Geographical research

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Volcanoes

Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia

Date: November 13th 1985

Details: Nazca plate subducting under S. American continental plate, 129km west of Bogota

Physical impacts: ash clouds formed pyroclastic flows, air fall tephra, lahars (40m thick), melting of 30m ice caps led to floods

Deaths: 4000 from 2 villages, 70% of Arnero

Impacts on services: 50 schools, 2 hospitals, 28 industrial plants, 343 commercial establishments, 3400 ha of agricultural land lost, loss of roads, communications and power supplies

Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland

Date: 20-23rd May 2010

Details: divergent boundary of Eurasian and N American plate, north of Skogar (south coast of Iceland)

Physical impacts: meltwater flooded due to the ice cap on the caldera melting, causing:

Rapidly vaporising meltwater increased pressure of eruption and therefore the explosive power

The lava cooled more rapidly so the ash cloud contained abrasive glass-like fragments

The water was affected in 2 ways:

The ash mixed with the water, forming must rivers

A six degree temperature rise in the water

Volcanic ash thrown 6km into the atmosphere

Ash cloud covered more than 30 Eur countries

Poison gases led to ozone depletion over Eur

Deaths: 2 (the res of Poland, and his wife), 800 evacuated including 500 farmers)

Impacts on services: UK, German, French and Italian flights cancelled for safety, many farms closed down because of water contamination, very little actually destroyed

Earthquakes

Kashmir earthquake

Date: 8th October 2005,

Details: 7.6 on the Richter scale hit the Kashmir region of Pakistan. The earthquake was the result of collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates.

Physical impacts: landslides and large cracks in the earth

Deaths: 79,000, people dies of the cold during the harsh winter and contaminated water supplies

Impacts on services: farmland destroyed, of 564 hospitals: 291 destroyed, 74 damaged, roads destroyed meaning medical services unable to get to people, schools collapsed, trapping children

Tsunamis

Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

Date: March 11th 2011

Details: largest earthquake to hit Japan, 9.0 magnitude, Pacific plate subjected beneath the continental Eurasian plate

Physical impacts: 10 meter waves at Miyagi, 2 meter waves in California and Chile

Deaths: 5,300, 2,300 casualties, 9000 missing

Impacts on services: state of emergency following the failure of the cooling system at one nuclear plant: thousands evacuated, large fire at Cosmo Oil Refinery, widespread fires due to broken gas lines, most of Tokyo left without power hour after quake, port flooded, trains suspended, airports suspended

Asian Tsunami

Date: December 26th 2004

Details: subduction of the Indo-Australian pate under rate Eurasian plate, 240km off the coast of Indonesia

Physical impacts: 20m uplift along the sea floor caused displacement of billions of tonnes of water

Deaths: 250, 000 people in 14 countries, highest in Indonesia (Sumatra) 130, 000 killed, 30, 000 remain missing, 8 people in S Africa (8000 km away)

Impacts on services: Trains derailed e.g in Sri Lanka one derailed train killed 1000 people, land disputes as much land was destroyed and eroded, loss of foreign tourism, destroyed fishing industry and boats and sea bed itself was destroyed