Recent natural disasters

ALASKA: Anchorage 2018

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Alaska in November, 2018. It took place in the Alaska-Aleutian wbduction zone, on a fault within the subducting Pacific slab. Liquefaction and landslides were an immediate effect which added to the damage to infrastructure. Several people were wounded from debris but there were no deaths.

USA: 2021 Tornadoes

Warm, and temperatures and fast wind speeds developed moist air from the Gulf of Mexico into a series of tornadoes that hit southern states, such as Arkansas and Illinois.

Over 80 people were killed, over 26.000 buildings were without power and water for the day, with damages costing over $3.9 billion. In response, funds were raised by humanitarian groups such as The Salvation Army and states such as Kentucky provided free housing for those made homeless, in addition to deploying the National Guard.

HAITI 2016 Hurricane Matthew

In 2016. a category 4 hurricane hit Haiti due to the intensification of a tropical storm originating from west coast from the West coast of Africa.

It caused torrential rain, storm surges and winds up to 145mph, causing over 500 deaths, 52 million in damages, the collapse of 70% of houses in the affected areas, and the destruction of many cash crop plantations

ICELAND: 2010 EyjafiallajOkull Volcanic eruption

The eruption occurred under an ice sheet as a 500 metre fissure in the volcano opened. The melting ice and dissolved gases In the lava created a large column of volcanic ash that disrupted over 95.000 flights from Iceland, damaged agricultural land, and caused the closure of major roads due to the knock on flooding caused

CHILE: 2017 Valparaiso earthquake

In 2017 a magnitude 7.1 earthquake affected Chile as a result of the sudden slipping of a locked fault along the subduction zone of the Nazca plate and the South American Plate.

500 deaths were recorded, 12,000 people were injured. 220,000 homes were destroyed, along with 4,500 schools. 560 hospitals, 53 ports and Santiago airport were severely damaged.

On Sunday 1 August 2021, the composite Stromboli volcano erupted, triggered by the subduction of the African tectonic plate under the Eurasian plate. The gases, lava and ash ejected formed a dangerous pyroclastic flow that extended from the volcano to coastal regions. The government responded by ordering the evacuation of people in nearby towns and raising funds for those affected.

BANGLADESH: 2017 Bahmaputra flooding

Heavy monsoon rain in the spring months caused rivers in the northeast of Bangladesh to overflow. This caused flash floods and landslides that destroyed over 100,000 houses and schools, inundated over 40,000 hectares of crop land and limited the trade of rice, the country’s main staple, affecting the livelihoods of 8 million

CHINA: 2017 Sichuan landslides

Major landslides in China’s Sichuan province were caused by over three weeks of heavy rains, causing the ground to lose structural integrity and slide along the steep valley slopes. They are also thought to be a delayed effect of rock weathering from a historic earthquake in the same area In 1933

Over 40 homes in the nearby Xinmo village were destroyed and the region was isolated when over 2,000 metres of road was buried

AUSTRALIA: Wild fires 2019

The bushfires in Australia were caused by a prolonged heatwave and drought, due to the long term impacts of climate change. The dry, low humid conditions allow fire to spread quicker as vegetation was quicker to ignite. The wildfires killed over 34 people, Just under 1 billion animals, and over 14 million acres of land and 6,000 homes were destroyed. Fund raising from government bodies such as the Bushfire Recover Victoria and charities, In addition to firefighters were used to respond.

Photo:2021 Disasters: A Look Back | NASA

Recent natural disasters

Raghav and Sia (Lower Sixth)

With climate change and human influences, hazards will continue to remain and may worsen in the future.

Global warming due to greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, industry and development is contributing to more frequent and severe meteorological disasters. The impacts of climate change will be very varied as climate change exacerbates local conditions. In some places, this makes hazards such as hurricanes more likely to occur, as increasing global temperatures accelerate sea water evaporation, becoming fuel for more powerful storms, creating higher wind speeds in hurricanes and more powerful destructive waves in storm surges that increase the threat to vulnerable countries such as Haiti. Furthermore, rising sea levels due to melting ice caps and thermoexpansion will increase the risk of flooding in low lying areas, and this can already be seen in Bangladesh where the combination of multiple river systems and a low elevation means the country is even more vulnerable to rising sea levels. In other places, different types of disasters may be seen, for example drought. As greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, extreme heat waves are becoming more common. Furthermore, with intense deforestation occurring between the tropics and the poleward shifting of the intertropical convergence zone, countries with previously low risk are now becoming more prone to climate-change induced hazards.

With climate change increasing the number of countries at risk of natural disasters, more and more developed countries will become more vulnerable, for example the western coast of the USA is already experiencing severe symptoms of drought. However, whilst disasters can occur in any country, NICs and LICs are likely to continue to be the most vulnerable to natural disasters in the future.

Photo: Bangladesh; the August 2017 Bangladesh floods - World Weather Attribution

Future projections show that the increasing severity and frequency of natural disasters mean it is possible that the damage may slow their development. LICs and NICs often have poor hazard prevention and response infrastructure due to a lack of investment in such services. This results in houses and buildings collapsing, transport networks damaged, people homeless, injured, and dead. With growing populations in NICs and LICs, the impact of natural disasters is likely to be exacerbated. This will be because of more people living in poor conditions in LICs, for example in squatter settlements or in locations below sea level. More people will become vulnerable as space and funding continues to decrease. Furthermore, large scale damage and destruction can set-back development of nations resulting in longer recovery time which can often be slowed by another catastrophe, with the example of Haiti; it is a country that is constantly affected by climatic and geophysical disasters and does not have sufficient funding or ability to improve its economy and infrastructure. Due to this, these countries may be caught in a vicious circle.

However, as Ester Boserup would argue, humans may also have the power to mitigate damage despite the threats of climate change and overpopulation. As more countries develop, for instance BRICS, they can invest in measures to reduce damage from natural disasters, such as investing in flood walls, earthquake warning systems and disaster response services. This can help countries prepare,

Photo: Chile Earthquake 2010 - Internet Geography

Photo: One killed as volcano erupts on Italian island of Stromboli thenews-chronicle.com

withstand natural disasters, and recover from them with minimal damage. Over time, as technology develops, prevention can become more effective, for example, hurricane or tsunami warning systems may become quicker, hence saving more lives. Therefore, whilst the future may appear bleak, there may be more hope than there seems.

Photo: Wildfire in Australia

Damage from Hurricane Matthew is seen from the air along the west coast of Haiti, October 6, 2016. Photo by Reuters

https://ops.group/blog/iceland-volcano-alert -katla-yellow/# https://www.almendron.com/tribuna/after-shocks-ofthe-2008-sichuan-earthquake/

The Habs Geographical Committee 2022

Claudia

Raghav Avital

Leo Sia

Anant Reese

Nik