Handouts
|
|
|
Natural Disasters
Disasters: hurricane*, earthquake*, tornado*, flood*, forest fire*, tsunami*, famine*, drought*, mine explosion*, avalanche*, ice storm*, sand storm, landslide*, volcanic eruption*, sinkhole*, limnic eruption, severe thunderstorm*, hail storm*, heat wave* etc.
**means they can technically happen in Canada**
10 Most Common Natural Disasters
Hurricane:
**means they can technically happen in Canada**
10 Most Common Natural Disasters
Hurricane:
- Also known as tropical cyclones or typhoons depending on where they are formed
- Extremely large and powerful storms that form over oceans (need the moisture)
- Low pressure areas that form over warm ocean waters during the summer
- As water evaporates from the ocean and turns into water vapour, it rises into the storm. As the water vapor condenses, it fuels the hurricane and adds energy to the storm
- The Coriolis Effect causes the storm to spin, and it gains the term “hurricane” when the wind spins faster than 74 mph
- The result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust, that creates seismic waves through the earth
- Recorded using a seismograph, which measures the earthquake’s magnitude (what unit of measure do we use for earthquakes? The Richter Scale)
- Magnitude of 3 is usually imperceptible, with a magnitude 7 and above causing serious damage
- Caused when rock underground breaks along a fault (a fault is a crack in the Earth’s crust), which released seismic energy
- Folding: earth pushes together along a fault, which forces the ground to buckle / compress
- Faulting: one portion of the earth’s surface is forced under another part, which releases a great deal of pressure
- Characterised by violent, rotating columns of air which can blow at speeds between 50 and 300 mph
- Caused often by the meeting of a warm and cold front, which creates a powerful thunderstorm, followed by wind shear (change of wind direction depending on elevation)
- The intense spinning happens due to the updrafts and downdrafts within the storm, which have their direction of movement changed because of the wind shear (tilts the wind and causes the vertical cyclone)
- What are the 3 labels for a volcano (extinct, dormant, active)
- Magma sits underneath a dormant or active volcano, in massive caverns / pools
- When the pressure within the cavern builds up enough, it is released from plate movement and causes magma to explode up to the surface
- Some of the dangers of a volcanic eruption are magma flow, pyroclastic flow (superheated clouds of ash and steam that travel down the volcano at very high speeds), and breathing issues due to the heavy clouds of soot and ash
- A series of waves created when a body of water is rapidly displaced
- Can happen when large chunks of land fall into the ocean, an underwater earthquake occurs (energy from the earthquake pushes the water away from the vault point), when an underwater volcanic eruption occurs, or when a meteor hits the water
- The wave travels along the bottom of the body of water, but once it reaches shallow water (like a beach or shoreline) it is forced up above the surface in a towering wall of water
- An overflowing of an expanse of water that submerges land
- Usually caused by the volume of water within a lake or river exceeding the total capacity of water that can be held by the lake or river
- Uncontrolled fires burning in a wilderness area
- Commonly caused by humans, lightning strikes, or volcanic eruptions
- Can be battled using helicopters / airplanes and on foot using water, but can also be beaten by setting controlled fired downwind of the direction of the forest, to burn away all the available fuel and oxygen
- An extended period of time (can be as long as months or years) where a region suffers a severe lack of water
- Often caused by a consistently below average rainfall
- Affects the ecosystem of an area, as well as the agriculture
- Occurs on mountains and mountain ranges, involves the sliding of a large snow or rock mass down the mountainside
- Caused when a large buildup of snow / rock is disturbed (can be from noise, human / animal interaction, or the buildup of weight being too heavy to support itself)
- Avalanches can grow in size as they journey down a mountain, by picking up more snow / rocks
- Occurs when elements of the ground (rocks, trees, houses, mud etc.) are swept away
- Caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, heavy rains, or the general instability in the surrounding land
- Mudslide occurs when heavy rain causes loose soil on steep terrain to collapse and slide downward, damaging the land and anything in its path
Historical Canadian Natural Disasters
Newfoundland Hurricane of 1775 (killed 4,000 people)
Tseax Cone Volcanic Eruption
Fort McMurray Wildfire
Quebec Ice Storm
Hurricane Juan in Halifax
- This is one of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes of all time
- Formed August 29th, and dissipated September 9th 1775
- Hurricane began in North Carolina, and then traveled northeastward to Virginia. From Virginia it traveled further northeast to hit Newfoundland, which took the majority of the damage and death tolls
- Most of the deaths came from English and Irish sailors, as well as fisherman located close to Newfoundland
- A localized storm surge was reported to reach heights of 20-30 feet (rising of the water)
- This was Canada’s first Atlantic hurricane, and Canada’s deadliest natural disaster
Tseax Cone Volcanic Eruption
- Occurred around 1700, in British Columbia
- The only volcanic eruption in Canada’s known history
- Killed approximately 2000 people (Nisga people)
- Believed to be caused by the Cascadia earthquake of January 26 1700
Fort McMurray Wildfire
- Wildfire started on May 1st 2016, and while it is unsure as to the true cause of the fire, it is theorized to be caused by people (arson possibly) which was made easy due to the extremely dry and hot conditions
- As of May 18th, approximately 2000 structures have been destroyed from the blaze, and the Alberta oil sands business has been put on pause
- Few casualties (5-10), with most people being injured while fleeing from the fires
- If the entire community has to be rebuilt, insurance is estimated to cost Canada around 9 billion dollars, making it the most expensive disaster in Canadian history (Ice Storm in Quebec was 1.9 billion)
- The Canadian government sent helicopters, fire-fighting airplanes, fire-fighters and other support to Fort McMurray to help stop the fires and make the evacuations safer
- As of June 5th the fire is 58% contained, with some areas still labeled “uncontrolled”
- 12 active wildfires in Alberta, with one out of control
- Voluntary re-entry is now completed for all zones affected
Quebec Ice Storm
- Storm started January 4th 1998, and dissipated January 10th 1998
- Caused when 5 smaller ice storms combined into a massive storm, striking Eastern Ontario, Southern Quebec, and Nova Scotia in Canada and New York to central Maine in the U.S.
- Caused massive damage to trees and electrical infrastructure, leading to widespread long-term power outages
- Millions were left in the dark for periods ranging from a couple days to weeks, and in some instances months
- Lead to 35 casualties, from hypothermia and flooding
- Canada sent 15,000 Canadian forces troops to the affected areas, to help out however they could during the crisis
Hurricane Juan in Halifax
- Formed September 24th 2003 and dissipated September 29 2003
- 4 direct fatalities, with 4 indirect fatalities (3 deaths in a house fire, 1 from relief work)
- Peaked with sustained wind at 165 km/h, and hit Halifax with wind speeds at 160 km/h
- The worst storm to ever hit Halifax, and resulted in 300 million dollars worth of damage
World Disasters and Canada's Assistance
Hurricane Katrina
- Formed on August 23 and dissipated August 31 2005
- The largest and most expensive natural disaster to affect the United States, causing 108 billion dollars’ worth of damage and killing between 1200 and 1900 people
- Canada’s Involvement:
- On the evening of August 31st, Canada sent a Vancouver heavy urban search and rescue team, although the team wasn’t able to begin operations until September 3rd due to security reasons (saved 30 people on their first day)
- The search and rescue team stayed until September 6th, and rescued over 110 people while they were in Louisiana
- Canada also sent 3 warships, a coast guard vessel, 3 sea king helicopters, 1 BO-105 helicopter, and over 1000 personnel to assist in the aftermath of the disaster
- The teams and personnel mostly assisted by relocating people in need, as well as providing a broad range of supplies (tents, cots, water containers, toiletries, sun screen, insect repellent etc.)
- P.M at the time Paul Martin said “we are really prepared to operate on all fronts as requested and as co-ordinated by the United States”
- On September 4th, Canada sent 1000s of beds, blankets, surgical gloves, medical dressings and other medical supplies
- Also sent military divers to help clear underwater debris, and inspect the levees
- Other Involvement:
- The Red Cross organization provided 37 personnel to assist, and started a nationwide appeal for donations
- The government of Nova Scotia donated 100,000 dollars towards the Red Cross efforts
- The government of Alberta donated 5 million dollars
- Multiple provinces provided temporary housing for refugees
- Happen in the country of Haiti (splits half an island with the Dominican Republic), right near the country’s capital Port-au-Prince
- Occurred on January 12, 2010
- Showed the world how devastating a natural disaster can be, especially when it happens in a third world country
- Exact number of deaths is unknown, but it is estimated to be between 100,000 and 200,000 people
- Two hours after the initial earthquake (7.0 magnitude), there were 8 aftershocks ranging from 4.3 to 5.9. Within the first 9 hours there were 32 aftershocks of magnitude 4.2 or higher (12 were higher than 5). By January 24th there had been 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater
- Canada’s Involvement:
- Canadian forces dispatched approximately 2000 personnel from the Army, Navy, and Air Force to help provide search and rescue, medical care, humanitarian assistance (food and water delivery), and security / engineering services
- Provided nearly 1.5 million meals, 2.6 million litres of portable water, and medical services for over 22,000 people
- Canadian government donated 5 million dollars immediately, followed by 80 million more
- Deployed multiple vehicles: 5 large ships to transport supplies and personnel, 6 Griffon search and rescue helicopters, 1 Hercules airplane carrying 6 armoured cars
- Also deployed 1,200 troops, and 60 additional vehicles with crews and maintenance crews
- On January 21st, Canada sent a field hospital from Ontario, along with 100 medical staff members
- As of January 21st, Canada had evacuated 1765 people from Haiti to Canada
- Total donations: 226 million dollars from the Canadian government and citizens