Ledc & Medc earthquakes

comparison (Haiti - Japan)

Tectonic Hazard

Claudio Rugarli
Introduction
Tectonic hazards are geological events provoked by volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. The
earth crust is covered by 24 plates that constantly move around, bumping into each other and
creating earthquakes. Some earthquakes can be harmless while others can be devastating. To
measure earthquakes scientists use a method called Richter Scale to quantify the size of an
earthquake. In 2010 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the country of Haiti, bringing devastation. In
1995 a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan. In this case study I will be comparing and
analysing these two earthquakes, from two different economical class countries.

Haiti (LEDC)

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Haiti sits between the Caribbean and North american plate. Those two plates are very active
and have caused giant damages in the past. Haiti is right on top of the Hispaniola fault line and
right under a conservative boundary. The earthquake happened on the 12th of january, at 16:53,
2010. The magnitude was recorded as a 7.0 on the richter scale. The giant earthquake was a
transform and was caused by severe stress building up along the margin of the plate. When the
plates slipped, all the force was released at once, with brutal power. The epicenter of the
earthquake happened 15 miles under the capital of Haiti, Port au prince. The major earthquake
was soon followed by an aftershock measuring 5.5 on the richter scale. Haiti wasnt prepared for
such a catastrophe, especially being one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere.
The earthquake devastated the majority of the capital, including the presidential palace,
resulting in a massive loss of life; over 230 000 people were killed and around 180 000 houses
were destroyed, teared to the ground. Haiti wasnt doing well even before the earthquake,
especially after the hurricane that happened a few years before. Haiti was very vulnerable to
this earthquake. The geographical area Haiti is found, does not help with earthquakes. A lot of
unstable soil is found under the city, where houses are build upon. This all came down to
intense shaking of the ground that lasted over 30 seconds. Buildings were not constructed with
earthquake proof features in mind. Around 50% off all buildings that collapsed were because of
houses not being earthquake resistant. The port area suffered from lateral spreading and big
pieces of land falling in the water. The loading crane was dragged down in the water with the
rest of the wharves. The total damage this earthquake caused to the country was $11.5 billion.

Help responded very quickly, ad arrived at the island the following day. Major transport links
were destroyed; the airports control tower was severely damaged so there was a lot of
confusion created on who would control the airport. No passenger or big plane could land do to
the cracked runway. Most of the help came by helicopter. Specially trained medics with sniffer
dogs were sent from the USA and UN. Most of the help came in by food, freshwater, shelters
and medical supplies. The homeless were all accommodated in 1100 camps with limited
services such as medication and water. around the country. A lot of people had to live in these
poor conditions for over a year, bringing cholera to claim several lives, including a lot of children.
On the long term, people started to get paid if they helped removing the rubble, of the
damaged building were checked and fixed, so people could go back and living in them.
However still to this day Haiti is recovering from the earthquake. In some parts of the country,
there are still places with rubble that have not been cleared up. The world bank pledged
$100million to help the reconstruction.

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Kobe (MEDC)

Japan is found at the intersection with the philippines, eurasian and pacific plates. The
philippines plate was moving towards the eurasian plate, pushing itself under it, called
subduction. Tension was building up as the plate got stuck. On January 17th, 1995 at 5:46 am,
a giant earthquake hit Kobe. The richter scale measured it as a 7.0 quake. The main tremor
lasted over 20 seconds, bringing destruction along the way. The focus of the earthquake was
only 16 kilometers deep beneath the crust and 20km away from Kobe. The area the earthquake
hit housed around 10 million people. The aftermath was catastrophic. More than 6000 people
died from the natural event, and well over 40 000 injuries. An overall 300 000 people were made
homeless that day and a total of 3 million people had no running water and electricity for 10
days. Many people left the city to go and live with relatives while others were forced to live in
their cars. Even if a lot of buildings were built with some earthquake proof features such as
cross steel frames and counter weight on the roofs, the city was full of old and unstable
buildings, which at the tremor of the earthquake, collapsed on itself. The other skirts of the city

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are full of traditional wooden house, which for the majority managed to survive the earthquake
but caught on fire by the broken gas pipes and electricity lines. It took two whole days to
extinguish all the fires that were created. Building in the downtown created a domino chain,
which made the center of the city the most devastated. Whole sections of raised road were torn
down and the railway line was destructed making access to areas in need very difficult. The
main area of Kbe was built on soft and easily moved rocks, which at the shaking, became like a
big soup, making buildings collapse. The dock was another area with soft ground, and during
the earthquake the ground liquified, destroying the dock completely. Many roads were closed
limiting rescue acces. The total damage was around $220 billion. A lot of companies like
panasonic had to temporarily close down due to the massive economy suffer.

from Haiti, Japan refused international offers. By April 1995 all the water,gas, electricity and
telephone services were back up and fully running. The railway was 80% fancuanal within just a
month. All the motorways and roads were reconstructed by August 1995. The port, which was
the most damaged building in the whole city was 80% running just a year later the event. Finally
around five years later around 150 000 housing units were constructed, give home to the
majority of displaced people. A new law passed to make buildings more earthquake proof and a
ton more instruments were installed in the area to monitor the movement of the plates. The
damages were dealt fairly quickly thanks to the money of the government and other cities that
were not damaged. Overall Kobe dealt with the earthquake

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Compare
It is quite obvious that both countries suffered greatly as a result of the earthquake but some
actions do separate them. Japan had a total damage cost of $220 billion while Haiti had $11.5
billion. The cost difference may suggest that Kobe's damages might be more expensive than
Haitis.

Haiti, being an LEDC, was already struggling to develop and bring better quality life to its
people. The majority of people were living in poverty even before the earthquake happened.
The country did not have any equipment to track any upcoming earthquake. Haitis building
were also built with cheap and poor quality materials, with no real restriction on how houses
had to be built such as in Kobe, which at the tremors, just collapsed. Although buildings in Kobe
did fall, still a large portion of them remained standing due to their construction and engineering.
Also Haiti does not have any action plan in incase an earthquake was to occur so the whole
country went into chaos.

The effects of the earthquakes were similar with roads being destroyed and services were cut
off. Kobe seemed to be ready and responded quickly at the event, with high tech medical and
search rescue squads equipped with technological machinery. Haiti however was reliant on
international help which was nonetheless quick with rescue missions. Charities collected money
to help the country with the damages. As quick as the responses were, it all took time to
organise.

The final differences between the two countries was the speed for them to recover from the
event. For Kobe was a matter of months before the city was cleared from the rubble and was
80% functional with its services and transport routes. Haiti on the other side, after well over 12
months, was still devastated with roads still blocked by the ruble. Still to this day the country is
recovering from that event, and has made a huge step backwards into the process of
developing.

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Conclusion
In conclusion we can see that Haitis damages, even if costed way less, was the most
devastating. Houses collapsed, services were cut off and their only way to survive was relating
to the international help. Kobe on the other side was much more prepared and even if the cost
was way higher, they managed to solve the problem in a matter of months. They also rebuilt the
port completely in just about a year. It is quite obvious that an MEDC is way more advanced to
take on an earthquake from and LEDC.

Bibliography

"2010 Haiti Earthquake." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 08 Nov. 2016.

By January 1999, 134,000 Housing Units Had. "Kobe Earthquake." Kobe Earthquake. Web. 08

Nov. 2016.

"Haiti Earthquake of 2010." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 08

Nov. 2016.

Muskett, Helen. "Earthquake Case Studies: GCSE." Explore Geography. Web. 08 Nov. 2016.

Was, By 1990 President Aristide. "LEDC Earthquake." LEDC Earthquake. Web. 08 Nov. 2016.