...2 (up); C/U – 2 (up); C/S – 3 (down); Syn – 3 (down); Q – 3 = 22 marks January 2012 To what extent can preparedness and planning mitigate the effects of volcanic hazards? Preparedness and planning can mitigate the effects of volcanic hazards. However there are many other factors that can influence the effects, such as volcano type, severity of eruption, length of eruption, third party influences of which no country can prepare totally for. However these are methods which will reduce the impact. In this essay I will discuss the impacts of a Chilean volcanic eruption which devastated the town of Chaiten and how its poor preparation influenced this. Also I will discuss the 1991 eruption of Mount Etna in Sicily and how its preparedness and planning has on it as one of the world’s best monitored and controlled volcanoes. On the 2nd May 1991 a Chilean volcano that had laid dormant for nearly 9000 years exploded into eruption. Due east winds carried the huge ash column east. However due to the size of the column (20-30 km in height) the town of Chaiten, 10km south west of the volcano, was largely affected. Due to its 9000 years of dormancy, the Chilean volcanic society had not deemed it dangerous enough to be actively monitored prior to the eruption as limited research and funding was available to their one volcanic acquisition centre even though there was documented history of dome column building and collapse. The rhyolitic nature of the volcano (commonly found on destructive...
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...A volcanic hazard refers to any potential dangerous volcanic process from primary hazards; such as lava flows, pyroclastic flows, ash falls or volcanic gases and also secondary hazards; including lahars and volcanic landslides. There are around 1500 potentially active volcanoes worldwide and therefore in my opinion, every volcanic eruption is unique and influences the hazards that are produced from it which will impact upon the environment, the economy and the population of an area. Although it can be argued that physical factors; like the magnitude, cause and give the greatest input into the initial impact, the human factors also have an influence on the effects a hazard can have, for instance the land use and demography. The vulnerability of LEDC’s (Low economically developed countries) has a large effect upon the response and recovery to a volcanic eruption. The Nevada Del Ruiz volcano erupted in 1985 and left devastating impacts as a result of the demography; such as the densely populated areas surrounding. The pyroclastic flows and melting glaciers that created lahars killed 22,000 people and 150,000 animals due the speeds of the hazards travelling at 50km per hour; mostly suffocating those that died. However as well as this there were many long term impacts that had a huge influence due to the destruction of basic needs and services that the LEDC’s primarily relied heavily on; the whole destruction cost the government $7.7 million. Therefore international aid (the Columbian...
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...[pic] Information on the exam: Unit 3 – GEOG3 - Contemporary Geographical Issues • 30% of A Level • 2 hour 30 minutes written examination • 3 questions: o 1 from Section A – Physical Geography Structured Questions o 1 from Section B – Human Geography Structured Questions o 1 from Section C – Essay Questions (You must not answer the option answered in either Section A or Section B) [pic] |Plate tectonics and associated hazards |Ecosystems: Change and Challenge | | | | |Plate movement |Nature of ecosystems | |Earth structure, plate tectonics theory: convection |Structure of ecosystems, energy flows, trophic levels, | |currents and sea-floor spreading. Evidence: |food chains and food webs. | |continental drift and palaeomagnetism. | | |Destructive, constructive and conservative plate ...
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...seismic events you have studied from contrasting areas of the world, compare the ways in which earthquakes and their impacts have been managed | | “The hazards presented by volcanic and seismic events have the greatest impact on the world’s poorest people” To what extent do you agree with this view? | Jan 2011 | Study fig 1, a map showing tectonic features in the Philippines. Comment on the degree to which the area of the Philippines might be subject to tectonic hazards | Outline the formation of hot spots and explain their relationship to plate movement | With reference to 2 volcanic events that you have studied from contrasting areas of the world, compare the nature of the volcanic hazard and its impact | | “Volcanic and seismic events are major pieces of evidence towards proving that plate tectonics theory is valid”. Discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement. | June 2011 | Study fig 1 which is an image of the sea bed of the N Atlantic Ocean … Comment on the extent to which the features shown support the theory of plate tectonics. | Describe the characteristics of, and explain the formation of, minor forms of extrusive volcanic activity. | In what ways does volcanic activity vary in relation to the type of plate margin along which it occurs. | | Discuss the view that the impact of earthquake hazards depends primarily on human factors. | Jan 2012 | Study fig 1 which shows the relationship between shaking intensity (Mercalli scale) and different types...
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...Discuss the risk management of natural hazards using a range of examples to support your answer. Natural hazard processes are an essential part of how Earth functions. These processes have been shaping the planet Earth for millions of years. In modern times risk management plans are a necessity because of the wide variety of natural disasters occurring all over the world. It is thought that because of the frequency and increase in severity of hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tornadoes that the United States alone experiences an average loss of one billion dollars every week. (C. McMillan, 1998) Therefore it is obvious why a procedure of disaster preparedness, mitigation, management, and prevention is highly important as a method of dealing with such events. Risk management involves addressing any phenomena that could potentially cause havoc in a community. (C. McMillan, 1998) It is significantly different from traditional preparedness and response activities. A traditional approach attempts to address existing problems, while hazard risk management “focuses more on anticipating problems by ensuring that growth and development address the likelihood of hazards and their interaction with environmental systems.” Whereas traditional preparedness and response mechanisms often focus on individual hazard events, risk management views hazard exposure as an ongoing process and aims at reducing the vulnerability of the society and the economy to natural disasters. Such...
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...[pic] Information on the exam: Unit 3 – GEOG3 - Contemporary Geographical Issues • 30% of A Level • 2 hour 30 minutes written examination • 3 questions: o 1 from Section A – Physical Geography Structured Questions o 1 from Section B – Human Geography Structured Questions o 1 from Section C – Essay Questions (You must not answer the option answered in either Section A or Section B) [pic] |Plate tectonics and associated hazards |Ecosystems: Change and Challenge | | | | |Plate movement |Nature of ecosystems | |Earth structure, plate tectonics theory: convection |Structure of ecosystems, energy flows, trophic levels, | |currents and sea-floor spreading. Evidence: |food chains and food webs. | |continental drift and palaeomagnetism. | | |Destructive, constructive and conservative plate ...
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...Volcanic eruptions are one of Earth's most dramatic and violent forces of change. Not only can powerful explosive eruptions drastically alter land and water for tens of kilometres around a volcano, but tiny liquid droplets of sulphuric acid erupted into the stratosphere can change the planet's climate temporarily. Eruptions often force people living near volcanoes to abandon their land and homes. Those living farther away are likely to avoid complete destruction, but their cities and towns, crops, industrial plants, transportation systems, and electrical grids can still be damaged by tephra, ash, lahars, and flooding. Studies of the geologic history of a volcano are generally necessary to make an assessment of the types of hazards posed by the volcano and the frequency at which these types of hazards have occurred in the past. The best way to determine the future behaviour of a volcano is by studying its past behaviour as revealed in the deposits produced by previous eruptions. This is very helpful when trying to predict an eruption for dormant volcanoes as they are most complex volcanoes to foresee an eruption for. Once this information has been collected, geologists can then make forecasts concerning what areas surrounding a volcano would be subject to the various kinds of activity should a future eruption occur. This information is then used, with knowledge about the present aspects of the volcano, to make volcanic hazards maps which can aid other scientists, government,...
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...Analyse the factors that cause differences in the hazards posed by volcanoes around the world (40mks) There are many volcanoes around the world, some of which are active and others are dormant. The factors which cause them to be active are varied and can cause a threat to the surrounding area, including the environment and economy as well as the social impacts on people. A volcanic hazard however can pose a bigger threat to these socio-economic factors as a result of the eruption. Firstly, the type of volcano will also depend on the type of eruption and where abouts it lies within the plate boundaries. A hot spot however does not lie on a plate boundary but causes a volcano due to the high pressures of heat flow. An example of this is in Hawaii, southwest of the United States. Kilauea is a shield volcano on the southern part of the island which erupts runny, non-viscous lava and tends to be large in size with a low profile. These eruptions are not very explosive but occur very regularly and due to it being located in Hawaii, it is a very developed country and therefore caused various hazards to the area. Another type of volcano is a stratovolcano, this is different to a shield volcano because it is tall with a steep profile and causes more explosive eruptions. For example the Pinatubo volcano is located in the Philippines between the Eurasian and Philippine Plate on a destructive plate boundary. The last biggest eruption of Pinatubo was in 1991 however it was in a less economically...
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...Tectonic activity can range from volcanic eruptions to earthquakes which themselves create many other effects that will impact the surrounding environment and people. In all recent eruptions at the volcanos I am going to discuss there has been no deaths to the local people. Apart from at the Chaiten volcano, in Chile, where 1 person died, reportedly from stress. At this volcano an eruption in 2008 caused 5000 people to be evacuated from nearby towns. An eruption at Montserrat in 1995 also caused 5000 people to be evacuated and placed into temporary shelter. Whereas when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, in Iceland, erupted in 2010 around 500 people were evacuated from the area, although 10 million airline passengers were affected due to the vast ash cloud. In the 1991-1993 eruption of Mount Etna many people were evacuated and subsequently lost their homes to the lava flows. Other impacts of volcanic activity at Mount Etna were that there was a contaminated water supplies which was also seen at the Chaiten and Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruptions. There was also many crops and farmland destroyed at Etna along with Montserrat. In The Chaiten eruption 80-90% of the town was damaged with 20-30% of it being completely destroyed, which when compared the eruption in Iceland is far more as there was no towns surrounding the volcano. At the Chaiten Montserrat and Icelandic eruptions, airports were closed which resulted in a huge fall in trade, however in Chile it was completely destroyed! The...
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...Risk Reduction Management OBJECTIVES 1. Recognize salient points of RA 10121 2. Recognize the importance of DRRM 3. Assess risks of disaster 4. demonstrate their roles in managing disasters 5. Prepare kit according to disaster survival plan INPUT 1: RA 10121 Salient Points ONLY Definition of Terms "Disaster" - a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources. Disasters are often described as a result of the combination of: the exposure to a hazard; the conditions of vulnerability that are present; and insufficient capacity or measures to reduce or cope with the potential negative consequences, Disaster impacts may include loss of life, injury, disease and other negative effects on human, physical, mental and social well-being, together with damage to property, destruction of assets, loss of services, Social and economic disruption and environmental degradation. "Disaster Risk Reduction and Management" - the systematic process of using administrative directives, organizations, and operational skills and capacities to implement strategies, policies and improved coping capacities in order to lessen the adverse impacts of hazards and the possibility of disaster. Prospective disaster risk reduction and management refers to risk reduction and management activities that...
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...with the majority of the land to the east of the major waterway. There are several small islands included in the county that are located near the southern edge of the Sound. At the county’s eastern border, the beginnings of foothills lead to the actively volcanic Mount Rainier’s summit. Many parts of the county today are built upon the deposits of lahar from past eruptions. The geography of Pierce county ranges from a rocky shore to a lush, national forest with many lakes, rivers, and creeks in between. Overall, the county has 1794 square miles of land and 118 square miles of water, not including Puget Sound (Pierce County Department Of Emergency Management, 2010). Pierce County became well known in the late nineteen hundreds when the city of Tacoma became the western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad – the first transcontinental railroad in the north. The introduction of this railroad led to an increase in shipping and manufacturing in the area. At the time, lumber, shipping, farming, and coal mining powered Pierce’s economy. With the exception of mining, all these industries are still present today, though industrialization has made them less prominent than in the past (Pierce County Department Of Emergency Management, 2010). Population/Economic Assessment Pierce County’s estimated population of 2012 was 811,681. The area is predominately white Judeo-Christian with the presence of multiple minorities in varying percentages. A large percentage of the population has...
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...'The hazards presented by volcanic and seismic events have the greatest impact on the world’s poorest people'. To what extent do you agree with this view? Firstly I believe that this statement is true but only to a partial extent. Hazards presented by tectonic activity can be managed and controlled so their impacts are lessened and even not felt. However such management involves planning, prediction and action, all of which may cost considerable amounts of money, unavailable to the poorest people. For example, ever since its primary eruption in 1968 Mount Etna has been constantly erupting every year. Though these eruptions are not always violent sometime volcanic bombs can be fired from the composite volcano and since its eruption in 1968 it has killed around 77 people, most of these unwitting tourists who did not take enough care. However due to the volcano being located in the fairly rich area of Sicily the impacts of its hazards have been managed and fairly efficiently. For example, explosives were first used to relocate the andesitic lava flows away from settlements, protecting people’s housing and property. More recently, Sicily has had the funds to construct artificial lava tunnels to conveniently drain the lava away when Etna erupts. Moreover Sicily has managed to accurately predict the size and frequency of the eruptions of Etna by using remote sensors which measure the bulge of the volcano, a tell tale sign of the imminent eruption. In combination to this, they sample...
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...“The hazards presented by volcanic & seismic events have the greatest impact on the worlds poorest people” A geographical hazard has the potential to cause damage and harm or kill people. The hazard will become a disaster if it does either of these things. Volcanic hazards are the include primary and secondary hazards posed by an eruption and seismic hazards include primary and secondary hazards of earthquakes. These events can affect many of the poorest people in the world but wealthier countries can also suffer as seen several times in Japan. Any management involves planning, prediction and action, all of which may cost considerable amounts of money, unavailable to the poorest people. Volcanic hazards vary from volcano to volcano due to there being many different types of volcano. In an acid dome volcano (destructive subduction boundaries) we see a viscous material with high amounts of silica. This causes rare but violent eruptions which is explosive. Other primary hazards will include pyroclastic flows and ash clouds. A basic shield volcano (constructive boundary) has a more runny lava with frequent eruptions. The hazards associated with a basic shield volcano include slow lava flows (destroy crops) and lahars when it rains. There are also the secondary hazards posed by many volcanoes around the world such as landslides and tsunamis. Earthquakes can vary in size and magnitude (scale of strength) and can happen on any type of plate margin. For the earthquake to...
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...land and it is estimated that 35% of Sicily’s population live on its slopes. • The UN has classified it as a Decade Volcano due to its activity and nearby population. • There have been at least 16 flank eruptions, and many summit eruptions, since 1600s. Since 2001, it has seen an eruption every year. • It is well monitored and actively managed. NATURE OF THE VOLCANIC HAZARD: • Vineyards and orchards spread across the lower slopes and the Plain of Catania. • It is a composite stratovolcano which typically erupts basaltic lava (low viscosity). • Fissures also open up, releasing lava flows and ‘hornitos’ spatter lava from the side of the cone. OTHER POTENTIAL HAZARDS: o Seismic activity connecting with eruptive activity – potential damage to buildings and infrastructure. o Gas plume emission, volcanic dust and ashfalls – high-magnitude explosive events at summit craters can lead to the formation of eruptive columns of ash, the fallout from which presents problems for settlement and agriculture. o Flank collapse before or following – one of the most hazardous processes – can lead to a huge avalanche of volcanic debris, as once occurred at the Valle del Bove. o Phreatic eruptions – steam-driven explosions when water beneath the ground is heated by magma or lava. • In 1669 extensive lava flows engulfed Nicolosi, and in 1928 a large lava flow destroyed Mascali in just two days. • In 2002-3 the biggest eruptions for many years threw up columns of ash that deposited material...
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...The extent to which tectonic processes represent a hazard depends upon when and where they are experienced (40) A hazard can best be defined as a 'situation that poses a level of threat to life, health, property or the environment.' The overall impact of earthquakes as a natural hazard varies greatly from one place and timeframe to another. As do the types of hazards, which are categorised into primary and secondary. Primary hazards are created by the direct seismic energy of an earthquake, this could include liquefaction, slope failure and tsunamis. These primary hazards can in turn trigger secondary hazards such as floods, fires, disease and destabilisation of infrastructure. A number of factors play a part in determining the severity of these hazards. For me the most influential factor is where the tectonic process occurs in relation to the levels of development of that area. MEDC's tend to cope better with the hazard of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions than LEDC's because they have all the necessary resources to survive the effects of these hazards at their disposal. Such as earthquake proof buildings that are designed to withstand earthquakes by using strong materials such as reinforced concrete or building special foundations that absorb an earthquakes energy e.g. the Bank Tower in Los Angeles, California. Construction laws in some earthquake-prone counties (e.g. Japan and the US) have become stricter in recent years – this means that newer buildings are more likely...
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