Restless Earth Case studies

Uses of Andes:

• Farming
• Mining
• Hydroelectric
• Tourism 

Farming:

• Best land at valley floors
• valley floor-indenious system of terraces used to bring land into food production
• flat terraces hold up water in region so crops can grow
• llama's used to transport good 

Mining:

• has large deposits of coal, oilm natual gas, iron ore, gold, silver, tin, copper etc. 
• Yanacocha gold mine in Peru-largest gold mine in world
• town nearby grown to 240,000 people from 30,000

Hydroelectric:

• deep valleys give Andes huge potential to produce hydroelectric power
• cuts costs from narrow valleys
• steep relief increase water velocities 
• Yuncan dam 

Tourism:

• take part in Amazon Basin 
• Inca trial- 43km of old pathways used by the Inca's, leading to old settlements 
• best known World Heritage sites

In Africa, 17th of January 2002

Primary effects:

• lava spilled southwards in three streams-up to 60kph
• lava destoryed many homes 
• destroyed water pipes
• set off explosions in gas stations and power supplies
• killed 45 people 
• lava poured over Goma airport

Secondary effects:

• half a million people fled to Rwanda (neighbouring country)
• spent nights sleeping on streets
• city of Rwanda not suited for such large influx-suffered hugely
• looting occured more so people made to go back within weeks 
• diseases like cholera came about
• aid agencies distributed food, medicine and blankets

18th May 1980

Primary effects:

• largest landslide ever at 5.1 magnitude
• sideways explosion caused pulverised rock, glacier ice and ash
• pyroclastic flow wiped out everything up to 27km 
• trees uprooted
• 57 people died
• ash clogged up air conditioing systems
• roads blocked off

Immediate responses:

• told to evacuate 
• scientists made 8km exclusion zone around crater
• mobilised helicopters helped search and rescue people 

Long term responses:

• roads and buildings needed repair
• drainage of city needed to be looked at to make sure no contamination 
• forests burnt so had to be replanted
• roads needed repairing to allow tourists back
• roads cleared after 3 days

Positive effects:

• ash enabled soil to become fertile for farming
• small traces of scenergy returned within 10 years
• eurption attracted lots of tourists to come see what happened 
• made a natonal monument in 1982 
• $1.4 million invested into area 
• 3 million people visit park every year

8th October 2005

• In Pakistan at 8:50am
• 7.8 on Richter scale
• Epicentre-50 miles from Islamabad
• 70% of Balakot either died or injured
• 10,000 dead
• 800 pupils killed as roof of school collapsed
• 79,000 killed

Cause

sudden movement of desturctive plate margin between Indian and Eurasion plate

Primary effects:

• buildings + bridges collapsed
• Balakot saw 80% of of town destroyed 
  
• poor building design supporting concrete roofs collapsed

Primary effects continued:

• 79,000 killed
• landslides and cracks appeared in grounds

Secondary effects:

• collapsed buildings and roads blocked off landslides meant rescue teams couldn't get to those needing rescuing
• landslides in mountains blocked roads
• broken sewage pipes contaminated water supplies and spread disease
• people died by cold from winter

Immediate responses:

• thousands made homeless
• thousands made to live in tents
• overseas help took 7 days
• United States sent helicopters to help rescue effort with army and emergency services

Long term responses:

• towns rebuilt using same flawed design
• schools and hospitals rebuilt
• building regulations improved to reduce damage and death rate in future

Why so much damage?

• no machines to dig people out
• earth moved quickly so no time to prepare
• poor building design
• LEDC country-no money to improve buildings or have earthquake predictors 

17th January 1995

At 5:46 am with 7.3 magnitude for 20 seconds

Injured 40,000 people and killed 6,434

Primary effects:

• wreaked havoc on infrasturcture
• gas mains erupted and water pipes fractured
• roads collapsed and railway lines buckled, derailing trains
• two million left with electricity 
• 1 million left without water for 10 days
• fire service not prepared and had lack of water to put fires out

Secondary effects:

• fires engulfed city and homes made of wood so increased devestation
• liquefaction occured and buildings collapsed with damage costing $220 billion

Immediate responses:

• friends and neighbours helped search rubble for lost and surviors 
• emergency services arrived to help keep out fires
• hopsitals cared for people in corridors
• major communication retailers provided telephone calls free of charge

Long term responses:

• railways were 80% operational in a month
• roads only fully usable in July 
• new code for building design put in place to prevent future scale with buildings made to be further apart with flexible steel frames and rubber blocks under bridges to absorb shock
• Oriental Hotle survived because of safety requirements 
• fire service better equiped to help prepare next time
• counselling put in place to help with post-traumatic stress disorder

Why so much damage?

Builings built to 1960 code so didn't prevent damage, and reclaiming land made liquidation with fire service being unprepared

26th December 2004-9.5 on Richter Scale

Wave height of 2-3 metres and wavelengths of 500km

Lifted up 65ft of the seafloor in seconds of earthquake

Caused by an underwater earthquake with the epicentre off the coast of Sumatra, Idonesia and was the most destructive natural disaster which has ever occured. 

Reached speeds of up to 800kph and crests of waves reached 200m apart.

Primary effects:

• 1,500 settlements destroyed 
• 220,000 people killed
• waves reach 25m in height
• Deaths reported in Andaman, Nicobar Islands and in India 
• 650,00 injured 
• spread up to 1 mile inland
• Banda Bohe was totally destroyed with Thailand people dragged out to sea 

Secondary effects:

• 2 million people displaced
• Part of capital Colombo in Sri Lanka was shut by flash floods
• Easter coasts swamped by tidal waves
• Western coast of Southern Thailand badly affected
• High waves and flood indunated islands in Maldives
• Two-thirds of Male was underwater in Maldives
• Eastern and Southern coastline devestated by massive waves in Sri Lanka 

Immediate response:

• International community responded with aid of fresh water, water purification tablets, food, sheeting and tents
• Medical teams and forensics arrived
• UK government promisd £75 million
• £100 million worth of donations brought in

Longterm responses:

• Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System setup in June 2006 
• £40 million spent on Sri Lanka and Indonesia-setting up rebuilding efforts
• Plans for further £190 million to build 20,000 homes for 100,000 homeless

Why so many killed?

• No warning sysetm put in place before
• So many were unprepared because happened so quickly