TECTONIC CASE STUDIES

TECTONIC CASE STUDIES

1. ICELAND VOLCANIC ERUPTION : MARCH 2010

   • CAUSE : Iceland sits on Mid Atlantic Ridge - constructive boundary and hotspot; lava pass over ice, melting it and increasing explosivity, ejecting ash into atmosphere 10km high
   • FUTURE : aviation industry experimenting with infrared sensor / UK has radar detecting structure of ash clouds
   • LOCAL IMPACTS : - livestock evacuated due to ash and fluoride / - population evacuated / - glacier melt cause floods / - fish exports decreased
   • WORLD IMPACTS : + 2.8bn tonnes of CO2 less / - perishable goods in Africa rotted as transport delayed so $65m lost / - car manufacturing chains disrupted e.g. Iceland supplied Nissan in Japan
   • EUROPEAN IMPACTS : - 100,000 air journeys cancelled due to ash affecting visibility and blocking engines / + channel tunnel and ferries increased usage / - Europe loses $2.6bn of GDP / - shares in airline companies fall

2. BAM, IRAN EARTHQUAKE : JANUARY 2003

   • CAUSE : Arabian plate moves against the Eurasian at 3cm/year / M6.6.
   • VULNERABILITY : upper middle income / high risk / aware & educated
   • IMPACTS : 26k killed / 30k injured / 90% buildings damaged / 100k displaced / tourism dropped
   • RECOVERY : reconstruction using durable materials / process difficult to coordinate (2 years) / psychological support for trauma victims / high intake of illegal drugs
   • RESPONSE : US deployed 81p team / Red Cross appealed for $42m / UNWFP distributed 100k meal rations
   • ROOT CAUSES : release of energy directly under ; intense shaking / occurred at 5:30am so people were asleep / housing very old with heavy roofs
   • DYNAMIC PRESSURES : 3 main hospitals destroyed & 20% health profs killed / emergency services experienced damage
   • UNSAFE CONDITIONS : cold winter temps so trapped people died from hypothermia

3. NEPAL EARTHQUAKE : APRIL 2015

   • CAUSE : Indian plate subducted under Eurasian at 15km / M7.8 / 300 aftershocks over 6 weeks - 9th May M7.3
   • FUTURE RISK REDUCTION : strengthen information and communication capacity / Build Back Better prioritising construction of schools
   • INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE : UNICEF distributed water, tents for children / India - operation Maitri and $1bn / Red Cross began medical care - fear of epidemics
   • RESPONSE : 90% Nepalese army deployed / 16 open spaces around Kathmandu
   • VULNERABILITY : multiple hazard zone / mountainous terrain / low development / high population density / poor & socially excluded groups
   • LANDSLIDES : mountain villages in Langtang buried / 2000 in Laprak died / 25 vehicles on Arniko highway buried / roads connecting Kathmandu damaging preventing aid
   • SOCIAL IMPACTS : 8m affected / 700k in poverty in 2016 / women affected by destruction of sanitation infrastructure and traffickers
   • ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS : forests cut to provide building materials / debris in rivers
   • ECONOMIC IMPACTS : $10bn loss (33% GDP) / tourism decrease / HEP dams damaged

4. ASIAN TSUNAMI : DECEMBER 2004

   • CAUSE : megathrust - Indian plate subducted under Sunda plate and Burma microplate / mag 9 / sea floor displaced by 3m, 5km in depth / waves travelled at 800km/h
   • VULNERABILITY : low lying coastlines / low incomes / epicentre close to Indonesia / peak time for tourism
   • RESPONSE : $14bn in aid / disease and hunger minimised due to quick response & bodies buried rapidly / World Food Programme provided 1.3m people / public health risks exaggerated & government lied about amount of aid recieved
   • ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS : damage to mangroves, coral reefs / water pollution
   • ROOT CAUSES : ports destroyed / housing demolished / lack of food
   • DYNAMIC PRESSURES : sudden population decrease / people uneducated and couldn't cope
   • UNSAFE CONDITIONS : water contamination / economies collapse
   • ECONOMIC IMPACT : 66% fishing infrastructure lost / tourism expenditure decreased by 70%
   • SOCIAL IMPACT : psychological trauma

5. JAPAN EARTHQUAKE & TSUNAMI : MARCH 2011

   • CAUSE : high risk - on avg an earthquake occurs every 5 mins / Pacific moves towards Eurasian under Japan / 480km of Pacific broke and Eurasian lifted 9m / 2 earthquakes : M7.2 & 9.0
   • VULNERABILITY : shallow offshore area (waves reached 40m) / well developed / elderly population
   • FUTURE : Tokyo home to 20m people is expecting as pressure builds / nuclear plants tested / environment tested for radiation
   • COPING : insufficient knowledge of situation / shame of scavenging for food - blacken family name
   • RESPONSE : 145k living in evacuation facilities / damage to roads impeded aid
   • IMPACTS : 16k deaths / 6k injured / 5k missing / 150k buildings damaged / 4.4m without electricity / 200k evacuated around Fukushima
   • UNSAFE CONDITIONS : dampness & cold of emergency shelters caused hypothermia / radiation from Fukushima
   • DYNAMIC CAUSES : lack of emergency workers / elderly population / Fukushima
   • ROOT CAUSES : landlines & electricity cut off / homes destroyed
   • WORLD IMPACTS : Fukushima meant availability and affordability of natural gas affected / fall in public acceptance of nuclear e.g. Germany

6. PHILIPPINES VOLCANIC ERUPTION : MARCH 1991

   • CAUSE : Mt Pinatubo -- stratovolcano created by Eurasian subducting under Philippine sea / M7.3 year earlier moved crust
   • SOCIAL IMPACTS : 900 killed (10 directly) / 60k evacuated / 80k homes damaged / children missed out on education / Aeta indegenious villages destroyed - moved to gvmt provided land
   • ECONOMIC IMPACTS : $300m damage / 10% GDP provided from volcano area (agriculture, tourism)
   • ENVIRONMENTAL : lahars contaminate rivers, displace houses, ruin crops - still activated from rain / sulphur dioxide in atmosphere
   • WORLD IMPACTS : 20m sulfur dioxide cloud cooled earth for 3 years by 0.6%
   • LONG TERM RESPONSE : little money to rebuild / attempts ruined by further eruptions