Natural hazards and people.

landslide on the volcano which in turn released pressure causing eruption to occur.  Ash and gas.  All vegetation in N. over 21km was flattened.  Evacuation Zone not big enough and some ignored it.Mount Pinatubo, Philippines1991.  350 people killed and 500,000 evacuated after 2 months of monitoringMount Etna, Sicily, 1983 occurred over several months.  15 km/hr lava flow destroying ski-lift pylons, 25 houses and orange groves.  Lava diverted from village by explosions from village Zafferena SE Etna.  Occurred again in 27/7/01 lava was diverted by a different method from village Nicolosi (S.Etna).Tropical StormsHurricane Georges  25 Sept 1998 from Dominican Republic (LEDC) to Florida Keys and Miami (MEDC).125 mph winds.  1 million evacuated in MEDC and shops boarded up.  Damage to hotels and attractions. Roads congested out of area.  Killed 110 people in D.R. (Carribean).  None in MEDC recorded.Bangladesh Cyclone April 1991, 140,000 people died. 11pm at high tide in darkness. Islands and Delta where River Ganges and Brahmaputra meet was worst affected.  Caused by warm tropical seas  around 27 degreesC providing heat and water to drive the cyclone. 70%land area is under 1m sea level, 7m storm surges, shape of Bay of Bengal funnelled waves making them more destructive. £60 million economic damage. Too few shelters and ineffective warning systems.River floods1988 September, Bangladesh. River meghna, Brahmaputra and Ganges flooded delta region. 1000 dead, 25 million homeless.  Worsened by heavy monsoon rains, Summer snow ice melt, deforestation for grazing or wood causing soil erosion and less uptake of water. Floodplains inhabited for farming, Ganges diverted for irrigation.  Silt from erosion also blocks channels.  Rivers large draining over 5 countries and 70% below 1m sea level.October 2001 UKUks worst nationwide floods since records began.  Lewes in E. Sussex draining the Ouse burst its banks.  Millions of £ damage as houses are built on natural flood plains.  Extreme weather and Global warming are questioned in the press.DroughtLas Vegas, Nevada USA is not suffering from drought despite being a city in a desert climate.  Hoover dam stores water from Colorado river and other irrigation is taken from this source. Technology only makes this possible but what effects does this have elsewhere?The Sahel, North Africa 1991 rains failed leaving 4.28 million facing starvation.  Population is doubling every 20-30 years.  Increasing desertification as land overgrazed and water is used by man. Caused by high pressure over the N Atlantic and over N Africa prevents the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) follow its normal migration North. In Non- drought years it moves North and allows rains to fall in a zone of lower pressure. In desert climates a Drought is a period of 2 years or more without average rain (250 mm)UK, July 1989500,000 homes in SE London without water.  Those in poor health suffered.  In UK it is a period of 15 + days without more than 0.2mm of rain.  Hose pipe bans…FireSydney Dec 2001.  Cause: Arson by adults and children.  100 + fires burnt in a 50 mile  arc from the Blue Mountains in the North to Wollongong in the South.  100 ft high flames, 150 flames destroyed.  Temp over 38 degrees C.  Flames jumped containment lines but fire crews saved hundreds of houses burning down.  Huge wildlife and environmental habitat destructionNorth Brazil and Venuezela, 21 March 1998 in the Roraima Yanomami Indian Reserve.  Over 20,000 miles sq burnt.  No rain for three months and little resources to fight fires.  Even with firefighting aid from Argentina, fires not out until mid-April rains arrived.  Cause; traditional slash and burn shifting cultivation techniques did not anticipate how dry the rainforest had become.  Other concerns about the global change in the climate and mismanagement of rainforest through general commercial deforestation being a cause in failing rains.