LEDC Volcano Case Study: Montserrat

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  • LEDC Volcano Case Study: Montserrat
    • Background
      • British colony in the Caribbean.
      • Capital city: Plymouth
      • The capital city and most of the infrastructure is located in the south of the island.
      • Located on a destructive plate boundary (North American and Caribbean plates)
    • Responses
      • Montserrat police force were sent in to try and find survivors. (Local)
      • An exclusion zone was set up around the volcano. (Local)
      • Dutch and French helicopters were sent in along with the British navy to assist the Emergency Support Unit. (International)
      • 1996- set up the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) to monitor volcanic activity. (Local)
      • Helicopters could only reach the East side of the island due to ash in the air creating problems with reaching survivors.
      • £41 million in financial aid was provided, every adult was offered £2,600 compensation. People felt it wasn't enough which caused riots (International)
      • Red cross provided water, food and shelter.
      • An emergency jetty was built in the North to allow sea access.
      • World Society for the protection of Animals brought food and medicine for animals.
      • A risk map was created and is continually updated. It's split into 3 sections: exclusion zone, central zone, Northern zone.
      • Services in the North gradually expanded.
      • New roads and airport were built.
      • New houses and hospital (costing £56 million) were built.
      • Mortgage schemes were introduced to encourage enterprise and to rebuild the economy.
      • The island used to be self-sufficient, but became dependent on food aid.
    • Events
      • 1995- Chances peak began giving off warning signals (small earthquakes and eruptions of dust/ash).
      • Evacuations began from South to North, but it was a slow process.
      • 25th June 1997- The peak erupted.
      • Volcanic bombs were hurled. e.g. in Bethel, rocks of 5 metres in size landed.
      • Ash covered 2/3 of the island.
      • The dome collapsed resulting in 5 million cubic metres of ash and dust (pyroclastic flows in several directions) enveloping the surrounding area.
    • Effects
      • 75% of agricultural land was destroyed. (EC)
      • The seaport and airport were covered in ash causing them to shut down. (EC)
      • 60% of all housing was destroyed. (S) (EC)
      • Water supplies were contaminated. (S) (EC)
      • Marine life was destroyed because the sea was poisoned by ash. (EN)
      • Air traffic in the Caribbean was largely disrupted. (S) (EC) (EN)
      • Many people suffered from severe burns from standing on ash deposits of only 1-2cm. (S)
      • 19 people died, primarily people who lived near the volcano. (D)
      • 8000 refugees left the island and didn't return. (S) (D)
      • Tourism massively affected, unemployment rose from 7% to 80%. (EC) (S) (D)
      • 100-150 houses completely destroyed. (EC) (S) (D)
      • Population fell from 12,000 to 5,000. (D)
      • Loss of income from industries, lower standard of living conditions and quality of life. (EC) (S)
      • People flocked to the North, shelters became overcrowded. (S)
      • Little infrastructure left untouched in the South to help provide emergency access for people. (S)
      • The volcano became famous, gradually boosted tourism (popular with cruise ships). (EC) (S)

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