Tectonic Case Studies

The earthquake in 1999 caused a lot of problems, althought the epi centre was closer to Adapazari Izmit shockwaves went as far as Bolu.

Effects

• Hundreds of aftershocks
• Death rate of 2000 on the night alone
• People found themselves trapped under collapsed buildings as they were poorly built and old
• Roads and bridges were destroyed
• Powerlines were cut across the larger areas of Turkey
• Fire broke out in the Izmit oil refinery which caused economic loss

Responces

• Reserve workers teared through rubble with their bare hands
• People pulled bodies out of collapsed buildings
• Massive rescue effort, recovery teams were overwhelmed
• Specialist teams moved into worst areas with hi - tec equipment and sniffer dogs
• Makeshift hospitals set up among the ruin

Magnitude of aftershock - 5.4

Effects

• 432 death toll
• 1,352 were injured in the disaster
• Buildings were converted to rubble
• Epi - Centre of the aftershock in Degirmenozu
• Prisoners set fitre to a jail and fought jail guards

Responces

• Preganant woman with two children pulled out of rubble among others
• Rescure teams with sniffer dogs searched through rubble
• Crans lifted concrete
• Residents digged with shovels
• 12,000 tents were delivered by Turkish officals

Date: 12th May 2008

Magnitude: 7.9

Sichuan south east of China - boundary between the Indian plate and the Eurasian plate.

Effects

• Death toll approx 69,000
• 18,000 missing
• 374,000 injured
• Landslides blocked rivers leading to fears of flooding.

Responces

• Army forces and volunteers searched for survivers but access was difficult
• Chinese prime minister released posters asking for volunteers
• 20 helicopters assigned to rescue an relief
• Chinese government pledged a $10 million rebuilding fund and banks wrote off debts by survivors.

Date: 11th March 2011

Short term effects

• 4000 roads, 78 roads and 29 railways destroyed
• Fukushima nuclear plant was damaged - Radio active cloud escaped from the powerplant after the waves
• 66 foot dock was ripped loose by the waves

Long Term Effects

• Tomioka community of 16,000, empty after nuclear disaster
• More then 330,000 still living in temp accomadation I year later
• Killed almost 16,000 people

Short Term Responces

• Shelterboxes used to provide emergency assistance in badly effected areas
• Shelterboxes made a make shhift evacuation centre in a school gymnasium
• Relief organisations provided food and shelter
• Kamaishi's temple soon became a refugee centre

Long Term Responces

• The Tohoko kids project provided crises counselling support
• They also worked directly with affected orphanages
• In Kamaishi their is a daily radio broadcast to keep spirts high.

Nyirangongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo is situated in a chain of volcanos called the African Rift Valley formed on a constructive plate boundary.

Short Term Effects

• Lava flowed across goma airports runway
• Warnings had bee given and 400,000 people were evacuated from the city across the Rwanda border and neighbouring Giseryi during the eruption.
• Lava flowed through the city of Goma which is 10km away from the vocano and has an population of 1 million.

Long Term Effects

• Goma town was split in half by the lava flow. 15m cubic yards of lava flowed through Goma
• Roughly 147 people died in the eruption from asphyxiation due to the lava and earthquakes
• At least 15% of Goma comprising 4,500 buildings were destoyed, leaving about 120,000 people homeless.

Short term responces

• Refugee camps were set up in Rwanda
• UNICEF co ordinated the responce to the eruptopn, aid was flown into Rwansa and then transported by the trucks to Goma
• Food aid was given out by the world food programme freely so everyone had access to it.

Long Term Responces

• Water had to be supplied to the area in tankers
• Church and school buildings re paired and opened again.

A fissure eruption on the 15th April 2012, also a sub - glacial volcano. Iceland is located on the Mid - Atlantic Ridge on tectonic plates - on a constructive boundary, the eruption occured under a glacier, the water cooled the lava this quickly lead to a massive gas stream and particle clouds.

Short Term Effects

• 150m thick ice cap melted
• Airspace closed across much of Europe since Thursday lunchtime. At least 17,000 flights a day were cancelled
• 20 farms destoyed
• Destroyed parts of main route 1 road

Long Term Effects

• Cost to airline industry estimated to be $2 billion
• Fruit and veg imports into UK stopped - economic impact on the growers
• 6 days of no flights - 95,000 wer cancelled.

Responces

• 20 Farm families were evacuated
• Fine volcanic ash silted up the rivers, habours closed and bridges were in danger of being damaged
• Rivers were still blocked 1 year later, the government has had too pay to dredge them to allow rivers to flood amd create new paths

Management of the hazard

• Iceland is a MEDC and very experienced with volcanic eruptions
• Wide range of high tec equipment and computer models to monitor seismic activities and predict eruptions
• Warning systems - sends texts to all residents with 30min warning
• Well prepeared emergency services