Tectonics

Question 1

What were the physical causes of the Haiti 2010 earthquake?

Answer 1

• Magnitude 7 with shallow focus increasing ground shaking
• Epicentre was very close to port-au-prince (densely populated capital)
• Liquefaction occurred on looser soils

Question 2

What were the human factors of the 2010 Haiti earthquake?

Answer 2

• Developing nation = people are poor with limited resources, 80% lived below the poverty line.
  40% government budget was from aid.
• Low GDP per capita at only $1300
• Government is corrupt so weak infrastructure
• Lack of building regulations = more densely populated slums
• No disaster preparation or education
• Deforestation increased risk of landslides/ liquefaction

Question 3

Impacts of 2010 Haiti earthquake

Answer 3

• 1.3 million were made homeless
• Over 300,000 dead
• The only airport was damaged, so aid was limited
• Key government buildings destroyed
• Outbreak of cholera due to poor sanitation and lack of medical supplies with over 700,000 being affected

Question 4

Recovery from the 2010 Haiti earthquake

Answer 4

• Haitian government only controlled 10% of the aid money - over $1.3bn given in aid but was managed mostly by IGOs due to corruption.
• Improvements in responses - 2013 hurricane had a much better response from the government.

Question 5

What were the physical causes of the 2011 Japan earthquake?

Answer 5

• Magnitude 9 earthquake under Pacific Ocean causing large tsunami that went 10km inland
• Caused by a convergent plate boundary with the Indian oceanic plate sinking beneath the Burma oceanic plate

Question 6

Impacts of 2011 Japan earthquake

Answer 6

• Damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant as it had not been built to withstand a tsunami, forcing almost 500,000 to evacuate
• Under 20,000 deaths
• $240bn economic damage
• No safety procedure for power plant, so by 2013 they shut 44 nuclear reactors

Question 7

What was the human preparation for the 2011 Japan earthquake?

Answer 7

• Well developed with a high GDP per capita at around $39k
• Regular earthquake drills and education
• 75% of buildings able to withstand earthquakes due to strict building regulations
• Areas prone to tsunamis had 10m high walls and evacuation routes/shelters
• Good warning systems and emergency aid kits in homes

Question 8

Response to 2011 Japan earthquake

Answer 8

• +100,000 defence troops sent out immediately

- Accepted rescue and recovery teams from 20 other countries

Question 9

What were the physical causes of the 2008 China earthquake?

Answer 9

• Magnitude 7.9 earthquake struct Sichuan (mountainous region in south west China)
• Triggered landslides

Question 10

Impacts of 2008 China earthquake

Answer 10

• Over 45 million people were affected
• Over 80,000 deaths
• 5 million made homeless
• Over $100bn worth of damage
• Thousands of schools destroyed, killing over 5000 children

Question 11

What were the human factors of the 2008 China earthquake?

Answer 11

• Corrupt government officials ignored building codes and accepted bribes so builders took shortcuts– buildings couldn’t withstand the earthquake
• Located in rural area, so not that densely populated

Question 12

Response to the 2008 China earthquake

Answer 12

• Very good response with large growing economy at GDP per capita of $6600
• Within hours, over 130,000 soldiers sent out to people in rural areas
• People were relocated and medical supplies restored
• Government pledged $10bn to help

Question 13

Recovery from the 2008 China earthquake

Answer 13

• Within 2 weeks temporary infrastructure built
• 2 years on, 97% all restoration was completed
• Over 200 transport projects constructed
• Positive outcome in rebuilding areas

Question 14

The risk of Philippines physical location

Answer 14

• Lies on convergent plate boundary, producing earthquakes and volcanoes
• Is located in the Pacific Ocean so it is prone to tsunamis
• Lies within South East Asia’s major typhoon belts
• Tropical monsoon climate
• Had 47 volcanoes – destructive volcanic eruptions
• Landslides are common due to being mountainous – also high amounts of deforestation

Question 15

Vulnerability of the Philippines

Answer 15

• Rapid urbanisation + high population density
• Much of poor population live in low lying coastal areas
• 25% of the population live in poverty

Question 16

Challenges faced in the Philippines

Answer 16

• Earthquake in 2006 killed 15 people + destroyed 800 buildings, generated local tsunami + triggered landslides
• Loads of hazards at once e.g. 2013 had 3 different hazards in 3 months – earthquake killed +200, typhoon killed +600, floods killed a further 60.

Question 17

Eyjafijallajokull volcano… what happened and impacts on the world?

Answer 17

• Erupted huge quantities of ash into atmosphere in April 2010
• No injuries/ deaths
• People evacuated
• Infrastructure damaged
• Agriculture and crops affected
• Local water supplies contaminated from fluoride in ash
• 100,000 flights cancelled world wide – $2bn lost worldwide in airlines
• 8 day travel ban affecting 10 million passengers
• 20% of Kenyan economy is based on exporting produce to Europe but this was stopped (over $1m of revenue lost per day by farmers)

Question 18

Iceland’s preparation?

Answer 18

• Well prepared as they had good warning and monitoring systems in place
• Well developed