Final Hazard Report

For the past semester I have been researching natural hazards but, specifically the effects or occurrences in the country of Peru. All the hazards have impacted Peru in one way or another but, I have realized that some hazards cause other hazards. So, in this blog post I will only be discussing the two that I believe are the most dangerous and frequent: earthquakes and extreme weather specifically, thunderstorms. 

Earthquakes from the last month

Starting with earthquakes. As I have stated before, Peru sits on the boundary of the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate. They caused the formation of the Andes Mountains and the volcanic chain. The boundary is convergent which means that earthquakes are quite common. So far this year, there have been more than 30 earthquakes, with the most recent one being yesterday in the capital, Lima, with a magnitude of 5.2. And the most dangerous one hitting in Acarí, Arequipa, Peru January 14 with a magnitude of 7.1. (Earthquake Tracker) The earthquakes have also caused volcanos to erupt. As for thunderstorms, they occur during the first quarter of the year (Guardian). I am addressing thunderstorms because they are so frequent but, also because they cause other hazards. In 2017, El Niño struck Peru and caused so much flooding and landslides, resulting in many deaths and loads more people becoming homeless (Los Angeles Times). As stated in The Guardian article, “the first quarter of the year is known as “landslide season.””

Obviously, we cannot stop these hazards from occurring, but we can prevent it from becoming a catastrophe. In the case of earthquakes, I would recommend that building be built to withstand at least a M4.5 earthquake. This would be along the coast of Peru because from my observation, that is where they occur more frequently. As for thunderstorms, we cannot do anything to prevent the effects of a thunderstorm, like flooding or landslides, but we can prevent flooding and/or landslides from taking more lives. For example, making houses in high flood potential areas as flood proof/waterproof as possible. To prevent landslides from the Andes mountains that are caused by flooding, I would recommend surface drains and retaining walls with drain holes.

If I were to target help to a specific place in Peru first it would be Lima. Lima is the largest city in Peru and is located on the coast. So, they are closer to the plate boundary and because there is such a large population, there is a higher chance of more people getting hurt. Now if I was going to construct a house in Peru I would take into consideration that most earthquakes occur along the coast. There is also flooding along some parts of the coast and towards Colombia and Ecuador because the inland is mainly rainforest. So, I would construct my house in the region of Tacna, towards Chile.

References:

Earthquake Tracker; Recent Earthquake Near Peru

The Guardian; How can Peru Prepare to Withstand More Devastating Flooding and Landslides?

Los Angeles Times; Peru's Brutal Season of Flooding Leaves 94 Dead, 700,000 Homeless

Coastal Hazards

As it explains in the book, coastal erosion is becoming recognized as a serious national and worldwide problem because of continuing global rise in sea-level and expensive development in the coastal zone (Keller 377). Peru is no exception. I was not able to find many articles explaining Peru’s coastal problems, I did find a few examples.

As I was doing research, I read that the sand takes in the energy of the waves. Well, in the ANCA 24 article Carlos Bocanegra, biologist and ecologist, said Peru's erosion problem is due to climate change and "human factors." Those factors being a decease of sand. One being, the dunes in the region of La Libertad no longer existing. The second being, "builders of the Moche and Viru rivers decreased their supply of sand to beaches." The third reason being, houses being built in the desert interfering with the wind transporting sand. And lastly, "the construction of the port structure which blew part of the Cerro Carretas [which,] was a natural shade that originated then sand drift[ed] into areas sensitive to erosion."

In the Living in Peru article, a local resident wrote that Huanchaco lost 200 meters of beach when it was hit by strong waves. It was later explained that the district mayor did not do much to prevent further damage. (He added long stones and rocks in front of the ocean essentially, building a barrier.) It was expressed that the residents did not agree with the "solution" and are called on authorities to do more. 

References: 

ANCA24canada; In Peru, the erosion kills the coastal marine ecosystem

Keith Meldahl; Wave Refraction

Keller, Edward A., et al. Natural Hazards, Earth's Processes as Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes. Fourth Edition. 20

 

Living in Peru; Huanchaco Loses 200 meters of Beach to Strong Wave Erosion

Blizzards in the UK

This week I have stepped away from Peru's rainfall and will be discussing blizzards that occurred earlier this year in the United Kingdom (UK).  

Beast of the East striking London taken from police helicopter

As I was doing research for this week, I discovered two storms/blizzards: Storm Emma and the Beast of the East. I then found that, combined they caused the worst weather in the UK in years.

First, let me explain what a blizzard is. A blizzard is a severe storm that produces a large amount of falling and/or blowing snow that lowers visibility for long periods of time (Keller 311). In the UK's case, two blizzards hit them causing death and destruction.

The blizzards produced 50cm of snow and temperatures plunged. This caused the Met Office to issue a red warning, meaning "Widespread damage, travel and power disruption and risk to life is likely" (Guardian). But thousands of drivers ignored the warnings and were stranded on the roads. (The Guardian) I was not able to find an exact number of people that died or were injured due to the blizzards but The Guardian article lists a few of the victims. Some of the victims include a 7-year-old girl who was hit by a car, a van driver in a collision, and two teenage boys who were injured due to being getting stuck under a fallen tree.

Emergency services tried to clear heavy snow and cars that broke down or crashed. The Environment Agency as issued flood warnings for parts of Cornwall's south coast. In Lincolnshire, local authorities enlisted the help of ten RAF vehicles to transport doctors and patients. All the trains, thousands of school and hospital operations and, hundreds of flights were cancelled. (Guardian) 

I have provided two videos. The first one was shot by the National Police Air Service in London and provides an aerial view of the Beast of the East. The second video is from The Guardian and shows the storm from a ground view. 

References:

Business Insider; An insane photo shows the 'Beast of the East'...

The Guardian; Beast of the East meets storm Emma, causing UK's worst weather in years

Keller, Edward A., et al. Natural Hazards, Earth's Processes as Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes. Fourth Edition. 20

NPAS London Twitter; Video of snowy front

Mass Wasting/ Landslides

Last week, in the forum, I explained that Peru had a really rough year last year because of El Niño. Well, all the flooding triggered huge landslides. The Guardian says, because of that incident, the United Nations said Peru needs to invest in multi-hazard warning systems. This was not the first landslide in Peru. I have provided a table of Peru's past landslides from USGS. [Click to Enlarge]

Last year's landslide was also not the last. On March 3,2018, the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency that will last 60 days. After a week of intense rain, there was a landslide in Peru's capital, Lima. 100 homes, a school and, a clinic were destroyed. XinhuaNet also reports that, "The Peruvian authorities have announced they will send a team of experts to the disaster area, in order to carry out technical evaluations about the behavior of the earth and tectonic movements." Below is a video shows aftermath of the landslide.

[Video found on the AGU100 blog but filmed by Fameco Films and Art]

It seems to me that Peru experiences a lot of floods and landslides due to intense rain in the first quarter of the year. But, I was not able to find much information on prevention or alerts other than the FEMA Training pdf from my earthquake blog.

References:

AGU100; Llusco, Peru: a dramatic landslide has destroyed 100 houses

FEMA; "Peru: An Andean Country with Significant Disaster and Emergency Management Challenges"

The Guardian; How can Peru prepare to withstand more devastating floods and landslides?

USGS; Catastrophic Landslides of the 20th Century - Worldwide

XinhuaNet; Peru declares state of emergency in village devastated by landslide

Volcanoes

Key:
Grey - Extinct
Green - Dormant
Yellow - Minor Activity
Red- Erupting

In total, Peru has 16 volcanoes. Most of them being dormant (12 of them) and stratovolcanoes (11 of them). All of the volcanoes are located in Southern Peru. Three of the volcanoes are currently active. Two of which have minor activity/ eruption warning and one is currently erupting. [Click on map to enlarge.]

The volcano that is currently erupting is Sabancaya. [Bottom Left] Sources say that it started erupting on November 6, 2016 and is still erupting. It has only been erupting gas-and-ash plumes which, is still not dangerous because inhaling it can cause breathing and lung problems. 

Peru currently has monitoring equipment and volcanic hazard maps. From the research I have done, there are only four volcanoes that are being monitored. Two of them currently active, one that is currently dormant but one of the most active in the past, and the last one is actually lava domes. When a volcano erupts, Peru declares a state of emergency and starts a mass evacuation. I am assuming they spread the news through different media outlets but, I could not find an article to confirm that.

References:
Express | Peru volcanoes explode into life triggering state of emergency and MASS EVACUATION

Global Volcanism Program | Sabancaya

World Organization of Volcano Observatories

Volcano Discovery | Volcanoes of Peru

Earthquakes

As I stated last week, Peru sits on the boundary between the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate. These plates created the Andes Mountains and the volcanic chain. Because of Peru's location and the convergent boundary, earthquakes are quite common. The Nazca Plate moves approximately 65-80 millimeters per year depending on the area (USGS). So far this year, there has been 17 earthquakes in Peru with magnitudes ranging from 4.2 - 7.1(IRIS).

Screenshot from the USGS pdf

What is Peru doing to prevent a catastrophe? According to FEMA, Peru is... "working cooperatively with local organizations, various levels of government and NGOs [non-governmental organizations] to minimize disaster occurrence." It has created many publications about emergency management and has partnered up with the Intermediate Technology Development Group for recovery/reconstruction assistance. 


References:

FEMA; "Peru: An Andean Country with Significant Disaster and Emergency Management Challenges"

IRIS; "Latest Earthquakes in the S America Region"

USGS; "Seismicity of the Earth 1900–2013Seismotectonics of South America (Nazca Plate Region)"

Internal Structure of Earth & Plate Tectonics

Tectonic plates (or also referred to as lithospheric plates) are the cause of a several natural hazards. Those hazards include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. Peru sits on the west side of the South American Plate. It is right next to the Nazca Plate. [Tectonic Plate Map] 

The boundary between the two plates is convergent; meaning they move towards each other. The Nazca Plate is an oceanic plate and the South American Plate is continental so instead of colliding, the Nazca Plate sinks underneath the South American Plate (Keller 36). A result of this is the Peru-Chile Trench (Keller 38). According to the book, convergent boundaries cause "great earthquakes; explosive volcanic eruptions; tsunamis, flooding, mass wasting, and subsidence" (Keller 36).

Source: 

Keller, Edward A., et al. Natural Hazards, Earth's Processes as Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes. Fourth Edition. 20

Natural Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes

In order to do research on Peru and it's natural processes, it is important to understand the differences between a hazard, disaster, and catastrophe.

• A natural hazard is an event (i.e. flood, earthquake, etc) that is capable of causing harm to humans and/or damage to properties.
• A natural disaster is a natural hazard that occurred within a limited time in a certain area and at least one of the following was a result:
• More than 10 people were killed
• More than 100 people were affected/ injured
• A state of emergency was declared
• International assistance was needed
• A catastrophe is a major natural disaster that requires a lot of money and time (usually years) to recover.