The Magazine of Sutton Grammar School Geography
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Hazardous Mt Vesuvius Earth Page 6 Issue 7, July 2018 Lake Nyos Page 16 2005 Kashmir Earthquake Page 9 Latitude 51° The Magazine of Sutton Grammar School Geography The 2011 Fukushima Tsunami approaching the coastline of Tohoku region, Japan. 15,895 fatalities were reported, 45,700 properties destroyed and an estimated overall cost of $188 billion. Contents Page 3 The Central China Floods Page 6 The Ominous Threat of Mount Vesuvius Page 9 Kashmir Earthquake 2005 Page 11 Hurricane Katrina—The World’s Worst? Page 13 Flooding in Bangladesh Page 16 The Limnic Eruptions of Lake Nyos Page 19 Yellowstone’s Supervolcano Page 21 Eyjafjallajökull: The Icelandic Volcano Page 23 Haiti vs Japan: Earthquake Resilience Page 25 Hazards of the Future Editorial We welcome you to the seventh issue of Latitude 51°, Sutton Grammar Geography department’s magazine. This issue investigates a wide va- riety of hazards which cause havoc, destroy lives and bring prosperity to different communities of people around the world. The hazards dis- cussed throughout this issue cover a diverse range from flooding to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions to tropical storms, concluding with an overview of future hazards which will challenge the human race. We hope that you enjoy the issue. The Latitude 51° editorial team. The Central China Flood Christopher Payne 8Greyhound In 1931, a natural disaster rocked China and However the increasing growth of water lev- indeed the world. The Yangzi, Huai, The Yellow els surpassed the limits of sustainability for River, The Great Canal, The Pearl River, Song- the dykes and they fell under immense pres- hua and Yalu rivers all burst their banks; af- sure. Low-level water control problems be- fecting the lives of 52 million people and came more and more prominent until eventu- claiming the lives of 2 million others. ally this led to catastrophic flooding. Only once money was reinvested in the dykes did The Cause: the cycle start afresh. The Central China Ultimately the cause of this flood was human’s flood proved to be part of the hydraulic cri- relationship with the river basins in central Chi- sis which had been unfolding in the Yangzi na. The over-extension of dyke networks and basin since the nineteenth century. The flood excessive deforestation triggered many flood also reflects the poor governance of the pulses. However, despite this, humans’ manage- Yangzi area and China at the time. The funds ment of river systems led to a thriving agricul- set for the hydraulic system were often redi- tural economy and stable society. Yet when rected to military spending, and this combi- there were periods of excessive rainfall and nation of system neglect, poor governance extremely poor hydraulic governance, rising and high levels of precipitation, especially water and neglected ‘Dyke’s’ meant plains re- the winter before the disaster, spelled the developed by humans were reclaimed by the end for the dyke system’s water resolves; savage waters. central China flooded. Throughout the second millennium, the Chinese province of Hubei saw a repetitive pattern of “A dyke is an embankment of earth growth collapse, this was described as the Hy- draulic Cycle. At the beginning of this cycle, the amount spent on dykes was increased; these and rock built to prevent flooding.” networks would then provide protection for communities against flooding. The Consequences: tions, causing outbreaks in malaria, a disease taking the lives of an estimated 300,000 Come early August 1931, one of the world’s people. Growing numbers of freshwater sails most populous regions was under water. An caused and outbreak of an endemic wetland estimated 150,000 people drowned in the disease called schistosomiasis. The flood, and first phase of flooding. Those who survived the the outbreaks of disease and malnourishment flood were forced upon with severe conse- which it brought with claimed the lives of an quences. The flood had washed away all the estimated 2 million people. summer’s harvest and cleared the area of vast amounts of stored grain, the total economic The floods of 1931 proved to be the first ma- losses were equivalent to one and a half jor test for the Nanjing Government, but also year’s net income per family and in many are- a chance to prove their efficiency and gov- as the indentation continued well into the au- ernmental prowess. The decade before the tumn; survivors were left famished. Also, lands disaster had been spent by many militarists value plummeted, as well as that of labour trying to gain land and power. The flood pro- and animals. It was described as an vided the Nanjing Government with a chance “Entitlement Failure.” to prove their worthiness to the Chinese but also to establish their government’s name as As well as short term problems, the damage one renowned for their ef- the flood left was equal- ficiency and overall excel- ly dire in the long term. “When water coursed its way lent governmental skills Those who retained ac- and that the party truly cess to food, grain and through the landscape of Wuhan, deserved to be the gov- money were able to pur- ernment in power. chase assets from their poorer neighbours at 400,000 people were forced to The government employed deflated prices and numerous specialists, Chi- terms and, worse still, leave their homes and became nese and foreign, to con- sold back these assets duct aerial surveys of the and highly excessive and flood zones and to pro- inflated prices. The flood homeless.”. vide support and comforts led not only to malnour- to those whose lives were ishment but also to destitution and inequality. affected by the flood. The flood gave rise to Despite malnutrition terminating the lives of generous charitable donations as well as in- many, disease held the record for the highest ternational charitable campaigning and fund- number of kills by far. The destruction of sani- ing. Eventually, after long and tedious negoti- tation systems and population displacement ations, Central China was loaned flour and provided the perfect conditions for many dis- wheat from the US Government. Workers re- eases. Many of the population affected by built 2000km of dyke Networks and farming the floods were forced to leave their homes communities were re-inserted in a land even- and many more became refugees. tually stabled in the aftermath of the horren- dous flooding. When water coursed its way through the land- The Central China Flood, despite not being a scape of Wuhan, 400,000 people were famous natural disaster, provides insight into forced to leave their homes and became the how atrocious events like this can manipu- homeless. Sanitation systems destroyed and late lives in a way which cannot be expected overcrowding of areas of dry ground led to or prepared for. It shows the authority, effi- perilous conditions such as Cholera and Ty- ciency and Machiavellian nature of the Nan- phoid and measles and smallpox soon also jing Government and the bravery of survivors, became prolific in highly overcrowded areas. saviours and heroes. The flood also caused many mosquito infesta- Refugees of flooding, China 1931 The Ominous Threat of Vesuvius PG 6 James Quayle 9Manor "On the 24th of August, in the early afternoon, Mount Vesuvius lies on the Gulf of Naples, on my mother drew [my uncle's] attention to a the south-western coast of Italy. It is the only cloud of unusual size and appearance. Its gen- active volcano on the European mainland, eral appearance can be best expressed as being and is part of the Campanian volcanic arc; like an umbrella pine, for it rose to a great this is a line of volcanoes that have formed height on a sort of trunk and then split off into from the convergence of the African and Eur- branches, I imagine because it was thrust up- asian plates. The cone of Mount Vesuvius be- wards by the first blast and then left unsupport- gan to grow in the caldera of the Mount ed as the pressure subsided, or else it was borne Somma volcano; the remnant of a large vol- down by its own weight so that it spread out and cano that last erupted about 17,000 years gradually dispersed. Sometimes it looked white, ago. Rocks that erupt from Vesuvius are most- sometimes blotched and dirty, according to the ly andesite, a volcanic rock that – as lava – amount of soil and ashes it carried with it." can produce eruptions on a variety of scales, making Vesuvius very dangerous and unpre- This is an extract from a letter written by Ro- dictable. man Historian Pliny the Younger. It describes the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, one The eruption of AD 79 was a Plinian eruption, of the most deadly volcanic eruptions of all the largest and most violent of all types of time. eruptions, which releases an enormous In the shadow of the mountain: Naples, Italy. An estimated 3 million people live within the urban region of Naples. PG 7 At midnight, a wall of volcanic mud swept away the town of Herculaneum and its citi- amount of energy and produces a column of zens as they tried to flee towards Pompeii. gas and ash similar in shape to a mushroom But at 6:30 am the following morning, Pom- (like a nuclear explosion). Plinian eruptions peii too felt the destructive might of Vesuvius, are named after Pliny the younger, who as a cloud of volcanic gas and debris rolled wrote the letter above, describing the ash into the city. Superheated air burnt the lungs cloud above Vesuvius. of those in the city, killing many instantly and contracting their muscles to leave them in a Seventeen years before the eruption, on the semi-circular shape.