Hazards

Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc380999519 h 1Causes of the disaster PAGEREF _Toc380999520 h 1Effects of the earthquake PAGEREF _Toc380999521 h 2Tsunami warnings PAGEREF _Toc380999522 h 3Disaster responses PAGEREF _Toc380999523 h 4

IntroductionThere exist various biological, mechanical, chemical, physical or environmental agents that have the potential of causing damage or harm to people or other organism. These are known as hazards and exist in the day to day life and eventually lead to disasters. This paper will therefore look at a hazard that that lead to a particular disaster, the cause of the event and the consequences that came with the event.

Disasters are risk hazards that have the potential of causing significant societal, personal as well as damage the environment. Disasters manifest themselves in a way that threatens the people or environment. The recent earthquake that resulted to a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that took place on 26th of December flood is an example of a natural hazard that was disastrous and devastating effects on India.

Causes of the disasterThe tsunami was caused by an earthquake that struck at around 7.58 am. This earthquake was caused by the subduction of the oceanic plate known as Indo-Australian plate under the continental plate known as Eurasian plate approximately 240Kms off the coast of Indonesia. It was a mega thrust earthquake that involved an uplift of the sea floor about 20meteres up all the way to a fault line that was about 1000Kms in length. This uplift of the sea floor resulted to the displacement of tones in billions that set into motion a tsunami wave that hit the Indonesian coast in just under half an hour of the occurrence of the earthquake.

Effects of the earthquakeDespite the fact that the seismic waves took place 240kms off the coast the waves from the earthquake caused damage to houses that were build poorly and even those buildings that were better over 3 storeys. There were primary effects and secondary effects of the tsunami. The primary effects of the tsunami were loss of lives. A huge wave of people lost their lives in the different countries that are found along the Indian Ocean. These were 14 countries and the total death tall came to about 250,000.the highest death tall was recorded in the island of Indonesia (Planetgeography ,2010).Many people was also reported missing as others were left homeless as their houses were destroyed .there was also serious damage to ports, roads, hospitals, bridges, hospitals, forests and crops that were found within a kilometer from the shore. There was also loss of many public buildings as destruction of villages completely as well suffering significant damages (Ames, 2012). There were also areas like Sri Lanka were there was derailing of a train by forces of the waves which resulted to too many deaths. There was also loss of important public buildings, services as well as workers that were skilled. Among the secondary effects of the tsunami were diseases like dysentery and cholera these diseases were rampant and spread easily since there was a challenge of clean water and sanitation. Many people in the refugee camps succumbed to death due to these pandemics. There were income losses since fishing boats were destroyed. The marine fishing industry contributed greatly to the local economies in several countries. After the tsunami the industry has underwent a decline because there was a significant loss of fish in the local waters and damage of fishing vessels. There was also a significant impact on the economies of countries such as Thailand since they relied on tourism. The damage on the coastline as well as coral reefs that had previously served as tourist attractions brought about this impact. Soil and water were also contaminated that resulted to continuous economic problems for countries that are agricultural. In the initial stages, the greatest environmental impact of the tsunami was the damage on ecosystems like coral reefs, coastal areas, plants and animals. These natural features however protected countries from further effects inland. Environmental problems were felt further when buildings and facilities that were used for storage containing chemicals, sewage and materials that were hazardous were destroyed. These dangerous substances were carried together with debris that lead to contamination of various areas.Ground and water supplies were contaminated and in effect drinking water and organisms were affected (Ames, 2012).

Tsunami warningsIn the past the tsunami warnings forecasted have been ignored. This is largely because the alerts do not come from sources that have huge impacts that will necessitate necessary responses. The voices that give these warnings are often questionable when it comes to sincerity and urgency. The warnings have been common from scientists for a long time but most people believe that if it has not happened yet it will never happen. Therefore the warnings on tsunami are not taken to heed. Proper precautions are therefore not taken when a warning is made .its only until warnings are made by government officials or if they are publicized on local or international levels. Prior to the disaster there is said to have been warnings made many years before the event happened but people just took the warning as mere scientific speculations. Even on the actual day of the tsunami people did not get the warnings that could be useful to them and that they needed. The unfortunate part is that the warnings that finally came minutes before and this as to late for many people (Disaster, 2013).

Disaster responsesIn the event of disasters there are ways that people respond to the disaster this are short term and long term responses. Short term responses included the burying of dead in mass graves so that they could stop the spread of the pandemics. There was also money set aside for reconstruction of the destroyed areas by governments and non governmental organizations. A lot of time as taken before the process of rebuilding stared due to the clearing of debris .There was also relocation of people in temporary refugee camps where they were provided with shelter and food. Long term responses included the relocation of the refugees into actual homes where they could start their lives.

References

Ames, H. (2012). The Effects of the Indian Ocean Tsunami.Retrived march 9, 2013 from http://www.ehow.com/info_8251241_effects-indian-ocean-tsunami.htmlDisaster. (2013). Tsunami Warnings. Retrieved march 9, 2013 from http://www.tsunamispecialenvoy.org/tsunami-warnings.htmlPlanetgeography. (2010).Indian Ocean Tsunami 2004.retrieved march 9, 2013 from http://www.slideshare.net/PLANETGE0GRAPHY/indian-ocean-tsunami-case-study