Table physical case studies
- 1. Case study name Boxing day Tsunami Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Mitch Mount Pinatubo Background information > 26 December 2004 > 9 on the Richter scale > Indian Ocean tsunamiaffecting 12 countries > 23rd August 2005–31st August2005 > Acategory 4 storm > Surges reached over 6 metres inheight > New Orleans was one oftheworst affected areas becauseit lies below sea levelandis protected by levees. > One ofthe worst hurricanes to hit central and Northern America > maximumspeed reached 180ph > dropped onaverage75mm ofrainfallon Honduras and Nicaragua > Located inthelateboundary between theEurasian and Filipinoplate. Hydro-meteorological/ Geophysical Hydro-meteorological Hydro-meteorological geophysical Location Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Kenya, India, Somalia, Maldives, Bangladesh,Seychelles,Tanzania, Malaysia New Orleans, Louisiana >Guatemala >Costa Rica > Honduras >Panama >Belize >Nicaragua > El Salvador Philippines, on the island ofLuzon Physical location South Asia and East Africa South-eastern portion ofThe US South America South east Asia Numbers killed or injured 289,601 1,833 > Guatemala -258 > Honduras -6,600 > Nicaragua -2,055 > El Salvador -239 Social and economic impacts. Primary & Secondary Primary >2 million homeless > People sweptaway in the waters, which arrived rapidly with little warning. > Mass graves were dug up due to no of deaths > The uplift ofthe sea floor caused a displacementofbillions oftonnes ofwater settling in motiona tsunamiwave which hit the coast ofIndonesia within halfanhourof the earthquake. > In Sumatra, 500,000 homeless Secondary >80,000 houses destroyed > Diseases such as cholera and dysentery spread due to the lack ofclean water and sanitation in the refugee camps killing an estimated 150,000. > Incomes lostdue to destruction offishing boats Primary >Surges reachedover6 metres in height. > 1 million homeless. > 1,800 peopledrowned. > Damaged 30oilplatforms and9 refineries shut down. This reducedoilproduction by 25% for 6 months. > Most major roads into andoutofthe city damagedas bridges collapsed. > 80% ofthe city ofNew Orleans was flooded. > 30,000survivors wereforced toseekshelter in the Louisiana Superdome (an American football stadium). Secondary >Racial tensions occurred as many ofthe victims wereblack AfricanAmericans. > Many people weretotally traumatised. > $50 billion inaid was given by the government. > The UK governmentsentfood aidduring the early stages oftherecovery process. Primary >In Guatemala, 120 missing, 105,700 affected, 98 bridges Destroyed, 60% ofroads impacted > In Honduras,8,052missing,2,100,000 affected, 170bridges destroyed,70%ofroads impacted > In El Salvador, 135missing, 84,000 affected, 17 bridges destroyed 20% ofroads impacted > In Nicaragua, 1,084missing, 868,000affected, 71 bridges destroyed, 70% ofroads impacted > 2.7 millionhomeless > Jobs in agriculture lost due todestructionof land > People hada lack ofbasic supplies such as food, water,electricity, medicineand sanitation > In Honduras,33,000homes weredestroyed, 50,000 weredamaged and 25 small villages were entirely destroyed Secondary >Contaminatedwater led tomalaria and cholera, killing 34 peopleoutof2,328who caught cholera. > 600,000 peopleforced tolive inmakeshift shelters in Honduras > 20% offarms ruinedin Nicaragua which meant there was less food available > 20% ofpopulationmadehomeless in Nicaragua Primary >800km2 agricultural land destroyedand 800,000livestock and poultry killedcosting 1.5 billion pesos. > 1.2 millionPeoplelost their homes. Secondary >847 peoplekilledby collapsing roofs. > Full economic recovery cost£10billion. > 100 peoplekilled by lahars. > 500 peopledied fromdiseases suchas measles in refugee camps. > Many indigenous Aeta peoplehad to moveinto governmentorganisedresettlement areas because their homes were destroyed. This causedtheAeta societyto becomefragmented.
- 2. Environmental impacts > Crops destroyed > Farmland ruinedbysalt water > 8 million litres of oil escapedfromoil plants in Indonesia > Mangrove forests alongthe coast were destroyed > The storm surgeflooded largeareas ofthe coast > 80% ofNew Orleans floodedas man-made levees formed > Cotton and sugar cane crops destroyed > Delicatecoastalhabitats weredestroyed > Tornadoes werecreated > Heavyrainfall, some areas receivedas much as 18 inches inone day. > Rivers overflowedcausing flooding. > Flooding causedseveral mudslides which wipedout several villages. > Winds reached 180 mph. > Trees were brought downmaking mountainsides bare. > Farm land wasdestroyedwhichaffected 29% of Honduras’ arable land. > 70% of Honduras’ crops were destroyed byflooding. Primary >Ash cloud covered 125,000km3 bringing darkness tocentral Luzon. > Volcanicashsmothered80,000hectares ofland. > 150k2ofreforestation projects destroyed. Secondary Primary responses > Bodies wereburied inmass graves to prevent thespread ofdiseases. > Over $7 billion was providedby governments and NGOs to helpprovideaid and reconstruct the areas affected > 5 million peoplerelocated into temporary refugee camps and hadto beprovidedwith shelter, foodand water. > Many were evacuated, although the process was slowand thepoorest and most vulnerable were left behind. > The NicaraguanDefence minister organised deliveryoffood and medicalsupplies to worst- hit areas > Army construction teams sentto repair roads and replace destroyed bridges > The US put a multi-million dollar aid package > Mexico donated700 tons of food, 11tons of medicine,4 rescueplanes and trained search dogs > The Honduran governmentdonatedfood, clean water andmedical services > Manila airport closed > 200,000 peoplerelocated > Red Cross, actionAid and Oxfam helped toprovide necessities suchas food andblankets Secondary responses > The Indonesian government decidedto relocate the peoplefromtherefugeecamps straightinto new homes.The building of these new homes took longer than expected due tothelack ofresources. > Atsunamiearly warning system has now been installed intheIndian Ocean at a cost of$200 million. > $50 billion inaid was given by the government > The UK governmentsentfood aidduring the early stages oftherecovery process. > The Nationalguard was mobilisedto restore and maintainlaw and order inwhat became a hostileand unsafeliving environment. > Countries from around the world donated a total of$46.3billion > US administrationdonatedonly $2million which was a shock toany. Later on, itwas increased to$70million. Themoney was used in the long run to help theeconomy recover andso that houses could berebuiltto withstand other hurricanes. > On the 5th ofNovember,PresidentClinton announced a $70 million US government assistancepackagefor CentralAmerica > President Ramos createdtheMount Pinatubo Commission toraise 10 billion Filipino pesos in aid > New houses have been built on stilts so futurelahars will no bury them > Norway andUK sentmillions in aid Solutions n/a
- 3. Preparation, prediction and prevention > The govt. of Honduras evacuatedsomeofthe 45,000 citizens on theBay Islands. > The governmentofBelize issueda purple alert and asked for citizens onoffshoreislands to leave for themainland. > Once the hurricane landed, numerous people were evacuatedalong thewesternCaribbean coastline.
- 4. Case study name Loma Prieta - San Francisco Venezuelan mudslide Boscastle Background information > 6.9 on Richterscale > Shook city for 15seconds > Transform boundary > Where theNorth American andpacific plate meet > Total economicdamageofaround$10billion > Epicentrewas located intheSanta Cruz Mountains 60miles southofSan Francisco > Heavy rain fell in December1999along the north-central coastofVenezuela. > Around 8pm, onthe15th ofDecember,runoff enteredchannels and rushedtowards thesea, picking up and depositing sediments onits way. > After the firstwave offlooding, fromthecoast to just pastthecrest oftheSierra deAvila,these rains triggeredthousands ofshallowlandslides that strippedsoilandrock offofthe landscape and sentthem slipping downthemountainside. > Asmall north Cornish town popular with tourists. > Approx. 800permanentresidents but more due to tourism > Hit by catastrophicfloods o 16th August 2004. Hydro-meteorological/ Geophysical Geophysical Geophysical Geophysical Location San Francisco Venezuela Boscastle, Cornwall Physical location West Coast ofthe United States South America Southwestern peninsula ofEngland Numbers killed or injured 67 dead 10,000-50,000 (unknown as most people were buried under mud or swept to sea) Zero Social and economic impacts. Primary & Secondary Primary >3,000 injured > Aftershocks continued to hit San Francisco and Oakland over the next36hours > 59 watermains burst > 10,000homeless > The Nimitz highway, andCypress structure and sections ofthe Bay Bridgecollapseddueto structuralfailure Secondary >$10 billion damage > 42 died inOakland,60 miles fromepicentre Primary > Rains triggered mudslides, landslides and flash floods > 150,000 madehomeless in Vargas andMiranda > Bridges,roads, factories, crops, telecommunications andthetourismindustry were destroyed. > The internationalairport inCaracas was closed > Containers at the seaportofMaiqueita were damaged. Hazardous material leaked outofthe containers.The economic damage was estimated $3 billion. Secondary The mudslides altered more than 60kmofthe coastlineinVargas. > Public services likewater, electricity,phone lines and land transportationcompletely disappeared in someplaces. > There wereno supplies offood andwater for months, so mostofthe populationhad to be evacuated. Primary > 2 million tonnes ofwaterflowed through Boscastle,affecting homes andbusinesses. > 6 properties completely destroyedby debris. > People trappedin buildings were forcedto seek refugeon theroofs ofbuildings. > Properties destroyed by debris. > Roads wereblocked offby theflood water making emergency access difficult. > People left homeless for thenight so emergency accommodation was needed. > Sewage drain had burst Secondary > Possessions damagedor lostby floodwater. > Damageaffected the insurancecompanies, insuranceis nowcostlier. > Boscastle’s mainindustryis tourism which had massive loss in revenue. > 90% ofBoscastle’s economy was dependant on tourism > Illnesses & diseases spread. > Environmentaldamageto local wildlife habitats. Environmental impacts Primary >Fractured gas pipes causedfires > 1.5km stretch ofthe two-tierhighway in nearby Oaklandcollapsed > Skyscrapers swayed 3mSecondary >The Santa North Cornwallreceived a higherthan average August rainfall,with Boscastlereceiving 25% more rainthan expected. > The 16th had high localised temperatures and moist winds from the sea,which whencombined
- 5. Cruz Mountains moved 6ftnorthwards along a 25 mile section ofthefault with the effects oflocal reliefcreateda quick uplift ofmoist, warmair. Primary responses > Fire crews used heavy lifting equipmentto rescue peoplewhowere trapped ontheCyprus freeway > Fire crews had topump water out ofthebay to put out fires as water mains had burst > National Guard patrolled the streets tohelp prevent looting > More than 100,000survivors evacuated > Chavez refused the helpoftheUS soldiers in handling theemergency situation > Other peopleoffered help, including Major League BaseballshortstopOmar Vizquel, a native Venezuelan who helpedraiseover$500,000 in relieffunds. > As a result ofthese landslide a planto rebuild 40,000 homes was createdfor Vargas > Tourist destination in Macuto and CamuriChico were also rebuilt, but towns such as Carmende Uria were not,andinsteadcreated into parks and bathing resorts. > These improvements reduced thenumber of fatalities to 14in the next2005mudslides in the region. > Aflood warning was issued for parts of Cornwallat3:30pm butBoscastlewasn’t specifically warned. > Just a few hours after theflood, a search and rescue operation was underway which lasted until 2:30am the nextday. > Over 150 people saved by search &rescue operations. > 11 days after, peoplewereallowed to return home to rescue their belongings. > Prince Charles visitedthetown 2 days after the flood and donateda large sumofmoney to the town. > The localchurchandsports hallwas used as shelters. > Afew days after theflood, geologists flewover the area to assess therisk oflandslides triggered by the heavyrain. > The night after the disaster, 100 peopleused the Camelfordleisure centreas a refuge. Secondary responses > People stayed at homeand isolated themselves > TV was the mainmeans ofcommunicating with the outsideworld > April 18 eachyear the cityhas practice earthquakedrills, gas andelectricity automatically turn off, flexibleelectricity cables. > By 2006, thestatewas back to its pre-disaster populationlevel, andprojects wereslowly being carriedout torebuilddamagedinfrastructure > Nine years after theevent, thousands still remained homeless. > The values ofthereal estatehomes in zones untouched by thefloods declinedby as muchas 70% due to thedestruction ofinfrastructure. Solutions n/a n/a Preparation, prediction and prevention > The quake was predicted n/a Prevention > In 2005, a new£800,000flooddefencescheme opened in Boscastle which includes a new,larger culvert on the river Jordanwhich willbeableto carry double theamount offloodwater. > In August 2006,constructionstarted onthe river Valency flooddefence scheme. The river has beenwidened and deepened to increaseits capacity. > Flood defenceworks together with the regenerationscheme. It cost £10 million andwas officiallyopened inOctober 2008.