Case Studies

Case Studies

VOLCANOES
1. Mt Sait Helens (1980) USA
  1. Cause
    1. Jaun De Fuca plate and North American plate
    2. Melting due to subduction- DESTRUCTIVE plate boundary
    3. GDP per capita = $52,403
  2. Primary Effects
    1. 50 DEATHS & 200 HOUSES DESTROYED
    2. 12 bridges washed away- Lahars & Pyroclastic flow
    3. Pyroclastic flow went 25Km2 North of Volcao
      1. 7000 Game Animals died- bad for local economy
      2. Spirit Lake was filled with ash and timber
  3. Secondary Effects
    1. Shipping Halted in Columbian river for 60km- mud flow and log jams
    2. Air Traffic Halted in Yakima for 2 weeks (ash)
    3. 12% of Fruit Crops destroyed
    4. 250km of salmon farms destroyed
    5. Steep Decline in tourism
  4. Immediate Response
    1. 20km exclusion zone before eruption
    2. Coastguard search and rescue helicopters
    3. Clear ash from roads- intersect 90 closed for 1 week
    4. Declared 'state of emergancy' by president- FEMA response
  5. Long-Term Response
    1. Creation of Mt. St. Helens volcano observatory (USGS)
    2. Rebuild roads and bridges
      1. 185 miles of Highway
      2. Dredge Rivers- Army Corps. 7 years
      3. 10 million trees replanted
    3. Total Cost- $1bn
2. Eldfell Volcano, Heimaey Iceland
  1. Causes
    1. Rifting due to convection at constructive plate boundary
    2. Eurasian and North American Plates
    3. GDP per capita = $34,820
  2. Primary Effects
    1. Power and Water supply lost due to damage to undersea cable
    2. No deaths
    3. 70 houses/farms buried, 300 burned
    4. Ash covered whole settlement so everyone was evacuated
  3. Long Term Response
    1. Rebuilt roads, houses and the Airstrip was extended due to land creation by hardened lava
    2. Free heating for residents due to underground lava (1982)
    3. Tourism Benefit- new volcano (eldfell- 212m high)
  4. Immediate Responses
    1. Iceland Government acted fast, evacuation within 6 hours
      1. 5300 people evacuated
    2. Harbour Fishing boats used to evacuate
    3. First ever pump cooling system to cool and stop pyroclastic flow
      1. From USA- pumped 1000 litres/second
  5. Secondary Effects
    1. Fishing Disrupted for 7 months- Icelands most important fishing harbour
    2. Disruption to peoples lives- 50% moved back by 1974, 80% by 1975
    3. Total Cost of damage- $50 million (10% of total GDP)
3. Nevado Del Ruiz (Columbia) 1985
  1. Immediate Responses
    1. Columbian Government ignored early warning signs
    2. Weak attempts to warn... Evacuated same day as eruption
    3. Major international relief/rescue effort (including Mexico City)
      1. 4000 workers there within a week from USA and 24 other nations sent help
  2. Primary Effects
    1. 23,000 dead, 5000 injured
    2. 5000 homes destroyed, destroyed 13 villiages
    3. 60% of the regions livestock destroyed
    4. Highway damaged (delayed relief/rescue efforts by 12 hours)
    5. Other roads, power, telephone lines destroyed- area isolated
  3. Long Term Response
    1. Columbia now has a warning system (DPAD)
    2. Amero is now a memorial (30,000+ tourists each year
  4. Causes
    1. Magma forming due to subduction at destructive plate boundary
    2. Nazca Plate (oceanic) & South American Plate (continental)
    3. GDP per capita of = $10,000
  5. Secondary Effects
    1. Farming (20% Col. Rice & Cotton producing area) severley affected
    2. Disruption to people, 8000 people had to be relocated
    3. Total Cost of damage- $1bn
      1. 20% of $5bn GDP in 1985
EARTHQUAKES
1. Kobe, Japan (1995)
  1. Causes
    1. Friction due to SUBDUCTION at destructive plate boundary
    2. Philippine Plate (oceanic) & Eurasian Plate (continental)
    3. 7.2 on richter scale
    4. Epicentre 20km from Kobe
    5. GDP per capita = $44,900
  2. Primary Effects
    1. 6,434 deaths with 40,000 injured
    2. 200,000 buildings collapsed
    3. 1km section of Hashin Expressway collapsed
    4. Bridges collapsed on the 130km bullet train route
    5. 120 quays out of 150 in the port were destroyed due to LIQUEFACTION
  3. Secondary Effects
    1. 230,000 homeless
    2. Fires caused by gas leaks destroyed 7,500 houses over 3 days
    3. Major factories closed (Mitsabushi, Panasonic)
      1. Did it contribute to the lost decade?
  4. Immediate Response
    1. S&R by fire department plus international teams (thermal imaging +dogs)
    2. School gyms open and open parks used as emergency shelters
    3. Not enough blankets, food and water (help requested by governmnet
  5. Long-Term Responses
    1. Water, gas and power restored by July + important buildings repared
    2. Rail service back by august
    3. Total Cost of damage- $220bn
    4. Port 80% working after 1 year
    5. Port 80% working after 1 year, Hansin still closed in 1996
    6. More strict building code
      1. Frames, Foundations, 8 storey limit
2. Haiti 2010
  1. Cause
    1. Friction between North American and Caribbean Plates- Conservative plate boundary
    2. 7.0 on richter scale
    3. Epicentre 13km from Port Au Prince
    4. GDP per capita = $700
  2. Primary Effects
    1. 230,000+ deaths, 300,000 injured
    2. 250,000 homes collapsed along with 30,000 other buildings
    3. Port destroyed, airport control tower damaged (only one runway)
  3. Secondary Effects
    1. 1 million+ homeless, living in streets/shelters/camps
    2. 2 million without food or water (damaged roads slowed aid)
    3. Textile industry affected (factories damaged, no power/workers)
    4. Cholera outbreaks in 2011 kills 800 (dirty water, no medicine)
  4. Immediate Response
    1. International rescue teams took 48 hours to arrive
    2. US army took over airport- sent ships, helicopters and 10,000 troops
    3. Locals digging out victims with bear hands/basic tools
    4. UN/aid agencies/charities bringing water, tents, food, medicine
    5. 235,000 people move from Port Au Prince to less damaged areas
  5. Long-Term Response
    1. 250,000 people still living in camps in 2012
    2. Rebuild Port Au Prince (will cost billions and take years) + build Port
    3. Improve building standards, roads, power and water systems
Tsunami
1. Indian Ocean Tsunami 2004
  1. causes
    1. Indo Australian & Eurasian Plates
      1. Destructive plate boundary
    2. 9.0 on richter scale
    3. 60km off coast (Aceh province, Indonesia
    4. GDP per capita: India- $1,420 Indonesia- $2,940 Sri Lanka- $5,582
  2. Primary Effects
    1. 12m high wave swept 2km inland inland in Aceh
      1. Causing 100,000 deaths
    2. 275,000+ deaths in total
      1. 160,000 missing
    3. 80% of Aceh province totally destroyed; Towns, villages and roads
    4. Tai beaches hit in 30 mins
    5. Somalia (4000km) away 300 were killed
  3. Long-Term Responses
    1. Cash for Work programme (60-70% of fisherman back to work within a year
    2. Lampuk (Indonesia) rebuilt
      1. 700 houses- $1 million from Red Crescent
    3. Warning buoys in Indian Ocean
      1. $20 million, UNESCO + 27 countries
    4. Thailand hopes to warn within 20 mins (TV, radio, text, sirens)
  4. Immediate Responses
    1. Volunteers in Thailand help tourists search for relatives
    2. Rapid response (few secondary deaths as a result) due to armies (helicopters) and Charties
    3. $1.3 people received food aid from UN and WFP
    4. Oxfam and Unicef provided temporary schools and uniforms for 500,000 children
    5. $13bn aid promised (UN DEC appeal) but only half given/spent
  5. Secondary Effects
    1. 2 million people homeless
    2. 1 million jobs lost
      1. Fishing and Tourist related (indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka
    3. 64,000 hectares of farmland damaged/contaminated (Thailand and Sri Lanka
    4. Drop in Tourist income in Thailand and Sri Lanka (6% of GDP)

Next up

Description

Resource summary

Similar

	Created by coles_r almost 11 years ago