Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Multiple hazard
zones (MHZ) :
California &
Philippines
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Aims

To identify and define hazard hotspots.

To understand the issues regarding managing MHZs.

To look at the hazards in California, their effects and how they are being
managed.

To consider the hazards affecting the Philippines, their effects and

management.

To look at the links between the two case studies

Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Multiple Hazard Zones or

‘Hotspots’ – a greater
  challenge?
What are multiple hazard zones or hotspots?
• Traditionally multiple hazard zones (MHZs)
are considered to be regions or parts of the
world that are exposed to a range of hazards
(often a combination of meteorological,
climatic and geomorphic impacts).
• These are not only at the country level, but
also within a country.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

• In 2001 the World Bank and Columbia University

began to try to identify disaster hotspots.
• They looked at risk in terms of 6 natural hazards
(volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides, floods,
drought and storms).
• Historical data (from 30 years) was combined
with potential vulnerability based on size, density
and poverty of the population(as measures of
mortality) and GDP per unity area (as a measure
of potential economic damage).  
• 
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Identification of a hazard
hotspot
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

• Identifying the hotspots has huge implications

for the development, investment planning,
disaster preparation and loss prevention.
• However many countries that are hazard prone
have priorities that come before risk
management, such as poverty management
and fighting HIV/AIDS. They may not be able
to afford the technology to cope with multiple
hazards.

• We will consider in detail: California and the

Philippines.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Compulsory Case Study 1 – The Californian

Coast
• The state of California has approx. 40 million
people and has an economy the size of a high
income country!
• 25 Californian counties have per capita
incomes of US$ 65,000 pa – so it is one of the
world’s wealthiest places!
• But this means that a disaster may comprise
high financial losses.
• It is home to the megacities of Los Angeles,
San Diego and San Francisco.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

• Only sophisticated management prevents California

from becoming a disaster zone (in terms of
mortality).
• NB prediction of earthquake activity is not possible
even with technology.
• Parts of the population are vulnerable - around 20%
of the residents in Los Angeles live below the official
poverty line. These people have the lowest capacity
to cope when affected by a hazard.California also has
3.5 million people (many semi-legal migrants) who
live in hazardous locations.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Likelihood of hazards map

Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Geophysical hazards: Earthquakes

• The San Andreas fault (part of a broader fault zone) marks a
conservative plate boundary where two coastal plates slide
past each other, parallel to the plate margin at differential
speeds.
• More than 70% of California’s population live within 50km of
a fault line.
• An earthquake of Richter Scale 7 or above would have
massive impacts.
• The soft basin sediments in LA lead to rapid shaking with 5
major earthquakes being recorded in the last 100 years.
• Earthquakes are shallow and so more destructive.
• San Francisco Bay has experience several large earthquakes
too.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

• There is a lot of building on unstable land – this

can lead to soil liquefaction during earthquakes
(where the ground can become more like a
liquid), which damages buildings and increases
the risk of landslides.
• This was a major problem during the Loma
Prieta earthquake in 1989.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Probability of an earthquake and likely

magnitude
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

• Studies of their frequency and magnitude

of past earthquakes show that there is a
good chance of an earthquake of
magnitude 7.0+ hitting the San Francisco
Bay area before 2025.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

California Earthquakes
P 28 photocopy Oxford
• The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in San
Francisco
• The 1994 Northridge earthquake in LA

• A)What were the causes of these earthquakes?

• B)What were the effects of these earthquakes?
• C)How are the people of California dealing with
the threat of earthquakes?
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Volcanoes
• There hasn’t been a volcanic eruption in
California since 1915 (Lassen Peak)
• But there are volcanoes being monitored
for potential eruptions, e.g. Lassen Peak,
Mount Shasta, and the volcanoes around
Mammoth Lakes.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Tsunamis
• A tsunami is a series of large waves that can
flood coastal areas and they can be caused by
earthquakes on the sea bed, or landslides into
the sea.
• Earthquakes under the Pacific Ocean could
cause a tsunami along the California coastline.
• An earthquake off the coast of Alaska in 1964
caused a tsunami to strike the coast of northern
California, killing 12 people in Crescent City.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Hydro-meteorological hazards in
California
River flooding
• El Niño La Niña oscillation: winter storms,
especially during El Nino years lead to
floods in the Los Angeles and San Gabriel
rivers (with deforested hill sides).
• Even though rivers are now heavily
channelised floods can still take place
(mainly between October and January)
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Coastal flooding
• Risk of erosion along coast near Malibu
and Santa Monica .
• Also the area around Long Beach is
subsiding and sometimes floods in heavy
storms.
• The impacts are likely to worsen as sea
levels rise in the future.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Drought
• Summer drought is a potential problem in a
Mediterranean climate, especially in Southern
California.
• Droughts in California can be caused by
anticyclones (long-lasting periods of high air
pressure with sinking, dry air. Dry, sinking air
means no rain
• Drought can also be caused by La Nina events
(periods when the surface water in the eastern
Pacific Ocean is cooler). This means less
evaporation, so there is less precipitation.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

• Another cause of drought is increased

wind blowing westward from the desert
areas that are east of California, e.g.
Arizona. The dry air has no moisture to
cause precipitation.
• The problem is exacerbated as the
population of LA is increasing so rapidly
and there is a lack of water supply.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

El Nino and El Nina in California

Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Wild fires/Bush fires

• The most devastating effect of drought in
California is wildfires – dry vegetation is
extremely flammable, so fires spread quickly
over wide areas
• In the dry Santa Ana wind period there are
more fires.
• The wildfires in Southern California in
October 2007 killed 22 people and
destroyed 1300 homes.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

• As people move out of LA and San

Francisco into the hills fires are likely to be
an increasing problem.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Landslides/Mudslides
• The risk of landslide disasters in California is high
because of building on and around steep slopes, as
well as building on coastal land overlooking the
ocean, E.g. La Conchita.
• Landslides take place in heavy winter storms where
hillsides have been burnt by wildfire
and eroded.
• The risk is high along the coast near Malibu and
Santa Monica.
• It is a growing problem as the climate becomes
more unpredictable in all coastal areas.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Fog/Smog
• Advection fog occur when cool air from
cold offshore current drifts inland and
meets warm air (especially in Summer).
• Climate conditions combine with car
pollution to generate photochemical smog
which collects in the basin.
• It is especially bad in cities in late summer
and autumn.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Exam Question
Explain why California is considered a disaster hotspot.
(15 marks).
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Compulsory Case Study 2 -

Philippines
• The Philippines is situated South East of mainland
Asia, North of Indonesia.
• The country is made up of more than 7000 islands.
Many are very small and difficult to reach.
• Manila is the capital city and in 2007 there were 91
million people in the Philippines.
• And the country was formed in 1946.
• The islands are at latitudes 5–20°N of the equator.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

• It is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the

world.
• The Philippines is a hazard hotspot for a number of
different reasons.
• It is situated on a major plate boundary.
• Its north and east coast faces the pacific (seismic and
world’s greatest tsunami risk.)
• A tropical monsoon climate is experienced there, and
it is subject to heavy rain.
• The country lies in SE Asia’s typhoon belt.
• So it gets typhoons, storms, earthquakes, floods,
volcanic eruptions and droughts (and more!).
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

• The Philippines is a lower middle income

country and it is developing fast.
• It has a rapidly increasing young population.
• Average population densities across the
country are high with 240 people per sq km.
• In Manila there are up to 2000 people per sq
km.
• Many people are very poor and are residents
near the coast.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

• http://www.emdat.be/country-profile
• Check out up to date facts for the Philippines
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Tectonics of the Philippines

• The dense oceanic Philippines plate is being
subducted beneath Eurasian plate at a
destructive plate boundary.
• Creating the Manila Ocean trench.
• Both volcanoes and earthquakes are occurring.

• Read p 25 Oxford
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Geophysical hazards: Volcanic

eruptions
1900-2012
• 25 events
• 2,996 killed
• 1,734,907 affected
• Losses of US$ 232 million
EM-DAT (2012)
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Mount Pinatubo eruption 1991

• P 24-25 Oxford

• http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/1997/fs113-97/
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Earthquakes
1900-2012
• Events 24
• Killed 9,693
• Affected 2,543,574
• US$ 528.5 million (EM-DAT)

• One earthquake in 2006 killed 15, injured 100 and damaged

800 buildings. It generated a local tsunami 3m high and
triggered landslides of material from the Parker volcano into
the Maughan Lake making a flood which washed away houses

Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Tsunamis
• 1900-2012
1 event 1976
32 killed (EM – DAT)

• Small locally generated waves could be

problematic
• The Pacific Ocean has the largest potential for
tsunamis in the world
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Hydro-meteorological hazards:
Typhoons
1900 -2012
• 267 events
• 38,238 killed
• 114,006,747 affected
• Economic losses US$ 7 billion (EM-DAT)

• Some years 10 typhoons occur in a season

• Approx 6-7 major storms per annum.
• It is the belt of SE Asian typhoons
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Storms
Unspecified type of storm 1900-2012
• 26 events
• 812 killed
• 3,110,501 affected
• Economic losses US$112 million
Local storm 1900-2012
• 4 events
• 9 killed
• 24,704 affected
• Economic losses US$ 5000
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Floods
Unspecified type of flood 1900-2012
• 33 events
• 1,440 killed
• 7,680,373 affected
• Economic losses US$ 352 million
Flash flood 1990-2012
• 38 events
• 1,147 killed
• 5,700,690 affected
• Economic losses US$1 billion
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

General Flood 1900-2012

• 45 events
• 539 killed
• 6,028,676 affected
• Economic losses US$116 million
Storm surge/coastal flood 1900-2012
• 11 events
• 149 killed
• 125,931 affected
• Economic losses US$ 2,6 million
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Land slides
Mass movement dry 1900-2012
Landslide
• 2 events
• 311 killed
Rockfall
• 1 event
• 50 killed
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Mass movement wet 1900-2012

Avalanche
• 1 event
• 6 killed
• 1,200 affected
Landslide
• 28 events
• 2,148 killed
• 313,508 affected
• Economic losses US $33.3 million
Subsidence
• 1 event
• 287 killed
• 2,838 affected EM-DAT
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Droughts
1900-2012
• 8 events
• Killed 8
• Affected 6,553,207
• Damage US$ 64.5 million

EM-DAT
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Wild fire
1900-2012
• 1 event
• 2 killed
• 300 affected

EM-DAT
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Government response
• Several organisations have been established to forecast,
warn, risk assess, disaster train and educate:
• National disaster co-ordinating council
• Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and astronomical
services
• Philippine Institute of Vulcanology and Seimology
(PHIVOLCS)
• Land use planning
• Building regulations
• Structural programme of defences
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Saffir Simpson
Typhoon scale
The Tropical Storm season June-
Tsunami
Philippines is storm November, Peak
located on the month August
Pacific Ring of Volcanic Hazards in Drought
Fire eruptions the
Philippines
18 out of the 37 Earthquake Modified
Landslide Flood
volcanoes in the Mercalli
s
Philippines are scale
active

Physical causes Human causes

•La Niña-cyclic ocean and wind
current affecting South East Asia,
which can cause rainfall
•Earthquake- the movement may
trigger a landslide
•Torrential rain
•Rapid snow melt
•Volcanic eruption
•Surface runoff
•Deforestation-forest life
protected the soil
•Reducing soil protection by
replacing forest life by
shallow rooted trees, such
as coconuts
•Land use change
•Water management
•Mining andQuarrying
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Food for thought!

• When thinking about the 2006 earthquake
and the Guinsaugon landslide, why is it
difficult to classify the causes and effects
of hazards?
• Is the damage done by hazards in the
Philippines mainly social or economic?
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

• Exam Question
• Explain why the Philippines is considered a
disaster hotspot. (15 marks).
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Comparing 2 casestudies
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Need social, economic, environmental Venn diagram for California, then another
one for the Philippines.
Compare the causes and the impacts of hazards in California and the Philippines.
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1

Hazards: risk, trends and hotspots

How could you annotate the risk equation with facts from
both case studies?
Date: 6 Oct 2021 AS Unit 1 Topic 1
Expanding sentences for California

California has many earthquakes

Bush fires can endanger movie stars

Some houses are built on hills

El Nino bring floods

Deforestation does not help smog

Expanding sentences for Philippines

The Philippines has many volcanoes

Landslides are problematic in the Philippines

Tectonically the Philippines is very active

Tsunamis are a threat to many Philippinos

Extension Can you make a table of “opposites” – to contrast between the two
case studies.