LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST
NOTABLE DISASTERS
CHILE
PART 2: WINDSTORMS
Walter Hays, Global Alliance for
Disaster Reduction, Vienna,
Virginia, USA
NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED
DISASTERS IN CHILE
FLOODS
GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE
AND COMMUNITIES
WINDSTORMS
EARTHQUAKES/TSUNAMIS
HIGH BENEFIT/COST FROM
BECOMING DISASTER
NRESILIENT
VOLCANOES
WILDFIRES
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
Natural Phenomena that Cause
Disasters
Planet Earth’s
atmospherichydrosphericlithospheric
interactions
create SEVERE
WINDSTORMS
HIGH POTENTIAL LOSS EXPOSURES
IN A SEVERE WINDSTORM
Entire communities;
People, property, infrastructure, business enterprise,
government centers, crops,
wildlife, and natural resources.
FORTUNATELY, CHILE’S
WINDSTORMS, ALTHOUGH
DAMAGING, ARE USUALLY
NOT
CLASSIFIED AS SEVERE
NOTABLE WINDSTORMS IN
CHILE
JULY 22, 2011 (“WHITE EARTHQUAKE”)
JULY 6, 2011 (DESERT STORM)
JUNE 8, 2011 (TORNADO)
JULY 29, 2000 (RAINSTORM)
Natural Phenomena that Cause
Disasters
Planet Earth’s
atmospherichydrosphericlithospheric
interactions
create “WHITE
EARTHQUAKES”
“WHITE EARTHQUAKE” HITS
EIGHT MUNICIPALITIES
• Eight municipalities of Chile were
isolated by a 'white earthquake' of
heavy snow with drifts of up to 2
meters or more of snow (equal to the
normal snowfall in a 4 month period).
• The government declared these
municipalities a "disaster area."
THE “WHITE EARTHQUAKE”
CHILE’S CITIES (NOTE: ATACAMA
DESERT IN NORTH)
JULY 6, 2011
The Atacama is the world's
driest desert, where wetting
rains are truly rare visitors.
JULY 6, 2011
• A winter storm with unusual rain, high
winds, and mountain snow struck the
northern desert regions of Antofagasta
and Atacama only days after another
rare desert storm.
JULY 6, 2011
• Roads were cut off and flights
disrupted in an area that holds
some of the world's biggest,
most productive copper mines.
JUNE 8, 2011 WINDSTORM
• This windstorm was a tornado, a rare
event for Chile.
• It struck the heart of the town of
Villarrica in southern Chile with winds
of 125 to 183 kph (75 to 110 mph).
Villarrica, a city and commune
in southern Chile, is located on
the western shore of Villarrica
Lake near the active Villarrica
volcano, 746 km (464 mi) south
of Santiago, the capital.
VILLARRICA
IMPACTS OF THE
WINDSTORM
• Only damage and nine injuries
this time.
SANTIAGO SKYLINE
This disaster exposed Chile’s
lack of disaster planning and
disaster-resilient infrastructure in
2000, and led to concerted efforts
to improve.
JULY 29, 2000 WINDS AND
FLOODING IMPACT THE CAPITAL
• A state of emergency was
declared in the Santiago
metropolitan region.
IMPACTS
• Schools were forced to close,
train services were cancelled
and electricity was cut to many
areas due to the high winds.
IMPACTS
• Many homes were wiped out as
a result of the 90 kph (54 mph)
winds and the pouring rains,
forcing thousands into shelters
around Santiago.
JULY 29, 2000 FLOODING
IMPACTED THE CAPITAL
• Some areas of the city were at
a virtual standstill as roads
were blocked and bridges
collapsed
ELEMENTS OF HAZARDS
AND RISK
ELEMENTS OF WINDSTORM
RISK
HAZARDS
EXPOSURE
RISK
VULNERABILITY
LOCATION
HAZARDS OF A SEVERE WINDSTORM
(AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)
• WIND FIELD [CAT 1 (55 mph) TO CAT 5+
(155 mph or greater)]
• DEBRIS
• STORM SURGE/FLOODS
• HEAVY PRECIPITATION/FLOODS
• LANDSLIDES (MUDFLOWS)
• COSTAL EROSION
A DISASTER CAN HAPPEN
WHEN THE
POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS
OF A WINDSTORM INTERACT
WITH CHILE’S COMMUNITIES
CAUSES
OF
DAMAGE
WIND PENETRATING
BUILDING ENVELOPE
UPLIFT OF ROOF SYSTEM
FLYING DEBRIS
TYPHOONS
“DISASTER
LABORATORIES”
STORM SURGE
IRREGULARITIES IN
ELEVATION AND PLAN
SITING PROBLEMS
FLOODING AND LANDSLIDES
A DISASTER is ----- the set of failures that overwhelm the
capability of a community to respond
without external help when three
continuums: 1) people, 2) community
(i.e., a set of habitats, livelihoods, and
social constructs), and 3) complex
events (e.g., windstorms, floods,…)
intersect at a point in space and time.
Disasters are caused by
single- or multiple-event
natural hazards that, (for
various reasons), cause
extreme levels of mortality,
morbidity, homelessness,
joblessness, economic losses,
or environmental impacts.
THE REASONS ARE . . .
• When it does happen, the
functions of the community’s
buildings and infrastructure can be
LOST
THE REASONS ARE . . .
• The community is UNPREPARED for what will likely
happen, not to mention the
low-probability of occurrence—
high-probability of adverse
consequences event.
THE REASONS ARE . . .
• The community has NO DISASTER
PLANNING SCENARIO or
WARNING SYSTEM in place as a
strategic framework for early threat
identification and coordinated
local, national, regional, and
international countermeasures.
THE REASONS ARE . . .
• The community LACKS THE
CAPACITY TO RESPOND in a
timely and effective manner to
the full spectrum of expected
and unexpected emergency
situations.
THE REASONS ARE . . .
• The community is INEFFICIENT
during recovery and
reconstruction because it HAS
NOT LEARNED from either the
current experience or the
cumulative prior experiences.
THE ALTERNATIVE TO A
WINDSTORM DISASTER IS
WINDSTORM DISASTER
RESILIENCE
WINDSTORM RISK
•WINDSTORM
HAZARDS
•PEOPLE & BLDGS.
•VULNERABILITY
•LOCATION
DATA BASES
AND INFORMATION
ACCEPTABLE RISK
RISK
UNACCEPTABLE RISK
CHILE’S
GOAL: WINDSTORM
DISASTER RESILIENCE
COMMUNITIES
POLICY OPTIONS
HAZARDS:
GROUND SHAKING
GROUND FAILURE
SURFACE FAULTING
TECTONIC DEFORMATION
TSUNAMI RUN UP
AFTERSHOCKS
• PREPAREDNESS
•PROTECTION
•EARLY WARNING
•EMERGENCY RESPONSE
•RECOVERY and
RECONSTRUCTION
TECHNOLOGIES FOR
MONITORING, FORECASTING,
WARNING, AND DISASTER
SCENARIOS ARE VITAL FOR
SURVIVAL
LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT
DISASTER RESILIENCE
ALL WINDSTORMS
PREPAREDNES
FOR THE
EXPECTED AND
UNEXPEDTED IS
ESSENTIAL FOR
DISASTER
RESILIENCE
LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT
DISASTER RESILIENCE
ALL WINDSTORMS EARLY
WARNING (THE
ISS) AND
EVACUATION
ARE ESSENTIAL
FOR DISASTER
RESILIENCE
LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT
DISASTER RESILIENCE
ALL WINDSTORMS
TIMELY
EMERGENCY
RESPONSE IS
ESSENTIAL
FOR DISASTER
RESILIENCE
LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT
DISASTER RESILIENCE
ALL WINDSTORMS
RECOVERY AND
RECONSTRUCTION
USUALLY TAKES
LONGER THAN
THOUGHT