CS: Hazards and Disasters

Page 1

Drought

LEDC: Sahel

Date: Recurring

1910s, 1940s, 1960s, 70s, 80s, 2012

Physical causes:

↳ Lack of rainfall (dry season)

↳ Desertification because of overfarming

Demographic/economic effects:

↳ Severe famines (20 million food insecure)

↳ 5.8 million acutely malnourished

↳ Plagues

↳ Vulnerable groups: Elderly, pregnant women, children

Responses:

↳ Food aid / $2 billion aid planned by UN

↳ HEIFER INTERNATIONAL - education about sustainable farming

↳ KIVA - microcredit system

↳ $15 Feeds family

Adjustments:

↳ Planting of gum trees and acacia (cash crops)

↳ Cooperation of regional and global organizations

Predictability:

↳ Recurring, worsened effect through El Niño

MEDC: California, US

Date: 2014

Physical causes:

↳ Lack of rainfall (La Niña)

↳ Worsened effect through global warming

Demographic/economic effects:

↳ Food shortage/water crisis

↳ Soil damage and damage to agricultural grounds

↳ Wildfires cause destruction of property

↳ $2.2 billion loss in economy

↳ 17000 seasonal/part time jobs lost

↳ Drop in food production and US food export

↳ Rise in food prices of California fruit and vegetables

Responses:

↳ Emergency water restrictions: $500/day fines for over-use

↳ Campaigns to save water

Adjustments:

↳ Decrease water usage in state by 15 to 20 percent

↳ Campaigns to save water

Page 2

Earthquake

MEDC: Japan

Date: March 11, 2011

Hazard: Eartquake + tsunami

Physical cause:

↳ Subduction of Pacific plate under the Eurasian plate

Magnitude:

↳ 9.0 on Richter scale

↳ Tsunami of 7.3 metres

Demographic/economic effects:

↳ Japan was largely prepared for the earthquake, but buildings collapsed because of the tsunami that followed

↳ 2,000 people confirmed death (+10,000 expected)

↳ 2,000 people injured

↳ The Japanese yen fell sharply but recouped several hours later. Tokyo stocks fell.

Responses:

↳ 91 countries offered aid

↳ 60 search and rescue experts, four medics and 2 sniffer dogs on private charter plane + 11 tonnes of equipment

↳ Government tries its best to minimize damage from the earthquake + emergency cabinet meeting

↳ 8 jets from Defence Ministry

Predictability:

↳ Japan Meteorological Agency (Hazards agency) deducted foreshocks and powerful seismic tremors

↳ JMA News + warning messages via internet/sms

↳ 10 m tsunami warning issued 3 min after earthquake, 20 min in advance.

Vulnerability:

↳ Majority of population live in coastal area

↳ Japan has a high risk of earthquakes

LEDC: Haiti

Date: January 12th, 2010

Physical causes:

↳ North American plate sliding past Caribbean plate

↳ Traditional/poor building structures, no use of ferro-concrete

Magnitude:

↳ 7 on Richter scale

Demographic/economic effects:

↳ Epicentre close to capital, Port-au-Prince

↳ 316,000 people killed + 1 million homeless

↳ 3 million affected by earthquake

↳ 20% of population lost job because of collapsed buildings and other damage.

↳ Hospitals, schools, governmental buildings damaged, authority fell

↳ Airport and port severely damaged, causing businesses to collapse (in particular clothing industry)

↳ Vulnerable groups: Pregnant women, children, elderly

Responses:

Short-term

↳ $100 million in aid from USA + $330 million from EU

↳ 800,000 people placed in aid camps

↳ 115,000 tents + 1 mn shelters provided

↳ Healthcare supplies

↳ 4.3 million provided with food rations

Long-term

↳ 98% rubble not cleared restricting aid acces

↳ 1 million still homeless after 1 year

↳ Support for people without jobs (70% of population); cash and food for-work projects

↳ Water + sanitation supply for 1.7 million people

↳ Rebuilding schools + support of small farmers

↳ Building of 100 earthquake proof houses

Page 3

Tropical storm

MEDC: New Orleans, USA

Date: 2005

Hazard: Hurricane Katrina

Physical cause:

↳ Intense low pressure area above the Atlantic Ocean

Magnitude:

↳ Category 4/5 on Saffir-Simpson scale

↳ Winds up to 200 km/h + 9 m storm surge

Demographic/economic effects:

↳ 1200 people drowned

↳ 1 million homeless

↳ Food and water shortages in immediate aftermath

↳ Law and order broke; looting was common, total $ 1bn worth of

goods was stolen

↳ Worst affected/vulnerable groups: poorer districts of NO

↳ Estimated $80 bn damage

↳ Damage to oil facilities; rise petrol price in UK and USA

Responses:

↳ Evacuation of the affected area

↳ $50 bn aid by US government

↳ Food and water aid

↳ Adjustment: Raising of the levees that were supposed to hold back

the storm surge

Predictability:

↳ Hurricane IVAN had already been a close call

↳ News report predicted it as possible hazard, NO had a high risk

↳ Sudden change of course led Katrina straight to New Orleans

LEDC: Vanuatu

Date: 2015

Hazard: Cyclone PAM

Physical causes:

↳ Cyclone formed 750 km north-east of Solomon Islands

↳ Twin disturbance gained enough energy from South Pacific waters

Magnitude:

↳ Category 5 on Saffir-Simpson scale

↳ Wind speeds up to 270 km/h

Demographic/economic effects:

↳ 24 fatalities

↳ $ 360 mn damage

↳ Lots of people homeless - traditional housing quickly rebuilt

↳ 132,000 people affected according to UNICEF

↳ Farms/crops destroyed, causing famine and lack of potable water

↳ Little fatalities due to traditional building structures - no heavy materials flying around

Responses:

↳ Evacuation to concrete government buildings

↳ $10 million help fund

↳ Aid could hardly reach the islands due to crippled infrastructure/isolated islands

↳ All emergency centers active

Predictability:

↳ SMS warning issued to island leaders

↳ First category 5 cyclone to hit Vanuatu, but there has been a history of cyclones

↳ British analytics: Vanuatu most exposed to hazard out of 1300 cities

Page 4

Human-induced

Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

Date: 1986

Hazard: Human Induced

Physical causes:

↳ Poor maintainance of the nuclear power station due to lacking

budgets

↳ Poor build/lack of protecting domes as seen in 'western design'

↳ During a routine safety test the reactor exploded

Demographic/economic effects:

↳ 30 plant workers died immediately due to radiation poisoning

↳ Pripyat (50,000 residents) not evacuated until two days after the

incident

↳ 6000 cases of thyroid cancer, lung cancer, heart attacks

↳ Birth defects in affected areas (Ukraine, Scandinavia, Belarus)

↳ Trees/woodlands killed because of radiation

↳ Wind and rain spread radiation over EU

↳ Cattle (sheep) industry in Ireland and UK affected, radiation in Scandinavia

↳ 8 tonnes of U-235 fuel pollution in air

↳ Firemen on scene died of radiation poisoning

Responses:

↳ Initially unclear what happened; tried to cool down core with water

(firemen), but were ill-informed about the station

↳ 30 km exclusion zone

↳ Core embedded in concrete, and a dome was placed over the plant (

a new one was added in 2013)

↳ Evacuation of Pripyat, but too late for some residents. Residents were

to never return to their homes.

↳ Farming in UK/Scotland and Ireland restricted for several decades

later; Cattle and ground had to be tested on radiation levels

Predictability:

↳ Unclear whether plant directors knew about the excessively poor

state of the building/the extent of unsafety of the core

↳ SU didn't want to close down despite lack in budget for reasons of

energy security.

BP Deep Sea Horizon Oil spill