Natural Disasters: The Impact of Earthquakes

An earthquake is the shaking of the earth’s surface caused from a sudden release of energy usually from pressure built up in earth’s tectonic plates. Earthquakes can be recorded and measured using a seismograph. Seismographs use the Richter scale to measure the size of an earthquake, with a 3 or lower earthquake being minor and a 7 and above being a major earthquake that causes a great deal of damage. An earthquake can cause other disasters to occur as well, such as a tsunami, if the earthquake originates at sea, or a landslide if the earthquake occurs on a mountainous terrain.

Earthquake Disasters:
An earthquake itself is not usually responsible for causalities and injuries; rather, earthquakes can cause serious damage to buildings, man-made structures, and can even cause massive sea waves called tsunamis. These events are what make earthquakes so dangerous. Only major earthquakes can cause damage such as this, but compared to minor earthquakes, major ones rarely occur. Minor earthquakes happen all the time in places such as California and Alaska, but they are nearly all minor and hardly noticeable on the earth’s surface.

Ground Shaking:
Earthquakes cause the ground to shake for several seconds. Due to this, many buildings and other rigid structures are destroyed or damaged. The amount of damage that a given area receives from the shaking ground depends on the magnitude of the earthquake, the distance from the epicenter (the center of the earthquake on the earth’s surface) and geological conditions. Geological conditions may make the effects of an earthquake more severe.

During an earthquake, the ground may rupture as well, usually along faults (a fracture in a rock). Large structures, such as dams must be carefully built so that they are not on fault lines.

Landslides and Avalanches:
Due to the violent shaking during an earthquake, a landslide or avalanche may occur in mountainous areas with unstable, steep slopes. There is always the danger of a landslide in these areas for rescue crews attempting to provide relief to an area struck with an earthquake.

Fires:
Earthquakes cause fires as well because they damage electrical power and gas lines. To make matters worse, earthquakes can ruin water lines making it difficult to contain fires caused by earthquakes.

Tsunami:
When an earthquake occurs at sea, a massive amount of water may be displaced, causing towering waves that threaten coastlines in proximity of it. Tsunamis may even affect areas much further away because they can travel for great distances at about 600-800 kilometers an hour. Destructive tsunamis are usually only formed during earthquakes of 7.5 magnitude or higher.

The Amazing Natural Disasters Photos Collection

Panic on the streets as volcanoes continue to pound Indonesia

Thousands of panicked Indonesian villagers fled their homes Sunday as the volcanic Mount Merapi erupted another searing ash cloud, the Associated Press reports.

Previously evacuated Indonesians came back to their villages to check on their homes and animals falsely assured by Mount Merapi’s momentary hiatus, according to the Associated Press.

Thirty-eight people died and more than 50,000 were forced to flee since ash and lava first burst from the volcano on Tuesday, news reports say.

Another volcano, Anak Krakatoa, showed increased activity Sunday, unleashing small amounts of ash and lava into the air. Officials issued warnings to evacuate the area, raising the volcano’s alert to “high,” Al Jazeera reports.

The eruptions come on the heels of a tsunami, that killed nearly 450 and devastated villages on the remote island regions of Mentawai.

Indonesia has about 130 active volcanoes. The country is made up of more than 15,000 islands situated on several fault lines called the Pacific Ring of Fire, making it prone to earthquakes and volcano eruption.

Indonesian tsunami and volcano tragedies leave trail of destruction in disaster-plagued country

Disaster seems to be everywhere this week in Indonesia.

In a 24-hour span, the country was slammed by a tsunami that killed at least 272 people and an erupting volcano that has left up to 30 people dead.

The twin tragedies have stretched thin the country's ability to rescue the more than 400 people believed missing since the deadly 10-foot wave swept through West Sumatra.

"We need to find the missing people as soon as possible. Some of them might have run away to the mountains, but many would have been swept away," Harmensyah, who heads the province's disaster management effort, told Agence France-Presse.

He told the BBC that 4,000 families have been displaced.

An aerial photo shows a flattened building in a village on Pagai Island, West Sumatra. (Ibrahim/AP)

A farmer on the coast of North Pagai island said his wife and three children were killed by the wave and that he stayed alive by clinging to a piece of wood.

"About 10 minutes after the quake we heard a loud, thunderous sound," the man, identified as Borinte, told AFP. "We went outside and saw the wave coming. We tried to run away to higher ground but the wave was much quicker than us."

Food, shelter and medicine are finally starting to reach victims. The first images of the disaster show villages reduced to rubble, with homes torn to shreds.

In 2004, a 9.3-magnitude quake launched the infamous tsunami that killed 168,000 people.

Mount Merapi is Indonesia's most volatile volcano. (AP)

About 800 miles from this week's tsunami site, Mount Merapi spewed lava in central Java on Tuesday, filling the air with toxins and covering the ground in ash.

One of the dead was an elderly man found in his home kneeling, in mid-prayer, The Associated Press reported.

Authorities are urging people to remain evacuated until the volcano settles down.

Cows with their hides half-burnt in the volcano’s aftermath. (Prima/Getty)

"It's a little calmer today," Surono, the chief of Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, told The AP. "No hot clouds, no rumbling. But a lot of energy is pent up back there.

"There's no telling what's next."

Indonesia, a massive cluster of islands, is no stranger to natural disasters because of its location on the Pacific Ocean's Ring of Fire. The nation endures thousands of earthquakes each year and has the largest number of active volcanoes.

Delta Beach declared a disaster zone

Following last month's heavy storms, the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie has officially declared Delta Beach in a state of disaster.

Delta Beach Association spokesperson Don Clarkson asked RM council on November 9 to confirm the area is in a state of disaster, in an effort to apply for aid from the Province.

"It's a step in trying to receive any relief or funding from the Province or the Federal Government to repair the damage that was done by the storm of the 26th and 27th of October," said Clarkson.

He said the high winds from the storms during the last week of October caused erosion damage and high water levels.

"It's very serious on some people's property," said Clarkson. "It's very minor on other people's property. It's one of those freaks of nature."

Losses from natural disasters could triple by 2100: report

Global losses from natural disasters could triple to $185 billion a year by 2100, excluding the impact of climate change, according to a report, which calls for a shift in focus from relief work to preventative measures.

The joint report by the United Nations and the World Bank, published on Thursday, said the number of people at risk of storms or earthquakes in large cities could double to 1.5 billion by 2050. Simple preventative measures could curb losses from natural disasters, it said, citing Bangladesh's success in building shelters to protect against cyclones.

The study of natural hazards including earthquakes, heatwaves and floods called for investment in everything from improving weather forecasts, to re-painting steel bridges to avoid rust, and keeping storm drains clear of debris.

"Preventing deaths and destruction from disasters pays, if done right," according to the 250-page report by 70 experts entitled "Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters."

"Annual global losses from natural disasters could triple to $185 billion by the end of this century, even without calculating the impact of climate change," it said.

"Losses will triple primarily because you have economic growth and ... more people and property located in richer areas. As people get richer they’ve more to lose," lead author Apurva Sanghi told a telephone news conference.

Natural disasters in Africa hamper millennium goals

JOHANNESBURG — Climate change disasters on the African continent have raised the need for an humanitarian response as poverty continues to plague communities, the Red Cross director for Africa said on Wednesday.

"Natural disasters related to global warming are becoming more frequent in African countries. We have seen more cases of drought and floods compared to previous years," said Alasan Senghore.

"This year alone we have intervened in up to 6 cases of floods in 3 months. The devastation is severe," said Senghore on the sidelines of an African leadership forum hosted by the Red Cross.

According to Senghore, natural disasters in poor African countries would make it hard for governments to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Canada offers $100,000 in aid to victims of Indonesian disasters

OTTAWA—Ottawa says it will provide humanitarian support to those affected by the recent natural disasters in Indonesia.

International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda announced today the government would offer $100,000 to the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) and Red Crescent Societies.

The money will go to providing non-food emergency supplies to some of those affected by the recent volcanic eruptions and earthquake.

Indonesia’s Mount Merapi volcano began erupting October 25, killing 138 people and displacing more than 100,000.

On the same day, a strong earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra island, triggering a tsunami and killing no less than 449 people and displacing some 15,000.

Indonesia is one of Canada’s countries of focus in Asia and in 2008-2009, the Canadian International Development Agency contributed $79.32 million in development assistance to Indonesia.

Four natural disasters in less than a year for Tumbarumba

ALAN Lawrance has been Tumbarumba Shire Council’s director of engineering services for less than a year and in that time there have been 4 natural disaster declarations.

First there was a bushfire emergency last December, then a storm in March and finally floods in September and October.

“They have had a devastating effect on our works program, but this storm in October has had the biggest impact,” Mr Lawrance said.

Council estimates the cost of reparing infrastructure destroyed or damaged by the Oct. 15 storm will be about $6 million, and like other similarly affected Riverina councils is working to get roads open.

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Indonesians appeal for help after twin disasters

KUWAIT: Dhani Putri Dwi Kusuma, in her early thirties, watches the news of the disaster-stricken area of her native Indonesia in despair. Her family lives under the slopes of Mount Merapi where the Mount Merapi volcano has reportedly killed more than 40 people. A nurse working in Kuwait, Dwi Kusuma says that her family was spared because they immediately moved to the city of Java following the news of the volcano's imminent eruption in early October. "Scientists monitoring the volcano advised people living there to move away so we listened to them and moved to the city of Java," she said. "My family was spared but I have some relatives and friends there who died.

Dwi Kusuma is one of the thousands of Indonesians living in Kuwait who recently responded to a donation drive for the victims of the two disasters that struck Indonesia recently. The 2 disasters have reportedly killed more than 500 people, most of them victims of the tsunami. "We’re collecting cash donations because it's easier to send and can instantly help our compatriots who were affected by the two disasters," said Suli Hamdani, a representative of the Indonesian community in Kuwait.

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