THEMATIC SLIDES

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THEMATIC SLIDES
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Extreme Events
World Map of Historical Earthquakes
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Natural and Human-Induced Extreme Events
GEOHAZARDS

• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes and Tsunamis
• Landslides/Mudslides

CLIMATIC HAZARDS

• Floods
• Drought
• Hurricanes/Cyclones

INDUSTRIAL/OTHER HAZARDS

• Oil Spills
• Nuclear Accidents
• Meteor Impacts

Phuket, Thailand Before and after the 2004
tsunami
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Natural and Human-Induced Extreme Events

• Extreme events, whether natural or
  human-induced, can cause significant
  environmental change, not to mention their
  devastating impacts on peoples lives

• In 2005, there was an 18 rise in disasters that
  killed 91 900 people

• There were 360 natural disasters in 2005
  compared to 305 in 2004 the number of floods
  increased by 57 in 2005 and droughts by about 47

• The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami accounted for 92,
  and the 2005 South Asian earthquake, for 81 of
  the deaths in each respective year

Sources CRED 2006 UN/ISDR 2006
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Volcanoes

• About 550 volcanoes have erupted in the Earths
  recorded history and an equivalent number of
  dormant volcanoes have only erupted in the past
  10 000 years

• On any given day, about ten volcanoes are
  actively erupting

• Explosive eruptions give little warning, while
  effusive eruptions, which send out gently flowing
  lava, allow time for people to escape

Sources Camp 2000 Francis 1993 NGDC 2004
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Ecosystem recovers after a major volcanic
eruption in Mount St. Helens

• 1973 The Mountain Peak 10 years before eruption

• 1983 3 years after eruption

• 2000 Vegetation re-growth around the volcano

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Lava Flow after Kilauea Volcano
Maps of lava-flow field from the Puu O o and
Kupaianaha vents of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii,
January 1983-January 1991
Jan 83-Oct 86
Jan 83-Dec 86
Jan 83-Dec 89
Jan 83-Dec 91
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Visible destruction caused by Kilauea Volcano
Store and Inn buried by lava
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Mapping volcanic risk in Africa
In this example, high population densities are
also associated with areas with active volcanic
activity
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Earthquakes and Tsunamis

• According to long-term records (since about
  1900), we can expect about 18 major earthquakes
  (7.0 - 7.9 on the Richter scale) and one great
  earthquake (8.0 or above) in any given year

• The number of earthquakes and tsunamis resulting
  in fatalities has increased approximately in
  proportion to global populations

• The growth of giant urban cities near regions of
  known seismic hazard is a new experiment for life
  on the Earth

• Tsunamis are a threat to life and property for
  all coastal residents

Sources NEIC 2003 USGS 2004 UNEP 2005 (GEO
2004/2005)
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Indian Ocean Tsunami
Devastated Banda Aceh
Serene Banda Aceh
Dec. 2004 Tsunami devastated the region of Banda
Aceh
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Bam, Iran City destroyed by earthquake
A 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck southeastern
Iran on 26 December 2003, killing over 40 000
people, injuring 16 000, leaving 70 000 homeless
and destroying much of the city of Bam, the
earthquakes epicenter
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Earthquake triggers avalanche Buries Yungay
city, Peru
Andean glaciers have caused enormous material
losses and thousands of casualties
Scars of the events of 1962 and 1970 in Yungay
are still visible
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Avalanche wiped out the city of Yungay
1970 Earthquake wipes out Yungay, claims 18,000
lives
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Mapping seismic risk in Africa
In this example, high population densities are
also associated with areas with active seismic
activity
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Landslides and Mudslides

• Worldwide, thousands of people die every year
  from landslides and mudslides

• In the United Sates alone, they cause an
  estimated US1 billion in damage and kill 25 to
  50 people every year

• Earthquakes, volcanoes, and a number of types of
  weather events can trigger landslides, which are
  characterized by lethal mixtures of water, rocks,
  and mud

• The two largest landslides in the world in the
  20th century occurred at Mount St. Helens,
  Washington, in 1980 and at Usoy, Tajikistan, in
  1911

• The deadliest landslide in the 20th century was
  also the result of an earthquake, which occurred
  in western Iran on 20 June 1990. It caused 40
  00050 000 deaths

Sources NEIC 2003 UNEP 2005 (GEO 2004/2005)
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Landslide creates natural lake in Tibet

• Area before landslide creates a natural dam
  blocking the Pareechu River

• 2004 The water is slowly building behind the
  dam, creating an artificial lake

By 13 August 2004, the lake had spread over 188
hectares and had reached a depth of 35m
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Floods

• Worldwide, the number of major flood disasters
  has grown significantly, from 6 cases in the
  1950s to 26 in the 1990s

• From 1971 to 1995, floods affected more than 1
  500 million people worldwide

• In the most calamitous storm surge, a flood in
  Bangladesh in April 1991 killed at least 138 000
  people and left 10 million homeless

Sources UN-ISDR 2004 DFO 2004 Wikipedia 2006
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Mozambique under water
2000 Due to severe flooding, half a million
people were made homeless and 700 lost their
lives
22 August 1999 Mozambique under normal conditions
1 March 2000 Mozambique under water
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Devastating floods in Haiti and the Dominican
Republic
12 May 2004 Flood waters cover much of the area
surrounding Gonaives in Haiti
26 Sept 2004 the water has receded, leaving
behind a lush green vegetation
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Tropical Storm Jeanne submerges Island of
Hispaniola
17 September 2000 Gonaives in perfect shape
22 September 2004 Roads visible on 17 September
2000 image have disappeared, as have a number of
buildings and adjacent farmlands submerged by
water and mud
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Dust storms a global environmental concern

• 23 March 2002 a relatively clear day

• 8 April 2002 extremely dusty skies dust
  obscures most of the surface

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Dust traveling over the Pacific
Images taken between April 29 and May 5, 2005
shows dust from the Gobi Desert crossing the
Pacific, well on its way to North America
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Drought

• A drought is a period of dryness, especially when
  prolonged, causing extensive damage to crops or
  preventing their successful growth

• Climate change will potentially increase the
  likelihood of droughts in dry and semi-arid
  regions. There is already evidence that a number
  of such regions have experienced declines in
  rainfall

• Throughout history, various parts of the globe
  have suffered drought and subsequent famine,
  resulting in huge humanitarian and economic losses

Sources Wikipedia 2006 UNEP 2005
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Drop in water level Lake Mead
Drought in the Western United States
2000
2004
PhotoView
18 meters
Hoover Dam and Lake Mead
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Golf courses along Lake Mead
New Golf Courses since 2001
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Drought in Kenya
2004/2005 harvest 300 000 metric tonnes cereal
deficit
Green clusters areas where rainfall was
plentiful and vegetation was thriving
Brown clusters dry areas where vegetation is
less dense than it has been in the past
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Drought in Australia

• 2002 Pasture land for livestock was so parched
  and the price of grain so high, that many farmers
  sold their livestock and converted their land to
  crops in 2003

• 2003 Image showing the expanded crop area

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Hurricanes and Cyclones

• Scientists predict that global warming will cause
  warmer ocean temperatures and associated
  increased moisture in the atmosphere - two
  variables that work to power hurricanes. As a
  result, more intense hurricanes that can cause
  even more damage when they hit land are predicted

• Large parts of densely populated coastal areas
  are subject to the inundation caused by hurricane
  storm surges on numerous occasions, they have
  experienced heavy economic losses from these
  events

Sources Henderson-Sellers et al. 1998
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Devastation due to Hurricane Charley

• July 28, 2002 Crisp, neat neighborhoods

• August 15, 2004 Debris scattered across roads,
  parking lots, and yards, giving the scene a
  messy appearance

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Oil spills and fires in the Persian Gulf
In the images, the blue shows water, green shows
natural vegetation, light yellow shows desert
areas and black shows pollution from oil spills
and fires
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Worlds worst nuclear accident
The Chernobyl nuclear accident killed more than
31 people immediately
More than 120 000 people from 213 villages and
cities were relocated outside the contamination
zone
Much of the farmland surrounding the plant was
heavily contaminated with radioactive nuclides
and was subsequently abandoned
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Meteor impact generated structure
Velingara Crater appears to be a
meteor-impact-generated structure

• 1975 Image predates the agricultural development

• 2001 Intense agricultural systems have appeared
  near the center of the crater

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Extreme Events
One Planet Many People Atlas of Our Changing
Environment
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