Disaster Hotspot - California

Volcanoes
1. Hasn't been an eruption since 1915.
2. A fair few being monitored for eruption.
Droughts
1. Can be caused by anticyclones.
2. Can also be caused by La Niña events as all the rain moves towards Australia.
3. Increased wind blowing from the desert so there's no moisture in the air to cause precipitation.
4. Dry vegetation can cause wildfires.
Tsunamis
1. Can be caused by earthquakes or landslides into the sea.
2. Earthquakes in the Pacific oceans could cause tsunamis along the California coastline.
Earthquakes
1. San Andreas fault line runs the length of California.
2. Conservative plate boundary - when pressure builds up they can suddenly jerk past each other.
3. Has 2-3 earthquakes a year that are powerful enough to damage structures.
4. Good chance of a 7.0+ magnitude hitting San Francisco by 2025.
Landslides
1. Occur on unstable, steep land.
  1. Made unstable by coastal erosion, extreme weather or earthquakes.
2. Risk is high because of building on and around steep slopes.
Vulnerable Population
1. More than 70% live within 50km of a fault line.
2. A lot of building on unstable land
3. Around 20% of residents are below the poverty line - they have the lowest capacity to cope in a disaster.
4. Massive economic losses when a disaster occurs.

Resource summary

	Created by bethlewis over 9 years ago