DISASTER RISK REDUCTION A PRIMER OF KNOWLEDGE THAT CAN MULTIPLY AND SPILL OVER FOR THE BENEFIT OF MILLIONS Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of North Carolina, USA

REMEMBERING 2O10: PART 2 APRIL - JULY VOLCANIC ERUPTION, OIL LEAK; EARTHQUAKES, SEVERE WINDSTORMS, FLOODS, LANDSLIDES, …

IMPACTED NATIONS Indonesia, China, Brazil, Taiwan, Iceland, Europe (Poland, Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic), Mexico, USA (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida), …

SOCIETAL IMPACTS DURING 2010 Volcanic ash cloud over Europe paralyzed air travel in Europe for weeks and cost the industry over $2 B. Oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico that continued for over 82 days caused an environmental disaster, cost tens of billions, and changed the way of life for millions.

VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS ICELAND

Unlike the subduction zone volcanoes along the Pacific Rim where the slow rise of magma gives early seismic warnings that an eruption is imminent, Iceland's hot spot volcanoes tend to erupt under ice sheets with little warning.

Eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano in Southern Iceland MARCH 20 and APRIL 14, 2010

The Eyjafjallajökull Volcano in Southern Iceland

The Eyjafjallajökull (AYA-feeyapla- yurkul) volcano in Southern Iceland, part of the volcanic process that originally formed Iceland, erupted a few minutes before midnight on Saturday, March 20th

ERUPTION HISTORY Eyjafjallajökull last erupted in 1821 in what was called a "lazy" eruption, which lasted almost two years.

The Eyjafjallajökull Volcano

AN 8-KM PLUME OF STEAM: APRIL 14, 2010

The Eyjafjallajökull Volcano: Lava and Lightning

Glacier and the Ash Cloud: April 18

Steam and Ash Cloud: April 17

View Toward the Volcano: April 18, 2010

Car Traveling Through Ash: April 18

Clearing Ash from Roof: April 18, 2010

Horses and the Ash Cloud: April 18

Plane (upper left) and Ash Cloud Over Iceland: April 18

ICELAND’S AIR TRAFFIC DISRUPTED BY THE ASH

EUROPEAN AIR TRAFFIC DISRUPTED: APRIL 15, 2010

A week of airspace closures caused by the ash threat to planes created the worst breakdown in civil aviation in Europe since World War II, which caused more than 100,000 flights to be canceled and airlines to lose over $2 billion. Scientists said the 800-meter fissure caused by the eruption was growing and heading towards the Myrdalsjokall glacier, which sits atop the powerful Katla volcano

An eruption at the Katla volcano could be disastrous, both for Iceland and other nations.

DROUGHT CONTINUES IN THE CARIBBEAN CONTINUES IN WESTERN CHINA

EARTHQUAKES INDONESIA CHINA TAIWAN CHILE

M7.7 EARTHQUAKE STRIKES INDONESIA NEAR EPICENTER OF 2004 QUAKE SUBDUCTION ZONE OF SUNDA AND INDO-AUSTRALIA PLATES 5:15 AM, APRIL 7, 2010

This earthquake, although much less powerful than the 2004 earthquake, awakened memories of the December 26, 2004 earthquake and Indian Ocean tsunami that killed over 216,000 people in 14 countries and caused losses of over $10 B.

LOCATION

TOWN OF SINABANG (60 KM FROM EPICENTER)

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a watch for tsunamis in Sumatra and Indian Ocean countries, but a destructive ocean surge never happened.

AN INTRAPLATE, M6.9 EARTHQUAKE STRIKES WESTERN CHINA STRONG AFTERSHOCKS FOLLOWED THE MAIN SHOCK 7:49 AM OCCURRENCE WAS DEADLY FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN APRIL 14, 2010

This earthquake didn't occur where the Indo-Australia and Eurasia plates meet; instead, it was an intraplate earthquake, occurring in the Tibetan plateau within the Eurasian plate. The Tibetan Plateau was created, along with the Himalayas, about 50 million years ago, as part of the Indian subcontinent began to collide with Eurasia.

The M7.9 Wenchuan earthquake that occurred on May 12, 2008 in Sichuan Province, which was 32 x stronger, was generated on the Longmenshan fault system.

The earthquake was centered in the township of Jiegu, in the county of Yushu, a rural, mountainous area that is part of the Tibetan Plateau populated mainly by farmers, sheepherders, and trades people. Qamdo, Tibet is the largest city near the epicenter.

LOCATION: QINGHAI PROVINCE NEAR TIBET

More than 90 % of the sun-dried mud brick and wood houses and buildings in the epicentral area collapsed, killing an estimated 1,144 people and injuring about 10,000..

NO QUAKE RESISTANCE

An estimated 70 % percent of the schools were destroyed, and residents, paramilitary, and soldiers used shovels in a frantic effort to save children trapped in the rumble.

SEARCH AND RESCUE

TYPICAL DAMAGE

The minority nationalities living in the epicentral region don't normally keep the dead overnight, so the funerals that occurred April 14 th made accurate estimates of the death toll impossible. Communication and transportation systems in the area were knocked out, slowing local disaster assistance and search and rescue efforts, and limiting international assistance.

SURVIVORS FACED HARSH TEMPERATURES

Temperatures in the mountainous Tibetan plateau 5 km above sea level can reach minus six degrees at night, so the government quickly arranged to send five thousand tents and fifty thousand blankets for the homeless survivors. The government allocated $30 million for relief and mobilized more than 5,000 soldiers, medical workers and other rescue workers to join with 700 troops already on the ground.

M5.3 AND 6.5 CHILE EARTHQUAKES: JULY 14, 2010

FLOODS BRAZIL (RIO DE JANEIRO) EUROPE

RIVERS BURST BANKS AND BREACH DAMS IN CENTRAL EUROPE AFTER WEEKS OF RAIN POLAND, HUNGARY, GERMANY, CZECH REPUBLIC, … MAY – JUNE, 2010

The heaviest rains in over a decade forced thousands along rain swollen rivers in Poland, Germany, and Hungary to evacuate from their homes, breached dikes and sand bag dams, and caused damage to homes, and infrastructure estimated at over $2.5 billion.

POLAND AND VISTULA RIVER

LANDSLIDES BRAZIL (RIO DE JANEIRO) TAIWAN

FLOODS AND MUDSLIDES PARALYZE BRAZIL WORST IN 50 YEARS APRIL 7, 2010

RIO DE JANEIRO

Flooding from torrential rains and mudslides claimed at least 200 lives in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro City and State.

WIDESPREAD INUNDATION

10,000 homes, mostly in the slums where about a fifth of Rio's people live, often in shacks that are vulnerable to heavy rains were severely impacted by mudslides

SEARCH AND RESCUE

LANDSLIDE IN TAIWAN EXACERBATED BY M6.5 EARTHQUAKE AND RAIN APRIL 26, 2010

LOCATION

LANDSLIDE

SEARCH AND RESCUE

SEVERE WINDSTORMS Hurricane Alex Tropical Storm Bonnie

The reduction of El Nino conditions in the Pacific created a favorable physical environment for an increase in Atlantic and Caribbean storms during 2010.

TROPICAL STORM – HURRICANE ALEX: The first named tropical storm of the 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season JUNE 26 - JULY 1, 2010

ALEX STARTED AS A TROPICAL WAVE IN THE CARIBBEAN: JUNE 20

After formation on June 25, a tropical storm warning was issued for the east coast of Quintana Roo on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and the east coast of Belize

In the central Caribbean Sea, the system produced heavy rainfall in the Dominican Republic that caused flooding and prompted the evacuation of more than 3,000 people.

TROPICAL STORM ALEX: LANDFALL AT BELIZE; JUNE 26

After making landfall in Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, Tropical Storm Alex strengthened again as it entered the very warm waters of the Bay of Campeche.

On the evening of June 28, a hurricane warning was issued for the coast of Texas, south of Baffin Bay to the mouth of the Rio Grande, and by the Mexican Government from the Rio Grande south to La Cruz.

FORECAST: TROPICAL STORM- HURRICANE ALEX

Although Alex’s path slowed work on the Gulf Oil Spill during its 71 st day, the good news is that the storm did not accelerate movement of the spill eastward into the Atlantic.

TROPICAL STORM BONNIE: The second named tropical storm of the 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forms in the Bahamas JULY 22-24, 2010

FORECAST: TROPICAL STORM BONNIE

FLOODS BRAZIL EUROPE LAREDO (USA) NUEVO LAREDO (MEXICO)

RIVERS BURST BANKS AND BREACH DAMS IN CENTRAL EUROPE AFTER WEEKS OF RAIN POLAND, HUNGARY, GERMANY, CZECH REPUBLIC, … MAY – JUNE, 2010

The heaviest rains in over a decade forced thousands along rain swollen rivers in Poland, Germany, and Hungary to evacuate from their homes, breached dikes and sand bag dams, and caused damage to homes, and infrastructure estimated at over $2.5 billion.

OIL SPILLS AND LEAKS GULF OF MEXICO

“GREAT GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL OF 2010” COASTS OF LOUISANA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, AND FLORIDA WERE IMPACTED BY A 5 MILLION BARREL OIL LEAK THAT CAUSED A HUGE ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER APRIL 22- AUGUST ???, 2010

OIL RIG EXPLOSION AND COLLAPSE CAUSED OIL LEAK ON OCEAN FLOOR THAT LASTED OVER 82 DAYS AND BECAME THE WORST ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER IN USA HISTORY

OIL RIG EXPLODED IN GULF OF MEXICO: APRIL 22

DEEP WATERR HORIZON IN GULF OF MEXICO: APRIL 22

DEEP WATER HORIZON: APRIL 22

GRAPHIC OF MILE-DEEP UNDERWATER OIL LEAK

The mile-deep, underwater leak added an estimated 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf, and fed a massive slick on the surface of the water that eventually impacted the environment, economic stability, and way of life of the entire gulf coast

NASA PHOTO OF OIL SPILL IN GULF OF MEXICO

British Petroleum scrambled to stop the leak by using techniques known to be at the margins of existing capability in deep water locations, but no one technique was immediately successful for a variety of reasons.

WORKING AT THE MARGIN OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY Use of robots to repair blowout preventers Oil containment booms Controlled Burning Oil skimmers Oil dispersal chemicals Oil containment domes Super tanker, “A Whale” A relief oil well

RESPONSE AND CLEAN-UP OPERATIONS WERE HINDERED BY HIGH WINDS AND WAVES, POLITICAL INDECISION AND DECISIONS, AND THE ARRIVAL OF TROPICAL STORM-HURRICANE ALEX IN THE WESTERN GULF

Strong winds and high tides initially complicated the work of emergency crews that began a massive work across the Gulf of Mexico to shut off, respond to, manage the oil leak, and meet the needs of people.

INITIAL OIL SHEEN ON WATER

OIL SLICK CONTINUES TO GROW

OIL REACHES CHANDELEUR SOUND: APRIL 30

OIL IN CHANDELEUR SOUND

Emergency crews used a number of methods to stop the spread of oil: 1) laying containment booms, 2) burning small contained pools of oil, and 3) spreading chemicals to disperse the oil,,,, but, all of these “good weather” methods FAILED.

CLEANUP CREW

PLACING AN OIL CONTAINMENT BOOM: MAY 29

BOOM CONTAINS SPREAD OF OIL: MAY 29

BOOM PROTECTING A SMALL ISLAND

CLEAN UP SHIPS AT ANCHOR DUE TO WIND & WAVES: MAY 1

BOOM NOT DEPLOYED DUE TO WIND & WAVES: MAY 1

WIND & WAVES REDUCE EFFECTIVENESS OF BOOMS

WIND & WAVES BREAK OIL BOOM

BP CONSTRUCTS AN OIL CONTAINMENT “DOME:” MAY 4

OIL DOME ENROUTE TO SITE OF LEAK: MAY 6

THE DISASTER STARTED BIG AND GREW WORSE OVER THE NEXT 105 DAYS The leak became a serious long-term threat to fishermen's livelihoods, marine habitats, beaches, wildlife, human health, tourism, and the way of life itself

BROWN PELICANS AT RISK FROM OIL SLICK

NORTHERN GANNET BIRD AFTER BEING CLEANED UP

DEAD SEA TURTLE

PASS CHRISTIAN, MS: REMOVING DEBRIS FROM BEACH

FISHERMEN OUT OF WORK: PERMANENTLY ???

LA BATRE, AL: ALL FISHING SHUT DOWN

TROPICAL STORM ALEX BECAME A HURRICANE ON WED., JUNE 30

HURRICANE ALEX SLOWS RESPONSE AND CLEAN-UP For safety reasons due to the choppy seas created by Hurricane Alex, ships and barges were moved from open waters to sheltered areas and skimming and drilling operations were put on hold.

HURRICANE ALEX “HELPS” BEACH CLEAN-UP Cleanup crews on the LA, MS, AL, and FL beaches were able to wash sand more effectively in locations where the oil had washed ashore as a result of the high tidal surges created by Hurricane Alex.

“A WHALE” ARRIVES IN GULF OF MEXICO: JULY 2

“A WHALE” BECOMES PART OF CLEAN UP EFFORT The 1,100-foot (335 m-long) ore and oil carrier named, "A Whale,” can collect 500,000 barrels (21 million gallons) per day of contaminated water, remove the oil, and return the “clean” water to the Gulf.

BP is hoping that the giant Taiwanese supertanker, "A Whale," can exponentially boost the amount of oil and water mix being scooped up from the surface of the Gulf, while continuing to drill relief wells that are expected to be completed in mid-August.

On July 5 th, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expanded the area closed to fishing in the Gulf beyond the current northwestern boundary off Louisiana, bringing to the closure to 210,258 sq km (81,181 sq mi), 33.5 percent of the Gulf’s Federal waters.

After 75 days, the oil leak has fouled some 715 km (444 mi ) of shoreline in four southeastern US states, killed wildlife, stopped most of the region's multi-billion-dollar fishing industry, and significantly slowed tourism.

The Gulf oil leak ( “spill” ) is now the worst in history, surpassing the damage done by the Exxon Valdez tanker that spilled 11 million gallons of oil into the ecologically sensitive Prince William Sound, AK in 1989.

BP said on Monday, July 5 th, that it had spent $3.12 billion USD on the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster