1. GCSE Hazards Revision
Haiti Earthquake and Montserrat
Volcano

2. Types of Plate Boundary
Type of Plate Example of Movement? Diagram Features Hazards
Boundary Boundary
Destructive Nazca plate, Oceanic Nazca Ocean trench Volcanoes and
South American plate moves earthquakes
plate towards and
under continental
N S
S. American plate
Constructive Eurasian plate, Plates moving Mid-Atlantic Volcanoes and
North American away from each Ridge earthquakes
plate other
Conservative North American Sideways, past San Andreas Earthquakes
plate, Pacific plate each other, Pacific Fault
plate moving
faster than N.
American

3. Earthquakes
• Occur along FAULT LINES.
• Movements in the ground due to sudden release
of friction in the form of SEISMIC WAVES.
• The FOCUS is inside the earth’s crust where the
earthquake happened.
• The EPICENTRE is the point on the Earth’s surface
above the focus, where the shakes are strongest.
• Measured using the RICHTER SCALE where each
number is 10 times greater than the last

4. Earthquakes

5. Earthquakes - Haiti
• 12th January 2010
• Haiti is an island in the Caribbean Sea
• Magnitude measured 8.0 on the Richter Scale
• Conservative plate
boundary – N.
American plate
moving past the
Caribbean plate

6. Earthquakes - Haiti
Primary Effects L
– 200 000 deaths i
– 3 million people left homeless, moved into tents n
– 8 hospitals damaged in Port-au-Prince (capital) k
Secondary Effects s
?
– The Haitian tourist industry declined
– Outbreaks of disease eg. Cholera
– Destruction of government buildings made the island
difficult to control, the police force collapsed

7. Earthquakes - Haiti
Aid struggled to get to
those who needed it most
because of the damaged
Overseas infrastructure
aid agencies
eg. Oxfam, Red
Cross
Trying to rebuild
Responses healthcare and
agriculture but not
enough money
Social media
such as Facebook and
twitter used to
spread messages

8. Earthquakes - Haiti
Reducing the Effects of Earthquakes
• Earthquake proof buildings (MEDC and LEDC)
• Earthquake drills (regular practices)
• Preparing and planning in the home (earthquake kits)
• Earthquake prediction amps and shaking maps
• Overseas aid and rebuilding
WHICH OF THESE ARE
SHORT TERM?
WHICH ARE LONG
TERM?

9. Why do people live near earthquakes?
They cannot Worth the risk –
unlikely that an
afford to live earthquake will
anywhere else happen in their
lifetime
Many plate
boundaries are near
the coast (best land
for farming/trade)
Family and
friends live
there

10. Volcanoes
Volcanic
bombs, ash,
lava, gases
Crater
Parasitic
Main cone
vent
Magma
chamber

11. Volcanoes
Dormant
Active Volcano has Extinct
Volcano has erupted in the last Volcano unlikely to
erupted recently 2000 years, but ever erupt again
not recently

12. Volcanoes – Soufriere Hills
• Destructive plate boundary
• In the south of the Caribbean island of
Montserrat
• Much of the population are poor and rely on
subsistence farming
• Having been dormant for 500 years the
volcano erupts in August 1995 and again in
1997

13. Volcanoes – Soufriere Hills
Primary Effects
– 50% of people evacuated to the North to live in shelters L
– 19 people dies
– Pyroclastic flows destroyed farms and started fires
i
– 2/3 of island covered in ash n
– Plymouth (capital) turned into a ghost town k
Secondary Effects s
– Poor sanitation and crowding in the North
– Tourist industry still suffering ?
– Over half the population have not returned after they were
evacuated

14. Volcanoes – Soufriere Hills
Helicopters from
France help to find
missing people
Medical
assistance from
neighbouring
Responses Caribbean islands
Many people
still relying on
aid 15 years How could
later Montserrat
reduce their
dependence on
aid?

15. Volcanoes
Reducing the Effects of Volcanoes
• Improved warning
• Better buildings – smooth, sloped roofs to prevent ash build up
• Education – what to do if the volcano erupts
• Prevent/restrict building on land vulnerable to effects
• Emergency kit for households…

16. Volcanoes
Emergency Kit
• Non-perishable food
• Torch
• First aid kit
• Water
• Radio
• Whistle
• Blankets
• Face masks and goggles

17. Why do people live near volcanoes?
Those in LEDCs Tourism from
those wanting to
often cannot
see the dramatic
afford to move landscape
away
Fertile soils
producing
better crops
People feel an
eruption will not
occur in their
lifetime
Geothermal
energy for
example in
Iceland