Assess the extent to which primary rather than secondary impacts are the more serious effects arising from volcanic eruptions. (30 marks)
Assess the extent to which primary rather than secondary impacts are the more serious effects arising from volcanic eruptions. (30 marks)
A volcano is an earth hazard that occurs on faults between tectonic plates on a destructive boundary and an eruption is a natural disaster. A primary impact happens immediately after the disaster and before any response like death or collapsing or destruction of buildings. A secondary impact occurs later after the disaster, such less farm produce or a reduction in tourism. The severity of these impacts will differ considerably in a MEDC and LEDC where volcanic eruptions have taken place. These may be seen in the Mount St. Helen volcano eruption as well as in the Iceland volcanic eruption. They may also show that the impacts vary from volcano to volcano, place to place.
Primary impacts are just as serious in LEDCs as in MEDCs. In the volcanic eruption of Mount St Helens there was little they could do to reduce the primary impacts of this disaster in an MEDC. Mount St Helens erupted in 1980 and killed 57 people even though an evacuation was set up and carried out. Even with money put aside to be put into a preparedness scheme they could not foresee that the volcano would erupt sideways causing the devastation to be more widespread. The evacuation beforehand had helped reduce the number of casualties which probably would have been more difficult in an LEDC environment. Research is looking into long period events such as volcanic eruptions however it is only at the stage where the only means is to monitor the volcano to see if it is about to erupt and try to reduce the primary impacts. However they can’t be predicted or how violent they will be so in cases such as Mount St Helens there is little to reduce the primary impacts. This shows how the primary impacts of some volcanic eruptions can be reduced by monitoring, however in the case of more severe eruptions there is little that can be done to reduce the primary impacts arising
A volcano is an earth hazard that occurs on faults between tectonic plates on a destructive boundary and an eruption is a natural disaster. A primary impact happens immediately after the disaster and before any response like death or collapsing or destruction of buildings. A secondary impact occurs later after the disaster, such less farm produce or a reduction in tourism. The severity of these impacts will differ considerably in a MEDC and LEDC where volcanic eruptions have taken place. These may be seen in the Mount St. Helen volcano eruption as well as in the Iceland volcanic eruption. They may also show that the impacts vary from volcano to volcano, place to place.
Primary impacts are just as serious in LEDCs as in MEDCs. In the volcanic eruption of Mount St Helens there was little they could do to reduce the primary impacts of this disaster in an MEDC. Mount St Helens erupted in 1980 and killed 57 people even though an evacuation was set up and carried out. Even with money put aside to be put into a preparedness scheme they could not foresee that the volcano would erupt sideways causing the devastation to be more widespread. The evacuation beforehand had helped reduce the number of casualties which probably would have been more difficult in an LEDC environment. Research is looking into long period events such as volcanic eruptions however it is only at the stage where the only means is to monitor the volcano to see if it is about to erupt and try to reduce the primary impacts. However they can’t be predicted or how violent they will be so in cases such as Mount St Helens there is little to reduce the primary impacts. This shows how the primary impacts of some volcanic eruptions can be reduced by monitoring, however in the case of more severe eruptions there is little that can be done to reduce the primary impacts arising