Christchurch (New Zealand, 2011)
The earthquake occurred on Tuesday 22nd February 2011 at 12:51pm. It was a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, which killed 185 people. The earthquake was centred 2 kilometres west of the port town of Lyttelton, and 10 kilometres south-east of the centre of Christchurch, New Zealand's second-most populous city. It followed nearly six months after the magnitude 7.1 Canterbury earthquake of 4 September 2010, which caused significant damage to Christchurch and the central Canterbury region, but no direct fatalities.
The earthquake was caused by an unknown fault line that laid underneath Christchurch. It was essentially invisible as it was covered by sediment, which meant without thorough geophysical searches. The physical results of this were that the land has gone up as much as 40 centimetres around the western side of the Avon-Heathcote estuary. The Port Hills have gone up by varying amounts, from about 5 centimetres under Lyttelton Harbour to a maximum of about 25 centimetres at the base of the hills near the Heathcote valley. Also, if was deemed that the earthquake had no real impact underneath the ocean, which in other words, suggests that there was no movement whatsoever. The image on the right shows the fault line, as well as the change in height from the earthquake. The white line shows the, before unknown, Darfield fault line, which was where the movement was located. The blue contour lines shows that the land in that area has risen, while the red shows parts where the land has slipped downwards.
The social impacts of the February 2011 earthquake were widely evident, as many people were affected, as well as many heritage and dominant buildings having to come down due to huge damage. One of the social main impacts Christchurch had was the population displacement, as there were large amounts of people that left permanently and some that left for short/long term. The short term displacement amount was totaled at around 65,000 people, which nearly half of them leaving Christchurch long term. The number of people who left permanently was around 15,000 people, which is quite a lot, considering the population of Christchurch was 350,000 in 2011.There were many economic impacts that put strains on the government on how much money they should invest in the rebuild of the city. At first, they put a budget of around $16 billion on the total rebuild, but this quickly rose as the costs of all the maintenance and workers piled up. The estimate at the end/start of 2012/2013 was put at around $30 billion, but that soon rose to $40 billion, when the government released their latest report on the financial sector of the Christchurch earthquake. Some economists have even said that it may take New Zealand’s economy 50-100 years to economically recover, which impacts generations to come.Environmental impacts from the Christchurch earthquakes was evident, as much of the land in small communities had to face the problem of liquefaction, which was one of the main issues post-earthquake. Liquefaction was a major problem after the earthquake, as it turned into a liquid/watery substance that is very hard to remove. This caused much damage to properties and buildings that were unfortunately built on the poor quality soil. Liquefaction also sometimes smothered “estuarine biota” and “exhume sediments” which were potentially contaminated with heavy metals, organic matter or nutrients buried under the estuary bed.
The marker shows the epicentre of the 6.3 magnitude earthquake. It was 5 km South-East of Christchurch.
Port-au-Prince (Haiti, 2012)
The earthquake occurred on Tuesday 12th January 2012 at 4:53pm local time. It was a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, which killed around 170,000 people. The focus of the earthquake was 13 km deep and was located around 25 km west of the country’s capital Port-au-Prince. A tsunami was also triggered by the earthquake, and reports suggested many people were swept away due to this. By January 24 52 aftershocks with 4.5 or higher magnitude were recorded and it was estimated that over 3 million people were affected by the earthquake, which was around a third of the country.
The magnitude 7.0 magnitude earthquake occurred inland, on 12 January 2010, approximately 25 km West from Port-au-Prince at a depth of 13 km on blind thrust faults associated with the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system. There is no evidence of surface rupture and based on seismological, geological and ground deformation data it is thought that the earthquake did not involve significant lateral slip on the main Enriquillo fault. Strong shaking associated with intensity IX on the Modified Mercalli scale was recorded in Port-au-Prince and its suburbs.
The magnitude 7.0 magnitude earthquake occurred inland, on 12 January 2010, approximately 25 km West from Port-au-Prince at a depth of 13 km on blind thrust faults associated with the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system. There is no evidence of surface rupture and based on seismological, geological and ground deformation data it is thought that the earthquake did not involve significant lateral slip on the main Enriquillo fault. Strong shaking associated with intensity IX on the Modified Mercalli scale was recorded in Port-au-Prince and its suburbs.
The effects of the earthquake were evident, and can be explained in three ways: the short term effects, the long term effects and infrastructure damage it did. Infrastructure damage was evident throughout areas that were hit by the huge 7.0 magnitude earthquake, as many buildings were toppled. These included even the president's palace to be destroyed and over 20 million cubic yards over rubble to be cleaned up. Also, prisons around the region were damaged heavily as well, which led to looting and robberies to occur with no one to stop them. Also, in October, a cholera epidemic broke out, probably introduced by foreign aid workers. Cholera most often affects poor countries with limited access to clean water and proper sanitation. By the end of 2010, more than 3,333 had died at a rate of about 50 deaths a day. This was just one of the many unfortunate events that took part on top of the devastating earthquake.
One of the main short term effects that impacted local communities was the damage to roads and docks. This was a huge factor as medical aid, food, water and shelter couldn't be delivered to those who needed it urgently, and made rescuers find harder ways which normally took much longer. Therefore, due to the lack of clean water, hot temperatures and dead bodies rotting everywhere, this made diseases and health problems prone to already hurt citizens.
Long term affects were even more brutal, with much of the clean up slow in progress and economic problems lingering with government and putting them in huge pressure to decide which areas to provide the most fund. One of the main problems Haitian citizens faced years after the earthquake occurred was the fact that they didn't have much money to buy materials in order to rebuilt. This forced many people into poverty and eventually into a lower standard of living. This led to many operations and medical assistance to be held outside, where it was more prone to failed operations, which was another danger of not having money to build new hospitals and buildings. Also, people were socially affected, as many lost relatives and friends in the disaster, which led to no one taking care of them.
Long term affects were even more brutal, with much of the clean up slow in progress and economic problems lingering with government and putting them in huge pressure to decide which areas to provide the most fund. One of the main problems Haitian citizens faced years after the earthquake occurred was the fact that they didn't have much money to buy materials in order to rebuilt. This forced many people into poverty and eventually into a lower standard of living. This led to many operations and medical assistance to be held outside, where it was more prone to failed operations, which was another danger of not having money to build new hospitals and buildings. Also, people were socially affected, as many lost relatives and friends in the disaster, which led to no one taking care of them.
The marker shows the epicentre of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake.
Difference Between LEDC's and MEDC's
There were many differences between the two countries, regarding the amount of deaths and damage to infrastructure. The difference in the amount of deaths were huge, as there was a difference of about 170,000. This was due mainly because of the poor safety regulations they have over, which lead to not much education on how to prepare for earthquakes, as well as many people not knowing how to endeavor an earthquake. Also, the population density of Port-au-Prince is another factor that lead to their high death rate, as buildings and streets were filled with people, making them more prone to injuries.
Also, it is clear that because the economy and government of a MEDC, such as New Zealand, the response time and the ability to treat civilians were much quicker and efficient, unlike the LEDC Haiti. In Haiti, the government in a way stranded their own population, by not giving them funding to rebuild many buildings and houses. Therefore, this led to the standard of living to drop significantly and health problems to arise months after the earthquake. In contrast, Christchurch had been dealt with more speed and haste, which saved more lives, although Port-au-Prince had a much bigger population.
Also, it is clear that because the economy and government of a MEDC, such as New Zealand, the response time and the ability to treat civilians were much quicker and efficient, unlike the LEDC Haiti. In Haiti, the government in a way stranded their own population, by not giving them funding to rebuild many buildings and houses. Therefore, this led to the standard of living to drop significantly and health problems to arise months after the earthquake. In contrast, Christchurch had been dealt with more speed and haste, which saved more lives, although Port-au-Prince had a much bigger population.