DOCSLIB.ORG

International Year of Planet Earth 8. Natural Hazards in Canada John J

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
International Year of Planet Earth 8. Natural Hazards in Canada John J Document generated on 09/29/2021 8 a.m. Geoscience Canada International Year of Planet Earth 8. Natural Hazards in Canada John J. Clague and Peter T. Bobrowsky Volume 37, Number 1, January 2010 Article abstract Canada, the second largest country in the world, is subject to every hazardous URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/geocan37_1ser01 natural process on Earth − large earthquakes, tsunami, volcanic eruptions, landslides, snow avalanches, floods, hurricanes, tornados, severe storms, See table of contents drought, and sea-level rise. Fortunately, much of the country is sparsely populated; hence risk from these hazardous processes is localized to small areas adjacent to the Canada−US border, where most Canadians live. The Publisher(s) greatest risk comes from earthquakes and landslides on the populated south coast of British Columbia and parts of southern Ontario and Québec; from The Geological Association of Canada floods in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, or Toronto; and from hurricanes in Halifax and St. John’s. In the long term, Canada’s coastlines are threatened by ISSN sea-level rise and Canada’s northern indigenous peoples are threatened by permafrost thaw caused by global warming. 0315-0941 (print) 1911-4850 (digital) Explore this journal Cite this document Clague, J. J. & Bobrowsky, P. T. (2010). International Year of Planet Earth 8. Natural Hazards in Canada. Geoscience Canada, 37(1), 17–37. All rights reserved © The Geological Association of Canada, 2010 This document is protected by copyright law. Use of the services of Érudit (including reproduction) is subject to its terms and conditions, which can be viewed online. https://apropos.erudit.org/en/users/policy-on-use/ This article is disseminated and preserved by Érudit. Érudit is a non-profit inter-university consortium of the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Its mission is to promote and disseminate research. https://www.erudit.org/en/ GEOSCIENCE CANADA Volume 37 Number 1 March 2010 17 SERIES Calgary, Winnipeg, or Toronto; and period, and up to 24 m snow per year from hurricanes in Halifax and St. (Hare and Hay 1974; Hare and John’s. In the long term, Canada’s Thomas 1974). The size of the country coastlines are threatened by sea-level and the diversity of its environments rise and Canada’s northern indigenous ensure that it regularly experiences a peoples are threatened by permafrost wide range of natural hazards (Clague thaw caused by global warming. 1991; Brooks 2001; Liverman et al. 2001). SOMMAIRE Size and diversity, however, are Deuxième plus grand pays de la only part of the natural hazards story. planète, le Canada est exposé à chacun Canada has experienced the same International Year of des risques naturels sur Terre – grands demographic trends as much of the séismes, tsunamis, éruptions vol- rest of the world − a growing popula- Planet Earth 8. caniques, glissements de terrain, ava- tion concentrated primarily in urban Natural Hazards in Canada lanches de neige, inondations, oura- centres, and much of its economic gans, tornades, fortes tempêtes, sécher- productivity and wealth localized in esses, et hausse du niveau de la mer. potentially hazardous areas. It should John J. Clague Heureusement, le pays est peu peuplé therefore come as no surprise that Centre for Natural Hazard Research, en grande partie, et donc, le risque losses from natural disasters, both Simon Fraser University associé à ces phénomènes naturels est globally and in Canada, are increasing Burnaby, BC, Canada, V5A 1S6 restreint à des bandes étroites le long (Fig. 1). Email: [email protected] de la frontière séparant le Canada et les The United Nations designat- États-Unis, là où la plupart des Canadi- ed the 1990s as the International Peter T. Bobrowsky ens vivent. Les risques les plus élevés Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction Geological Survey of Canada, proviennent des séismes et des glisse- (IDNDR). The objectives of the Natural Resources Canada ments de terrain le long de la côte sud IDNDR program were to minimize 601 Booth Street, peuplée de la Colombie-Britannique et loss of life and property damage from Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1A 0E8 certaines portions du sud de l’Ontario natural disasters, but the objectives et du Québec; d’inondations dans les were not met; rather, losses from disas- SUMMARY villes de Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, ters increased dramatically in the 1990s, Canada, the second largest country in et Toronto; et, d’ouragans à Halifax et mostly because of global population the world, is subject to every haz- à Saint-Jean. Au long terme, les côtes growth, much of it in areas prone to ardous natural process on Earth − canadiennes sont exposées à la hausse natural hazards. Yet, since 1995, the large earthquakes, tsunami, volcanic du niveau de la mer, et les peuples world has experienced the devastating eruptions, landslides, snow avalanches, autochtones du Nord canadien sont tsunami in the Indian Ocean; flooding floods, hurricanes, tornados, severe menacés par le dégel du pergélisol in Manitoba, Bangladesh, and central storms, drought, and sea-level rise. découlant du réchauffement climatique. Europe; huge debris flows in Fortunately, much of the country is Venezuela; one of the strongest El sparsely populated; hence risk from INTRODUCTION Niños on record; and deadly earth- these hazardous processes is localized Canada extends over about10 million quakes in Japan, India, Iran, Turkey, to small areas adjacent to the Cana- km2, making it the second largest coun- Pakistan, China, and most recently, da−US border, where most Canadians try in the world. It has 243 000 km of Haiti and Chile. In the same period, live. The greatest risk comes from coastline bordering three oceans, eleva- Central America experienced a deadly earthquakes and landslides on the pop- tions ranging from sea level to 5959 m Category 5 hurricane; New Orleans ulated south coast of British Columbia on Mt. Logan, and is subject to was devastated by Hurricane Katrina; and parts of southern Ontario and extreme weather conditions; –63°C to British Columbia and several of the Québec; from floods in Vancouver, 45°C; up to 49 cm of rain in a 24-hour western US states experienced record- 18 overburden, is not discussed, but the interested reader is referred to an earli- er paper in this series (Rasmussen and Gardner 2008) and references therein. For lack of space, we do not discuss climate change as a hazard per se, but we do comment on the significance of climate change in terms of other haz- ards. We discuss the character and dis- tribution of each hazard, provide examples of past disasters, and attempt to extract broader implications from past events. EARTHQUAKES Earthquakes are one of the greatest natural hazards that humans face. Dur- ing the 20th century alone, over two million people died during earthquakes and attendant fires, tsunamis, and land- slides (Keller et al. 2008). Recently, in January 2010, an earthquake in Haiti killed about 23 000 people and, earlier, Figure 1. Estimated damage (in billions of US dollars) caused by natural disasters in December 2004, more than 225 000 between 1900 and 2007. Source: EM-DAT, the Office of US Foreign Disaster people in eleven countries lost their Assistance/Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters lives to the tsunami triggered by the (OFDA/CRED), International Disaster Database, [www.emdat.be], Université magnitude (M) 9.3 earthquake off the Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium. west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. In December 2003, the ancient city of setting wildfires; an ice storm crippled property damage. Severe weather Bam in Iran was levelled by an M 6.1 Ontario, Québec, and New England; events cause the largest number of earthquake, with the loss of almost 30 and Earth experienced many of the deaths each year, although floods and 000 lives. The worst disaster in modern warmest years of the past 100 years landslides also take a toll. Loss of life times occurred in China in July 1976, and possibly of the past 1000 years. from earthquakes in North America is when the entire city of Tangshan was These and other events are the result surprisingly low, largely because of the destroyed and over 240 000 people of enormous forces that are at work high standards of building construc- were killed in less than six minutes. both inside and on the surface of our tion. But a single large earthquake can Earlier, in 1556, an earthquake in planet. cause tremendous property damage. north-central China near Shaanxi killed To a far greater degree than For example, the Northridge earth- an estimated 800 000 people, one of the public at large, the earth science quake in Los Angeles in 1994 caused the worst natural disasters in recorded community is aware that earthquakes, US$20 to 30 billion in property dam- history (Keller et al. 2008; United tsunami, volcanic eruptions, landslides, age, but killed only 60 people. The States Geological Survey 2009a). For- floods, and fires are natural processes next great earthquake in a densely pop- tunately, catastrophes of this scale do that have been occurring on Earth for ulated part of California or in Seattle not occur in Canada, not because large billions of years. These processes are or Vancouver could cause US$100 to earthquakes do not occur in this coun- only hazardous when they threaten 200 billion in damage. try, but rather because buildings and human beings. A ‘hazard’ thus can be The purpose of this paper is other infrastructure are less vulnerable defined as a natural process that threat- to review the suite of natural hazards to life-threatening collapse and fewer ens human life or property. A related that most affect Canadians. We take a people are exposed to natural hazards.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Outburst Floods from Moraine-Dammed Lakes in the Himalayas
    Outburst floods from moraine-dammed lakes in the Himalayas Detection, frequency, and hazard Georg Veh Cumulative dissertation submitted for obtaining the degree “Doctor of Natural Sciences” (Dr. rer. nat.) in the research discipline Natural Hazards Institute of Environmental Science and Geography Faculty of Science University of Potsdam submitted on March 26, 2019 defended on August 12, 2019 First supervisor: PD Dr. Ariane Walz Second supervisor: Prof. Oliver Korup, PhD First reviewer: PD Dr. Ariane Walz Second reviewer: Prof. Oliver Korup, PhD Independent reviewer: Prof. Dr. Wilfried Haeberli Published online at the Institutional Repository of the University of Potsdam: https://doi.org/10.25932/publishup-43607 https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-436071 Declaration of Authorship I, Georg Veh, declare that this thesis entitled “Outburst floods from moraine-dammed lakes in the Himalayas: Detection, frequency, and hazard” and the work presented in it are my own. I confirm that: This work was done completely or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at the University of Potsdam. Where any part of this dissertation has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at the University of Potsdam, or any other institution, this has been clearly stated. Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed. Where I have quoted the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work. I have acknowledged all main sources of help. Where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself.
    [Show full text]
  • Earthquake in Peru : T X R E O D Peru P N I E R E Realities and Myths S
    198 199 8 u r 0 e 0 P 2 Earthquake in Peru : t x r e o d Peru p n I e R e Realities and Myths s AT A GLANCE s i n s o i r p C s e RICCARDO POLASTRO, Head of Evaluation, DARA R n a i r a t i n Country data (2006 figures, unless otherwise noted) a m u • 2007 Human Development Index: ranked 87th of 177 countries H e h • Population: 27.59 million T • GNI per capita (Atlas method, current US$): US$2,980 • Population living on less than US$2 a day (1990–2005): 30.6 percent • Life expectancy: 71 years • Infant mortality rate: 21 per 1,000 live births • Under-five infant mortality rate: 25 per 1,000 • Population undernourished (2002–2004): 12 percent • Population with sustainable access to improved water source (2004): 83 percent • Adult literacy rate (over 15 yrs of age): 88 percent • Primary education completion rate: 100 percent • Gender-related development index (2005): ranked 75th of 177 countries • Official development assistance (ODA): US$468 million • 2007 Corruption Perception Index: ranked 72nd out of 179 countries Sources: Transparency International, 2007; UNDP, 2007a, and 2007b; World Bank, 2008. The crisis • Earthquake (7.0 on Richter scale) struck central coast on 15 August 2007, affecting 30,000 square kilometres; relatively minor in comparison with previous disasters; • Initial estimates of only 35,214 families affected increased to 131,135 (or 655,674 people); 519 died; 1,291 injured; • 139,521 homes damaged/destroyed; 1,278 schools damaged; 14 hospitals destroyed, 112 more severely damaged; • Although affected region relatively small and wealthy, income disparity is high; earthquake © Sergio Urday/epa/Corbis particularly affected poorest and most vulnerable.
    [Show full text]
  • Integrating Community-Based Adaptation and Drr Approaches Into Ecosystem-Based Approaches to Adaptation
    INPUT PAPER Prepared for the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 INTEGRATING COMMUNITY-BASED ADAPTATION AND DRR APPROACHES INTO ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACHES TO ADAPTATION Experiences from the field Pascal Girot CARE International December 30th 2013 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................. 3 Section I Conceptual Underpinnings ......................................................................................... 3 Hardwiring DRR into Environmental Policy .......................................................................... 5 Section II A Review of Landscape and Community Practice ....................................................... 7 1. Vulnerability Assessment tools (PfR Philippines)………………………………………………….7 2. Ecosystem-based approaches to Adaptation: Restoring páramos in Highland Ecuador (Proyecto PRAA)……………………………………………………………………………….8 3. Community-based Ecosystem Restoration (PfR-India)………………………………………10 4. Participatory Scenario Planning in Africa (ALP)…………………………………………………12 5. Adaptation through DRR: Early warning systems for GLOF in highland Peru (Proyecto Glaciares, COSUDE)……………………………………………………………………….13 Section III Towards an Integrated and Transformative approach to DRR and Adaptation…………15 Taking Stock of Adaptation Practice…………………………………………………………………………………….15 Scaling-up and Maladaption………………………………………………………………………………………………..16 Hardwiring soft approaches to adaptation…………………………………………………………………………….17
    [Show full text]
  • Mcgill University Alumni Newsletter #19 January 2017
    McGill University Alumni Newsletter #19 January 2017 Earth Science is the study of the Earth and its neighbors in space. It is an exciting science with many interesting and practical applications. Some Earth scientists use their knowledge of the Earth to locate and develop energy and mineral resources. Others study the impact of human activity on Earth's environment, and design methods to protect the planet. Some use their knowledge about Earth processes such as volcanoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes to plan communities that will not expose people to these dangerous events. Geology is the primary Earth science. The word means "study of the Earth." Geology deals with the composition of Earth materials, Earth structures, and Earth processes. It is also concerned with the organisms of the planet and how the planet has changed over time. Geologists search for fuels and minerals, study natural hazards, and work to protect Earth's environment. Since about 1980, an important paradigm has emerged in the geosciences, analogous to the plate tectonics revolution of the 1950s and 1960s. This paradigm, called "Earth System Science" or simply "Earth System," acknowledges that changes in the solid earth (land - lithosphere or geosphere) result from interactions among the atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water, including oceans, rivers, ice), biosphere (life) and the lithosphere. (In these Starting Point pages, two additional elements are also included. These are the human dimension (or anthroposphere) and the solar system and interplanetary space (or exosphere). A good example is the increasing awareness of the role of microbes in generating ore deposits. Another example is the way tectonics influences weathering rates, which in turn affect global climate.
    [Show full text]
  • Medicina Sportiva
    2020 • vol. 29 • no. 2 MEDICINA SPORTIVA Bohemica & Slovaca 44 51 Editorial Doporučený postup pro návrat ke sportu po prodělané infekci 46 COVID-19 Stanovisko České společnosti Dostal, J., Slabý, K., Tuka, V., Beran, J., Neumann, J. tělovýchovného lékařství k provádění sportovních prohlídek a vyšetření pro 58 Padesát let od tragické studium na sportovních horolezecké expedice v Peru fakultách Rotman, I., Novák, J. Matoulek, M., Slabý, K. 67 47 Věhlasný léčitel Vincenz Zátěžová vyšetření v situaci Priessnitz (1799–1852) je zvýšeného rizika přenosných uznáván jako zakladatel nemocí Tuka, V., Godula Jiravská, B., Jiravský, O., vodoléčby Karel, I., Kociánová, J., Matoulek, M., Novák, J. Slabý, K., Beran, J., Sovová, E. 73 K osmdesátinám prof. MUDr. Václava Zemana, CSc. Novák, J. © Česká společnost tělovýchovného lékařství, 2020 • ISSN 1210-5481 (Print), ISSN 2695-057X (On-line) MEDICINA SPORTIVA BOHEMICA & SLOVACA 2020 • vol. 29 • no. 2 Obsah 44 58 Editorial Padesát let od tragické horolezecké expedice v Peru 46 Rotman, I., Novák, J. Stanovisko České společnosti tělovýchovného lékařství 67 k provádění sportovních Věhlasný léčitel Vincenz prohlídek a vyšetření pro Priessnitz (1799–1852) je studium na sportovních fakultách uznáván jako zakladatel Matoulek, M., Slabý, K. vodoléčby Novák, J. 47 Zátěžová vyšetření v situaci 73 zvýšeného rizika přenosných K osmdesátinám prof. MUDr. nemocí Václava Zemana, CSc. Tuka, V., Godula Jiravská, B., Jiravský, O., Novák, J. Karel, I., Kociánová, J., Matoulek, M., Slabý, K., Beran, J., Sovová, E. 75 Školení, sjezdy, konference, 51 kongresy Doporučený postup pro návrat ke sportu po prodělané infekci COVID-19 Dostal, J., Slabý, K., Tuka, V., Beran, J., Neumann, J. 42 MEDICINA SPORTIVA BOHEMICA & SLOVACA 2020 • vol.
    [Show full text]
  • COMMUNITY-BASED ADAPTATION in PRACTICE: a Global Overview of CARE International’S Practice of Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) to Climate Change Funded By
    CARE Climate Change COMMUNITY-BASED ADAPTATION IN PRACTICE: A global overview of CARE International’s practice of Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) to climate change Funded by: Cover photo: A woman and her daughter plant trees as part of a land restoration project in Shullcas, Peru. © Ana Castañeda Cano / CARE Author Sally King - Poverty Environment and Climate Change Network (PECCN) for CARE International Acknowledgements This paper has benefitted from the valuable contributions and comments of CARE International colleagues, especially, Aarjan Dixit, Agnes Otzelberger, Jo Barrett, Karl Deering, Kit Vaughan, Pascal Girot, Nicola Ward, Fiona Percy, Kevin Henry, Aurélie Ceinos, Julie Webb, Ed Boydell, Katrin Von Der Dellen, Constantine Carluen and Peter With. The author would also like to thank all of the dedicated and inspiring CARE project staff and partners involved in the examples outlined in this paper, the authors of the various CARE publications referenced, and Angie Dazé and Tine Rossing for their previous work in consolidating CARE’s knowledge and practice in Community-Based Adaptation. This paper has been funded by UK aid from the UK Government, however, the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK Government’s official policies. All omissions and errors are the responsibility of the author. For further information on any of the projects described in this paper, or if you would like to contribute to, or support CARE’s work on CBA, please visit: www.careclimatechange.org or email [email protected]. Rights and permissions This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgment of the source is made.
    [Show full text]
  • Pests and Pestilence Hazards And
    The UNEP Magazine for Youth for young people · by young people · about young people Hazards and catastrophes Keeping the peace Pests and pestilence Looking forward? On the safe side Food fi rst Tunza_8.2_eng.indd 1 21/7/10 11:11:22 TUNZA the UNEP magazine CONTENTS for youth. To view current and past issues of this publication online, Editorial 3 please visit www.unep.org Hazards and catastrophes 4 United Nations Environment A disaster documented 5 Programme (UNEP) PO Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya A grey world 5 Tel (254 20) 7621 234 Fax (254 20) 7623 927 Wrecking reefs 6 Telex 22068 UNEP KE E-mail [email protected] Keeping the peace 7 www.unep.org ISSN 1727-8902 On the map 8 Director of Publication Satinder Bindra Don’t blame nature 10 Editor Geoffrey Lean Special Contributor Wondwosen Asnake House of bricks 11 Youth Editor Karen Eng Nairobi Coordinator Naomi Poulton Natural hazards 12 Head, UNEP’s Children and Youth Unit Theodore Oben Circulation Manager Manyahleshal Kebede Swimming at the top of the world 14 Design Edward Cooper, Ecuador Remember the day you wanted to help? 15 Production Banson Pests and pestilence 16 Contributors Marcial Blondet; Denise Brown; James Duncan Davidson; David Gee; Ayana Elizabeth On the safe side 18 Johnson; Lalitesh Katragadda; Fríða Brá Pálsdóttir; Fred Pearce; Lewis Gordon Pugh; Sophie Ravier; Looking forward? 20 Ramón Lorenzo Luis Rosa Guinto; Rosey Simonds and David Woollcombe, Peace Child International; Tin Chi Ting Coco; Deborah Woolfson. Heroes of hazard 22 Food fi rst 24 Front cover image By 14-year-old Tin Chi Ting Coco from Hong Kong, winner of the 19th Bayer/UNEP Keep up with TUNZA on your mobile (www.tunza.mobi) International Children’s Painting Competition.
    [Show full text]
  • Paper-Workshop-2005 Francisco Silvia
    Japan-Peru Workshop on Earthquake Disaster Mitigation Lima, August 10, 2005 Disaster Prevention Planning in Rimac District By: Francisco Ríos, Silvia Alarcon, David Samaniego Researchers of the Planning and Disaster Mitigation Department Japan-Peru Center for Earthquake Engineering Research and Disaster Mitigation-CISMID Introduction The Republic of Peru located on the central western coast of South America shares the seismicity and hazards of the countries located along the Circumpacific belt. A two thousand kilometer long subduction zone resulting from the introduction of the Nazca plate beneath the South American plate makes 80% of Peru’s 1’250,000 km2 territory, home of 95% of its 25 millions inhabitants highly seismically active. So earthquake hazard is a national problem which hinders sometimes dramatically, the country’s social and economical development. The country has a long history of destructive earthquakes. The two most destructive earthquakes during five centuries of documented historical data were: the October 28, 1746, earthquake when Lima was completely destroyed , and Callao the nearby sea port city was destroyed by the seismic vibration and then razed by tsunami waves which killed 97% of its 5,000 inhabitants; and the May 31st, 1970, Ancash earthquake, when according to official data the death toll was 67,000, of which about 40,000 were killed under the debris of their own adobe homes. The direct losses were set at more than US$ 500 million. One of the most difficult existing problems is how effectively to reduce the earthquake vulnerability of the weak adobe constructions existing in hazardous and decadent old sections of important cities as Lima, located in the world’s seismically active areas.
    [Show full text]
  • Impact of the Pisco-Peru Earthquake of August 15Th 2007 on Health Facilities
    th The 14 World Conference on Earthquake Engineering October 12-17, 2008, Beijing, China IMPACT OF THE PISCO-PERU EARTHQUAKE OF AUGUST 15TH 2007 ON HEALTH FACILITIES 1 2 J.F. Rios and C.A. Zavala 1 Researcher, Japan-Peru Center for Earthquake Engineering Research an Disaster Mitigation-CISMID, National University of Engineering, Lima, Peru, Email: [email protected] 2 Director, Japan-Peru Center for Earthquake Engineering Research an Disaster Mitigation-CISMID, National University of Engineering, Lima, Peru, President, Peruvian Committee for Safety Hospitals, Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT : On August 15th 2007, Pisco earthquake with intensity VIII in MM and Magnitude 7.9 Mw on moment scale, affected the cities of Pisco, Ica, Cañete and Lima in the central coast of Peru, South America. Early reports said that the quake caused almost 600 deaths, more than 1,000 people injured, over 36,000 houses destroyed or with strong damages, 8 hospitals with several damages, and 3 hospitals destroyed. The most important health facilities of Pisco, Cañete, Chincha and Ica city were affected by the quake. They suffered strong damages on their structures and others on their non structural elements. Most of the health facilities had to attend partially, with emergency resources and some of them collapsed and close their activities. It is assessed that the total population on the affected area is over 863,000 inhabitants. Most of the strong damages occurred in one-story adobe buildings. The last earthquake of August 15th, demonstrated that this type of material must not be used for essential facilities. According to the last Peruvian seismic code of 2003, adobe bricks are forbidden for hospitals and schools.
    [Show full text]
  • Early Warning Systems: Lost in Translation Or Late by Definition? a FORIN Approach
    Int J Disaster Risk Sci www.ijdrs.com https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-019-00231-3 www.springer.com/13753 ARTICLE Early Warning Systems: Lost in Translation or Late by Definition? A FORIN Approach 1 2 Irasema Alca´ntara-Ayala • Anthony Oliver-Smith Ó The Author(s) 2019 Abstract Early warning systems (EWSs) are widely con- Keywords Disaster risk drivers Á Disaster root sidered to be one of the most important mechanisms to causes Á Early warning systems Á Forensic disaster prevent disasters around the globe. But as disasters con- investigations Á FORIN tinue to affect countries where EWSs have already been implemented, the striking disaster consequences have led us to reflect on the focus, architecture, and function of the 1 Introduction: The Fallacy of Early Warning warning systems. Since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami Systems there has been a rapid rise in the promotion and use of EWSs to minimize disaster losses and damage. However, The origin of early warning systems (EWSs) dates back to few researchers have addressed the question of their the 1980s, when famines in Sudan and Ethiopia generated acceptability as an adaptive measure to the existing expo- the need to anticipate and avert future food crises (Kim and sure conditions. EWSs are far more linked to emergency Guha-Sapir 2012). The consequences of the long socio- response and humanitarian crises and accepted technolog- natural processes of famine and drought raised the possi- ical interventions as solutions than they are to explicitly bility of planning ahead. However, the evolution of the advance integrated analysis, disaster risk reduction, and EWS concept and function has been diverted from its policy making.
    [Show full text]
  • The Legacy of Natural Disasters: the Intergenerational Impact of 100 Years of Natural Disasters in Latin America
    The Legacy of Natural Disasters: The Intergenerational Impact of 100 Years of Natural Disasters in Latin America Germ´anDaniel Caruso University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ∗ January 2015 Abstract Natural disasters can have long lasting effects, but generalizing such effects can be chal- lenging. This paper examines the long term effects and subsequent intergenerational transmission of exposure in childhood to the natural disasters that have occurred in Latin America in the last 100 years. The identification strategy exploits the exogenous variation in geographic location, timing and exposure of different birth cohorts to nat- ural disasters. This study measures individuals' exposure to the disaster based on the geographic location at birth to avoid any bias in the estimates due to possible selective migration caused by the disaster. The main results indicate that in utero and young children are the most vulnerable to natural disasters and suffer the most long-lasting negative effects including less human capital accumulation, worse health, lower income and less asset when they are adults. Furthermore, the results provide evidence of the intergenerational transmission of the shocks indicating that children born to mothers who had been exposed to natural disasters have less education and increased child labor. JEL classifications: D31, I00, J13 Keywords: Long term effects; Intergenerational transmission; Natural disasters. ∗Corresponding author: Germ´anCaruso, Department of Economics, University of Illinois. Address: 214 David Kinley Hall, 1407 W. Gregory, Urbana, Illinois 61801, MC-707. [email protected]. I would like to thank my committee, Richard Akresh (chair), Walter Sosa-Escudero, Elizabeth Powers and Daniel McMillen for their help and support.
    [Show full text]
  • The Combined Effects of the Gravitational Forces on the Tectonic
    International Journal of Advanced Research in Physical Science (IJARPS) Volume 6, Issue 3, 2019, PP 44-62 ISSN No. (Online) 2349-7882 www.arcjournals.org The Combined Effects of the Gravitational Forces on the Tectonic Plates on Earth’s Surface Exerted by the Moon, the Sun and the other Planets are one of the Main Reasons of the Earthquakes Salman Mahmud Student of BIAM Model School and College, Bogura, Bangladesh *Corresponding Author: Salman Mahmud, Student of BIAM Model School and College, Bogura, Bangladesh Abstract : Earthquake is a terrible natural disaster that can cause great damage in a very short time. One of the main reasons for the earthquake is due to various types of transfer or deviation of tectonic plates known as plate tectonic theory. According to the plate tectonic theory, earthquake occurs due to accidental movement of tectonic plates or moving up or down. There are many reasons for the movement of these tectonic plates. But the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon, the sun and the other planets on the tectonic plates on earth's surface are one of the reasons for the movement of these tectonic plates which has never been discussed yet. Here In this article I will prove this with the help of some evidence. Surrounding the sun when the distance between Earth and other planets decrease or the planets come close to Earth, the gravitational forces between Earth and the other planets increase. As a result, the speed of the tectonic plates increase than usual and most of the major earthquakes occur at this time.
    [Show full text]