Tectonics Topic 3 (Disaster Risk Management) examples for AO3 essays

Examples for AO3 Essay Questions Topic 3 | Disaster Risk Management 3.1 Sustainable development through disaster risk management a. Earthquakes 1. 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami ( M w 9.3) ● Environmental: The earthquake and tsunami destroyed coastal ecosystems and habitats. In Indonesia, it was estimated that 30% of coral reefs and 35% of wetlands were damaged. ● Economic: The earthquake and tsunami resulted in $13 billion in damage, as tourist destinations like Maldives, Thailand and Sri Lanka experienced a downturn of visitors due to the damage (tourism). In Aceh, Indonesia, over 600,000 people lost their fishing-related jobs.

● Social: - The disaster resulted in the death of 227,000 people and millions homeless across 14 countries (spread of disaster). - Many survivors experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). - It pushed the proportion of people living below the poverty line in Aceh, Indonesia from 30% to 50% . ● Evacuation: in Patong, Phuket , a 10 years old girl, Tilly Smith , having learnt about signs of tsunami at school, recognised the receding sea and alerted the security guard, saving hundreds of lives. ● Prevention: after the earthquake, Thailand implemented a comprehensive earthquake and tsunami warning system (to assure tourists) including tsunami buoys in Andaman Sea, 130 warning towers across 6 southern provinces , and a network of seismic stations and sea-level monitoring stations . 2. 2010 Haiti earthquake ( M w 7.0)

● Challenge: - Haiti lacked the finances to invest in earthquake-resistant buildings, hence many buildings collapsed and most of the city was destroyed (compared to Chile’s stronger earthquake of M w 8.8 but only 500 people died due to having earthquake-resistant buildings) . - The community in Haiti was not able to organise itself for disasters as there were no measures or education . No network of community healthcare workers. Poor law enforcement and corruption. - Lack of resources (financial and technological resources) led to critical shortage of ambulances and heavy machinery to remove rubble from collapsed buildings. The rescue team had to remove tons of rubble manually with hammers or rods to pull the trapped people. - Lack of community resilience as people couldn’t organise themselves for disasters, hence there was unrest and chaos as survivors found it hard to take care of themselves and recover from the disaster. ● Vulne