Extreme Natural Events Earthquakes

Earthquakes

Volcanoes

Lesson 1: The Processes Involved in Earthquakes A

Key Questions: 1. What are the three stages in the process of earthquakes? 2. What is the structure of the earth? 3. What causes tectonic plates to move? 4. What are the three main types of plate boundary? 5. What are the plate boundaries in NZ and Japan? 6. What happens when an earthquake hits? Do Now:

List as many natural hazards as you can.

Flooding

Cyclones

tornadoes

Wildfires

Avalanches

Definition:
Extreme Natural Event an irregular, forceful act of nature that causes damage to the environment and affects people.

Fact File: Extreme Natural Events Outline

Theme 1. Processes (How Are Earthquakes Created?) 2. Vulnerability (What is the Risk for a Specific Location?) 3. Effects on the Environment 4. Social and Economic Effects (People) 5. Responding to the Effects Before and After

We will use the same TWO case studies for each theme: Christchurch and Japan

1. New Zealand is on the boundary between the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates TRUE FALSE 2. S waves travel faster than P waves 3. An earthquake of 6.0 on the Richter scale releases 30 times more energy than a 5.0 TRUE 4. The ultimate cause of earthquakes is convection 5. The North American plate is subducting under the Pacific Plate near Japan 6. L waves cause the least damage in an earthquake 7. Continental crust is usually heavier than oceanic crust 8. The Southern Alps are the product of a transform fault TRUE TRUE FALSE FALSE TRUE

FALSE

9. The South Island is moving slowly further south at 37mm a year

10. The focus is the spot on the surface of Earth directly above the place FALSE where the earthquake occurred.

Lesson 3: Evaluating Vulnerability of ENEs

Key Questions: 1. How do we assess the risk of an ENE? 2. How vulnerable is New Zealand to earthquakes?

1. Frequency
How often do they happen?
Earthquakes 14,000 a year (only 100-150 are felt) Cyclones last major one was Cyclone Bola in 1986 Volcanoes only 7 active volcanic areas Floods 10 a year? Tornadoes 3 or 4 a year Wildfires usually one or two during summer

2. Timing
When can they happen?
Earthquakes any time Cyclones only during summer months Volcanoes any time Floods after heavy rain (usually winter) Tornadoes during thunderstorms Wildfires hot and dry summers with little rain

3. Location
Where can they happen?
Earthquakes near plate boundaries, but otherwise anywhere Cyclones only in the North Island if the sea is warm enough Volcanoes only where there is volcanic activity (5 fields in NZ, none in the South Island) Floods near rivers, lakes, coasts Tornadoes anywhere Wildfires only in areas where vegetation can burn (i.e. not native forest)

4. Severity
How much damage can it cause?
Earthquakes can cause buildings to collapse, landslides, liquefaction etc Cyclones winds, rain and waves can combine to cause damage Volcanoes ash, lahars, earthquakes, lava can all cause different types of damage Floods covers things with water Tornadoes destroy buildings Wildfires destroy vegetation and buildings

5. Size
How widespread is the damage?
Earthquakes large areas involved Cyclones can move and damage different areas Volcanoes only around the volcano, except ash which can travel far distances Floods can affect large areas Tornadoes localized Wildfires can destroy large areas of vegetation

6. Duration
How long does it last?
Earthquakes a few seconds to a few minutes, plus aftershocks Cyclones up to 48 hours Volcanoes days, weeks, months Floods days or weeks Tornadoes minutes Wildfires days

7. Warning
Can we predict it before it happens?
Earthquakes no Cyclones yes Volcanoes kind of Floods yes Tornadoes kind of Wildfires kind of

8. Preparation
What can we do to prevent damage?
Earthquakes building codes, low rise buildings Cyclones building codes, evacuation, shelters, boarding up windows Volcanoes evacuation Floods sandbags, evacuation Tornadoes shelters Wildfires fire bans

Fact File: How Vulnerable is New Zealand to Earthquakes?

Pretty vulnerable! Located on the plate boundary between the Pacific Plate and the IndoAustralian Plate Part of the ring of fire We have many hills and mountains which can increase the risk of landslides We are an island, so vulnerable to tsunami from sea-floor earthquakes Places like Wellington and the East Cape of the North Island are more vulnerable due to being close to major faultlines, and because they are densely populated. However, we do have building codes and zoning regulations that help to minimize the risk.

Activity: Practice Paragraph Write a FULL paragraph explaining the processes that create an earthquake. Use data and examples from either the Christchurch or Japan earthquake to support your answer. You should use at least two diagrams to explain your answer. This is due on FRIDAY the 2nd of September. Anyone who does not hand it in to me then will be writing it in front of me during lunchtime.

Lesson 4: Effects on the Environment

Key Questions: 1. How does an earthquake affect the land? 2. How do we draw this in a diagram? 3. What were THREE ways the land was affected in Christchurch? 4. What were THREE ways the land was affected in Japan?

Lateral Movement

Vertical Movement

Fissure

Scarp

Horst and Graben

Soil liquefaction

Landslides

Tsunami

Seiches

New lakes/rivers

Loss of lakes/lagoons

Specific Statistics for the Christchurch Earthquake

EFFECT 1: Landslides
The suburbs of Sumner and Redcliffs experienced landslides.

The Shag Rock was reduced to half its former height.

30 million tonnes of ice fell off Tasman Glacier into Tasman Lake, causing waves 3.5 metres high Large boulders and rocks fell in the Port Hills

EFFECT 2: Liquefaction
320,000 tonnes of silt brought to the surface through liquefaction The most damaged areas are the eastern suburbs of Christchurch, (e.g. Bexley, Avonside, Burwood, New Brighton) which were closer to the epicentre and so suffered more shaking, and because they were built on a former swamp A lot of the silt that rose to the surface dried and turned to dust, which created air pollution in Christchurch when strong winds picked it up (22 high-pollution nights this winter, double last year)

EFFECT 3: Land Movementof Christchurch by up to 45cm in places, The land rose in the south
and fell in the north by up to 15cm. Sections of the Port Hills rose 40cm. The land to the north of the fault shifted eastward and the land to the south shifted westward

Specific Statistics for the Tohoku Earthquake

EFFECT 1: Land Movement 2.4 metres to the east The island of Honshu moved
Japan widened by 3.5 metres The land dropped (subsided) by up to 1.2 metres in Oshika Peninsula, Miyagi, and this is thought to be permanent The axis of Earth shifted 25cm after the earthquake

Because of the movement of the land and the shift in axis, the Earth is actually spinning faster now and our day has been shortened by 1.8 microseconds

EFFECT 2: Tsunami
Arrived at first locations 10 minutes after the quake and was still arriving at others two and a half hours later. Travelled up to 10km inland Covered 561 square kilometres of land with water Highest recorded wave = 39.8 metres at Omoe Peninsula near Miyako

Most severe effects were felt along a 670km stretch of coastline from Erimo in the north to Oarai in the south.

EFFECT 3: Liquefaction
Was very common in areas of land reclaimed from the sea or in valleys. For example around Tokyo Bay areas, which got up to 30cm of sand in places.

Caused cracks in the land from lateral spreading, as well as boiling sand and mud Soils compacted due to liquefaction, causing a loss of height of up to 1.2 m in some places.

Hundreds of square kilometres were affected by liquefaction

Activity: Practice Paragraph #2 Write a FULL paragraph explaining how an earthquake can affect the land. Use data and examples from either the Christchurch or Japan earthquake to support your answer. You should use at least two diagrams to explain your answer. This is due on TUESDAY the 5th of September. Anyone who does not hand it in to me then will be writing it in front of me during interval.

Lesson 5: Social and Economic Effects Key Questions: 1. What are some possible social effects of earthquakes? 2. What are some possible economic effects of earthquakes? 3. How were people affected socially and economically in Christchurch? 4. How were people affected socially and economically in Japan?

Brainstorm: Social and Economic Effects!

Social

Economic

CHRISTCHURCH SOCIAL EFFECT:$100,000 or more worth of damage Housing 30,000 houses with
10,000 homes likely to be demolished. The government will pay out the assessed value of the house for many, leaving some with debt.

Liquefaction and landslides are two of the major reasons for the damage

CHRISTCHURCH SOCIAL EFFECT: Casualties with over 100 of 181 deaths, causing grief among friends and families,
those caused by the collapse of the CTV building. People from 15 different countries among those killed in the earthquake.

1500 to 2000 people were treated for injuries sustained in the earthquake.

CHRISTCHURCH SOCIAL EFFECT: Loss of Facilities

80% of Christchurch had no power after the earthquake. One week later, 15% of households were still without electricity. Damaged nearly one-third of the sewerage system in the city, meaning people needed to conserve water. Some of sewage leaked into peoples yards. Some people needed to use Portaloos and chemical toilets. There were still some houses in August 2011 using these.

Over 50% of all the roads in Christchurch suffered damage after the quake

CHRISTCHURCH SOCIAL EFFECT: Education the quake, and 163 primary and secondary schools were affected by
most remained closed for 3 weeks. 4879 Christchurch students moved to other schools throughout New Zealand

Some schools had to share one school grounds, with one school using them in the morning, the other in the afternoon (e.g. Avondale Girls High School and Burnside High School)

CHRISTCHURCH ECONOMIC EFFECT: Cost of Repairingthought to total about 1.8 billion the Damage The cost of fixing damaged land is
dollars. The New Zealand Government is expected to pay about 12.9 billion in total for the earthquake (e.g. medical supplies, workers etc)

CHRISTCHURCH ECONOMIC EFFECT: Loss of Business in the CBD middle of Christchurch remains cordoned off in Around 25 blocks in the
what is called the Red Zone. It contains a lot of businesses that are unable to open. No-one is allowed to enter as the buildings are assessed for safety and many are demolished. Some businesses are temporarily opening in the suburbs of Christchurch while they wait for the Red Zone to reopen.

CHRISTCHURCH ECONOMIC EFFECT: Loss The Christchurch convention centre is to be demolished, and the $18 of worth of bookings it hadand earthquake will go Tourists before the million elsewhere if a replacement is not found. Conventions
There was a 6.5% drop in tourism spending in New Zealand in the year to June 2011.

Tourism operators and international language schools in Christchurch are thought to have had a reduction of 20 to 30% in numbers since the earthquake.

CHRISTCHURCH ECONOMIC EFFECT: Rebuild Benefits

It is estimated that spending on the rebuilding of houses, businesses and infrastructure could boost the economy of Christchurch by 4% Employment opportunities are expected to increase, especially in the construction sector. 30,000 additional employees are expected to be needed.

TOHOKU ECONOMIC EFFECT: Cost of Repairing the Damage

The overall cost could exceed over $300 billion (US) The Tohoku region suffered the greatest damage

It is estimated that 25 million tonnes of rubble and debris was created in the earthquake and tsunami, all of which needs to be removed and rebuilt.

TOHOKU ECONOMIC EFFECT: Agriculture

23,600 hectares of farmland, most rice paddies, were damaged by the tsunami, and the salt could affect the soils for years.

90% of the 29,000 fishing boats on the coasts closest to the epicentre were destroyed or damaged. Over $5 billion damage has been done to the fishing industry.

Car manufacturers like Toyota and Nissan shut down completely for 3 days after the earthquake. Many brand new cars were lost in the tsunami as well. Other factories were forced to close because of power cuts, including Nestle, affecting Japanese industry.

TOHOKU ECONOMIC EFFECT: Business Shutdown

Two oil refineries were set on fire, halting production, and others were shut down for safety checks.

TOHOKU ECONOMIC EFFECT:carGlobal Impact by It was predicted that production around the world could reduce
30% due to the earthquake. After the nuclear crisis, the Japanese stock market fell by over 10%, and stock markets in South Korea, Germany and Hong Kong followed.

The Japanese yen increased in value to its highest levels since World War 2.

TOHOKU SOCIAL EFFECT: Casualties just under 6000 people injured and Over 15,000 people were killed,
almost 4,500 people still missing. Victims over the age of 60 accounted for 65.2% of the deaths. 19 foreigners were also killed in the quake.

At least 82 children were made orphans.

TOHOKU SOCIAL EFFECT: Homelessness by the tsunami reached a The number of evacuees from areas hit
maximum of 300,000 In total, around 750,000 buildings (many of them houses and apartments) have been destroyed or damaged,

It is now estimated that 450,000 people were made homeless after the quake. Many families arent expected to move back to permanent housing for two years.

TOHOKU SOCIAL EFFECT: Loss of Facilities

The tsunami caused several nuclear accidents, causing evacuations of thousands of people and cutting power. The most dangerous was at Fukushima. 4.4 million houses were left with no electricity and 1.5 million without water. There were power shortages across the country. Transport was disrupted in the Tohoku region, with many roads (over 2000 damaged), bridges (almost 100 destroyed) and railways (almost 6km of railway lines washed away).

TOHOKU SOCIAL EFFECT: Disease of death from chronic disease and stress in There have been reports
the temporary shelters, with 570 added to the death toll after the event. It is estimated that between 5 to 15% of the survivors of the quake will suffer Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Raw sewage, rotting fish, mud, silt and rotting vegetation are all found in the stagnant tsunami water and residents have to be extra careful not to spread the diseases that breed in this water.

Lesson 6: Actions Before an Earthquake

Key Questions: 1. What are four things people did before the Christchurch and Tohoku earthquakes to help reduce the social and economic effects? 2. How successful were these measures?

Emergency Survival Kit

Water - 3 day supply. Food - 3 day supply. Can opener. Camping stove or BBQ with gas cylinder for cooking. Cooking pot or pan, plastic plates, knives, forks etc. Matches or lighter. First aid kit and any essential medication. Flashlights (preferably waterproof) and spare batteries. Candles. Battery operated radio (for emergency news and warnings) and spare batteries. Weatherproof clothing and hats. Sturdy footwear. Sunglasses and sunscreen. Sleeping bags and blankets. Toys for small children. Special medical equipment for family members with disabilities.

TASK: Actions Before the Christchurch Earthquake Read over the information for Christchurch one more time. Then: (a) Rank the four precautions in order from most to least important (b) Rank the four precautions in order from most to least effective (c) List TWO social effects and TWO economic effects of the earthquake that were reduced by these precautions.

TASK: Actions Before the Tohoku Earthquake Read over the information for Tohoku one more time. Then: (a) Draw a FULL labelled diagram showing all four precautions (b) Rank the four precautions from most to least effective

Lesson 7: Immediate Responses to Earthquakes

Key Questions: 1. What are the main priorities following an emergency? 2. What was the immediate response after the Christchurch and Tohoku earthquakes?

Do Now: If a major earthquake hit right here right now, and you were uninjured, what would be the first three things you would do once it stopped?

TASK: Survival Priorities Group Task (a). Get into groups of four or five. (b). Take a piece of blank A4 paper and write the names of the people in the group at the top. (c). Listen to me describe a survival situation. (d). Now discuss in your group the following actions and put them in order of priority (from the one you would do first to the one you would do last) - Build a fire - Build a shelter - Build a signal for rescuers - Bury the dead - Elect a leader - Find food - Find water - Scout the area around the crash site to see what is there - Search the island - Search the wreckage for survivors - Search the wreckage for useful items - Treat the injured

TASK: Survival Priorities Group Task - Answers (e). Swap your final rankings with another group (f). Below are the answers as given by a survival expert. 1. Treat the injured 2. Search the wreckage for survivors 3. Search the wreckage for useful items 4. Scout the area around the crash site 5. Build a shelter 6. Build a fire 7. Build a signal for rescuers 8. Find water 9. Elect a leader 10. Find food 11. Search the island 12. Bury the dead

Immediate Response Health and Welfare Rescue trapped people Treat the injured Evacuate people from dangerous areas Cordon off dangerous areas Search wreckage for survivors Put out fires, shut off busted water mains Provide shelter, food, water for people Remove dead bodies Identify dead bodies Return identified bodies to loved ones Long-Term Response Rehabilitation Survey the damage Clear roadways Remove debris Decide on the fate of buildings/areas Provide temporary housing Provide monetary assistance/insurance Demolish unstable buildings Reopen business areas Reanalyse earthquake policy Repair and Build new houses/buildings/roads

TASK: Immediate Response in Christchurch (a). Take a FULL BLANK PAGE in your note book. (b). Draw a circle in the middle of the page and write Immediate Response in Christchurch (c). You are now going to watch a short clip of the news from the day of the earthquake. Around the outside of the circle, in a mind-map style, you are going to write down the actions made in response to that earthquake shown in the clip. (e.g. fire service rescues people from tall buildings using the ladders on their fire trucks). Your goal is to get as much specific detail (numbers, names, places) as possible. (d). Now that the clip is finished, pair up with another student and swap information. Add any new information you get from your partner to your own mind map (d). Use your mind map to answer the following question: What were the three most important actions done immediately after the earthquake that helped to reduce the number of casualties?

Activity: Tohoku Earthquake Immediate Response 1. Read the information regarding the Tohoku earthquake. Then, complete the table at the bottom of the sheet. Think about the challenges facing the immediate responders in both areas.

Paragraphs due Friday September 16th

1. Write a paragraph explaining how an earthquake affects the land (+ case study info and diagrams) 2. Write a paragraph discussing two social and two economic effects of earthquakes (including case study info)
3. Write a paragraph describing how people can prepare for an earthquake to lessen the social and economic effects. Use case study info and diagrams to support your answer. 4. Write a paragraph discussing how people respond to earthquakes. Include both the immediate and long-term responses and case study info in your answer.

Lesson 8: Long-Term Responses to Earthquakes

Key Questions: 1. What have been the long-term responses to the Christchurch earthquake so far? 2. What have been the long-term response to the Tohoku earthquake so far?

Do Now: What do you think are the most challenging aspects of organizing the clean-up after an earthquake? List three things.

Activity: Long-Term Responses 1. Read over the information sheet and answer the following questions: (a) Give three reasons why the rebuilding in Japan has been slower than in Christchurch. (b) What would it mean for you if you lived in a green stickered house in an orange zone of Christchurch? (c) What would you do with all the rubble produced in the Tohoku earthquake? (d) How can you be sure that any money you donated to the rebuilding process actually went to Christchurch or Japan? (e) Would you buy a house in Christchurch? Why or why not?

PICTURE QUIZ

Paragraphs due Friday September 16th

1. Write a paragraph explaining how an earthquake affects the land (+ case study info and diagrams) 2. Write a paragraph discussing two social and two economic effects of earthquakes (including case study info)
3. Write a paragraph describing how people can prepare for an earthquake to lessen the social and economic effects. Use case study info and diagrams to support your answer. 4. Write a paragraph discussing how people respond to earthquakes. Include both the immediate and long-term responses and case study info in your answer.