Earthquakes in Israel

From the Guardian Article: "An Israeli soldier searches in the rubble of a school during a drill simulating an earthquake in Holon, Israel, in 2012. More drills are expected soon. Photograph: Ariel Schalit/AP"

Recently, there have been a series of minor earthquakes in Israel. There have been six total in the last week. Most were too minor to even feel, but were recorded by seismologists. A few were big enough to notice, but none were big enough to cause any damage or injuries. The biggest one was at a magnitude of 3.6.

There is a fault line running through Israel, along with a few other countries like Syria and Turkey, as well as from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea and up the Jordan River Valley. This fault is the Dead Sea Transform and it separates the African Plate and the Arabian Plate. Apparently, there is a major earthquake approximately every 100 years or so along this fault, and the last really major earthquake was in 1837, which had a magnitude of 7.0 and killed 4,000 people. So they are quite overdue for another one. And even though it's impossible to predict when it will happen, Professor Amotz Agnon of the Earth Sciences Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said that this string of minor earthquakes is "a reminder that we are heading for a big earthquake." (NY Times) 

Because of these recent tremors, the government officials and scientists have not only been alerting the their citizens, but have also put into motion drills to practice evacuation and teaching them how to respond to an earthquake to increase safety and decrease the chances of human injury or loss. The biggest concern, however, is how the buildings have been constructed. Essentially, they are old buildings with weak materials that are very likely to collapse and cause injuries, so the public has been advised to run outdoors during an earthquake. There will be more drills in schools and public instruction will be updated. Money has been set aside to rebuild or retrofit these buildings, but unfortunately nothing has been done. 

I still think this is a good example of preparedness because even though they don't know when it will occur, they are getting the public ready to react and respond in case such a disaster does occur. They are taking steps to help decrease human loss and physical damage.

New York Times on the Israel Earthquakes
 Washington Post on the Israel Earthquakes
The Guardian on the Israel Earthquakes

Building Collapses in India

In the last few months, India has been experiencing a lot of building collapses.  Just a few days ago, a residential building in New Dehli collapse, killing at least one person and with two people in the hospital. In April, a multistory building in Thane (a city in the Mumbai region) collapsed, killing several. Also in April, a building in Mumbai killed 61 people, and there was also a garment factory in Dhaka, Bangledesh that collapsed during the work day, killing 1,127 people in what the NY Times called "the deadliest disaster in the history of the garment industry".

Several reasons for these collapses have been found, but to me the common factor between all these buildings is the "substandard" material being used to build them. India has such a large population, but with so many people with low incomes, they can't afford to build safe structures, let alone ones that might survive a natural disaster. Construction regulation also seems to be a major problem. In the case of the garment factory, the owners didn't build it to safety standards to begin with, then began adding more illegally constructed floors and power generators that shook the building whenever they were on. Despite these safety issues, the factory owners ordered their employees to keep working. Clearly, the enforcement on building regulations needs to be increased.

These recent building collapses in India speak a lot about hazard management in less developed countries. Safety seems to low on the priority list. I feel like the risk workers in these areas take are mostly involuntary. I'm sure they would all rather work in a safe building, but because having any kind of job is better than no job, especially in just a poor area, I could argue that many feel the risks of not having a job are far greater than having one, even in unsafe conditions.

NY Times Article Right After the Dhaka Collapse
NY Times Follows Up on the Dhaka Collapse
CNN on the Residential Building Collapse in New Dehli

Today's Earthquake in the Philippines

Today, an earthquake occurred in the Philippines. It was reported as about a 7.1 or a 7.2 magnitude quake, with a an epicenter located near Tagbilaran City in the country's Bohol Province. The amount reported dead keeps rising, with the current number (current meaning about 11AM Central Time) being about 85, 69 of which were all from Tagbilaran City.33 people are missing, many probably trapped in rubble. 164 have been reported injured (CNN). According to a government official that monitors earthquakes, it was "the strongest tremor felt in the area in the last 23 years" (BBC News).

Many of the deaths occurred to do several different things, such as damaged or collapsed buildings (such as a market roof that fell), stampedes of people, and a fishing port that collapsed. Power was cut in certain areas, roads spit, and historic buildings that have been around since the 1500's or 1600's were extensively damaged or collapsed as well.

Although it was unfortunate to occur on a day that was supposed to be joyous, where many in the Philippines were celebrating the Muslim holiday of Eid ul Adha, it could have been quite a bit worse had it not occurred on a holiday. It was reported that there could have been many more deaths if it wasn't because on this holiday, schools are closed. This means that large amounts of students would not have been packed into a school building during the earthquake. Less people in one area means less of a chance of a high death rates during this kind of event.

Some things that I think, based on class lectures, need to be done after this event. Short term, as much relief as possible needs to be sent in. According to the articles in the links below, the Philippine Red Cross was indeed sent it. But I also thinks that if a warning system isn't already established, they should quickly find a way to alert as many people as possible as fast as possible. This is because of the possibility of a tsunami caused by this earthquake. They need to be alerted as soon as possible if one is coming, so that they may prepare and potentially leave the area. Related to this is the set up of evacuation routes, so that people can efficiently and safely travel out of risk areas. It also needs to be relayed to the public that aftershocks are common after an earthquake and fires are also a common hazard. Without this kind of information, more deaths could occur even after the initial quake. Though I am not sure how well the Philippine government is doing overall to respond to this disaster, and we may have to wait a few days to find out, the President is going to visiting areas affected by the quake. It is important for the government to show support in this kind of event so that the people may trust and support them back.

Update: By 3:30 PM Central Time, the death toll rose to 93 people.

Measuring an Earthquake's Magnitude

BBC News - Philippine Quake Hits Bohol and Cebu

Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake Hits Philippines

Dozens Dead in Philippine Earthquake

Google Public Alert on the Philippine Earthquake

The Aftermath of Fukushima

I found something that really interested me today on my favorite news site source. I've always really enjoyed the "Through Photos" type of articles on the Guardian's website, where they take a story of some kind and tell it through photographs, which I find to be a very effective in showing the consequences of a disaster. The one that I am providing a link to at the bottom of this post shows photos of what the evacuation zones of the Fukushima disaster now currently look like. This includes shots of abandoned towns, abandoned houses, and even of people who refused or decided to stay within the evacuation zones, a couple of which have decided to take on the responsibility of taking care of animals that had been left behind when their owners fled the area. So I have just included a few images and a link to the original article just because I find these images powerful and enlightening.

Deserted Towns

The BP Oil Disaster - Three years later

In April 2010, a fire started and caused an explosion on an oil rig called Deepwater Horizon, owned by the large gas company BP. It killed 11 people and injured 17, and eventually the rig sank in 5,000 ft of water, causing a five-mile long oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico. A spill emergency response system failed to activate when it began, and the well was found to be leaking 1,000 barrels of oil every day. Thtis spill caused not only billions of dollars in monetary damage, but also massive environmental damage, including a large leap in turtle deaths (all of the sea turtle species in the Gulf of Mexico are threatened or endangered), disrupting breeding grounds for many species, coating many individuals of various species living in that gulf with the oil, and created “dead zones” where marine life cannot survive. The spill was expected to have long lasting effects on the Gulf.

This week, three years after this disaster, we are still dealing with this. BP has returned to court and this trial is meant to determine whether the company practiced “gross negligence” during the disaster. It must be determined whether or not BP did everything they could to best respond to the disaster and to cap the well from which the oil was spilling, as well as how much oil escaped into the ocean. The plaintiffs are arguing that BP had “wasted time” trying to cap the well and most of the plans they did try failed. They also say that before the event, BP didn't even have a plan to respond to a potential disaster such as this. The defendants say that that BP did their best, and tried every plan possible, and that their strategy was agreed upon but other companies in their business.

Though this environmental disaster occurred years ago, I think it is still important to look at it today and discuss it within this blog. Even though the event is no lingering occurring, we are still dealing with its consequences. It also shows how that the true extent of the damages of a disaster may not be known until long after the event. For example, it is just now being determined by the court hearings that are occurring exactly how much oil was spilled, and who is to blame, and even why it happened. Years later, we still need to explore how the disaster was (or was not) prevented or even made worse. Another example of why it is still important to look at this disaster and its follow-up is because it is was almost solely due to human error. There were reports of a leak before the actual disaster itself, showing BP’s negligence: they failed to act despite warning signs, and I feel like this is a huge factor in how much damage occurs in any disaster.  

Deepwater Horizon Disaster FAQ

2010 BP Oil Spill Interactive Timeline

BP Wants to Suspend Payouts

BP Goes to Court

$18 Billion in Fines for BP and the Oil Spill

Typhoon Usagi Hits Southern China, the Philipines, Taiwan and Hong Kong

According to The Guardian news source, “an average of 20 typhoons hit the Philippines ever year. In 2011, typhoon Washi killed 1,200 people, destroyed more than 10,000 homes and displaced a further 300,000 residents. Bopha, the strongest storm to hit last year, flattened three coastal towns on the southern island of Mindanao, killing 1,100 people and destroyed crops, property, and infrastructure." (Source)

This year, forecasters predicted what was first called a super typhoon. It had winds up to 127 mph and after passing between the Philippines and Taiwan, was set to hit Hong Kong, with a strong chance of it hitting southern China. It started out with winds past 150 mph, but those winds started calming down to winds mostly around 109 mph, so it was then classified as a severe typhoon.

I believe that due to the storms in the past few years, the government and people of the Philippines have learned how to better deal with this kind of hazard. Before the storm hit, they began evacuating northern coastal villages, suspending ferry services and called in fishing boats. They made preparatory emergency response procedures in southern areas and also sent storm alerts to many of the provinces in parts of the Philippines. They cut off power and communications, hospitals prepared for a possible influx of patients and they began stocking up on food and water. Hong Kong and China began shutting down flights and shipping, as well as travel between China and Taiwan. Fishing boats were asked by the Guangdong (a southern Chinese province) asked fishing boats to head in, as well as in Shanwei, and other provinces also took precautionary measures by evacuating their citizens.

I think that all these procedures are a really good example of knowing people knowing what kind of hazard-prone areas they live in and setting up warning systems, evacuation, and reactionary plans to those hazards. It is, I believe, a crucial step in minimizing not only financial damages but also, and most importantly, human losses. As we learned in the Disaster Simulation game, putting in warning systems greatly helped prevent loss of life.

However, more precautionary measures could have been taken, in my opinion. Though the typhoon itself didn't kill too many people, the winds and rain increased an already heavy monsoon season in that region, and created a surplus of landslides that hit several towns in the Philippines  which then ended up killing a total of around 47 people. I feel like, knowing how this kind of season works, things could have been done to the land most likely to create a landslide, lands that were probably already very steep and with looser soil. I think that some kind of “breaker” (like trees act as breakers for wind and storms) for the ground could have slowed the moving land and decrease momentum, and thereby decreasing the impact of the landslides. I am no expert in this kind of thing, and have zero idea of this kind of thing is possible. There may have also been monetary reasons why this kind of thing wasn't done. If the governments or towns and villages in place in the Philippines could not have afforded such secondary measures, that could be part of the reason why the landslides ended up being as bad as they were. I think it is also a could example of how while a disaster itself can cause damage, it can also start a sort of chain reaction, where secondary events can cause just as much damage or more. 

Philippine Evacuations

Video of Usagi Approaching China and Taiwan

Usagi Hits Southern China

Usagi and Hong Kong

Landslides in the Philippines after Typhoon Usagi

A New Way to Help Prevent Disaster in Kenya

Kenya is home to 41 million people, with about 17 million going without access to safe drinking water. And in any area, let alone one with such a large and growing population, it goes without saying that that is really, really problematic. In an area that is already dry and arid, this problem is intensified when droughts start occurring.

Citizens of Turkana County, Kenya wait in line at a relief center

Difficulties surrounding water safety (such as purifying water) and security (like making sure there is enough water for everyone) have been a recurring prominent problem in Africa, and with the increasing climate change, water has become a growing concern not just in other less developed countries, but in more developed ones as well.

However, Kenya has found a new resource that can help them to tackle these droughts and potentially even prevent future ones. The discovery of this resource was helped by advanced satellite exploration technology (specifically, a groundwater mapping project) under the name of GRIDMAP (Groundwater Resources Investigation for Drought Mitigation in Africa Programme), headed by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in partnership with the government of Kenya and with the financial support of the government of Japan. This technology “combines remote sensing, seismic and conventional groundwater information to explore and map groundwater occurrence over large areas in short periods of time”, according to the UNESCO’s website article on the subject.

Drilling to confirm the aquifers

The resources they discovered were confirmed locations of two very large aquifers (the Lotikipi Basin Aquifer and the Lodwar Basin Aquifer) underground that have been collecting water from rain that falls in Kenya. These two sources could prove to completely change the country’s continuous water safety issues and provide relief during droughts. Though the water found in these aquifers still need to be assessed and tested, this is still a huge step forward and I believe that even if the water is currently unsafe to drink from directly, I’m sure there every effort will be made to use this water in some way to help the people of Kenya and decrease water-related deaths.

I believe this discovery is important and related to environmental hazards because it provides a good example of people knowing that there is a problem occurring and although there may not be an immediate solution, they are working to provide future generations a way to combat and even prevent future hazards. One of the reasons why the discoveries of these aquifers is so exciting is because of the potential to create underground irrigations systems that can run through the country and provide water to crops and drinking water for livestock. So not only could this help with droughts but other disasters as well, such as famine. Hopefully we can find other such resources around the world. 

CNN Reports the Discovery
NYTimes on the New Water Resource
UNESCO on the Aquifers in Kenya