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There are a range of impacts people experience as a result of earthquake activity - Case studies of two countries at contrasting levels of economic development
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Gravity
Terms in this set (62)
Where is japan located in terms of plates?
Japan is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the North American, Pacific, Eurasian and Philippine plates come together. Northern Japan is on top of the western tip of the North American plate. Southern Japan sits mostly above the Eurasian plate.
How many earthqaukes are there in japan everyday?
Japan experiences 400 earthquakes a day but the majority are so small only specialised recording equipment can register them.
How many significant earthquakes have there been since 2000?
Since 2000, 23 earthquakes of 7.0 Mw have occurred in japan causing nearly 16,000 fatalities.
Who do people choose to live in tectonically active areas? (Fertile soils)
Areas that are prone to tectonic activity have proven to have long term benefits for inhabitants. This is because over thousands to millions of years, the physical breakdown and chemical weathering of volcanic rocks creates some of the most fertile soils on Earth.
Who do people choose to live in tectonically active areas? (Oil)
Earthquakes create faults which can trap oil and gas reserves. Faults can also sometimes help to bring water to the surface.
Who do people choose to live in tectonically active areas? (Water tables)
Water-tables are often elevated here because rocks, ground down by the movement of the fault, create 'fault gouge', a type of impermeable clay which traps water
Who do people choose to live in tectonically active areas? (safety)
Living in earthquake zones in MEDCs is generally quite safe as there is monitoring equipment and safety measures which
When was the Tohoku Earthquake?
2:46 pm, Friday, 11th March 2011
Where was the earthquake?
100km due east of Sendai on northern Honshu's eastern coast.
What occured?
A magnitude 9.0 earthquake
What caused the earthquake?
A 400-500km segment of the North America plate, which was being dragged down the the subducting pacific plate slipped 5 - 10 m resulting in a large displacement of sea water and tsunamis spreading in all directions at hundreds of km/hr.
Importance of earthquake?
It is the largest recorded earthquake to hit Japan and is in the top five in the world since records began in 1900. The earthquake lasted for six minutes.
By how much did the islands move?
The force of the megathrust earthquake caused the island of Honshu to move east 2.4m. Parts of the Japanese coastline dropped by 60cm. The seabed close to the focus of the earthquake rose by 7m and moved westwards between 40-50m.
How many aftershocks were there?
There were also 1235 aftershocks, many at 7 of above and over eight hundred aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 MW or greater
How did the earthquake impact globally?
The earthquake shifted the Earth 10-15cm on its axis, Its focus was located 25 km below the Pacific Ocean, Shaking from the earthquake waves affected the entire northern half of Honshu, Japan's main island, reaching the Tokyo conurbation in just 100 seconds.
What were the economic impacts of the earthquake? (costs of damage)
The estimated cost of the earthquake, including reconstruction, is £181 billion. Japanese authorities estimate 25 million tonnes of debris were generated in the three worst-affected prefectures which is significantly more than the amount of debris created during the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
What were the economic impacts of the earthquake? (destruction of infrastructure)
47,700 buildings were destroyed and 143,300 were damaged. 230,000 vehicles were destroyed or damaged. Four ports were destroyed and a further 11 were affected in the northeast of Japan.
What were the economic impacts of the earthquake? (Electricity
There was a significant impact on power supplies in Japan. 4.4 million households and businesses lost electricity. 11 nuclear reactors were shut down when the earthquake occurred.
What were the economic impacts of the earthquake? (nuclear plant)
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was decommissioned because all six of its reactors were severely damaged as Seawater disabled the plant's cooling systems which caused the reactor cores to meltdown, leading to the release of radioactivity.
What were the economic impacts of the earthquake? (Power)
Power cuts continued for several weeks after the earthquake and tsunami. Often, these lasted between 3-4 hours at a time.
What were the economic impacts of the earthquake? (Oil industry)
The earthquake also had a negative impact on the oil industry as two refineries were set on fire during the earthquake.
What were the economic impacts of the earthquake? (Transport)
Transport was also negatively affected by the earthquake. Twenty-three train stations were swept away and others experienced damage. Many road bridges were damaged or destroyed.
What were the economic impacts of the earthquake? (Companies and production)
The stock market crashed and had a negative impact on companies such as Sony and Toyota as the cost of the earthquake was realised. Production was reduced due to power cuts and assembly of goods, such as cars overseas, were affected by the disruption in the supply of parts from Japan.
What were the environmental impacts on the country? (Agriculture)
Agriculture was affected as salt water contaminated soil and made it impossible to grow crops.
What were the environmental impacts on the country? (Radioactive material)
Radioactive material continues to be released by the plant and vegetation and soil within the 30km evacuation zone is contaminated.
What were the environmental impacts on the country? (land movement)
Portions of northeastern Japan shifted by as much as 2.4 m closer to North America.
What were the environmental impacts on the country? (coastline)
A 400 km stretch of coastline dropped vertically by 0.6 m, allowing the tsunami to travel farther and faster onto land.
What were the political impacts on the country? (debt)
Government debt was increased when it injects billions of yen into the economy. This was at a time when the government were attempting to reduce the national debt.
What were the political impacts on the country? (defences)
Several years before the disaster warnings had been made about the poor defences that existed at nuclear power plants in the event of a tsunami.
What were the political impacts on the country? (Nuclear debate)
The disaster at Fukushima added political weight in European countries were anti-nuclear bodies used the event to reinforce their arguments against nuclear power .A movement against nuclear power, which Japan heavily relies on, developed following the tsunami.
What were the political impacts on the country? (assistance)
According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, 134 countries and 39 international organisations offered assistance to help the country recover from the many impacts; however Japan is still recovering
Nepal Earthquakes?
Nepal is an earthquake prone country with on average receiving two 7-8Mw earthquakes every 40 years and on 8+ every 80 years
Where is nepal located?
Situated in the middle of the collision zone where the Indo-Australia plate meets the Eurasian plate and as the plates grind together, the pressure builds up and there are earthquakes.
What structures increase risk in Nepal?
Geological structures in Nepal increases seismic risk. Pre-Historic lakes fill valleys and their legacy is 100s of meters of relatively soft sediment. The Kathmandu valley has sediment reaching up to 600m. As seismic waves pass through this material, they are amplified, causing structures to swing violently. Depending on the water content of the soil, liquefication can be a major hazard in the area.
When did the earthquake occur and location?
The Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal 2015. On 25th April, at 11.56, a 7.8Mw earthquake struck Nepal. It's focus was 15km deep and the epicentre was 90 km east of Kathmandu.
What caused the earthquake in Nepal?
It was due to subduction of the Indian plate beneath the overriding Eurasian plate.
By how much was Kathmandu raised?
Much of the energy was transmitted 120km eastward towards Kathmandu, so the epicentre was at the western end of the affected region. GPS surveys show that the Kathmandu valley was raised 1m and that Kathmandu itself is now 80cm higher. Mount Everest sank 3cm and areas north of it have also lowered as the released strain allowed land to settle.
How many after shocks were there and on what level were they?
There were 300 aftershocks during the following 6 weeks, ranging from M4.0 - 6.7. However, a major aftershock of M7.3 occurred on 12th May 2015, on the eastern end of the same fault line as April's earthquake, 80km ENE of Kathmandu (Figure 2.). It had a similar focus of 15km.
Did the magnitude of the earthquakes decrease over time?
Generally, the magnitude of aftershocks decreases with time but despite this unexpected spike in intensity it has been classified as an aftershock, as intensity decay is not always linear. A further 200 people were killed and 2,500. It also severely disrupted the relief effort already underway.
How many people died?
8800 fatalities resulted from the earthquake and just over 22,000 people were injured in Nepal. In other countries there wee around 160 deaths (India) and avalanches killed 20 Everest climbers
How many people were displaced?
2.8 million people were displaced and 473,000 houses were destroyed or damaged and an estimated 1 million people required food assistance.
What happened to women in the areas?
Trafficking of women increased who were homeless to South Asian Brothels.
Were men or women more likely to die?
More females of all ages died due to being in their houses at the time of the earthquake. Women bore more impact because they have less assets, limited access to economic resources and fewer alternative livelihoods to aid recovery.
What buildings in the area were destroyed?
Centuries-old buildings were destroyed at UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Kathmandu Valley, including some at the Changu Narayan Temple and the Dharahara Tower.
Economic impacts on the country? (GDP)
Economic losses were estimated to be between nine per cent to 50 per cent of GDP by The United States Geological Survey (USGS)
Economic impacts on the country? (Tourism)
Tourism is a major source of revenue in Nepal and the earthquake led to a sharp drop in the number of visitors. It accounts for 10% of the economy and las lady hit as the climbing season for Everest was closed.
Economic impacts on the country? (Economic situation)
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world and there was a great impact on the economy, through lack of reliable data to make precise estimates of the economic impact difficult.
Economic impacts on the country? (Aid)
The USGS put to cost to the national economy at at $10billion. The Asian development bank provided 200 million for aid construction.
Economic impacts on the country? (Businesses)
Nepal's businesses, government and individuals lacked capital reserves to cope with the scale of damage and borrowed loads creating a great amount of debt.
Economic impacts on the country? (HEP)
14 HEP stations were damaged, causing 25% loss of electricity capacity and workers in the mountains were trapped by landslides on the roads.
Economic impacts on the country? (labour)
A positive impact was the increased demand for labourers to demolish and clear debris and reconstruct buildings and infrastructure.
Political impacts on the country? (rebuild costs)
Rebuild costs are estimated at $10billion but only 50% of the initial appeal has been funded.
Political impacts on the country? (Funding)
Funding and political will wanes with time. Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a HDI of 145 out of 187.
Political impacts on the country? (pre-existing debts)
It has existing international debts of $3.8billion and creditors have not yet agreed on a debt-relief settlement.
Political impacts on the country? (spending)
In 2014, Nepal repaid debts of $217million, money which might have been better spent on resilience.
Political impacts on the country? (turmoil)
Before the earthquake there was a period of turmoil followed including assassinations and coups but it was beginning to look better but all this progress was lost.
Political impacts on the country? (Aid)
International aid created tension with India. India was accused of trying to use its humanitarian aid as a way of self promotion within the region.
Environmental impacts on the country? (slope vunerability)
Following the earthquake, slopes are very vulnerable to landslides due to tremors and saturation from snowmelt and monsoon rains.
Environmental impacts on the country? (HEP projects)
Continued construction of hydropower projects such as the 6000 MW Pancheshwar Dam on the Mahakali river on the NepaleseIndian border involve deforestation, silting of riverbeds, blasting and tunnelling, leading to slope failure.
Environmental impacts on the country? (climate change)
Climate change will result in more intense rainfall and greater snowmelt, increasing flood risk.
Environmental impacts on the country? (Langtang village)
Langtang village itself experienced a pressure wave ahead of the breaking-off of part of a glacier. It blasted an avalanche 2-3km wide of snow, ice, rock and building materials over the village, killing 300 people. Another 250 people died under a mudslide and avalanche at Ghodatabela. Laprak, a village of 2000 people, was on a landslide that had periodically moved since 1999 and was completely destroyed. 25 vehicles on the Arniko Highway to Tibet were buried by landslides.
Where is nepal located?
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