Plate tectonics case studies

Plate tectonics case studies

1. Mt Nyiragongo, 2002

   • nature of hazard
     • extremely fluid lava
       • basaltic lava initially travelled at 90km/h
     • lava vents developed within the city
       • located 500m from end of runway
   • Impact
     • 15% of Goma destroyed
     • 130,000 made homless
       • 300,000 evacuated
     • UNICEF lost warejouse full of medicines and school supplies worth $700,000
     • 80% commercial infrastructure destoryed
     • 100 people died
     • 45 out of 150 schools destoryed
       • 24,000 children out of school
     • 3 health centres + 1 hospital destroyed
   • Management and responses
     • 22million USD funded by various relief agencies
     • UN supplied 260tonnes of food
     • risk education
       • 70,000 children and 2,000 internally displaced persons given information about risks of future eruptions
     • 350,000 still relied on aid 1 month after eruption
     • Volcano and risk management unit opened to support Goma Volcano Observatory (GVO) in helping predict and minimise future eruptions

2. Heimaey responses

   • Island was evacuated (5300)
   • electricity supply cable was cut
   • Cattle, cars, $1m worth of fich and muinicipal documents all transferred to Reykjavik
   • Sprayed water to slow its advance
     • 12,000 tonnes per hour sprayed per hour
       • 20,000m^3 of lava/hour congeled
     • Helped create a better harbour
       • narrowed to 30m, offering protection to the fishing fleet

3. Mount Pinatubo, 1991

   • 2nd largest eruption of 20th century
   • Ash mixed with water vapour to create a rainfall of tephra
   • 800km^2 of agricultural land lost
   • 800,000 livestock and poultry lost, costing 1.5billion pesos
   • 8,000 houses completely destoyed
   • 1.2 million people lost their homes
   • 25,000 people were evacuated from an area of 20km of the volcano
   • 5billion pesos was spent on dam and dike construction to control the post-eruption lahars
   • UK and Norwegian governments sent aid
   • Gov. created a 10billion Pesos fund
   • GRDP had been growing at 5% annually, but decreased by 3%

4. Eyjafjolakull, 2010

   • 150m thick ice cap above volcano melted
     • flooding and 700 people being evacuated
     • destoyed parts of main 1 road
     • 20 farms were destoyed
   • European flights stopped
     • 95,000 cancelled
       • $2billion loss
       • London lost £200million in tourism
   • Produced 250million cubic metres of ash
     • Unusual as it was a constructive eruption
   • Good warning system allowed texts to be sent out with 30mins warning

5. Mt Etna, 1991-93

   • lasted 473 days
   • Acidic lava had low effusion rate
     • produced 250million m^3 of material
   • Springs supplying the water to the town of Zafferana were detroyed
   • Authorities built a 400m long, 20m high earth dam
     • 3 more built once this initila one overflowed after 1 month
   • US army helicopters dropped 2 tonne concrete blocks to stop the flow
   • 500kg of mines were exploded in an attempt to divert the lava flow
   • Italian government gave £5.6 million worth of aid and tax iincentives to victims

6. Monserrat, 1997

   • Southern 2/3rds of island deemed an exclusion zone
   • 19 people killed for ignoring exclusion zone
   • unemployment rose form 7% to 50%
   • population of 11,000 evacuated to the north of the island.
     • population was only 4,900 in 2012
   • fishing industry was completely desttoyed
   • Monserrat volcanic observatory (MVo) was set up
   • UK government gave £41million worth of aid
     • Promised £2,400 to individuals in order for them to move country
       • met with rioting as many didn't see this as enough

7. Kobe, 1995

   • 6434 people killed
   • 171,000 houses collapsed
   • estimated damage of 10,000 billion Yen
   • 1in5 buildings in Bay area collapsed
   • ONly 20% of buildings in CBD were usable
   • water supplies were cut off
   • collapsed buildings blocked streets, making it difficult to put out fires
   • 20% of population became homeless
   • liquefaction destroyed 90% of port
   • ONly 30% of Osaka-Kobe railway tracks were operational
   • 2 million left without electricity and 1 million without water for 10 days
   • 1km stretch of Hanshin expressway collapsed, blocking a route that carried 40% of Osaka-Kobe traffic
     • still closed 1 year after
   • Warning people who have led to more people fleeing using he expressway, potentially leading to more deaths
   • Railways reached 80% operability within 1 month
   • POrt was 80% operational within 1 year
   • exports running at 85% pre-quake volumes 1 year after event
   • By Jan. 1999, 134,000 housing units had been constructed, but there were still people living in temporary accomodation
   • new laws passed to make buildings more earthquake proof
   • Japan now runs annual earthquake drills
     • 800,000 took part in August 2006
   • instituted a 3-year emergency housing reconstruction plan
   • supplementary budgets provided 3billion Yen for reconstruction

8. Kashmir, 2005

   • 86,000 people killed
   • 4million left homeless
   • Rock falls and landslides damaged mountain roads and highways, cutting off access
   • 780,000 buildings damaged beyond repair
   • 17,000 school buildings and hospitals close to the epicentre destoyed
   • Families given grants by the government to rebuild their homes, but builders increased their prices
   • Kashmir International Relief Fund raised £700,000 to provide 7,916 families with temporary shelters
   • 400,000 faced a second winter without permenant shelter
   • 40,000 residents from the town of Balakot near the epicentre were relocated 30km away
   • 200,000 tonnes of food distributed to 2.3 million people
   • 1,000 communty health workers and 2,300 lady health workers trained to work in communitities

9. Tohoku earthquake and tsunami

   • Fukishima nuclear power plant went into meltdown, causing 70,000 residents within a 20km radius to be evacuated
   • 15,854 people killed
   • 45,700 buildings destroyed with further 1 million damaged
   • 32 bridges destroyed
   • 4.4million households without electricity and 1.5million without water
   • estimated cost of $235billion
   • 10% of fishing ports were damaged
   • 25million tonnes of debris was generated
   • Tsunami wave was 14m high
   • Japanese Meteoroligacl Agency (JMA) issued televised warnings and sent messages along mobile networks
   • 100,000 members of Japanese Self-Defence Force rapidly mobilised
   • Japanese Red Cross reported donations of $1billion
   • $1.1million donation of Gap brand winter clothing
   • 50,000 official personnel mobilised
   • 116 countries and 28 international organisations offered aid
   • 330,000 still living in temporary accomadation 1 year after the event
   • 230,000 people still displaced 4 years after the event, mainly due to Fukishima power plant
   • 43 out of Japan's 54 nuclear power plants are now out of operation due to safety concerns