Natural Hazard Case Studies

Where - Phillipines

When - June 1991

Why - Destructive Plate Margin

Phillipines and Eurasion plate moving at 6.8 cm a year

Phillipines subducts Eurasion

Pressure built up inside the mantle

Magma forced to rise into magama chamber

Impacts - 200 000 evacuated

1000s homeless - refugee camps -> communal wash rooms -> spread diseases

Loss of crops and animals -> starvation

Solutions - Tiltmeters - predict which way volcano will erupt

Satalites - pinpoint where the eruption will occur

Where - Carribean Sea, Mexico, Honduras

When - Late October 1998

Why - Warm seas, above 26 degrees

Winds blow in, warm air rises(convection), strong winds spiral, winds blow outwards, winds disappear the energy is reduced.

Impacts - 11 000 dead

70% crops lost

tourist industry devastated

Aid

Short - rescue shelters built, restore water and power

Long - Malaria vaccinations, Encourage sustainable farming

Where - Near Kobe, Awaji Island

When - 17th January 1995, 5:46am

Why - destructive plate margin

Euarasion and Phillipines plate move at rate of 6.8 cm a year.

Subduction zone created.

Pressure built up

Plates slipped 18cm horizontally.

Earthquake measure 7.2 on richter scale.

Impacts - 1600 dead

200 000 buildings collapsed

Honshin Highway collapsed

12 trains derailed

Solutions - Purpose built buildings - shock absorbers

Improve prediction methods, more sensitive instruments

Where - Germany Holland France

When - Late January 1995

Why - Too much farming, heavy rainfall, saturated ground

Impacts - 250 000 evacuated, 27 deaths, loss of crops and stock

Solutions - Tile floor instead of carpet, use dykes (mounds of soil)

Where - North Africa, Burkina Faso

When - Between 1970 and 1990

Why - Long term drought, increase in population putting pressure on land, grassland overgrazed.

Impacts - Starvation, increased poverty, Desertification, 250 000 deaths

Solutions - Build dams to collect water, use contour lines, plant quick growing food.