Take for example the two earthquakes that affected Northridge and Haiti. The Northridge earthquake that hit California in 1994 had a magnitude of 6.7 and killed 57 people. Whereas the Haiti earthquake in 2010 was magnitude 7 and killed 300 000 people. These two case studies emphasize the stark differences in vulnerability between two populations. Although building and infrastructure damage was extreme in both the Haiti and Northridge events, the impact of this damage could not be more different.
In Mexico City of 1985 and San Francisco of 1989 there were big earthquakes. Many people died and may buildings were destroyed. About 100,000 people were killed and over 300,000 buildings were destroyed or damaged. Both of these Earthquakes were quite similar. The 1985 Mexico City earthquake was one of the most devastating earthquakes in the history of the Americas.
I shall use examples of the Kobe Earthquake 1995, Boxing Day Tsunami 2004 and the Haiti Earthquake 2010. The earthquake of 2004 was caused by subduction of the Australian plate and the Eurasian Plate ,a 15-20m slip occurred along the fault line which then caused an earthquake measuring a 9.1 on the Richter scale. This a very high recording on the Richter scale so therefore it would always cause devastating hazards , but human factors could be seen as making the impacts far worse. The earthquake in the ocean had caused a tsunami to occur within the Indian Ocean. The wave reached up to 30 metres high causing devastation to the 13 countries surrounding the ocean.
Hazards are complex. They all vary in effects however generally; a hazard is anything that could cause damage to humans or buildings. Many volcanic and seismic events happen, cause hazards to humans. Volcanic and seismic events can take place all over the world and therefore both more economically developed countries (MEDCs) and less economically developed countries (LEDCs) can be affected. In the last 30 years there have been multiple examples of where volcanic and seismic events have had an impact on both MEDCs and LEDCs.
I will be discussing factors that cause differences in hazards posed by volcanoes. I believe the most important factor is the location of a volcano and the type of volcano. The most explosive and therefore dangerous volcanoes are found on destructive plate boundaries (Over 80% of the worlds volcanoes occur at these boundaries) for example the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia on the 13th November in 1985 which killed over 25000 residents of Arenas and Armero. At destructive plate margins, the oceanic crust is denser than continental crust and is therefore subducts under the continental crust. Due to high temperatures in the mantle of around 3000 degrees centigrade, this oceanic crusts melts and then rises due to the convection currents in the aesthenosphere .
On the other hand in California in 1996-7 they were experiencing sub-tropical storms, it had been the wettest December in a while. Furthermore rail was falling at a high elevation causing snow of mountains to melt and increasing further water. Impacts included 23000 homes and buildings destroyed, 1200 evacuated and caused $2 billion in damage. This is less than the Philippines because they had some protection from levees on the Sacramento River however they did fail, due to the already saturated land. However it reduced the amount of water but also they had a bit of warning and many people got evacuated in time.
The deadly earthquake caused a large amount of damage and death in the country and in the pacific coastal areas. Also the tsunami that took place afterwards was the result of this earthquake, which is said to be the largest earthquake that ever happened. According to the Chilean government they estimated around 2,000,000 people were
In the year 1906, San Francisco, had a major earthquake causing 3,000 people to die. Then in the year 1994, Northridge L.A, 61 people died this shows that the USA is improving on how to cope with earthquake hazards so they have less of an impact of death rates. Although the USA is a developed country there are more of economic losses. In the year 1906, San Francisco, economic losses were 524, however when it comes to 1994 Northridge, L.A there is an economic loses of 44,000. This shows that even though the USA is coping better they are finding it harder to cope with the impact of economic losses.
Gonzalez Jesse Period 3 5/5/2011 Japan and Haiti’s earthquake Japan and Haiti, two countries that got hit by enormous earthquakes. Japan of the richest countries in the world, was shookened by a 9.0 magnitude after a tsunami and then nuclear crissis. Haiti, one of the poorest countries, got hit by a 7.0 earthquake and then an outbreak known as cholera. Japans earthquake caused a lot of casualties , damage, and weakened its economy. Haitis earthquake had casualties, a lot of damge, and their economy was weaker than it was.
The relentlessness of these effects on the larger economy depends on numerous issues, including the disaster itself, the pretentious area and the volume of national and regional institutions to provide relief and begin efforts to reestablish surroundings. When it came down to it, “Hurricane Katrina’s damage affected not only the U.S. Gulf Coast, but the national and global economy as well” (“The Effect of Natural Disasters on the Economy” 1). The disastrous storm restructured the movement of goods and service, the world prices for energy, food trade, building materials to rebuild what have been damaged, individual spending choices, and company incomes. Therefore, “natural disasters always alter the building blocks of economic productions” (“The Effect of Natural Disasters on the Economy” 1). Personal misfortune through injury or death decrease the size and eminence of work in the labor force.