Earthquake Case Studies

Preparation:

• Buildings weren't designed to be earthquake proof, to make things worse, there were no local disaster plans in place, should the worst happen.
• Roads were built poorly and there were bad communication lines.

Primary effects:

• Eighty thousand deaths mostly from collapsed buildings and hundreds of thousands of people had injuries.
• Entire villages were destroyed, making around 3 million people homeless.
• Water and electricity supply lines were broken, people had no access to them.

Secondary effects:

• Diseases spread rapidly due to unsanitary conditions and little available clean water.
• Freezing winter conditions and so many people left homeless after the quake caused more casualties, also making rescue and rebuilding efforts very difficult.

Immediate responses:

• Help didn't reach some areas for days or weeks. People were rescued by loved ones without help from the emergency services, also they had no proper equipment for rescues.
• Tents, medical kits and blankets were distributed relatively quickly but not to all areas affected.
• International aid was sent over to help with the efforts to rescue and rebuild.

Long-term responses:

• People were relocated to new, special, purpose-built towns.
• Money from the government was given to victims of the event to rebuild themselves.
• Health centres and new training programs were set up to try and stop a crisis on this scale from happening again.

Preparation:

• Many buildings were earthquake proofed long before the event because of many previous earthquakes that occur frequently in the area.
• Communications networks such as roads were very good.
• An effective early warning system for earthquakes had been set up years before the quake.
• Civilians knew what to do in the event of an actual earthquake.

Primary effects:

• Roads were left almost destroyed because of the collapses of them after the earthquake.
• Some buildings collapsed.
• Many people were injured.
• Overall, over fifteen thousand people were killed.
• A tsunami was caused.

Secondary effects:

• People were left stranded in some places due to floods and building collapses.
• Water couldn't be accessed by some since supply lines had been cut off.
• The earthquake and tsunami combined started the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Responses:

• Rescue centres were set up to keep people safe from the outside and rescue packs were distributed quickly.
• International aid was sent out to help the people of Japan.
• People in the area of Fukushima were evacuated quickly.