Tectonics

• Iceland Eyjafjallajokull 2010 volcano

  • constructive margin - composite, mid atlantic ridge ocean, VEI 4, main effect: ash blocking
  • Social impacts: no injuries or deaths, 10 million airline passengers affected
  • Economic impacts: major airline disruption cost £10 million economic loss- £4.7 bn loss
  • Environmental impacts: ice melt = flash flooding, water and air pollution leading to health impacts
  • response- EU helped with air traffic, red cross helped
• Mount St Helens 1980 case study for prediction and planning

  • measured frequency of earthquakes on volcano
  • greater frequency= nearer eruption
  • measured size of volcano, showing build up of magma in vent
  • detected gas emissions- sulpher dioxide
  • exclusion zone therefore created
• 2010 Mount Merapi

  • composite volcano, destructive plate boundary on the pacific ring of fire
  • main effect: pyroclastic flows
  • social impacts: 300,000 people evacuated, lava flows closed roads
  • economic impacts: £450 million cost resulting from damage of agriculture and tourist industries
  • environmental impact: water supplies contaminated
• Montseratt volcano 1995-1998

  • composite, destructive plate boundary
  • social impact: 50% people evacuated to north of the island
  • economic impact: tourism industry suffered the most as airport and port were located in the south
  • environmental impact: 2/3 island covered in ash, pyroclastoc flows caused forest fires
  • response: aid by various superpowers, observatory set up to study the volcano
• Japan 2011 Earthquake

  • magnitude 9, numerous aftershocks
  • 75% buildings earthquake-proof
  • social impacts- 15,900 deaths, 400,000 evacuated
  • tsunami caused Fukushima Nuclear power plant meltdown
  • economic impact: £235 billion
  • response was good due to good preparation- education days, community resilience, good technology e.g tsunami warning 3 mins after the earthquake
• Haiti 2010

  • magnitude 7, shallow earthquake, epicentre 15km from countries capital, collision of NA plate and carribean plate, built on soft rock floodplain more susceptable to earthquakes
  • social impacts: 230,000 people died, 500,000 homeless- cholera outbreak
  • environmental impacts- waterborne diseases, liquefaction
  • economic impacts: at least 7.8 billion cost
  • response very slow, still recovering