Planning Long Term (Edexcel IGCSE Geography)

Long Term Planning

• Occurs after the hazard event
• Looks back at the event and evaluate what could be done to reduce the impact of any future hazard events:
  • Was emergency aid distributed effectively
  • Are there areas which are at particular risk should they be protected more or buildings moved
  • Could warning systems be improved
  • Are people educated about the risks and do they know what to do during the event to protect themselves?
  • Can building codes and planning be improved to reduce the number of buildings which collapse
• Risk assessment and hazard mapping are both part of the long-term planning process

Risk Assessment

• Risk is the probability that a hazard event will have harmful consequences
• The more vulnerable a population is the greater the risk that a hazard event will cause deaths, injuries, damage to buildings and impact the economy
• The number of deaths from earthquakes has increased 
• Increasing populations and urban areas means that more people are living in areas at risk

Hazard Mapping and GIS

• Maps the areas where earthquakes are most likely to occur
• Enables planning of where important services and infrastructure should be located - land use zoning
• Identifies correlation between risk and vulnerability

• In an earthquake, it is the collapsing buildings which cause the most injuries and deaths
• Earthquakes cannot be prevented, so reducing the damage to buildings is key to minimising the impacts. This can be achieved by:
  
  • Reducing the number of buildings in high risk areas
  • Building earthquake resistant buildings
• Large scale rebuilding is often required after an earthquake event
• Existing buildings and structures, such as bridges, can be retrofitted to make them safer in future events

Nepal - A Developing Country

• The Asian Development Bank provided US$200 million for rehabilitation
• A government task force was created to plan and deal with future earthquakes
• An international donor meeting in June 2015 led to US$4.4 billion being pledged (only a small portion has currently been paid to Nepal)
• National Reconstruction Authority was formed by the government. Part of the role is ensuring that funding is distributed to help people rebuild their houses
• Disaster Management Act passed by the government 
• Improved building code with increased awareness of the code within communities
• Stonemason training courses to ensure that new buildings are earthquake resistance
• Increased education and practice of earthquake drills

Japan - A Developed Country

• Building Back Better - considers building codes, town planning and infrastructure
• New tsunami walls have been constructed 25-30m high
• A new US$31 million warning system launched in 2013