A3 : HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENTS

1. FLASH CARDS. http://quizlet.com/35170255/edexcel-igcse-hazardous-environments-flash-cards/

2. DEFINITION OF A HAZARD

3. NAME AND CATEGORISE DIFFERENT TYPES OF HAZARD

Geological Climatic
- -

- -

- -

- -

- -

4. WHY DO PEOPLE LIVE NEAR HAZARDS

Why people live

near hazards

5. WHERE DO TROPICAL STORMS OCCUR

Label:
Typhoons
Hurricanes
Cyclones
Willy-willies
6. FORMATION OF A TROPICAL STORM

1. ______ on surface of ocean is _____________(it also contains lots of moisture)

2. Hot, _________ air rises, cools and condenses. _________ form.

3. Rising air creates low ___________. Air rushes in to fill gap left by rising _______.

4. Rotation of the ______ means winds do not ______ straight. Winds ________ towards the
centre.

5. The ________ continues to ______ itself, as it passes over warm ________.

6. Whole system moves ________ land.

7. When the _________ crosses the _______ it ________ its source of _______ and
__________. The tropical _________ loses its and _______ out.

system, clouds, moisture, heated, storm, dies, loses, heat, rising, water, towards,
energy, land, circle , storm, fuel, air, earth, blow

7. DESCRIBE THE WEATHER SEQUENCE ASSOCIATED WITH A TROPICAL STORM

Put the following in order

1. The eye of the storm is overhead. Skies are clear, the temperature and pressure increase, and
the wind dies down. Unfortunately this is only a brief lull in the storm.
2. The storm hits again. Temperature and pressure falls. Torrential rain and wind speeds of over
100km/hr occur. The winds are now coming from the opposite direction than they were before.
3. After the storm the temperature and pressure rise again. The rain becomes showers, and the
winds die down. The cleanup operation begins.
4. As the storm approached there would be a drop in temperature and pressure. Wind speeds
would begin to increase and clouds would form
5. As the storm is overhead the pressure would fall rapidly, as would the temperature. Wind
speeds would be in excess of 150km/hr and the rain would be torrential. The wind would whip up
waves that could swamp entire coastal areas, or drown entire coral islands in the Pacific.

Describe the weather at each stage of the storm

Before During Eye After eye After storm

Pressure

Wind

Rain

Temperature
8. COMPARATIVE IMPACTS OF A TROPICAL STORM ON A HIC AND AN LIC (preparation and
predication, short and long term effects, short and long term management)

HIC: LIC:

Preparation
Prediction
Short term effects
Long term effects
Short term management
Long term management
9. WHY DO TECTONIC PLATES MOVE?

Include the words convectional currents and radioactive decay

10. ANNOTATE THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH

11. COMPLETE THE TABLE TO SHOW HOW CRUST TYPES DIFFER

Continental Oceanic

Thickness

Age

Density

Nature

12. NAME THE 13 MAJOR PLATES OF THE WORLD.

13. DESCRIBE THE GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION OF VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES

14. DRAW AND FULLY ANNOTATE DIAGRAMS OF CONSTRUCTIVE AND DESTRUCTIVE PLATE
MARGINS give examples

CONSTRUCTIVE DESTRUCTIVE
15. DRAW AND ANNOTATE DIAGRAMS OF COLLISION ANDCONSERVATIVE PLATE MARGINS
give examples

COLLISION CONSERVATIVE

16. DRAW A LABELLED DIAGRAM TO SHOW THE MAIN FEATURES OF A VOLCANO.

17. CASE STUDY: EXPLAIN THE MANAGEMENT OF ONE TECTONIC EVENT (preparation and
prediction before the event, short and long term effects, short and long term management after event)

Map Facts

Preparation Prediction
Short term effects Long term effects

Short term management Long term management

18. LIST FOUR WAYS IN WHICH THE VOLCANIC HAZARD CAN BE PREDICTED

1. 2.

3. 4.

19. INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF AN EARTHQUAKE

20. MINIMISING THE EARTHQUAKE RISK

Before After
Education Evacuation

Early warning Mitigation

Shelters Risk assessment

Defences Review and adjust

21. MANAGEMENT OF COASTAL FLOODING (see Nargis)

 Volcanoes
Info: Volcanoes occur when magma is forced to the surface through cracks and fissures in the
Earth’s crust. Explosivity depends on magma viscosity. The more viscous the magma, the more
hazardous the volcano as it causes the explosive power to rise. Viscosity depends on temperature,
gas and silica content of the magma in the magma chamber. Highly explosive volcanoes erupt low
temperature, viscous lava with a high silica content. Volcanoes are often places of multiple hazards.

Classic Cross Section of a Composite Cone Volcano

Types of Volcanoes
Volcanoes are formed along two types of plate boundary: destructive and constructive boundaries.
The basic shape of a volcano is similar throughout the world; however there are many factors which
influence how the volcano is built. Volcanoes occur where molten rock (magma) is allowed to escape
to the surface of the earth. This usually occurs at plate boundaries through cracks in the crust called
vents.

Once it has reached the surface, the magma becomes known as lava. The composition of the lava
determines the shape of the final volcano.

Volcanoes also throw out ash, steam, dust, pumice, and gases, which can be poisonous. However it
is the lava that mainly helps to shape the volcano.

There are three main volcanic cones: acid lava cones or Dome, Composite Cones and Basic lava
Cones/Shield.
Task: Match the heads with the tails for the different types of volcanoes
ype Description Example
cid Volcanoes are wide-based, with gentle Kilauea or Mauna Loa
one/Dome slopes. Their lava is runny and thin, which on the island of Hawaii.
olcano means that it can travel a long way before
cooling and solidifying. Often these
eruptions are non-violent and can last for
years
Composite Volcanoes are steep-sided, and made of Mt. Pelee on Martinique
Cone alternate layers of ash and lava. Often the blew its top in 1902,
olcano lava cools to create a plug in the vent, killing all nearly all but 3
meaning that a huge explosion is needed to of the 30000 people in St
remove it Pierre.
asic Lava Volcanoes are steep sided due to the fact Mt St Helens went
Cone/Shield that the lava is thick and acidic, meaning mental back in 1980,
olcano that it doesn't flow far before solidifying. killing 57

Task: Name the different types of volcanoes and add the correct labels to the third one.

Earthquakes:
Info: Earthquakes are shock waves that occur when tectonic activity causes the ground to shake
occur along faults, which are large cracks in the earth's crust. Most of these are associated with the
larger plate boundaries, along which the largest earthquakes usually occur. They are caused by the
sudden jerking movements of the fault, either laterally or vertically, and are almost impossible to
predict.

They most commonly occur when two tectonic plates move suddenly against each other. Rocks
fracture underground at the earthquake focus and the Earth’s crust shakes as energy is released.
Waves spread from the epicentre, the point on the surface above the focus. Severe earthquake
damage can occur when unconsolidated sediment undergoes a process called liquefaction. This is
often responsible for the worst ground shaking and damage.

The point at which an earthquake actually begins, deep below the earth's surface is called the focus.
If the focus is deep then the effects of the earthquake may be less as the shockwaves have more
rock to move through. Obviously this also depends on what type of rock it is. The point directly above
the focus, on the earth's surface, is called the epicentre. The effects of the earthquake are usually
worst here, and then radiate out from this spot.
 Effects of Earthquakes
The effects of an earthquake can be easily split up into two sections. Primary effects are those that
occur immediately as the earthquake happens. These include buildings collapsing, roads and bridges
being destroyed and railway lines being buckled. All occur due to the shaking of the ground.

Secondary effects are the subsequent effects of the quake, and can be even more devastating than
the primary ones. The main secondary effects are:

 Fires: usually from ruptured gas lines. This was the main cause of death and damage after the
San Francisco earthquake in 1906.
 Tsunami waves: A tidal waves caused by an earthquake is called a tsunami. They can travel
very quickly across entire oceans, before engulfing land 1000's of miles away. The 1964
Alaskan earthquake caused considerable damage in several Californian coastal areas.
Although Los Angeles has escaped so far, it is still considered to be a tsunami hazard prone
area.
 Landslides can often be triggered by earthquakes, causing huge amounts of material to be
moved very quickly. This is actually what occurred just before the volcanic eruption on Mt. St.
Helens. They are most likely to occur where the land is steep, saturated or weak.
 Diseases can spread very quickly in the unsanitary conditions often left behind by massive
earthquakes. Water becomes contaminated very quickly, and in Less Economically Developed
Countries (LEDC's) especially; access for the medical services can be badly hampered by the
damage caused by the quake. The most common diseases to be associated with earthquakes
are therefore water-borne ones like cholera and typhoid.

Task: for the effects in the paragraphs above, making sure you use some examples to help explain
you reasons, discuss the relative size of impact they are likely to have (time scale, numbers impacted
etc)

4. How do we measure the size of natural disasters?

Info: there are numerous ways to measure hazards. Form very scientific ways to simple observation
of the size and impacts they have.
Measuring tectonic activity 1: Earthquakes

Method 1: The Richter scale

This measures the magnitude of an earthquake using an instrument called a seismograph. The
Richter scale is logarithmic, meaning that an earthquake measuring 7 is 10 times more powerful than
one measuring 6, and 100 times more powerful than one measuring 5.

Method 2: The Mercalli scale

This measures the damage caused by an earthquake. It rates each quake from I to XII, depending on
how much damage was done, and is dependent not only on the magnitude of depth of the
earthquake.

Measuring tectonic activity 3: Volcanoes

The volcanic explosivity index (VEI): The degree of volcanic hazard is measured using a scale
ranging from 0 to 8. Volume of products, eruption cloud height, and qualitative observations (using
terms ranging from "gentle" to "mega-colossal") are used to work out the explosivity score. The scale
is open-ended with the largest volcanoes in history given magnitude 8. A value of 0 is given for non-
explosive eruptions (less than 10, 000 cubic metres of material ejected) with 8 representing a mega-
colossal explosive eruption that can eject 1000 cubic kilometers of material and have a cloud column
height of over 25 km (16 mi). The scale is logarithmic (from 1 -8) with each interval on the scale
representing a tenfold increase in observed eruption criteria.

In recent history examples are:

2010: Icelandic eruption of Eyjafjallajökull was a VEI 4 eruption
1980: Mt St Helens (USA) was a VEI 5 eruption
Mauna Loa on Hawaii due to being constantly erupting is a VEI 0

Task: What are the benefits and drawbacks of the different ways of measuring tectonic activity
 Measuring Tropical Cyclones:

The Saffir-Simpson Scale Hurricane strength is measured using the Saffir-Simpson scale ranging
from weak Category 1, to intense Category 5.

The main effects of revolving tropical storms – namely hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons – increase
a with the category of the storm, as do many factors to do with the size, wind speed, storm surge etc.

Task: Describe what happens to the tropical cyclone as it

moves up the Saffir-Simpson scale:

5. What are the short term and long term impacts of natural disasters? (Comparative case
study of tropical storm in LIC and HIC)
Info: hazards vary in their impacts depending on where in the world they are, this is due to a number
of factors. It is not just down to wealth and planning, but a number of intrinsically linked points and
issues.
Task: complete the following table to show how and why hazard impacts will vary:
Factor How it will affect the hazard impact Example of negative and positive
impact

Wealth

Preparation of
Population

Communication
Networks

Emergency
Services

Scale (size and

strength)
Location

Frequency

Supplies of
Water and
Food

Disaster
Planning

Rural v Urban

Experience

Relationships
with overseas
countries &
NGOs

Time of Day of
hazard

Season/time of
year of hazard

Frequency

Case Study 1: Tropical Storm in LIC Hurricane Mitch 1998:

In 1998 the most destructive hurricane to strike the Western Hemisphere in the last 200 years
savaged the countries of Central America. Hurricane Mitch thrashed the region with 180 mph winds
and dumped between 300 and 1800 mm. of deluging rains on Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and
El Salvador. Finally, after six horrifying days, the torrential rains stopped.

The track of the hurricane:

On October 21st 1998, a tropical depression formed in the southern Caribbean Sea. One day later,
this had became a tropical storm and was given the name "Mitch". Mitch moved very little over the
next few days, drifting to the northwest, and slowly gathering strength. A sharp increase in strength
occurred between October 23rd-26th during which time Mitch changed from a tropical storm with 70
mph winds, to a Saffir-Simpson Category 5 Hurricane with winds of 178 mph. The hurricane
continued to gather strength as it moved very slowly to the northwest. Winds in the storm reached a
peak of 180 mph on October 26th just off the northeast coast of Honduras. This made Mitch the
strongest hurricane in the Caribbean sea for over 10 years. Mitch kept this strength for nearly 24
hours before beginning to weaken.

By the morning of October 28th, winds had decreased to 121 mph and the storm, which was located
just north of Honduras, was drifting to the west. By this point, however, the real worry was not the
wind but the rain. The slow movement of the storm had caused heavy rain in Central America over
the past few days, but especially in Honduras and Nicaragua. Now with the storm almost at a
standstill, the rain became more and more of a problem. Serious flooding and hundreds of
mudslides were the result. By the time Tropical Storm Mitch hit land on the 29th October, the
damage and loss of life was already very serious.

Mitch weakened rapidly once it arrived onshore due to the loss of energy from the warm sea, but the
mountains of Honduras and Nicaragua continued to "squeeze" the moisture out of the system so the
heavy rains continued. The storm then began to turn to the north and emerged into the Gulf of
Mexico on November 2nd. As it moved across the warm sea, Mitch began to rebuild itself. The storm
started to increase its forward speed again and on November 4th, as winds increased, Mitch was
reclassified as a dangerous tropical storm. Later on the 4th, Mitch hit the west coast of Florida with
winds that gusted to near 80 mph. The storm's forward speed had increased to 25 mph and it cleared
Florida later that evening. The storm eventually worked its way across the Atlantic Ocean passing to
the north-west of Scotland several days later.

Impacts in Areas affected (see map)

HONDURAS
The whole of the country was affected by Hurricane Mitch. Around 6,500 people died and up to
11,000 went missing. About 1.5 million people (20% of the country's population) were made
homeless by the hurricane and there were serious shortages of food, medicine, and water. Hunger
and near-starvation were widespread in many villages. Epidemics became a danger as diseases
such as malaria and cholera made an appearance. As most roads and railways were seriously
damaged, helicopters were needed to take supplies to areas cut off by floods, but these were in short
supply. Many of the unidentified dead were buried in mass graves or their bodies were cremated.

In some areas, whole villages were washed away and an estimated 70-80% of roads/railways were
destroyed. The majority of the country's bridges were damaged or destroyed. Even airports were
under water. Fuel, electricity and running water became scarce commodities. Damage was so severe
that it was calculated that it could take 15-20 years or more to rebuild the country. One third of all
buildings in the capital were damaged by the floods. Survivors were still clinging to roof tops a week
or more after the storm. Heavy damage was caused along the coastline and off-shore islands by the
storm surge and hurricane-force winds. Tourist resorts along the coast were seriously damaged. The
estimated damage to roads and buildings in Honduras was $4 billion.

At least 70% of the crops on farms were destroyed, including almost all of the banana crop. Crop
losses were estimated at $900 million. Further damage was caused by the flooding of the large
warehouses and storage rooms used for coffee beans. The damage by Hurricane Mitch to Honduran
farming will take many years to put right.

NICARAGUA:
Northwest and northern parts of the country were most affected. An estimated 3800 people died with
perhaps as many as 7,000 others missing. Between 500,000 - 800,000 people were made homeless.
Intense rain over western Nicaragua on October 29th-30th caused over 600mm of rain to fall (about
one years rainfall in south-east England!). The crater lake on top of the dormant Casita volcano filled
up and part of the walls then collapsed on October 30th, causing mud flows that eventually covered
an area ten miles long and five miles wide. At least four villages were totally buried in the mud that
was over a metre deep. Over 2,000 of the dead were from the areas around the collapsed volcano. In
many cases, survivors had to wait days before the mud had dried enough to walk to rescuers.
Damage was serious from flooding in other parts of the country, also. On November 5th, 500 bodies
were found in the Coco River near the town of Wiwili. An additional 500 unidentified bodies had
washed up on the Pacific shore after flood waters had washed their bodies out to sea. As with
Honduras, there were serious food and water shortages in flooded areas. The roads/railways and all
forms of communication in the affected regions were devastated. Over 30% of the coffee crop was
destroyed and there was serious damage to the bean, sugar, and banana crops. Damage estimates
for Nicaragua were $1 billion.

EL SALVADOR
The western part of the country was most affected by the heavy rain. 230 people died and 500,000
were forced from their homes by the flooding. As much as 80% of the maize crop was lost. Coffee
plantations and the sugar cane crop was severely affected.

GUATEMALA
Over 200 people were killed by the floods. Ten U.S. citizens and one other person was killed in a
plane crash supplying emergency aid on November 1st. Nearly 80,000 people were evacuated from
their homes because of the flooding. There was widespread damage to the coffee and banana
plantations.

Case Study 2: Tropical Storm in a HIC Hurricane Katrina 2005

Use: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/americas/2005/hurricane_katrina/default.stm to further add
to the case study
The path of Hurricane Katrina

Impacts
 Katrina was a category 4 storm when it hit New Orleans.
 Storm surges reached over 6 metres in height.
  New Orleans was one of the worst affected areas because it is below sea level and protected
by levees ( Levees are ridges formed by deposits of alluvium left behind by the periodic
flooding of river)s.
 The defences were unable to cope with the strength of Katrina.
 Despite an evacuation order, many of the poorest people remained in the city.
 People sought refuge in the Superdome stadium. Conditions were unhygienic, and there was a
shortage of food and water.
 looting: (Looting is a term which refers to stealing from unguarded homes or businesses). was
commonplace throughout the city. Tension was high and many felt vulnerable and unsafe.
 1 million people were made homeless and about 1200 people drowned in the floods.
 Oil facilities were damaged and as a result petrol prices rose in the UK and USA.
Responses
Flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans 2005
There was much criticism of the authorities for their handling of the disaster.
Although many people were evacuated, it was a slow process and the poorest and most vulnerable
were left behind.
$50 billion in aid was given by the government.
The UK government sent food aid during the early stages of the recovery process.
The National Guard was mobilised to restore and maintain law and order in what became a hostile
and unsafe living environment.
6. Why do people live in hazardous areas?
Info: many people around the world live in hazardous areas through choice or necessity and there
are many reason why they do.

Reason Why this means people will live in hazardous areas

Ignorance &
lack of
education

Volcano: fertile
soil

Volcano:
geothermal
energy

Tourism

Scenery

Economic
restrictions

Land Value

Choice
(studying them)

Optimism of
things getting
better

7. How can hazardous events be managed before and after the events?
Info: The method used by most places is:

Identify the risk – risk assessment – prediction of the event – preparation for the events impacts
(adjustment of life) - Hazard event – recovery after the event – appraisal of how the area coped with
the event.

Why in the world do places cope differently the HIC v MIC/LICs argument!!!

Natural hazards will affect Higher Income Countries (HIC's)in a differing way to those that occur in
Middle Income Countries and Lower Income Countries (MIC/LICs).

 Health Care: HIC's have the medical resources and money to quickly get appropriate aid to
areas after a natural disaster. MIC/LIC's often have to rely on aid from overseas as their health
system, which is inadequate. This overseas aid takes time to arrive, which could mean far
more casualties.
 Emergency Services: In HIC's who have a volcanic or earthquake risk, such as Japan and
New Zealand, there are well thought out emergency procedures. Practices in schools and
places of work mean that people know what to do it the event of a natural disaster. The
Government's and military have special emergency plans to help with the situation.

Often MIC/LIC's do not have these emergency plans, and so (as seen in the Asian Tsunami of 2004)
far more damage can be done before the emergency services reach the stricken area.

 Building Technology: Countries such as Japan and the United States have been at the fore
front of developing buildings that have more chance of resisting an earthquake. Most houses in
San Francisco are made of wood, to make them more flexible and allow them to move with the
quake. Larger skyscrapers are built with flexible foundations, which literally allow them to sway
during a quake, rather than being rigid and falling down. Many countries in areas prone to
natural hazards have building codes to say where they can and cannot build, and how high the
buildings can be. New Zealand is a good example of where this occurs. LEDC's don't tend to
have the technology available or money to pay for it, and soften their buildings are very
susceptible to earthquakes. One example was the Armenian earthquake in 1988, which was
0.1 less on the Richter scale than Kobe, but killed 20,000 more people. Most of the Armenian
houses were built of stone and so collapsed instantly.
 Scientific Prediction: Scientists work throughout the world, trying to predict earthquakes and
volcanoes. So far they have found it very difficult to predict earthquakes, although scientists
monitoring the San Andreas Fault in California have planted a huge number of seismographs
in the ground to try to detect even the faintest of tremors. Volcanoes generally are easier to
predict, although the specific time of the eruption is not so easy to do. Scientists can measure
changes within the mountain that helps them to predict that the volcano is going to erupt. This
usually allows the Local Authorities sufficient time to evacuate people from the danger area (as
seen at both Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Pinatubo). However they still find it very difficult to
 accurately predict the size of the eruption. HIC's do tend to have more investment for this type
of research and development than MIC/LIC's.
 Recovery: HIC's tend to be able to recover quickly from a natural disaster, due to having the
investment and technology needed to return the area to as good as new as soon as possible.
Because MIC/LIC's often have to rely on aid from overseas, this quick recovery is often
impossible for them.
 The earthquake that devastated the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on 13 January also
affected many outlying towns - the extent of which is only being discovered days after the
disaster.
 Analysis and reports from international agencies have helped provide a picture of how badly hit
other areas were.
 The epicentre of the magnitude 7 quake was south west of Port-au-Prince and large towns in
that region, such as Leogane, Gressier and Carrefour suffered large scale destruction, with
up to 90% of buildings destroyed in some places.
 In Leogane, between 5,000 and 10,000 people were killed.
 Smaller towns in the area also suffered.
 In Jacmel, on the southern coast, more than 3,000 people were reported to have been killed
or injured and 60% of buildings damaged or destroyed.
Task: devise a plan for a HIC and a LIC/MIC in order to better help the country cope with the impact
of the disaster, use the same plan (preparation/protection and prediction) but vary the plan in relation
to the HIC or LIC/MIC where you think necessary:
HIC Emergency Plan

LIC/MIC Emergency Plan

Task: even though you have differed the plans what problems are there of giving general plans to
different places

Task: how would you further improve the plans?

 8. What can be done in response to hazardous events in the short-term and in the long term?
(Case study of one tectonic event and one tropical storm – one in an LIC and one on an HIC)
Info: Dealing with hazardous events is broken down into the following timescales:

Disruption/The Event occurs – rescue and relief (hours and days) - temporary improvement (days and
weeks) – permanent recovery (months and years)

NB: Use the Hurricane Katrina Case Study from before as the HIC event

Case Study of Event in LIC: Earthquake in Haiti Jan 2010

 200 000 people died.  10 million total population of Haiti normally

 1.5 million homeless.
 Roads, port and airport wrecked.
 Buildings collapsed.
 Schools destroyed.
 Industry and services destroyed.
 Emergency services disrupted.
 7- Magnitude- 10/12 after shocks.
 UN building collapsed and UN personnel
killed.
 4:53pm
 Phone lines failed afterwards.
 Foreign peacekeepers killed.
 Threats of tetanus and gangrene.
 The World Food giving 10 000 tonnes of
diesel a day.
 Sending ships to help remove debris off
the ports.
live off $2.00 a day. History of
dictatorship/violence.
 Economy was in ruins and unemployment
is chronic (no jobs).
 Massive deforestation has left 2% of forum
landslides more likely. 2008 they lost 800
people to hurricanes.
 Totally unprepared. Fault line hadn’t
moved for 250 years.
 Haitian President said its hard to give the
people their supplies. No roads/ trucks.
 Hundreds of thousands of people without
food/ water a week after.
 Using military helicopters.
 400 000 bottles of water, 300 000 food
rations dropped within 9 days.

Probably one of the best sites is: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10596902 - there are loads of links to
other articles there:
12th January 2010 at 16.53 (about tea-time) local time, It was a 7.0 magnitude earthquake.
But as we know this only tells as the size of the earthquake not the damage it does.

Impacts
217,000–230,000 dead
300,000 injured
1,000,000 homeless
250,000 residences collapsed or severely damaged
30,000 commercial buildings collapsed or severely damaged

This is a big earthquake, but why were the number so high?

Summary: reasons why the earthquake was so severe – Original thoughts:

 the proximity of the city to the fault that caused the shaking,
 shoddy construction that allowed thousands of buildings to easily crumble
 the nature of the rock, being sedimentary, carried the vibrations further and with greater
amplification (bigger waves)
 Summary: reasons why the earthquake was so severe – recent findings:
 A narrow ridge of hard rock seems to have vibrated even more than expected – this are
contained better built hotels/businesses which were still really badly damaged. Until recently
these anomalies had been known about but written off an unexplainable flukes
 These findings will help plan which areas should be redeveloped and which should be avoided
– microzonation maps
 The only single seismometer on Haiti was an educational instrument that was set up wrong –
quote scientist. . “When the earthquake happened, it went dancing around on its little feet,” she
said. “It did make a record, but it wasn’t very useful.” They now have 8 on the ridge and on the
sedimentary rocks correctly installed!

Task: Research and describe the human responses to Hurricane Katrina and the Haiti Earthquake:

Event Haiti Katrina

What
were the
responses
(Short
term)?

What
were the
responses
(Long
term)?

How did
they
differ?

Why did
they
differ?

Task: From both disasters what should the government and emergency services learn about how to
better deal with the problems they faced if they face them again? Plan and Answer this as a 9 marks
question:

“Describe and explain for two disasters you have studied (one in a HIC and one in a LIC/MIC) how
better prepared the authorities for the next similar disaster” (9)