Earthquake and Volcanic Hazards in the Caribbean
If one took this statement to mean in recent times, it would not be
fair to make such a statement as Caribbean people have not had to deal
with earthquake hazards as they have the volcanic hazards; and one
can’t say they find it difficult to respond to the earthquake hazards.
The five major natural hazards that threaten the Caribbean are
hurricanes, floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis,
with earthquakes being the least common, especially in modern times.
Volcanoes and earthquakes have caused the most serious disasters,
causing immense loss of life and economic disruption to Caribbean
countries in the past. Volcanoes and earthquakes occur worldwide and
wreak havoc on many countries. Some countries are able to deal with
these two events better than others. It has been said that ‘Caribbean
people have found it more difficult to respond effectively to
earthquake hazards than to those posed by volcanic activity’. I am in
complete agreement with this statement for many reasons, taking it to
mean historically, Caribbean people have not been able to effectively
respond.
There are approximately 16 volcanoes in the Caribbean, a few of the
best-known ones being: Mount Pelee in Martinique, Kick ‘em Jenny off
the coast of Grenada, Langs Soufriere in Montserrat, and Soufriere in
St. Vincent. In the Caribbean today, volcanic activity takes place
very often, particularly in some of the extremely active volcanoes
such as Langs Soufriere in Montserrat. Compared to the high occurrence
of volcanic activity in the Caribbean, earthquake activity is quite
limited. In recent history, very few major earthquakes took place. The
most notable are ones are those that took place in Tobago in 1977,
which reached 5.6 on the Richter scale, and one in Jamaica in 1993,
which hit 5.4 on the Richter scale. The one in Jamaica showed up all
structural faults in the buildings, and because the epicentre was on
the island itself, as opposed to in the sea as expected, made it
worse. Other than the ‘minor’ earthquakes mentioned above, only two
Earthquakes, by Webster’s dictionary definition, are, “a shaking or trembling of the earth that is volcanic or tectonic in origin.” World Book Encyclopedia reports scientists believe that more than 8,000 earthquakes occur each day without causing damage. A little more than 1,000 each year are strong enough to be felt. Earthquakes occur in the general sense, anywhere on land. Other earthquakes go by different names, such as volcanic eruptions and tsunamis, large tidal wave storms that occur underwater, primarily in the Pacific Ocean.
Earthquakes in California are certainly not a surprise. What is a surprise is their unpredictability and randomness. Geologists say there is roughly a 50 percent chance that a magnitude 8 or more quake will hit the Los Angeles area sometime over the next 30 years. And, over the past twenty years, the Los Angeles area has witnessed several earthquakes, and in particular, two that were quite devastating; the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, and the January 17, 1994, Northridge Earthquake. Given the certainty that earthquakes will occur, they still seem to come as a surprise, and leave many communities unprepared to deal with their aftermath.
Only 26 miles long and not even 1 mile wide, Topsail Island offers a unique environment blending the Atlantic Ocean and the Intercostal Waterway. Although mostly peaceful and scenic, the vast beach that stretches the entire length of the island and the plethora of colorful summer homes that crowd the limited space are prone to obliteration. Extremely susceptible to hurricanes, Topsail survives off federal aid to rebuild and redevelop. There are more tourist traps and junk store littered about the island than grocery stores due to FEMA and the Federal government pouring millions of dollars into the salvaging the barrier island, attempting to rebuild the beaches and consequently boosting the economy and tourism. Though known to be a sinkhole for federal subsidies, the island sponsors numerous environmental projects protecting local wildlife and promoting sustainability. Following frequent destruction from hurricanes over the past two decades, Topsail Island has responded in an ironic manner by both rebuilding and developing while also expanding its growing concern with environmental protection.
In the chapter One Island, Two Peoples, Two Histories: The Dominican Republic and Haiti the present day differences of Haiti and The Dominican Republic are explained through the political, social, and ecological history of both locations. The Dominican Republic, although it is still considered a developing country, is in a objectively worse state than Haiti. Haiti’s environmental policies failed so horrendously in the past that the area is in a visible state of disarray. With only 1% of the country still forested, not only is the visual draw of the country lessened, but the prospect of wood trading that the forests once offered is almost obsolete. This greatly effects the outside world’s image of Haiti which, given the financial gain tourism
benchmark for the future, and integrated investigation into the effects of earthquakes in the U.S.
Although volcanoes are difficult to predict, geologists have made many efforts in order to caution the people of Orting and other surrounding towns of possible lahar slides. Residents have been made aware of emergency response plans and they know the proper precautions to take in the case of a volcanic activity emergency. Sirens have been put into place by the fire department and governing bodies of surrounding communities that detect volcanic activity and warn the community of ...
Volcanism is a major part of the Galapagos and their formation. The island chain is positioned on the Nazca Plate, which is subducting beneath the South American Plate at a geologically rapid pace of 2.5 inches per year. In addition, this Nazca Plate is located directly on top of the Galapagos Hotspot. It is here that mantle plumes melt Earth’s crust, creating volcanoes as a product. The oldest island was first shaped by this ...
On January 12, 2010, while vacationing in Santo Domingo, DR. Tragedy hit and my strong foundation no longer stood. An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 shook and uprooted homes, places of business and my sense of peace. After hearing news of the earthquake, I rush to Port-au-Prince to check on my family. I was reassured that my family was secured and had no life threatening injuries, but the same was not said to my grandparent’s neighbor. Their neighbor suffered from a head injury and deep laceratio...
The west coast of the islands is on the edge of a continental shelf created by ancient volcanic movement (Broadhead 5) .This volcanic activity is due to plate tectonic movement which also created the numerous amounts of earthquakes on the island. Compared to the rest of British Columbia, Haida Gwaii has the most earthquake activity (Broadhead 5), the last of which being in a magnitude of 7.7 on t...
The effects caused by earthquakes are devastating. They cause loss of human life and have effects on infrastructure and economy. Earthquakes can happen at any time anywhere. In January 12, 2010 an earthquake of a magnitude of 7.0 hit the nation of Haiti. An estimation of 316,000 people were killed, and more than 1.3 million Haitians were left homeless (Earthquake Information for 2010). Haiti was in a terrified chaos. After the earthquake, families were separated because many of the members were killed. Homes, schools, and hospitals were demolished. People lost their most valuable belongings. It will take time for the country to recover from this terrible disaster. The long damages are economic issues, health-state, and environmental issues that effect in the beautiful island of Haiti.
Hurricane Matthew assaulted Haiti with deadly fury, destroying homes, crops, livestock, and transportation. The top United Nations official in Haiti described this disaster as the “largest humanitarian event” in the country since the devastating earthquake six years ago. According to The National Hurricane Center in Miami, ”... the storm was moving north at 10 miles an hour toward eastern Cuba and the Bahamas. The center projected 15 to 25 inches of rain for southern Haiti and in the southwestern part of Dominican Republic, and it warned as much as 40 inches of rain may fall in some areas.” This category four hurricane made the sea levels rise drasticly altering Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.
On Earthquakes An earthquake is a shaking or trembling of the crust of the earth caused by underground volcanic action or by the breaking and shifting of rock beneath the surface. The volcanic action and shifting rocks create strain which continues to build to a sudden release of pressure resulting in a shock wave. The vibrations produced in the crust can vary from barely noticeable to enormously destructive. Shock waves can be classified into two broad categories. Waves that send particles oscillating back and forth in the same direction as the waves are traveling are called primary.
From modern examples and records we know that volcanic activity can set of a chai...
Barbados is located in the Lesser Antilles, and is the easternmost of the Caribbean SIDS. It is highly urbanized and has a population of around 300,000 and a landmass of 432 km2. (Rawlins, 2003); (World Health Organization , 2013; Henshall, 1966). The Caribbean is mostly comprised of SIDS and is the island group that is most predisposed to natural disasters and extreme weather events (Pelling & Uitto, 2001). The metamorphosis of the land development in Barbados is closely related to the islands socio-cultural history. On account of their colonial legacy, the Barbados was a rural landscape. The dominance of sugar as a mono crop, therefore, favoured the development of the interior agricultural land. It is only recently that the locus of development has shifted outwards to the coast in order to respond to the tourism demands (Scruggs & Bassett, 2013).
Earthquakes belong to the class of most disastrous natural hazards. They result in unexpected and tremendous earth movements. These movements results from dissemination of an enormous amount of intense energy in form of seismic waves which are detected by use of seismograms. The impact of earthquakes leaves behind several landmarks including: destruction of property, extensive disruption of services like sewer and water lines, loss of life, and causes instability in both economic and social components of the affected nation (Webcache 2).