Tectonic Processes Case Studies

• January earthquake in an upper middle income country
• Magnitue 6.6
• 26,000 killed

Reasons for high impact:

1. Shallow earthquake: hypocentre depth of 7km

2. Time: occured at 5:30am

3. Intensity of shaking: very high, directly under city

4. Building vulnerability: high, many over 2400 years old with very heavy roofs, recent constructuion of poor quality with no building code

5. Hospitals destroyed: all 3 main ones, 20% of health professionals killed

6. Emergy services infrastructure destroyed: made search and rescue difficult

7. Cold winter temperatures: many trapped victims died of hypothermia

• Nepal is a developing country
• Population of 26.5 million
• Magnitude 7.8 earthquake
• 9,000 died
• Over 22,000 injured
• Half a million houses collapsed

Reasons for disaster:

1. Multiple Hazard Zone: exposed to landslides, debris, floods and earthquakes

2. Low levels of development: local earthquake science out of date

3. High population density: Kathmandu Valley has a population of 2.5 million, growing by 4% a year

4. Vulnerable population: poor and socially excluded groups unable to absorb shocks, people build their own houses due to poverty without following the building code

• Canterbury region of NZ's South Island experienced series of major earthquakes
• Caused destruction of Chrsitchurch
• Considerable amount of deaths
• Cantebury economy was resilient afterwards

This is because:

1. Disruption in industry was short lived: regions manufacturing hub escaped significant damage

2. Agricultural sector largely unaffected

3. Insurance: the NZ$20 billion damage was mostly insured losses

4. Financial markets ignored EQ impacts

5. Business activity resilient: business confidence dropped but recovered quickly

However, the tourism industry experienced a decline of 40%.

Context:

• March 2010
• Ash plume affected much of Europe, spreading as far as Northern Italy
• Grounded flights for several days in Europe
• More than 100,000 air-journeys cancelled
• No deaths

Car manufacturing disruption:

• Nissan plant in Japan had to stop production of the Cube, Murano SUV and Rogue crossover as they ran out of a critical sensor produced in Ireland
• Airfreight disruptions vital as few alternative suppliers

Impacts on the transport of perishable goods:

• Delays in transportation of flowers, fruits and vegetables from African countries such as Kenya, Zambia and Ghana,
• African countries may have lost up to US$65 million.

Context:

• Magnitude 9.0 earthquake in March 2011 caused a tsunami
• Destruction in Fukushima nuclear power station
• Nearly 16,000 dead

LNG prices:

• Japan increased demand for liquified natural gas
• Caused worldwide impact on availability and affordability

Acceptance of nuclear power:

• Loss in worldwide acceptance of nuclear power
• Germany and Italy immediately shutdown some of their plants
• Additional safety measured added
• Escalated capital costs

1. Volcanoes: Very common; Pinatubo, Mount Maton. Frequent and violent; andesitic magma, ash, lahars, pyroclastic flow.

2. Earthquakes: Subduction zone; frequent but vary in depth from shallow to deep.

3. Landslides: Frequent; linked to typhoons and deforestation; often deadly.

4. Cyclones: Very frequent and usually deadly.

5. Floods: A frequent result of typhoons.

6. Drought: Rare, but El Nino does cause these, e.g. 1999 and 2010.

1. Volcanoes: Rarely, part of the Cascades subduction zone which is not really on the coast.

2. Earthquakes: Frequent, within the conservative plate margin that includes the San Andreas and Hayward Faults, usually shallow.

3. Landslides: Frequent; associated with earthquakes, heavy rain, coastal erosion and wildfires.

4. Cyclones: Never occur here.

5. Floods: Rarely; can be associated with El Nino cycles.

6. Droughts: Very common, e.g. 2008-2011 and 2012-2015.

Context:

• 9.0 magnitude quake was located in the Indian Ocean near the west coast of Sumatra
• December 26
• Tsunami travelled at over 800km/h
• 30ft waves

Impacts:

• Death estimates range from 220,000 - 280,000
• Over 2 million homeless
• 13 countries affected, worse Indonesia
• Early Warning Systems have been since set up
• Fishing and coastal industries completely destroyed, crippling the Maldives
• Short-term aid immediately given internationally