Location

  Formed over Bahamas hit South East USA

  Category 3 when it hit Louisiana

  200km/hr winds and 250 mm rainfall recorded in Louisiana

  Mississippi had 8.5m storm surge
• Hurricane Katrina (2005) - Impacts

  Economic

  • Total damage cost $300 billion
  • 230 000 jobs lost

  Environmental

  • Breton National Wildlife Refuge was destroyed
  • Habitat loss as a result of flooding in salt marshes

  Social

  • 1836 died
  • I-10 bridge destroyed
  • 90 schools damaged
• Hurricane Katrina (2005) - Preparation and response

  NHC issued hurricane warning and mandatory evacuation

  FEMA organised teams and supplies

  US Coast Guard positioned helicopters and boats in areas most likely to be affected

  Charities collected $4 billion of donations of aid

  Louisiana Superdome sheltered 26 000 people during the hurricane
• Black Saturday (2009) - Location

  Wildfires in Victoria in South East Australia

  Fires happened in Summer months

  Areas dominated by dry oil-bearing eucalypts

  Winds brought down powerlines around 11:30am in Kinglake and Whittlesea which led to Kilmore East Fire
• Black Saturday (2009) - Causes

  South East Australia experienced heatwave which 2 months of dry and hot conditions before

  North-westerly winds in excess of 100km/hr bringing hot and dry air from Central Australia

  Cool change from south west lowered temperatures but raised winds speeds to 100km/hr

  Spot fires ignited embars blown from main blaze
• Black Saturday (2009) - Impacts

  173 died

  414 injured

  450 000 hectares burned

  3500 buildings were destroyed

  AUS $4 billion total cost in damage

  1 million wild and domestic animals died

  Premier Brumby announced a royal commission into the cause of the fire
• Black Saturday (2009) - Response

  20 000 firefighters and volunteers helped to put out fires and support victims

  AUS $400 million was donated to rebuild houses

  New houses with fire resistance increases cost and so all weren't built

  67 recommendations for long term responses including fire shelters , warning systems and improved evacuation strategies

  Australian Bureau of Meteorology predicted how the fires would spread and told people to evacuate