Natural Disasters

Nota:

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/natural_hazards/

1. Tectonic
   1. Earthquakes
      1. Caused by tension between tectonic plates suddenly releasing
         1. THE FOCUS is the exact point where the earthquake occurs, where the energy is released between plates
         2. THE EPICENTRE is the point directly above the FOCUS which is usually the area most affected
         3. SEISMIC WAVES are waves of kinetic energy released from the FOCUS that cause destruction.
            1. Measured with SEISMOGRAPHS
         4. AFTERSHOCKS occur as smaller releases of energy following a bigger earthquake, they can still cause severe damage.
      2. Measured on the RICHTER SCALE
         1. Severity is rated on a scale of 1 to 10
            1. Each scale is ten times more in MAGNITUDE that the previous
      3. CASE STUDIES
         1. JAPAN 2011
            1. Occured on Friday the 11th of March 2011
            2. MAGNITUDE 9.0 on the RICHTER SCALE
            3. 15,893 deaths
            4. PRIMARY EFFECTS
               1. Infrastructure damaged
                  1. Buildings damaged and burning
                  2. Trains damaged
               2. Oil refinery caught fire
               3. Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster
                  1. Partial core meltdown
                  2. Explosion damage
                  3. Reactors overheating
                  4. Second biggest nuclear disaster after Chernobyl
               4. Over 15,000 dead
               5. Over 6,000 injured
            5. SECONDARY EFFECTS
               1. Tsunami
                  1. Devastated the coast
                     1. Infrastructure severely damaged
                        1. Economic damage
                     2. Towns destroyed
                        2. People homeless
                  2. 10 metres high
                  3. Killed many people
                  4. Affected all of the Pacific Rim
               2. Power cut off
               3. Dirty water
                  1. Diseases spread
                     1. Strain on already overwhelmed hospitals
               4. Aftershocks
               5. £189 billion to recover
            6. MEDC
            7. Japan used to earthquakes
            8. RESPONSES
               1. Citizens calm
                  1. Used to earthquakes
                  2. Mobile device warning system
               2. $1.1 million raised
               3. Emergency services acted quickly
               4. Everyone was efficient
               5. Reserve energy used
         2. HAITI 2010

            Nota:

            • https://handygeography.wordpress.com/gcse/the-restless-earth-revision-materials/earthquake-case-study-haiti-poor/
            1. Facts & Statistics
               1. MAGNITUDE 7.0
               2. Occurred on January 12th 2010
               3. Estimated 160,000 dead
               4. Epicentre near Port-au-Prince
                  1. Capital city
               5. Haiti poorest country in the Western Hemisphere
               6. £9 billion cost
            2. LEDC
            3. PRIMARY EFFECTS
               1. Landmarks destroyed
                  1. Tourism affected
               2. 160,000 dead
               3. 3 million people affected
               4. 280,000 buildings damaged
               5. Infrastructure damaged
                  1. Transport links
                  2. Communication
                  3. Hospitals and schools
                  4. Prison
                     1. 50,000 inmates escaped
            4. SECONDARY EFFECTS
               1. 20% of people lost their job
                  1. Economy damaged
               2. Dead bodies everywhere
                  1. Disease
                     1. Cholera
               3. Poor management lead to many people without aid
                  1. Violence
                     1. Crime
               4. Thousands of people displaced from homes
                  1. Homelessness
                  2. Shanty towns
                  3. Can't afford new homes
            5. REPONSES
               1. Charity
                  1. "Hats for Haiti"
                  2. $3.5 billion raised
               2. $430 million donated from the EU and USA
               3. 4.3 people provided with food rations within weeks
               4. Poor management
               5. Temporary schools
            6. Causes
               1. North American Plate sliding past the Caribbean Plate at a conservative plate boundary
   2. Volcanoes
      1. Formed when MAGMA reaches the Earth's surface
         1. Usually over tectonic plate boundaries
            1. Mid-Atlantic ridge
      2. CASE STUDIES
         1. NEVADA DEL RUIZ 1985

            Nota:

            • http://www.slideshare.net/Ruth1618/nevado-del-ruiz-case-study http://www.slideshare.net/thepack001/nevado-del-ruiz-volcano-case-study
            1. LEDC
               1. Aid and support inefficient
            2. Erupted on the 13th of November 1985
            3. Columbia, South America
            4. Lies within the Pacific rim of fire
            5. Causes
               1. Ice cap melted, creating LAHARS
               2. Build up of pressure in the magma chamber after 100 years of inactivity
               3. The town of Armero was completely buried in ash
               4. Towns affected were originally built in valleys
                  1. Pyroclastic flows and lahars easily flowed through
            6. On top of a destructive plate boundary between the South American and Nazca plate
            7. 20,000 dead
            8. PRIMARY EFFECTS
               1. Infrastructure damaged
                  1. Schools
                  2. Hospitals
               2. Lahars kills 70% of Armero's population
               3. People died from toxic gases
            9. SECONDARY EFFECTS
               1. Area isolated
                  1. Aid inaccessible
               2. Lack of clean water
                  1. Disease spreading
               3. Land more fertile
               4. 8,000 made homeless
            10. Cost $7.7 billion in damage
                1. That was 20% of Columbia's GDP
            11. RESPONSES
                1. Columbian Red Cross provided aid
                2. Military provided helicoptors
                3. Vaccines to prevent illness were distributed
                4. Foreign aid works sent in
                   1. Doctors from Japan
                5. Supplies from France and the USA sent in
                6. Worldwide television broadcasted the story of Omayra Sanchez
                   1. A girl who's legs were trapped in mud and died after three days of agony
                   2. Met with a lot of sympathy
         2. MT ETNA 2002
            1. Location and Background
               1. Mt. Etna is already a famously active volcano
               2. Located on the isle of Sicily, off the coast of Italy
                  1. MEDC
               3. Residents within the range of the volcano are well aware of the risks and are well prepared
                  1. Still devastating
               4. Erupted violently during the months of December and November in 2002
               5. Situated on top of a collision boundary between the Euroasian plate and the African plate
            2. PRIMARY EFFECTS
               1. Over 100 homes were damaged or destroyed
               2. Air filled with toxic chemicals that can be harmful for humans and animals
                  1. Wildlife destroyed
               3. Infrastructure damaged
                  1. Tourism disrupted
                     1. Economy impacted
                  2. Farming disrupted
                     1. Economy impacted
                  3. Transport links destroyed
               4. 77 confirmed deaths
            3. Secondary Impacts
               1. Ash cloud disrupted air travel
                  1. Tourists stranded
               2. Economy impacted due to affect on farming and tourism
                  1. Food prices rose
               3. Schools closed
               4. Two-wheeled vehicles banned for safety reasons
               5. Damaged infrastructure unable to function
               6. Soil more fertile from the dried mineral-rich lava rock
               7. Homes destroyed meant people were displaced
            4. RESPONSES
               1. Short term
                  1. Sicily declared in a state of emergency by the government
                  2. Relief aid sent to affected areas
                  3. Barriers were build by the army to divert lava away from buildings
                  4. Aid was efficient and affected areas quickly recovered
                     1. Sicily used to eruptions
               2. Long term
                  1. Tax allowances given to local business owners to help with financial recovery
                  2. Damaged buildings were rebuilts
                  3. Scientists pledged to improve Mt. Etna's monitoring
                  4. An emergency evacuation plan was made
      3. Occur at DESTRUCTIVE and CONSTRUCTIVE plate boundaries
      4. MAGMA is molten rock beneath the Earth's surface
         1. Becomes LAVA when it reaches the Earth's surface
            1. It then dries to form mineral-rich rock
      5. Cone shaped
         1. SHIELD volcanoes
            1. Formed when the magma rising is very runny and can travel further before drying
               1. Eruptions are more frequent but gentle
            2. CONSTRUCTIVE or TENSIONAL BOUNDARIES
         2. COMPOSITE volcanoes
            1. Formed where the MAGMA rising is more viscous and moves less before drying
               1. Eruptions infrequent but more destructive
            2. Found at CONSTRUCTIVE or COMPRESSIONAL boundaries
            3. Produces pyroclastic flows
      6. Can be underwater
         1. Island formations
      7. Types of volcano
         1. Active
            1. Still erupts frequently
         2. Dormant
            1. Temporarily inactive
            2. Not yet extinct
         3. Extinct
            1. Inactive for a very long time
            2. Unlikely to erupt again
      8. Composed of several parts
         1. Secondary vent
            1. Smaller holes where magma escapes
         2. Main vent
            1. Main outlet that magma escapes from
         3. Magma chamber
            1. The collection of magma below the volcano building up
            2. Eruption occurs when pressure builds up here and explodes out the vents
         4. Crater
            1. Created when an eruption blows of the tip of the volcano
      9. SUPERVOLCANOES are very large volcanoes with massive destructive power
         1. Erupts at least 1,000km3 of material
         2. Forms a CALDERA
            1. A depression in land as opposed to a cone shape
         3. Erupts very infrequently, hundreds of thousands of years apart
         4. Yellowstone is a supervolcano
2. Climatic
   1. Hurricanes

      Nota:

      • http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/geography/physical_processes/weather_climate/revision/9/
      1. CASE STUDIES
         1. Cyclone Nargis
            1. Primary impacts
               1. 140,000 dead
               2. 2.4 million affected
               3. Infrastructure destroyed
                  1. Transport links swept away
                  2. No power
               4. 2 million homeless
               5. Buildings destroyed
            2. Secondary impacts
               1. Mosquitoes thriving
               2. Disease
               3. Poverty
               4. Area isolated
               5. Food prices rise
               6. Crop failure
            3. Responses
               1. Myanmar government suspicious of aid
                  1. Did not welcome aid
                  2. A lot of deaths could of been prevented
                  3. Faced a lot of criticism
               2. Aid not well distributed
                  1. Volunteers harassed and abused
               3. Government didn't have enough money
               4. Globally, help was offered but denied by the government
                  1. Aid workers and media not allowed in
               5. Charities raised money, but the Myanmar government didn't want it
            4. Causes
               1. Myanmar has destroyed 80% of its mangrove coasts
                  1. Impacts worse
               2. Built up in the Indian ocean before hitting Myanmar in April and May of 2008
               3. Country devastated
            5. May 2008
            6. Myanmar
               1. South-East Asia
            7. Category 4
            8. 140,000 dead
            9. $10 billion cost
            10. LEDC
         2. Hurricane Katrina

            Nota:

            • http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/geography/physical_processes/weather_climate/revision/10/
            1. Primary impacts
               1. Communication broken
               2. No clean water
               3. Infrastructure destroyed
               4. 1464 dead
               5. 1.7 million without electricity
               6. Homes destroyed
            2. Secondary impacts
               1. Dirty water spread disease
               2. Dead bodies health risk
               3. $10.5 billion cost
               4. Job loss
               5. Emotional trauma
               6. Businesses severely impacted
               7. Agriculture destroyed
               8. Tourism decreased
               9. Wildlife habitats destroyed
            3. Causes
               1. Many US states affected, mostly Lousianna
               2. New Orleans devastated
                  1. Loss of tourism
                  2. Businesses disrupted
                  3. Buildings destroyed
               3. Many people jobless and/or homeless
               4. Nationwide distress
            4. Responses
               1. Government aid was slow
                  1. Accused of being racially driven
                  2. Violence over aid
               2. Charities raised a lot of money
               3. Lousiana still affected now
            5. 1464 dead
            6. First hit 29th of August 2005
            7. South-East USA
               1. Lousianna
      2. Also known as cyclones and typhoons
         1. Cyclones in the Indian ocean
         2. Typhoons in the Pacific ocean
         3. Hurricanes in the Atlantic ocean
      3. Formation
         1. Must be around the equator
            1. Within 5° and 30° lattitude
         2. Water from 26°C to 28°C
         3. Winds above 74mph to be classified as a catergory 1 hurricane
      4. Heavy rainfall, strong winds and other related hazards such as mudslides and flooding
      5. Classified with the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
      6. Very destructive
   2. Droughts
      1. Classified as when there is an abnormally long period of time without precipitation
         1. Slightly different for different countries and climates
      2. Severe water shortage
         1. Lack of clean water can lead to disease spreading
      3. Human causes
         1. Deforestation
            1. Reduces the soil's ability to hold water and this quickly dries out the land (Can lead to desertification)
         2. Dams and reservoirs
            1. Reduces flow of water
            2. Provides energy and water to areas by the reservoir, but further down the river can be a severe shortage
      4. Effects
         1. Wildlife die
         2. Agriculture impacted
            1. Food prices rise
            2. Famine
         3. Restrictions on water usage might have to be enforced
         4. People might feel the need to migrate, putting strain on other countries
      5. CASE STUDIES
         1. 'The Big Dry' Australia 2010
            1. Caused by El Niño
               1. Annual weather pattern that causes the trade winds of the Pacific ocean to reverse
                  1. Australia has no rainfall for a few weeks
                  2. Every few years it becomes dangerous
            2. Impacts
               1. Very severe water shortage
                  1. Water had to be imported
               2. Agriculture impacted
                  1. Food prices rose
               3. Wildlife dead or severely affected
                  1. Not adapted to such extreme weather
            3. Responses
               1. Australian government had to issue a water usage restriction
                  1. Filling swimming pools banned
                  2. Restriction on time spent in shower
                  3. Restriction on garden tending
            4. MEDC
         2. Kenya ???
   3. Natural hazards caused by the weather
   4. Flooding

      Nota:

      • http://www.slideshare.net/geodebs/revision-pack-2014-gcse-geography-ocr-b
      1. CASE STUDIES
         1. Zambezi
            1. Primary impacts
               1. Areas flooded and isolated
               2. Infrastructure destroyed
               3. Crops destroyed
               4. The 32 million people living in the river's basin all affected
            2. Secondary impacts
               1. Food prices rose by up to 37%
               2. Disease spreading through dirty water
               3. Over 150,000 hippos in the river
                  1. Hippos are very deadly
            3. Causes
               1. Exceptionally heavy rain
                  1. Usually a manageable annual rainy season
               2. Deforestation
               3. Soil erosion
            4. Responses
               1. Government declared state of emergency
               2. 110 relocation camps established
               3. Government allocated $13 million to help
               4. A total of $7 million was donated
            5. 2009
            6. LEDC
            7. South-East Africa
         2. Cockermouth

            Nota:

            • http://www.acegeography.com/flooding-case-studies-gcse.html
            1. Causes
               1. A WARM CONVEYOR from the mid-Atlantic brought an exceptional amount of rain
               2. The town of Cockermouth was built within the valley basin of two rivers, Derwent and Cocker
               3. River Derwent burst its banks, causing severe flooding
               4. Melting snow from the North York Moors contributed to surface runoff
               5. Dredging the rivers was proposed a few years ago, but environmental agencies said no
                  1. Endangers fish species
               6. Between 28 Febuary and 11 March 500mm of rainwater fell
            2. Responses
               1. Government provided £1 million
               2. The Cubrian Flood Recovery fund was set up, raising £1 million in 10 days
               3. Temporary railway station set up
               4. Helicopter rescued 50 people
               5. Temporary internet access at libraries set up
               6. Army built temporary foot bridges
               7. RSPCA came in to rescue stranded pets
            3. Primary impacts
               1. 1300 homes flooded with sewage
               2. 50 people had to be evacuated by helicopter
               3. Buildings destroyed
               4. 4 bridges collapsed, 12 closed
               5. One person died, a policeman trying to save somebody else
            4. Secondary impacts
               1. Sewage-infected water was a health risk
               2. People unable to move back into homes for over a year
               3. Cost of repairing a house at £28,000 each
               4. Pets distressed and unable to escape
               5. Main roads closed, increasing traffic
               6. Cost of £100 million
               7. Businesses unable to recover
            5. 2009
            6. Cumbria, a county in North-West England
               1. MEDC
      2. Heavy rainfall
      3. Long periods of rain
         1. Often more than 24 hours solid
      4. Urbanisation makes flooding worse because cities have more impenetrable surfaces
      5. Deforestation worsens flooding because there are less trees to absorbs water
      6. Already saturated ground worsens flooding
      7. Can be prevented through dredging and widening rivers