Review and Analyzing Natural Hazards

Floods:

Environmental Effects:

Although many people think of floods as all negative but there are a few positive impacts floods have on the environment.

A positive is that the water from the floods can spread silt and sediment that contains rich minerals and nutrients which have been washed down. This improves the fertility of the land.

But there are mostly negative impacts like:

• Loss of habitat for both plant and animal life, which causes a reducation of biodiversity in the area, and may cause some species to become endangered.
• Severe erosion and destabilisation of the soil and hillsides.
• As rivers flood, they carry huge amounts of rubbish, debris and other forms of pollution down to the river mouth, where they empty out into the sea. This can be devastating for the marine life there.

Economic Effects:

There are many reasons as to why floods cause economic effects in a nation, however there 5 major ones are these are:

• Can destroy large amounts of crop i.e a banana crop making banana prices soar
• Temporary decline in Tourism - hotels, attractions could be destroyed 
• Rebuilding costs - rebuilding major infrastructure i.e trains, railways, docks, homes and business
• Federal & State budgets - emergency payments for flood victims and money devote to the regrowth of the town or city
• GDP growth falling - if a nation like Australia depends on mining, if for a month or two mining ceased in one of the major areas it would effect our economy greatly. 

Social Effects:

Loss of lives and property: Immediate impacts of flooding include loss of human life, damage to property, destruction of crops, loss of livestock, non-functioning of infrastructure facilities and deterioration of health condition owing to waterborne diseases..

 Loss of livelihoods: People loose communication links and infrastructure. Some of these things are as power plants, roads and bridges are damaged and disrupted. Life changes for the normal person, everything is gone.

Decreased purchasing and production power: Damage to infrastructure. This also causes long-term impacts, such as disruptions to clean water and electricity, transport, communication.

Mass migration: Frequent flooding, resulting in loss of livelihoods, production and other prolonged economic impacts and types of suffering can trigger mass migration or population displacement.

Psychosocial effects: The huge psychological effects on flood victims and their families can traumatize them for long periods of time. The loss of loved ones can generate deep impacts, especially on children.

Ways local councils, state governments, emergency services and insurance companies find GIS mapping useful

Local Councils

Local Councils benefit from GIS mapping of natural hazard areas as it allows them to plan and warn residents of the area what to do when a natural hazard occurs. There are 5 main reasons why Local Councils benefit from GIS mapping these are:

• Allow the council to set aside water supply's devoted to natural hazards- in case of bush fires or lack of water there is an emergency supply
• Councils can order large amounts of trees to be cleared to reduce the risk of a serious bush fire from occurring
• Councils can inform a builder or architect of an area which is at risk from natural hazards

State Governments

 the information in 2.3 would help state governments in making tactical decision about to deal with situation in their state. An example of this would be, the NSW government would be able to pick areas of the state which would be effect. In this case Bush fires are the most prominat near area of Southern NSW. They can also make tactical decision. Where to put fire bans and also danger signs so people in the area could be better prepare if a major disaster broke out. They can also protect local wild life from fires and give people warning when Natural Hazards are coming

Emergency Services

There are many reasons as to why emergency services would benefit from GIS mapping of natural hazard areas. This mapping would enable the emergency services to pre-pare and plan for natural hazaerds so loss of life is minimal. There are 5 main ways which emergency services use GIS mapping to help them, they are:

• Easily calculate emergency response times 
• Be able to assess hot spots where emergency vehicles and teams must be on standby 
• Warn people of danger due to a  natural hazard area
• Map out dangerous areas were unexpected dangers lurk - flash flooding, earthquakes, bush fires etc
• Be able to set up a emergency rescue team ready to move out home owners and people who are in danger from the natural hazards.

Insurance Companies


There are many reasons as to why insurance companies would benefit from GIS mapping of natural hazard areas. This mapping would enable insurnace companies to:

•  prepare and set up plans for people living in most effected areas 
• can help a lot of people for certain hazards. 
• They could also warn consumers about the certain natural hazards that could effect there area.
• Set out areas were insurance isn't available due to the high risk of a flood occurring

Australia's Endemic Fauna

The Waratah is an endemic plant to Australia. Found in New South Wales this plant has four different types of a waratah with one eventually  growing into a tree. The Waratah is hundreds of individual flowers compacted together to form a flower bud.

The waratah is found in a climate Cold to semi-tropical, It is also frost resistant.


 It is the floral emblem of NSW and the NSW Waratah Super Rugby team. 

1.6 Questions

 1. Weather is the what the temperature is like at that present time whereas climate is the pattern of weather that is expected in a particular place.


2. The lower the latitude more of the suns rays reach the specific area i.e country, that's why the equator which  is 0 degrees Celsius receives the most rays from the sun.

3. In summer the wind flows from the east to west and in the winter its flows from west to east. 

4. The currents from north bring down warmer water whereas the currents from the south which are closer to the south pole bring cooler water

5.With the influence of relief the temperature of a climate decreases with height. Moist air that is forced to rise by mountains cools, and the water vapor condenses producing increased cloud cover and precipitation. 

1.11 Questions

1: Three non-renewable energy sources are coal reserves, oil and natural gas
2: Three renewable energy sources are solar power, wind power and hydro power
3: Australia is looking to develop clean energy sources to reduce its Greenhouse gases they admit. Also oil and coal is going to run out soon so its better to start investing in renewable energy soon.
4: China, Us, India, Australia
5: Australia's coal reserves are about 76 billion tonnes
6: Australia is rich in natural gas reserves which is a valuable export earning over $4 billion annually.
7: The solar power plant to be built near Mildura will use technology used to power satellites and use solar cells that produce 1500 times more energy than a typical rooftop solar panel.
8: Electricity can be generated by the wind due to that when the wind's propellers move they power a huge turbine which produces electricity.
13: The pattern of gas fields in Australia is wide spread, there are some in the middle of Australia, some in Victoria others out west in WA and some in the NT. The Gas pipelines connect to each other on the east coast however the west coast is separated with no pipeline connecting them to the east side of Australia.
14: i value of coal was 16.5 billion
     ii the value of gold was 5.3 billion
     iii the value of wool was 2.6 billion

b i the value of coal was 25 billion

      ii: the value of gold was 7 billion

     iii: the value of woll was 2.5 billion

c: Coal had the greatest increase in export value.

1.10 Questions

1: Resources are any materials that can be used by humans.
2:  Renewable resources are living animals or plants which can be re-produced within a human lifetime.
Non Renewable resources take thousands or millions of years to form and therefore can't be reproduced during a human's lifetime
3: Renewable resources can become non renewable through over use or over exploitation.
4: Soil is a valuable resource as it is the building  block for growing agricultural products and is a basis for Australia's successful agricultural industries.
5: Silviculture is the practice of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests to meet diverse needs and values of the many landowners, societies and cultures.
6: 164.4 million hectares
7: Australia's fishing and aquaculture industries are worth $2 billion annually making it a big income for the economy. 
8: The Australian Fisheries Management Authority set a limit of 5265 tonnes for the south blue fin tuna catch. This can be put towards other species of fish to help reduce over fishing of one species.
9: Australia has the largest reserves of iron ore, lead, zinc, silver, uranium, industrial diamonds and mineral sands.
10: Australia's mineral reserves are increasing due to improved prospecting and extraction technologies

Earthquake and Tsunami Japan

Where was the epicentre of the earthquake?

The epicentre of the earthquake was 130 kilometers off the east coast of Honshu, Japan. The earthquake could easily be felt back in Tokyo 400 kilometers away.

Size of the Earthquake

The size of the earthquake was 8.8 to 8.9 on the Richter scale which is a massive earthquake which caused a tsnumai alerts for most of the pacific but Japan was hit hard with 10 metre high waves being propelled towards their coastline.

With the diagram below you can see how serious a 8.9 earthquake can be.

8.0–8.9	Great	Can cause serious damage in areas several hundred miles across.	1 per year
9.0–9.9		Devastating in areas several thousand miles across.	1 per 20 years

Areas which are most effected and describe the devastation


Japan's northeastern Miyagi is the worst hit area with police estimating the death toll could rise to 10,000. Sendai city on the northern coast was engulfed by the strong and fast moving water which swept shipping containers, cars and debris away destroying anything in its path. Buildings, cars, ships have been swept away by the fierce and devastating tsunami. 1000 bodies had been recovered from the mud-streaked wreckage along the coast north of Tokyo, but the death toll from Friday's tsunami in the worst hit Miyagi prefecture would rise beyond 10,000, police said.

Impending man-made disaster

The impending man-made disaster casued by the earthquake and the tsunamis are the nuclear reactors which provide power to the northern region of Japan. The reactors which need a cooling system to stop itself from overheating failed due to the earthquake which cause the cooling system's to stop working. Quote from Sydney Morning Herald : " However, the emergency continues at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Radioactive material released during Saturday's explosion and containing potentially lethal iodine-131 and caesium-137 was detected, a signal that uranium fuel rods inside the plant's No.1 reactor had been damaged." 

Two out of 6 nuclear reactors affected by the earthquake are under serious concern, the other four have been cleared as safe but there is just the issue of the cooling systems working.

Predicting the Weather

Weather in Sydney?


The weather in Sydney compared to Uppsala in Sweden is very different in March. Here in the Sydney the average temperature is 22 degrees Celsius where as in Uppsala its about -2 degrees Celsius. Rainfall is very low in Uppsala were as in Sydney it can be unpredictable, we may have a dry March or have a wet March. 

Explain what the weather is like in Sydney and the average temperatures: 


The normal clothes worn in March in Sydney is usually wearing shorts and a t-shirt with thongs or in closed shoes. Some days there can be a wind chill factor so it would be best bring a pair of jeans and a warm top.
However back in Uppsala during March you would be wearing jeans, long shoes, thick socks, warm top, jacket, scarf and beanie as the weather can be -2 degrees Celsius but wind chill factors can make it feel like -11 degrees Celsius.


Weather in Thredbo:


When we go to Thredbo in May to ski you will need to bring along warm clothes with your suitable for skiing. You'll need a ski jacket, jeans, track pants, thick socks, ski pants, beanie, sunnies, gloves and your usual winter gear. The weather will be cooler there with the max average temp being 10 degrees Celsius, which is probably warm for you over in Sweden. It can get down to -10 degrees Celsius so it you will benefit if you bring along your Swedish winter clothes.


Clothing:


Here in Sydney when you come it will be hot. You'll need a lot of summer clothes and a few winter clothes. Pair of jeans and a warm top. I would usually wear a t-shirt and shorts around and on the odd occasion where it is cool at night I will wear a pair of tackies. When it's march in Sweden the weather will be fairly different. The temperature will be below 0 in uppsala and you will be wearing lots of winter clothes and wouldn't even think about wearing shorts or a t-shirt.