COURSE TITLE :

HAZARDS AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Natural Hazards/ Disasters

Causes, Characteristics and
Possible Remedial Measures
ABDUR REHMAN
Tsunami
 Tsunami
• The term Tsunami has been derived from a Japanese term Tsu meaning
'harbor' and nami meaning 'waves'.

• Tsunamis are popularly called tidal waves but they actually have nothing to
do with the tides.

• These waves which often affect distant shores, originate by rapid

displacement of water from the lake or the sea either by seismic activity,
landslides, volcanic eruptions.
 Causes of a Tsunami

• The geological movements that cause tsunamis are produced in three

major ways.
• The most common of these are fault movements on the sea floor, accompanied
by an earth-quake. They release huge amount of energy and have the capacity to
cross oceans. The degree of movement depends on how fast the earthquake
occurs and how much water is displaced.
 Causes of a Tsunami

• The second most common cause of the tsunami is a landslide either

occurring under water or originating above the sea and then plunging
into the water. The largest tsunami ever produced by a landslide was in
Alaska 1958. The massive rock slide produced a wave that reached a high
water mark of 50 - 150 meters above the shoreline
Causes of a Tsunami
 Causes of a Tsunami

• The third major cause of tsunami is volcanic activity. The side of a volcano
located near the shore or under water may be uplifted or depressed similar
to the action of a fault, or, the volcano may actually explode.

• In 1883, the violent explosion of the famous volcano, Krakotoa in Indonesia,

produced tsunami measuring 40 meters which crushed upon Java and
Sumatra. Over 36,000 people lost their lives in this tyrant waves.
Causes of a Tsunami
 General Characteristics
• Tsunami differs from ordinary ocean waves, which are produced by wind blowing
over water. The tsunamis travel much faster than ordinary waves. Compared to
normal wave speed of 100 kilometers per hour.

• The tsunami is not a single giant wave. It is possible for a tsunami to consist of ten
or more waves which is then termed as 'tsunami wave train'. The waves follow
each other 5 to 90 minutes apart.

• Tsunami normally causes flooding as a huge wall of water enters the main land.
 Possible Risk Reduction measures:
• While it is of course not possible to prevent a tsunami, in certain tsunami prone countries some measures
have been taken to reduce the damage caused on shore.

• Japan has implemented an extensive program of building tsunami walls of up to 4.5m (13.5 ft) high
in front of populated coastal areas.

• Other localities have built flood gates and channels to redirect the water from incoming tsunamis.

• Framed Structures/Engineered Structures in the area. The wall may have succeeded in slowing
down and moderating the height of the tsunami but it did not prevent major destruction and loss of
life.

• Site Planning and Land Management.

Floods
 Floods
• Flood is a state of high water level along a river channel or on the coast
that leads to inundation of land, which is not usually submerged. Floods
may happen gradually and also may take hours or even happen suddenly
without any warning due to breach in the embankment, spill over, heavy
rains etc
• Flash floods can be defined as floods which occur within six hours of the beginning of
heavy rainfall, and are usually associated with cloud bursts, storms and cyclones
 Causes of a Flood
• There are several causes of floods and differ from region to region. The
causes may vary from a rural area to an urban area. Some of the major
causes are:
• Heavy rainfall

• Heavy siltation of the river bed reduces the water carrying capacity of the
rivers/stream.

• Blockage in the drains lead to flooding of the area.

• Landslides blocking the flow of the stream.

 Possible Risk Reduction Measures:
• Mapping of the flood prone areas = Land use control

• Construction of engineered structures

• Flood Control aims to reduce flood damage. This can be done by decreasing the amount of
runoff with the help of reforestation, clearing of debris from streams and other water
holding areas.

• Flood Diversion include levees, embankments, dams and channel improvement.

• Flood Management System

• Construction of dams and reservoirs

Drought
 Drought
• Drought is either absence or deficiency of rainfall from its normal pattern in
a region for an extended period of time leading to general suffering in the
society.

• It is interplay between demand that people place on natural supply of water

and natural event that provides the water in a given geographical region.
 Causes of a Drought
Can you think of some more vulnerability factors to drought?

• Low soil moisture holding capacity • Absence of irrigation facilities

• Poor water management • Excessive ground water drawn
• Deforestation • Population growth and urbanization
• Water consuming cropping patterns • Industrialization
• Global warming.
 Types of Droughts
Drought proceeds in sequential manner. Its impacts are spread across different domains as listed
below.

Meteorological drought
Meteorological drought is simple absence/deficit of rainfall from the normal. It is the least severe
form of drought and is often identified by sunny days and hot weather.

Hydrological drought
Hydrological drought often leads to reduction of natural stream flows or ground water levels, plus
stored water supplies. The main impact is on water resource systems
 Types of Droughts
Agricultural drought
This form of drought occurs when moisture level in soil is insufficient to
maintain average crop yields. Initial consequences are in the reduced seasonal
output of crops and other related production. An extreme agricultural drought can
lead to a famine

Socio-economic drought
Socio-economic drought correlates the supply and demand of goods and services
with the three above-mentioned types of drought. When the supply of some goods
or services such as water and electricity are weather dependent then drought may
cause shortages in supply of these economic goods.
 Possible Risk Reduction Measures:
• Public Awareness and Education
• Water supply augmentation and conservation
through rainwater harvesting in houses and farmers’
fields increases the content of water available.
• Expansion of irrigation facilities reduces the
drought vulnerability.
• Drought Monitoring
Land Slide
 Land Slide
• The term’ landslide’ includes all varieties of mass movements of hill slopes and
can be defined as the downward and outward movement of slope forming
materials composed of rocks, soils, artificial fills or combination of all these
materials along surfaces of separation by falling, sliding and flowing, either slowly
or quickly from one place to another.

• Although the landslides are primarily associated with mountainous terrains, these
can also occur in areas where an activity such as surface excavations for highways
and buildings are executed.
 Causes of a Land Slide
There are several causes of landslide. Some of the major causes are as follows:

• Geological Weak material: Weakness in the composition and structure of rock or soil may also
cause landslides.

• Intense rainfall / Heavy melting of snow in the hilly terrains also results in landslide.

• Erosion: Erosion of slope toe due to cutting down of vegetation, construction of roads might
increase the vulnerability of the terrain to slide down.

• Human Excavation of slope and its toe, loading of slope/toe, draw down in reservoir, mining,
deforestation, irrigation, vibration/blast.

• Earthquake shaking

• Volcanic eruption
 Types of Land Slide
The common types of landslides are described below.
• Falls: Abrupt movements of materials that become detached from steep slopes or cliffs, moving
by free-fall, bouncing, and rolling.
• Creep: Slow, steady downslope movement of soil or rock, often indicated by curved tree trunks,
bent fences or retaining walls, tilted poles or fences.
• Debris flow: Rapid mass movement in which loose soils, rocks, and organic matter combine with
entrained air and water to form slurry that then flows down slope, usually associated with steep
valleys.
• Mudflow Rapidly flowing mass of wet material that contains at least 50 per cent sand, silt, and
clay-sized particles.
 Possible Risk Reduction Measures:
• Hazard mapping locates areas prone to slope failures.

• Slope Treatment / Retaining Walls

• Surface Drainage Control Works: to control the movement of landslides

accompanied by infiltration of rain water

• Increasing vegetation cover

• Engineered structures
Wind Storms
Wind Storms / Cyclones / Tornados/ Hurricanes / Typhoons
• Cyclone is a region of low atmospheric pressure surrounded by high
atmospheric pressure resulting in swirling atmospheric disturbance
accompanied by powerful winds blowing in anticlockwise direction or in
clockwise.
 General Characteristics
• Cyclones in Pakistan are moderate in nature.

• Some of the general characteristics of a cyclone are:

• Strong winds

• Exceptional rain

• Storm surge (wind and pressure)

 Elements at Risk
• Lightweight structures.

• Elevated Utilities (Power and communication lines)

• Fishing boats and other maritime industries.

 Possible Risk Reduction Measures:
• Hazard mapping – Meteorological records of the wind speed and the
directions give the probability of the winds in the region.

• Engineered Construction.

• Land use control

• Planting of windbreaks.
Earthquakes
 Causes of Earthquakes

• Earthquakes are caused by the rapid release of energy due to the relative
movement of tectonic plates which in terms causes sudden vibration of the
Earth.

• EQs are of two types: Tectonic and Volcanic.

• EQ of 6.3M is equivalent to the Atomic Bomb thrown on Hiroshima in its

destructive power (Judson 1995).
Concept of Tectonic Plates
 Seismicity and Seismic Disaster in Pakistan

• Pakistan is having significant seismic threat due to its critical geographic

location. This area has a history of major earthquakes.
Hypocenter, Epicenter, Seismic Wave and Fault
The hypocenter / focus of
an earthquake is the actual
location of the energy
released inside the Earth’s
crust.
The epicenter is the point
on the Earth’s surface
directly above the focus.
 Assignment #02
• What is difference between Surface and Body waves. Which waves are
more damaging to our structures??
 Factors determining the destructiveness of a EQ:
• Size of quake
• Distance from epicenter
• Depth of quake
• Duration of shaking
• The local geology
• Construction practice
• Building code enforcement quake?
 Possible Risk Reduction Measures:
• Hazard mapping – Previous records of the Earthquake and the Fault Location gives
the probability of the EQ in the region.

• Accurate Probabilistic Estimate of Earthquake forces possible to hit a structure.

• Engineered Construction.
• Well design Structure Engineered Structure – Moment Resisting Frames (MRF)

• Land use control (Restriction on type , height of Construction.)

Proverb by Japanese Physics Scientist

“Natural disasters will hit us by the time people have

forgotten about them”