CASE STUDIES

Question 1

Developing tsunami - Indian Ocean Boxing Day tsunami 2004

Answer 1

• magnitude 9 earthquake struck causing a tsunami
• the rupture of the convergent fault caused the seabed to rise by 15m
• 1.7 million made homeless
• 230,000 dies
• 120,000 lost their jobs
• outbreak of cholera due to lack of fresh water supplies
• over £400 million in public donations
• £75 million from UK government
• Indian Ocean tsunami warning system, set up in 2006
• education improved and disaster plans put in place
• affected 14 countries
• initial waves struck within 20 minutes of the earthquake

Question 2

Developed tsunami - japan 2011

Answer 2

• magnitude 9
• 15,000 deaths
• 6,000 injured
• 330,000 made homeless
• damage to Fukushima nuclear power plant led to radiation leaks
• had an early warning system that alerted people through their phones, radios and TVs
• had 15m high sea walls
• strict building codes

Question 3

Devolving earthquake - Haiti 2010

Answer 3

• magnitude 7 earthquake
• level 9 on the modified mercalli scale
• 52 after shocks
• movement in the conservative strike slip fault system
• 230,000 died
• 300,000 injured
• 1 million made homeless
• 7000 dies in cholera outbreak that followed
• crime escalated and 4000 escaped prison
• £20 million donated by UK government

Question 4

Developed earthquake - amatrice, Italy 2016

Answer 4

• magnitude 6
• 296 deaths
• landslide blocked roads
• tourism negatively affected

Question 5

Developed volcanic eruption - EFJ, Iceland 2010

Answer 5

• erupted 3 times between march and June
• VEI 4 in April
• on a divergent plate boundary
• ash plume stopped 100,000 flights
• airlines lost £130 million
• 700 people evacuated due to flooding risk
• food imports delayed
• sporting events cancelled
• water supplied contaminated with fluoride
• red cross provided food water and shelter

Question 6

Developing volcanic eruption - merapi, Indonesia 2010

Answer 6

• VEI 4
• 353 died
• 577 injured
• over 350,000 evacuated

Question 7

Chinas (developing/emerging) vulnerability and resilience - earthquake 2008

Answer 7

Vulnerability
- corrupt government ignored building codes and accept bribes form builders: thousands of poorly built schools falling and killing over 500 children but government buildings remained standing
- earthquake took place in an isolated region so was hard for rescue efforts to access

Resilience
- occurred in a sparsely populated region
- growing economy meant they could pay for rescue efforts and could provide aid: pledged $10 billion in aid
- medical services quickly restored
- within 2 weeks temporary homes, roads and bridges were built

Question 8

Japans (developed) vulnerability and resilience - earthquake and tsunami 2011

Answer 8

Vulnerability
- japans location makes it very vulnerable as its sat on 4 plates
- failed to have safety plans for their nuclear power plant: lack of basic safety procedures, planning and preparation

Resilience
- low level corruption meant building regulations were strictly enforced: 75% of buildings built with earthquakes in mind
- areas vulnerable already had high sea walls, evacuation shelters and routes
- early warning system detected earthquake 1 minute before it was felt in Japan
- japans government responded immediately: within 24 hours 110,000 defence troops had been mobilised

Question 9

Haiti earthquake 2010 PAR model

Answer 9

root causes
- Haiti was heavily in debt to US, German and French banks. The Haitian government had to use much of its little available money for debt repayments, rather than improving the country’s infrastructure.
- There was extensive corruption within Haiti’s government.
- 80% of the population lived below the poverty line, on less than US$2 a day.
- 30-40% of the government budget came from foreign aid.
Dynamic pressures
There was a lack of:
- urban planning to control where and how buildings were constructed, and where people lived
- disaster preparedness and management systems
- effective education systems
- disaster management systems.
Macro forces. There was:
- rapid urbanisation, which resulted in vulnerable, slum-like housing
- a high population density (in the capital, Port-au-Prince, it was 306 people per square kilometre)
- significant deforestation and soil degradation, as a result of creating large sugar plantations, which increased the risk of earthquake-related landslides.
Unsafe conditions
- The soft soil, on which many of Haiti’s buildings were constructed, amplified the seismic waves - increasing ground shaking and damage.
- A lot of illegal housing was built in unsafe areas, such as hillsides.
- A low GDP per capita of US$1300 meant that buildings were constructed cheaply and quickly, which often resulted in poor-quality and vulnerable structures.
- Poor infrastructure limited access to people in need and made reaching them more expensive.
- Before the earthquake, only 39% of Haitians had access to safe water and 24% to sanitation.