Revision Work for Hazardous Environments Topic:
Key Questions that you need to be able to answer in this topic:
1. What are the different types of hazard?
2. What are the characteristics, distribution and causes of tropical storms?
3. What are the characteristics, distribution and causes of volcanoes and earthquakes?
4. How do we measure the size of natural disasters?
5. What are the short term and long term impacts of natural disasters? (comparative case study of tropical storm in
LIC and HIC)
6. Why do people live in hazardous areas?
7. How can hazardous events be managed before and after the events?
8. What can be done in response to hazardous events in the short-term and in the long term? (Case study of one
tectonic event and one tropical storm – one in an LIC and one on an HIC)
For some good revision notes/videos/animations etc go to:
http://ih-igcse-geography.wikispaces.com/
1. What are the different types of hazard?
Info: split hazards into four groups by the processes that cause them and the nature of the hazard, these are:
 Geological :Earthquakes, volcanic, land slides
 Climatic: storms, floods and drought
 Biological: Fires, pests, disease
 Technological : Nuclear explosions, accidents, pollution
In this section we are concerned with Geological and Climatic, climatic hazards are weather and water hazards
whereas, Geological are split into geomorphological (e.g. landslides) and tectonic.
Task: List the different types of each hazard:
Geological
Climatic
A natural hazard is a natural event with the potential to harm people and their property. A natural disaster is the
realisation and impacts of a natural hazard, i.e. the deaths, injuries, disruption and damage. The EM-DAT
international database (www.emdat.be/) suggests a hazard becomes a disaster when at least one of the following
criteria is met:
• 10+ people are killed.
• 100+ people are affected.
• A state of emergency is declared.
• International assistance is called for.
Task: look at the list of events below and decide whether they are a Natural Hazard or not, make sure you explain
why:
A cyclone that hits an uninhabited island
An earthquake in a mountainous region
An earthquake in a densely populated Urban Area
A cyclone that hits the coast of the Philippines
Term
Distribution, frequency and Scale of Hazards
We look at hazards from multiple view points but the 3 factors (distribution, frequency and scale) are 3 good ways
to allow us to compare the impact that hazards will have on an area.
Task: for each of the sections define what the term means in relation to hazards, describe how it affects the
potential impacts of a hazard and give some examples:
definition
How it affects potential impacts
Examples
Distribution
Frequency
Scale
2. What are the characteristics, distribution and causes of tropical storms?
Info: Tropical Cyclones are intense storms in the subtropics They are very intense areas of very low pressure,
approximately 500 to 1000 kilometres in diameter.. They begin as tropical depressions and intensify into tropical
storms and then to tropical cyclones. They are known around the world by different name but the most common 3
are; hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones.. Hurricane force winds, driving rain and storm surges batter coastlines as a
hurricane passes.
Formation of Tropical Cyclones
In late summer or early autumn, when sea temperatures are at their highest (noticed how hurricanes always hit
America around September/October!)Tropical storms are likely to form. They need sea surface temperatures of
27°C+ to generate intense convection, plus weak upper level winds to allow the storm to develop its characteristic
spiral. Hurricanes form 500 km north and south of the equator (between 50 and 250 of latitude) where the Coriolis
Effect (Earth’s rotation) is strong enough to generate spin. The warm water (heated to a depth of several metres)
heats the air above it, causing it to rise rapidly. Cooler air from elsewhere rapidly moves in to replace the rising air
and the process starts again. The rapidly rising moist air, cools as it rises and releases massive amount of energy to
form tall cumuli-nimbus clouds. These slowly spin around the central point. Jet streams above the storm clouds
continue to suck the air up. Cooling air sinks down through the spiraling mass of clouds to produce a central eye of
the storm. Tropical storms move quickly over water, as long as it is warms enough to keep the storm energised.
Once over land, where there is less moisture and the surface is cooler, tropical storms quickly calm down. The main
effects of a tropical storm are the very strong winds, torrential rain and storm surges. These all can cause massive
damage and huge loss of life.
Task: fill in the gaps below using the word box on the opposite page (there is one missing that you have to think
about yourself 19 words for 20 gaps!!!)
1. ______ on surface of ocean is _____________(it also contains lots of moisture)
2. Hot, _________ air rises, cools and condenses. _________ form.
3. Rising air creates low ___________. Air rushes in to fill gap left by rising _______.
4. Rotation of the ______ means winds do not ______ straight. Winds ________ towards the centre.
5. The ________ continues to ______ itself, as it passes over warm ________.
6.
7.
Whole system moves ________ land.
When the _________ crosses the _______ it ________ its source of _______ and __________. The
tropical _________ loses its and _______ out.
system, clouds, moisture, heated, storm, dies, loses, heat, rising, water, towards, energy, land, circle , storm, fuel,
Air, earth, blow
Tropical Storms, what and where:
Tropical Cyclones are known by different names around the world (see the map below), these are:
North Atlantic: Hurricanes
Pacific: Typhoons
South East Asia: Cyclones
Australia: Willy-Willies (Cyclones)
Task: Describe the movement of the different storms around the world.
In essence there is little difference between the different storms, Typhoons often drop a lot more water than
Hurricanes but this is only to do with where they form not differences in why they form.
The sequence of events as a tropical storm travelled overhead:
Task: Put the statements in order from 1 – 5 of what the conditions would be as the storm passed overhead.
1. The eye of the storm is overhead. Skies are clear, the temperature and pressure increase, and the wind dies down.
Unfortunately this is only a brief lull in the storm.
2. The storm hits again. Temperature and pressure falls. Torrential rain and wind speeds of over 100km/hr occur. The winds are
now coming from the opposite direction than they were before.
3. After the storm the temperature and pressure rise again. The rain becomes showers, and the winds die down. The cleanup
operation begins.
4. As the storm approached there would be a drop in temperature and pressure. Wind speeds would begin to increase and
clouds would form
5. As the storm is overhead the pressure would fall rapidly, as would the temperature. Wind speeds would be in excess of
150km/hr and the rain would be torrential. The wind would whip up waves that could swamp entire coastal areas, or drown
entire coral islands in the Pacific.
Order:
Structure of a Hurricane
Task: Describe the structure of a tropical storm:
3. What are the characteristics, distribution and causes of volcanoes and
earthquakes?
Info: volcanoes and earthquake are intrinsically linked, they often occur in the same place due to many of their
causes being linked to the location of the tectonic plate boundaries. Along the boundaries of the worlds plates, the
movement and the interaction between the plates can cause tectonic hazards.
Cross section of the planet
The internal workings of the earth are very complicated, but can be broken up into the crust (where we live) the
mantle, the core (inner and outer) as you can see in the diagram below.
Task: describe the structure of the earth
Tectonic Plates
Info: the crust is broken up like a jigsaw puzzle into a series of tectonic plates, the map above shows the most
famous and largest ones. These boundaries are not exact, you have to imagine a plate is like a cracked pane of
glass, there is not just one crack, but many smaller splinters and fractures (these are often known as fault lines).
The plates are sections of the crust that "float" on the mantle (they don’t but it is good way to think of how they
are able to move), which is made up of molten rock. Where the plate's meet, huge forces mean that they can form
features such as volcanoes, Fold Mountains, deep-sea trenches and rift valleys. The result of the meeting of these
plates can be very destructive.
There are two main types of tectonic plate. Oceanic crust is often only about 5km thick, but is very dense.
Continental crust is considerably thicker, often being approximately 30km deep, but is less dense.
Convection Currents
The Earth's Tectonic Plates all move very slowly on the mantle, meeting along the four main boundaries that can be
found in the next section. The plates move due to convection currents in the mantle. These are hot currents of
molten rock that slowly move within the mantle and cause the plates above them to move, usually by as little as
one or two centimetres each year.
Task: what plate boundary types
May you find at each point”
A:
B:
C:
Explain why:
What type of boundary you got left?
Types of Plate Boundaries:
Info: there are 4 main types of plate boundaries
Destructive Plate Boundaries (Also known as convergent boundaries or compressional boundaries)
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These cause violent volcanoes and earthquakes, as well as deep-ocean trenches and fold mountains.
An oceanic plate and continental plate move towards each other
The denser oceanic plate dives under the lighter continental one, creating a deep ocean trench
As the oceanic plate goes deeper into mantle it melts in the subduction zone, due to friction and the
increased temperature.
The newly molten rock is lighter than that which surrounds it, so it will rise towards the surface and cause
volcanoes on the earth's surface
The continental crust is crumpled by the collision of the two plates creating Fold Mountains.
If the magma rises offshore it will form an Island Arc, like the West Indies and Japan.
A good example of a destructive plate boundary is where the Nazca plate dives underneath the South
American plate. This has caused volcanoes, earthquakes and the formation of the Andes Mountain Range.
Constructive Plate Boundaries (Also known as divergent or tensional boundaries)
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Although often not as violent as those on destructive plate boundaries, volcanoes and earthquakes do
occur on constructive plate boundaries. They also cause mid-ocean ridges to form.
Two plates move away from each other.
Molten rock (magma) rises from the mantle to fill the gap between the two plates. This forms a midocean ridge.
Volcanoes can also form here, along the edges of the plate boundary, due to the rising magma. These
volcanoes are called shield volcanoes.
A good example of a constructive plate boundary can be found where the North American plate is moving
away from the Eurasian plate. This has caused the Mid-Atlantic ridge to form and has created Iceland
through volcanic activity.
Conservative Plate Boundaries (Also known as passive plate boundaries)
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The main effects of a conservative plate boundary are earthquakes, which can be fairly violent and
frequent.
Two plates slide past each other, without creating or destroying any land.
As they move past each other they often get stuck, building up great pressure until finally they jolt past
each other. This sudden movement is what causes earthquakes.
The best-known example of a conservative plate boundary is the San Andreas Fault, where the North
American and Pacific plates are actually moving in the same direction, but at a different speed.
Collision Margins
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Where two continental crusts collide neither can sink.
Instead they push into each other forcing material to be folded up into huge mountain ranges.
Often this movement and pressure can cause earthquakes, but no volcanoes will occur on these
boundaries.
The best example is found where the Indian plate collided with the Eurasian plate to form the Himalayas.
Task: Use the descriptions to draw an annotated diagram to show how each of plate boundaries work:
Destructive:
Conservative:
Collison:
Constructive:
Volcanoes
Info: Volcanoes occur when magma is forced to the surface through cracks and fissures in the Earth’s crust.
Explosivity depends on magma viscosity. The more viscous the magma, the more hazardous the volcano as it
causes the explosive power to rise. Viscosity depends on temperature, gas and silica content of the magma in the
magma chamber. Highly explosive volcanoes erupt low temperature, viscous lava with a high silica content.
Volcanoes are often places of multiple hazards.
Classic Cross Section of a Composite Cone Volcano
Types of Volcanoes
Volcanoes are formed along two types of plate boundary: destructive and constructive boundaries. The basic
shape of a volcano is similar throughout the world; however there are many factors which influence how the
volcano is built. Volcanoes occur where molten rock (magma) is allowed to escape to the surface of the earth. This
usually occurs at plate boundaries through cracks in the crust called vents.
Once it has reached the surface, the magma becomes known as lava. The composition of the lava determines the
shape of the final volcano.
Volcanoes also throw out ash, steam, dust, pumice, and gases, which can be poisonous. However it is the lava that
mainly helps to shape the volcano.
Type
There are three main volcanic cones: acid lava cones or Dome, Composite Cones and Basic lava Cones/Shield.
Task: Match the heads with the tails for the different types of volcanoes
Description
Example
Acid cone/Dome
Volcano
Composite Cone
Volcano
Basic Lava Cone/Shield
Volcano
Volcanoes are wide-based, with gentle slopes. Their lava is runny and
thin, which means that it can travel a long way before cooling and
solidifying. Often these eruptions are non-violent and can last for years
Volcanoes are steep-sided, and made of alternate layers of ash and lava.
Often the lava cools to create a plug in the vent, meaning that a huge
explosion is needed to remove it
Volcanoes are steep sided due to the fact that the lava is thick and
acidic, meaning that it doesn't flow far before solidifying.
Kilauea or Mauna Loa on the island of
Hawaii.
Mt. Pelee on Martinique blew its top in
1902, killing all nearly all but 3 of the
30000 people in St Pierre.
Mt St Helens went mental back in 1980,
killing 57
Task: Name the different types of volcanoes and add the correct labels to the third one.
Earthquakes:
Info: Earthquakes are shock waves that occur when tectonic activity causes the ground to shake occur along faults,
which are large cracks in the earth's crust. Most of these are associated with the larger plate boundaries, along
which the largest earthquakes usually occur. They are caused by the sudden jerking movements of the fault, either
laterally or vertically, and are almost impossible to predict.
They most commonly occur when two tectonic plates move suddenly against each other. Rocks fracture
underground at the earthquake focus and the Earth’s crust shakes as energy is released. Waves spread from the
epicentre, the point on the surface above the focus. Severe earthquake damage can occur when unconsolidated
sediment undergoes a process called liquefaction. This is often responsible for the worst ground shaking and
damage.
The point at which an earthquake actually begins, deep below the earth's surface is called the focus. If the focus is
deep then the effects of the earthquake may be less as the shockwaves have more rock to move through.
Obviously this also depends on what type of rock it is. The point directly above the focus, on the earth's surface, is
called the epicentre. The effects of the earthquake are usually worst here, and then radiate out from this spot.
Effects of Earthquakes
The effects of an earthquake can be easily split up into two sections. Primary effects are those that occur
immediately as the earthquake happens. These include buildings collapsing, roads and bridges being destroyed
and railway lines being buckled. All occur due to the shaking of the ground.
Secondary effects are the subsequent effects of the quake, and can be even more devastating than the primary
ones. The main secondary effects are:
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Fires: usually from ruptured gas lines. This was the main cause of death and damage after the San
Francisco earthquake in 1906.
Tsunami waves: A tidal waves caused by an earthquake is called a tsunami. They can travel very quickly
across entire oceans, before engulfing land 1000's of miles away. The 1964 Alaskan earthquake caused
considerable damage in several Californian coastal areas. Although Los Angeles has escaped so far, it is still
considered to be a tsunami hazard prone area.
Landslides can often be triggered by earthquakes, causing huge amounts of material to be moved very
quickly. This is actually what occurred just before the volcanic eruption on Mt. St. Helens. They are most
likely to occur where the land is steep, saturated or weak.
Diseases can spread very quickly in the unsanitary conditions often left behind by massive earthquakes.
Water becomes contaminated very quickly, and in Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDC's)
especially; access for the medical services can be badly hampered by the damage caused by the quake.
The most common diseases to be associated with earthquakes are therefore water-borne ones like
cholera and typhoid.
Task: for the effects in the paragraphs above, making sure you use some examples to help explain you reasons,
discuss the relative size of impact they are likely to have (time scale, numbers impacted etc)
4. How do we measure the size of natural disasters?
Info: there are numerous ways to measure hazards. Form very scientific ways to simple observation of the size and
impacts they have.
Measuring tectonic activity 1: Earthquakes
Method 1: The Richter scale
This measures the magnitude of an earthquake using an instrument called a seismograph. The Richter scale is
logarithmic, meaning that an earthquake measuring 7 is 10 times more powerful than one measuring 6, and 100
times more powerful than one measuring 5.
Method 2: The Mercalli scale
This measures the damage caused by an earthquake. It rates each quake from I to XII, depending on how much
damage was done, and is dependent not only on the magnitude of depth of the earthquake.
Measuring tectonic activity 3: Volcanoes
The volcanic explosivity index (VEI): The degree of volcanic hazard is measured using a scale ranging from 0 to 8.
Volume of products, eruption cloud height, and qualitative observations (using terms ranging from "gentle" to
"mega-colossal") are used to work out the explosivity score. The scale is open-ended with the largest volcanoes in
history given magnitude 8. A value of 0 is given for non-explosive eruptions (less than 10, 000 cubic metres of
material ejected) with 8 representing a mega-colossal explosive eruption that can eject 1000 cubic kilometers of
material and have a cloud column height of over 25 km (16 mi). The scale is logarithmic (from 1 -8) with each
interval on the scale representing a tenfold increase in observed eruption criteria.
In recent history examples are:
2010: Icelandic eruption of Eyjafjallajökull was a VEI 4 eruption
1980: Mt St Helens (USA) was a VEI 5 eruption
Mauna Loa on Hawaii due to being constantly erupting is a VEI 0
Task: What are the benefits and drawbacks of the different ways of measuring tectonic activity
Measuring Tropical Cyclones:
The Saffir-Simpson Scale Hurricane strength is measured using the Saffir-Simpson scale ranging from weak
Category 1, to intense Category 5.
The main effects of revolving tropical storms – namely hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons – increase a with the
category of the storm, as do many factors to do with the size, wind speed, storm surge etc.
Task: Describe what happens to the tropical cyclone as it
moves up the Saffir-Simpson scale:
5. What are the short term and long term impacts of natural disasters?
(Comparative case study of tropical storm in LIC and HIC)
Factor
Info: hazards vary in their impacts depending on where in the world they are, this is due to a number of factors. It
is not just down to wealth and planning, but a number of intrinsically linked points and issues.
Task: complete the following table to show how and why hazard impacts will vary:
How it will affect the hazard impact
Example of negative and positive impact
Wealth
Preparation of
Population
Communication
Networks
Emergency
Services
Scale (size and
strength)
Location
Frequency
Supplies of Water
and Food
Disaster Planning
Rural v Urban
Experience
Relationships
with overseas
countries & NGOs
Time of Day of
hazard
Season/time of
year of hazard
Frequency
Case Study 1: Tropical Storm in LIC Hurricane Mitch 1998:
In 1998 the most destructive hurricane to strike the Western Hemisphere in the last 200 years savaged the
countries of Central America. Hurricane Mitch thrashed the region with 180 mph winds and dumped between 300
and 1800 mm. of deluging rains on Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Finally, after six horrifying
days, the torrential rains stopped.
The track of the hurricane:
On October 21st 1998, a tropical depression formed in the southern Caribbean Sea. One day later, this had
became a tropical storm and was given the name "Mitch". Mitch moved very little over the next few days, drifting
to the northwest, and slowly gathering strength. A sharp increase in strength occurred between October 23rd-26th
during which time Mitch changed from a tropical storm with 70 mph winds, to a Saffir-Simpson Category 5
Hurricane with winds of 178 mph. The hurricane continued to gather strength as it moved very slowly to the
northwest. Winds in the storm reached a peak of 180 mph on October 26th just off the northeast coast of
Honduras. This made Mitch the strongest hurricane in the Caribbean sea for over 10 years. Mitch kept this
strength for nearly 24 hours before beginning to weaken.
By the morning of October 28th, winds had decreased to 121 mph and the storm, which was located just north of
Honduras, was drifting to the west. By this point, however, the real worry was not the wind but the rain. The slow
movement of the storm had caused heavy rain in Central America over the past few days, but especially in
Honduras and Nicaragua. Now with the storm almost at a standstill, the rain became more and more of a problem.
Serious flooding and hundreds of mudslides were the result. By the time Tropical Storm Mitch hit land on the 29th
October, the damage and loss of life was already very serious.
Mitch weakened rapidly once it arrived onshore due to the loss of energy from the warm sea, but the mountains of
Honduras and Nicaragua continued to "squeeze" the moisture out of the system so the heavy rains continued. The
storm then began to turn to the north and emerged into the Gulf of Mexico on November 2nd. As it moved across
the warm sea, Mitch began to rebuild itself. The storm started to increase its forward speed again and on
November 4th, as winds increased, Mitch was reclassified as a dangerous tropical storm. Later on the 4th, Mitch
hit the west coast of Florida with winds that gusted to near 80 mph. The storm's forward speed had increased to
25 mph and it cleared Florida later that evening. The storm eventually worked its way across the Atlantic Ocean
passing to the north-west of Scotland several days later.
Impacts in Areas affected (see map)
HONDURAS
The whole of the country was affected by Hurricane Mitch. Around 6,500 people died and up to 11,000 went
missing. About 1.5 million people (20% of the country's population) were made homeless by the hurricane and
there were serious shortages of food, medicine, and water. Hunger and near-starvation were widespread in many
villages. Epidemics became a danger as diseases such as malaria and cholera made an appearance. As most roads
and railways were seriously damaged, helicopters were needed to take supplies to areas cut off by floods, but
these were in short supply. Many of the unidentified dead were buried in mass graves or their bodies were
cremated.
In some areas, whole villages were washed away and an estimated 70-80% of roads/railways were destroyed. The
majority of the country's bridges were damaged or destroyed. Even airports were under water. Fuel, electricity and
running water became scarce commodities. Damage was so severe that it was calculated that it could take 15-20
years or more to rebuild the country. One third of all buildings in the capital were damaged by the floods. Survivors
were still clinging to roof tops a week or more after the storm. Heavy damage was caused along the coastline and
off-shore islands by the storm surge and hurricane-force winds. Tourist resorts along the coast were seriously
damaged. The estimated damage to roads and buildings in Honduras was $4 billion.
At least 70% of the crops on farms were destroyed, including almost all of the banana crop. Crop losses were
estimated at $900 million. Further damage was caused by the flooding of the large warehouses and storage rooms
used for coffee beans. The damage by Hurricane Mitch to Honduran farming will take many years to put right.
NICARAGUA:
Northwest and northern parts of the country were most affected. An estimated 3800 people died with perhaps as
many as 7,000 others missing. Between 500,000 - 800,000 people were made homeless. Intense rain over western
Nicaragua on October 29th-30th caused over 600mm of rain to fall (about one years rainfall in south-east
England!). The crater lake on top of the dormant Casita volcano filled up and part of the walls then collapsed on
October 30th, causing mud flows that eventually covered an area ten miles long and five miles wide. At least four
villages were totally buried in the mud that was over a metre deep. Over 2,000 of the dead were from the areas
around the collapsed volcano. In many cases, survivors had to wait days before the mud had dried enough to walk
to rescuers. Damage was serious from flooding in other parts of the country, also. On November 5th, 500 bodies
were found in the Coco River near the town of Wiwili. An additional 500 unidentified bodies had washed up on the
Pacific shore after flood waters had washed their bodies out to sea. As with Honduras, there were serious food and
water shortages in flooded areas. The roads/railways and all forms of communication in the affected regions were
devastated. Over 30% of the coffee crop was destroyed and there was serious damage to the bean, sugar, and
banana crops. Damage estimates for Nicaragua were $1 billion.
EL SALVADOR
The western part of the country was most affected by the heavy rain. 230 people died and 500,000 were forced
from their homes by the flooding. As much as 80% of the maize crop was lost. Coffee plantations and the sugar
cane crop was severely affected.
GUATEMALA
Over 200 people were killed by the floods. Ten U.S. citizens and one other person was killed in a plane crash
supplying emergency aid on November 1st. Nearly 80,000 people were evacuated from their homes because of the
flooding. There was widespread damage to the coffee and banana plantations.
Case Study 2: Tropical Storm in a HIC Hurricane Katrina 2005
Use: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/americas/2005/hurricane_katrina/default.stm to further add to the case
study
The path of Hurricane Katrina
Impacts
 Katrina was a category 4 storm when it hit New Orleans.
 Storm surges reached over 6 metres in height.
 New Orleans was one of the worst affected areas because it is below sea level and protected by levees (
Levees are ridges formed by deposits of alluvium left behind by the periodic flooding of river)s.
 The defences were unable to cope with the strength of Katrina.
 Despite an evacuation order, many of the poorest people remained in the city.
 People sought refuge in the Superdome stadium. Conditions were unhygienic, and there was a shortage of
food and water.
 looting: (Looting is a term which refers to stealing from unguarded homes or businesses). was
commonplace throughout the city. Tension was high and many felt vulnerable and unsafe.
 1 million people were made homeless and about 1200 people drowned in the floods.
 Oil facilities were damaged and as a result petrol prices rose in the UK and USA.
Responses
Flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans 2005
There was much criticism of the authorities for their handling of the disaster.
Although many people were evacuated, it was a slow process and the poorest and most vulnerable were left
behind.
$50 billion in aid was given by the government.
The UK government sent food aid during the early stages of the recovery process.
The National Guard was mobilised to restore and maintain law and order in what became a hostile and unsafe
living environment.
6. Why do people live in hazardous areas?
Info: many people around the world live in hazardous areas through choice or necessity and there are many reason
why they do.
Reason
Ignorance & lack of
education
Why this means people will live in hazardous areas
Volcano: fertile soil
Volcano: geothermal
energy
Tourism
Scenery
Economic restrictions
Land Value
Choice (studying
them)
Optimism of things
getting better
7. How can hazardous events be managed before and after the events?
Info: The method used by most places is:
Identify the risk – risk assessment – prediction of the event – preparation for the events impacts (adjustment of
life) - Hazard event – recovery after the event – appraisal of how the area coped with the event.
Why in the world do places cope differently the HIC v MIC/LICs argument!!!
Natural hazards will affect Higher Income Countries (HIC's)in a differing way to those that occur in Middle Income
Countries and Lower Income Countries (MIC/LICs).
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Health Care: HIC's have the medical resources and money to quickly get appropriate aid to areas after a
natural disaster. MIC/LIC's often have to rely on aid from overseas as their health system, which is
inadequate. This overseas aid takes time to arrive, which could mean far more casualties.
Emergency Services: In HIC's who have a volcanic or earthquake risk, such as Japan and New Zealand,
there are well thought out emergency procedures. Practices in schools and places of work mean that
people know what to do it the event of a natural disaster. The Government's and military have special
emergency plans to help with the situation.
Often MIC/LIC's do not have these emergency plans, and so (as seen in the Asian Tsunami of 2004) far more
damage can be done before the emergency services reach the stricken area.
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Building Technology: Countries such as Japan and the United States have been at the fore front of
developing buildings that have more chance of resisting an earthquake. Most houses in San Francisco are
made of wood, to make them more flexible and allow them to move with the quake. Larger skyscrapers
are built with flexible foundations, which literally allow them to sway during a quake, rather than being
rigid and falling down. Many countries in areas prone to natural hazards have building codes to say where
they can and cannot build, and how high the buildings can be. New Zealand is a good example of where
this occurs. LEDC's don't tend to have the technology available or money to pay for it, and soften their
buildings are very susceptible to earthquakes. One example was the Armenian earthquake in 1988, which
was 0.1 less on the Richter scale than Kobe, but killed 20,000 more people. Most of the Armenian houses
were built of stone and so collapsed instantly.
Scientific Prediction: Scientists work throughout the world, trying to predict earthquakes and volcanoes.
So far they have found it very difficult to predict earthquakes, although scientists monitoring the San
Andreas Fault in California have planted a huge number of seismographs in the ground to try to detect
even the faintest of tremors. Volcanoes generally are easier to predict, although the specific time of the
eruption is not so easy to do. Scientists can measure changes within the mountain that helps them to
predict that the volcano is going to erupt. This usually allows the Local Authorities sufficient time to
evacuate people from the danger area (as seen at both Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Pinatubo). However they
still find it very difficult to accurately predict the size of the eruption. HIC's do tend to have more
investment for this type of research and development than MIC/LIC's.
Recovery: HIC's tend to be able to recover quickly from a natural disaster, due to having the investment
and technology needed to return the area to as good as new as soon as possible. Because MIC/LIC's often
have to rely on aid from overseas, this quick recovery is often impossible for them.
The earthquake that devastated the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on 13 January also affected many
outlying towns - the extent of which is only being discovered days after the disaster.
Analysis and reports from international agencies have helped provide a picture of how badly hit other
areas were.
The epicentre of the magnitude 7 quake was south west of Port-au-Prince and large towns in that region,
such as Leogane, Gressier and Carrefour suffered large scale destruction, with up to 90% of buildings
destroyed in some places.
In Leogane, between 5,000 and 10,000 people were killed.
Smaller towns in the area also suffered.
In Jacmel, on the southern coast, more than 3,000 people were reported to have been killed or injured
and 60% of buildings damaged or destroyed.
Task: devise a plan for a HIC and a LIC/MIC in order to better help the country cope with the impact of the disaster,
use the same plan (preparation/protection and prediction) but vary the plan in relation to the HIC or LIC/MIC
where you think necessary:
HIC Emergency Plan
LIC/MIC Emergency Plan
Task: even though you have differed the plans what problems are there of giving general plans to different places
Task: how would you further improve the plans?
8. What can be done in response to hazardous events in the short-term and in
the long term? (Case study of one tectonic event and one tropical storm – one in
an LIC and one on an HIC)
Info: Dealing with hazardous events is broken down into the following timescales:
Disruption/The Event occurs – rescue and relief (hours and days) - temporary improvement (days and weeks) –
permanent recovery (months and years)
NB: Use the Hurricane Katrina Case Study from before as the HIC event
Case Study of Event in LIC: Earthquake in Haiti Jan 2010
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200 000 people died.
1.5 million homeless.
Roads, port and airport wrecked.
Buildings collapsed.
Schools destroyed.
Industry and services destroyed.
Emergency services disrupted.
7- Magnitude- 10/12 after shocks.
UN building collapsed and UN personnel killed.
4:53pm
Phone lines failed afterwards.
Foreign peacekeepers killed.
Threats of tetanus and gangrene.
The World Food giving 10 000 tonnes of diesel a day.
Sending ships to help remove debris off the ports.
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10 million total population of Haiti normally live off
$2.00 a day. History of dictatorship/violence.
Economy was in ruins and unemployment is chronic
(no jobs).
Massive deforestation has left 2% of forum landslides
more likely. 2008 they lost 800 people to hurricanes.
Totally unprepared. Fault line hadn’t moved for 250
years.
Haitian President said its hard to give the people their
supplies. No roads/ trucks.
Hundreds of thousands of people without food/ water
a week after.
Using military helicopters.
400 000 bottles of water, 300 000 food rations dropped
within 9 days.
Probably one of the best sites is: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10596902 - there are loads of links to other articles
there:
12th January 2010 at 16.53 (about tea-time) local time, It was a 7.0 magnitude earthquake.
But as we know this only tells as the size of the earthquake not the damage it does.
Impacts
217,000–230,000 dead
300,000 injured
1,000,000 homeless
250,000 residences collapsed or severely damaged
30,000 commercial buildings collapsed or severely damaged
This is a big earthquake, but why were the number so high?
Summary: reasons why the earthquake was so severe – Original thoughts:
 the proximity of the city to the fault that caused the shaking,
 shoddy construction that allowed thousands of buildings to easily crumble
 the nature of the rock, being sedimentary, carried the vibrations further and with greater amplification
(bigger waves)
Summary: reasons why the earthquake was so severe – recent findings:
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A narrow ridge of hard rock seems to have vibrated even more than expected – this are contained better
built hotels/businesses which were still really badly damaged. Until recently these anomalies had been
known about but written off an unexplainable flukes
These findings will help plan which areas should be redeveloped and which should be avoided –
microzonation maps
The only single seismometer on Haiti was an educational instrument that was set up wrong – quote
scientist. . “When the earthquake happened, it went dancing around on its little feet,” she said. “It did
make a record, but it wasn’t very useful.” They now have 8 on the ridge and on the sedimentary rocks
correctly installed!
Task: Research and describe the human responses to Hurricane Katrina and the Haiti Earthquake:
Event
What were
the
responses
(Short
term)?
What were
the
responses
(Long
term)?
Haiti
Katrina
How did
they differ?
Why did
they differ?
Task: From both disasters what should the government and emergency services learn about how to better deal
with the problems they faced if they face them again? Plan and Answer this as a 9 marks question:
“Describe and explain for two disasters you have studied (one in a HIC and one in a LIC/MIC) how better prepared
the authorities for the next similar disaster” (9)
Glossary:
Aid: Help given by more wealthy nations (HICs) to less well-off nations (LICs), mainly to encourage development.
Earthquake: A sudden or violent movement within the Earth’s crust followed by a series of shocks.
Hazard: A natural event (for example earthquake, flood, landslide, volcanic eruption) that threatens or causes
damage, destruction and death.
Risk assessment: Judging the amount of damage an area might expect from any given hazard.
Tectonic plate: A rigid segment of the Earth’s crust which can ‘float’ across the heavier, semi-molten rock below.
Continental plates are less dense, but thicker than oceanic plates. Movement occurs.
Tropical storm (or cyclone): An area of low pressure with winds moving in a spiral around the calm central point
called the eye of the storm. Winds are powerful and rain heavy.
Volcano: An opening in the Earth’s crust out of which lava, ash and gases erupt.