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