Abraham Lincoln Gettysburg Address

November 19th 1863

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new
nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are
created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation
so conceived and so dedicated can long endure.
We are met on a great battlefield of that war.
We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those
who here gave their lives that that nation might live.
It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow
this ground.
The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above
our poor power to add or detract.
The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never
forget what they did here.
It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they
who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which
they gave the last full measure of devotion -that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain;
that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom;
and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish
from the earth.

Science:
Earthquake Hazards
The type of hazard depends on the strength of seismic activity, along with such
factors as local topographic and built features, subsurface geology and
groundwater. A large earthquake will always be followed by a sequence of
aftershocks.
Shaking damage to Chch house
Ground Shaking
If an earthquake generates a large enough shaking intensity, structures like
buildings, bridges and dams can be severley damaged, and cliffs and sloping
ground destabilised. Perched or stacked objects may fall and injure or bury anyone
close by. In the largest earthquakes whole districts can be devastated by the
multiple consequences of ground shaking.
Groundshaking will vary over an area due to such factors as topography, bedrock
type, and the location and orientation of the fault rupture. These all affect the way
the seismic waves travel through the ground. For an explanation of the exceptional
high energy of the Christchurch earthquakes in 2011 have a look at this video.
tsunami sign
Tsunami
Tsunamis are long wavelength oceanic waves generated by the sudden
displacement of seawater by a shallow earthquake, volcanic eruption or submarine
landslide. What is it like to face a tsunami? Watch this video!
A number of waves may be produced and they can travel long distances at high
speeds to flood far-off shores. The height of a tsunami varies and may be affected
by the sea floor depth and shape, and other factors. New Zealand is susceptible to
tsunamis originating from distance sources around the Pacific Ring of Fire as well as
from very close to our coastline. Near source tsunamis will allow for very little
warning.
Large earthquakes may generate tsunami waves in enclosed water bodies such as
lakes. In New Zealand there are large lakes that could be affected, for example
Lakes Wakatipu and Wanaka that are near to the Alpine Fault.
Christchurch rockfall
Landslides and Rockfalls
Groundshaking due to earthquakes destabilises cliffs and steep slopes, causing
landslides and rockfalls as a significant side-effect. Heavy rain and unconsolidated
or fractured rock are exacerbating factors.

Subsidence and Lateral Spreading

Subsidence, or lowering of the ground surface, often occurs during earthquakes.

This may be due to downward vertical displacement on one side of a fault, and can
sometimes affect a huge area of land. Coastal areas can become permanently
flooded as a result.
Subsidence can also occur as ground shaking causes loose sediments to settle and
to lose their load bearing strength (see liquefaction, below) or to slump down
sloping ground (see Landslides and Rockfalls).
Lateral spreading occurs where sloping ground starts to move downhill, causing
cracks to open up, that are often seen along hill crests and river banks.
liquefaction effects in car park
Liquefaction
Liquefaction occurs when waterlogged sediments are agitated by seismic shaking.
This separates the grains from each other, reducing their load bearing capacity.
Buildings and other structures can sink down into the ground or tilt over, whilst
underground pipes and tanks may rise up to the surface.
When the vibrations stop the sediments settle down again, squeezing groundwater
out of fissures and holes in the ground to cause flooding. The aftermath of
liquefaction can leave large areas covered in a deep layer of mud.
Volcanic Hazards
Pyroclastic Density Currents
Pyroclastic density currents are are gravity-driven, rapidly moving, ground-hugging
mixtures of rock fragments and hot gases. This mixture forms a dense fluid that
moves along the ground with an upper part that is less dense as particles fall
toward the ground. The behavior of the fluid depends upon the solids concentration
relative to the amount of hot gases (i.e., solids-gas ratio). High concentration
density flows are called "pyroclastic flows" and are essentially nonturbulent and
confined to valleys. Low concentration density flows are called "pyroclastic surges"
which can expand over hill and valley like hurricanes. Temperatures may be as hot
as 900 degrees Celsius, or as cold as steam ( see "base surges" in section on
Hydroclastic Processes).
Pyroclastic flows and surges are potentially highly destructive owing to their mass,
high temperature, high velocity and great mobility. Deadly effects include
asphyxiation, burial, incineration and crushing from impacts. Many people and the
cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed in 79 AD from an erupion of
Mount Vesuvius; 29,000 people were destroyed by pyroclastic surges at St. Pierre,
Martinique in 1902; >2000 died at Chichnal Volcano in southern Mexico in 1982
from pyroclastic surges. The only effective method of risk mitigation is evacuation

prior to such eruptions from areas likely to be affected by pyroclastic density

currents.
Lahars
Lahars are part of the family of debris flows that are fluids composed of mixtures of
water and particles of all sizes from clay-size to gigantic boulders. The abundance of
solid matter carries the water, unlike watery floods where water carries the
fragments. Debris flows have the viscous consistency of wet concrete, and there is a
complete transition to watery floods. Lahars are composed of volcanic particles and
originate directly or indirectly from volcanic action. Lahars can form by hot
pyroclastic surges or flows entering watershed systems or flowing over snow and
ice, by eruptions through crater lakes, by heavy rains on loose volcanic debris -that is, any process by which volcanic particles can become saturated by water and
move downslopes. They can move with velocities as low as 1.3 m/s to as great as
40 m/s on steep slopes (1 m/s = 2.55 miles per hour). They are known to have
travelled as far as 300 km (1 km = 0.63 miles). Lahars have destroyed many
villages and lives living on Indonesian volcanoes because most people live in valleys
where lahars flow. The 21,000 lives lost at Armero, Colombia, was from a lahar that
formed during the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz in 1985. It was generated by
meltwater from the interaction of pyroclastic surges with snow and ice, from a very
small eruption. Lahars can transform into regular floods as they become
increasingly diluted with water downstream. This phenomenon was first discovered
at Mount St. Helens where hot pyroclastic surges transformed to lahars, which
further transformed to hyperconcentrated streamflow and then to normal streamflow turbulence (floods).
Debris-flow Avalanches
The eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980 started with a relatively small
volcanic earthquake that caused collapse of the north side of the volcano because it
was oversteepened and therefore unstable. When the landslide occurred, it
decreased the pressure on the pressurized interior of the volcano which expanded
explosively to form a lateral blast that devastated the countryside north of the
volcano. Most of the debris flow avalanche was diverted down the North Fork Toutle
River, but some moved directly northward over a 300 meter ridge and down into the
next valley. Since the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, dozens of volcanoes that
have given rise to avalanches have been discovered. For example, 40 avalanches
exceeding 1 Km3 in volume, and 22 with a volume of less than 1 km3, are now
known from the Quaternary alone, and 17 historic volcanic avalanches have been
identified. The hilly topography north of Mount Shasta in northern California is now
known to be the result of a have debris-flow avalanche. Some are known to extend
up to 85 km from their sources and to cover tens to more than 1000 km2 in area.
Lava flows
Lava flows rarely threaten human life because lava usually moves slowly -- a few
centimeters per hour for silicic flows to several km/hour for basaltic flows. An
exceptionally fast flow (extremely rare) at Mt. Nyiragongo, Zaire (30-100 km/hour),

overwhelmed about 300 people. Major hazards of lava flows -- burying, crushing,
covering, burning everything in their path. Sometimes lava melts ice and snow to
cause floods and lahars. Lava flows can dam rivers to form lakes that might
overflow and break their dams causing floods. Methods for controlling paths of lava
flows: (1) construct barriers and diversion channels, (2) cool advancing front with
water, (3) disruption of source or advancing front of lava flow by explosives.
Tephra falls and Ballistic Projectiles formed on Land
Tephra consists of pyroclastic fragments of any size and origin. It is a synonym for
"pyroclastic material." Tephra ranges in size from ash (<2 mm) to lapilli (2-64 mm)
to blocks and bombs (>64 mm). Densities vary greatly, from that of pumice (<0.5))
to solid pieces of lava with density about 3.0. Blocks from basement material may
exceed 3.0. Material may be juvenile (formed of magma involved in the eruption ) or
accidental (derived from pre-existing rock).
Tephra fall and ballistic projectiles endanger life and property by (1) the force of
impact of falling fragments, but this occurs only close to an eruption, (2) loss of
agricultural lands if burial is greater than 10 cm depth, (3) producing suspensions of
fine-grained particles in air and water which clogs filters and vents of motors,
human lungs, industrial machines, and nuclear power plants, and (4) carrying of
noxious gases, acids, salts, and, close to the vent, heat. Burial by tephra can
collapse roofs of buildings, break power and communication lines and damage or kill
vegetation. Even thin (<2 cm) falls of ash can damage such critical facilities as
hospitals, electic-generating plants, pumping stations, storm sewers and surfacedrainage systems and sewage treatment plants, and short circuit electrictransmission facilities, telephone lines, radio and television transmitters. When
dispersed widely over a drainage basin, tephra can change rainfall/runoff
relationships. Low permeability of fine ash deposits leads to increased runoff,
accelerated erosion, stream-channel changes and hazardous floods. In contrast,
thick, coarse-grained deposits closed to the source can increase infiltration capacity
and essentially eliminate surface runoff.
Many of the hazards of tephra falls can be mitigated with proper planning and
preparation. This includes clearing tephra from roofs as it accumulates, designing
roofs with steep slopes, strengthening roofs and walls, designing filters for
machinery, wearing respirators or wet clothes over the mouth and nose because
tephra can contain harmful gases adsorbed on the particles as acid aerosols and
salt particles.
Volcanic Gas
Magma is molten rock containing dissolved gases that are released to the
atmosphere during an eruption and while the magma lies close to the surface from
hydrothermal systems. The most abundant volcanic gas is water vapor; other
important gases are carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, hydrogen
sulfide, chlorine, and fluorine. The gases are transported away from vents as acid
aerosols, as compounds adsorbed on tephra and as microscopic salt particles. Sulfur
compounds, chlorine and fluorine react with water to form poisonous acids

damaging to the eyes, skin and repiratory systems of animals even in very small
concentrations. The acids can destroy vegetation, fabrics and metals. Atmospheric
veils of dust or acid aerosols caused by large-volume explosive eruptions can effect
regional or global climate.
Most volcanic gases are noxious and smell bad, but they can cause mass fatalities.
An rare case of mass deaths by volcanic gases in 1986 at Lake Nyos, in Cameroon,
West Africa. Tons of carbon dioxide spilled out of Lake Nyos, and flowed silently
down a canyon and through 3 village occupied by 1700 people. They and 3000
cattle died instantly from lack of oxygen.
Carbon dioxide emissions are now being monitored at Mammoth Mountain,
California.
Tsunamis
A tsunami is a long-period sea wave or wave train generated by a sudden
displacement of water. Tsunamis travel at very high speeds through deep water as
low broad waves and build to great heights as they approach the shallow bottom of
shores. Most are caused by fault displacements on the sea floor, but many have
been caused by volcanic action. The eruption of Krakatau in 1883 produced
tsunamis that killed 36,000 people. The pyroclastic flow generated by this eruption
displaced the water that initiated the tsunamis.
WHO ARE MOST VULNERABLE TO NATURAL HAZARDS?
Natural disasters frequently occur across the world, affecting both developed and
developing countries. However some populations are clearly more vulnearable than
others. Different communities and countries are more susceptible to the impact of
these hazards. The vast majority of lives both lost and affected by natural disasters
come from developing countries, underlining the link between poverty and
vulnerability to disaster.
At the root of this disparity is poverty. Simply put, people in wealthier countries
have better access to the kinds of resources that help both prevent natural
disasters becoming crisies and to cope with them when they do occur.
The earth is a hazadous place and natural disasters will continue to occur, but it is
mainly in poorer countries that they lead to humanitarian disasters. The vast
majority of lives claimed by natural disasters are in such countries and survivors
often lose their livelihoods in the aftermath and are forced into more extreme levels
of poverty.
This is not purely down to economics, but also age and gender play a large part
as does the environment that people live in.
Industrialised Countries
Suffer higher short term economic losses

Have mechanisms in place to avoid or reduce loss of life, e.g early warning systems
and building regulations to ensure development in high risk areas is designed to
withstand forces
Have immediate emergency and medical relief infrastructure available which
reduces casuality numbers
Insurance against property and infrastructural losses
Developing countries
Cause setbacks to long term economic and social development of the country
Lack of resources for early warning systems; unplanned squatter developments are
not designed to withstand natural forces
Inflicts massive casualities due to lack of relief infrastructure and resources
Forced to divert funds from development programs to emergency relief and
recovery
The last mile
Disasters are triggered by external hazards, but they also stem from vulnerability;
people being in the wrong place without protection. It is therefore vital that
information extends to communities to help them adopt protective actions and
engage people living outside of the early warning systems. This is commonly known
as the last mile, which means that warnings often dont reach those who need
them most.

Poorer people are often marginalised socially, politically and geographically and
often may not receive early warning of hazards. The relationship between
underdevelopment and disasters is made clear in the International Federation Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) World Disaster Report 2009.
Why does poverty mean vulnerability?
If an area prone to natural hazards such as flooding or earthquakes. there are
various measures that can be taken to prepare. Early warning systems can be
adapted; well organised evacuation proceedures can be put in place; buildings can
be designed and built to withstand hazards; protective barriers can be built to insure
against rising water levels.
However, such projects require adaquate financial resources, effective government
and strong community links. A protection that developed countries across the world
benefit from, but a safeguard rarely possible for poorer nations.
Each year natural disasters occurr across the world and in recent years countries
including Haiti, Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, USA, China, India, Iran, Turkey and
Chile have all suffered severely, with the loss of hundreads of thousands of lives.

The highest casualties can be seen in the poorer nations of both Haiti and
Indonesia.
Rapid urbanisation has led to poorer people being marginalised from safe and legal
areas in many of these countries, forcing many to live in high risk locations, such as
flood plains, river banks, steep slopes and reclaimed land.
In these unplanned squatter settlements, homes are not built to withstand such
natural forces. Many of these settlements lack even the most basic infrastructure,
such as health and fire services and fresh water and sanitation. This leaves
communities extremely at risk following a natural disaster.
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