LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST NOTABLE DISASTERS

CHILEPART 4: VOLCANOES

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna,

Virginia, USA 

NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED DISASTERS IN CHILEDISASTERS IN CHILE

NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED DISASTERS IN CHILEDISASTERS IN CHILE

FLOODS

WINDSTORMS

EARTHQUAKES/TSUNAMIS

VOLCANOES

WILDFIRES

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

HIGH BENEFIT/COST FROM BECOMING DISASTER NRESILIENT

HIGH BENEFIT/COST FROM BECOMING DISASTER NRESILIENT

GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIESAND COMMUNITIES

GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIESAND COMMUNITIES

Natural Phenomena That Cause Disasters

Planet Earth’s heat flow causes movement of lithospheric plates, which causes sub-duction, which causes VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

VOLCANOES

PART OF THE PACIFIC “RING OF FIRE,” CHILE HAS ACTIVE VOLCANOES AS A

RESULT OF COMPLEX SUBDUCTION OF THE NAZCA PLATE BENEATH THE SOUTH

AMERICAN PLATE

SOME OF THE 1,500 ACTIVE VOLCANOES ARE IN CHILE

SOME OF THE 1,500 ACTIVE VOLCANOES ARE IN CHILE

CHILE: THE SOUTH AMERICAN AND NAZCA PLATES

CHILE’S CITIES (NOTE: CONEPCION)

NOTABLE VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS IN CHILE

JUNE 4, 2011

PUYHUE CORDON CAULLE

PUYEHUE-CORDON CAULLE

• The 2011 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption began in the PUYHUE-CORDON CAULLE volcanic complex on June 4, 2011.

PUYEHUE-CORDON CAULLE

• Cordón Caulle is a volcanic fissure that has erupted many times in recorded history, notably in 1960, a few days after the world’s largest earthquake (the M9.5 Valdiva earthquake) occurred.

• The Puyehue stratocone, however, has remained dormant

AN ALL OUT EFFORT TO PREDICT THE JUNE 4

ERUPTION

WORK OF OBDAS

• The Southern Andean Volcano Observatory (OBDAS) of Servicio Nacional de Geologia y Mineria de Chile (SERNAGEOMIN) reported on 27 April 2011, 15:30 local time, an increase in seismicity at the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle and set the alert Level to 3, (“Yellow”)

WORK OF OBDAS

• Between 20:00 on June 2 and 19:59 on June 3, OVDAS reported] that about 1,450 earthquakes at Puyehue-Cordón Caulle were detected (an average of about 60 earthquakes per hour).

WORK OF OBDAS

• Scientists and regional authorities flew over the volcano, noting no significant changes, so the alert level remained at 3, yellow.

WORK OF OBDAS

• On June 4, at 11:30 local time, a new eruption in the Puyehue volcano began; For a six-hour period on June 4, seismic activity increased to an average of 230 earthquakes per hour, at depths of 1–4 km.

• The alert level was raised to 5, (“red”).

EVACUATION

• At least 3,500 people were evacuated from nearby areas; albeit with some reluctance and resistance.

IMPACTS

• The ash cloud was blown across cities all around the Southern hemisphere, including Bariloche, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, stamley, Porto Alegre, Cape Town, Hobart, Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Wellington, and Auckland, forcing airlines to cancel hundreds of international and domestic flights.

IMPACTS

• An estimated one hundred million tons of ash, sand and pumice were ejected.

• By 18 June the ash cloud had completed one trip around the globe.

IMPACTS

• 18 days after it first erupted, lava began flowing from the volcanic fissure, heading west and flowing slowly along a channel about 50 meters wide and 30 m long

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

• The eruption significantly affected the surrounding environment.

• The temperature of the Nilahue River rose to 45 °C (113 °F), killing an estimated 4.5 million fish and devastating the fish farming industry/

• The cattle economy in the area was also devastated.

SAME VOLCANO; ANOTHER ERUPTION: FEBRUARY 2012

NOTABLE VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS IN CHILE

MAY 3, 2008

AFTER 10,000 YEAR DORMANCY, CHAITEN ERUPTS IN CHILE:

MAY 3, 2008

AUTHORITIES DISTRIBUTE 10,000 MASKS IN CHAITEN

THOUSANDS EVACUATED

CHAITEN EVACUEES

CHAITEN’S ASH CLOUD IMPACTS ESQUEL, ARGENTINA

ESQUEL, ARGENTINA

ESQUEL, ARGENTINA

ELEMENTS OF HAZARDS AND RISK

HAZARDSHAZARDSHAZARDSHAZARDS

ELEMENTS OF EARTHQUAKE ELEMENTS OF EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI RISK AND TSUNAMI RISK

ELEMENTS OF EARTHQUAKE ELEMENTS OF EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI RISK AND TSUNAMI RISK

EXPOSUREEXPOSUREEXPOSUREEXPOSURE

VULNERABILITYVULNERABILITYVULNERABILITYVULNERABILITY LOCATIONLOCATIONLOCATIONLOCATION

RISKRISKRISKRISK

VOLCANO HAZARDS CAN HAVE FAR REACHING IMPACTS

• VERTICAL PLUME (can affect jet aircraft)

• ASH AND TEPHRA

• LATERAL BLAST

• PYROCLASTIC CLOUDS, BURSTS, AND FLOWS

VOLCANO HAZARDS CAN HAVE FAR REACHING IMPACTS

• LAVA FLOWS

• LAHARS (can bury villages)

• EARTHQUAKES (related to movement of lava)

• “VOLCANIC WINTER” (causing famine and mass extinctions)

LATERAL BLAST

VOLCANIC

ERUPTIONS

VOLCANIC

ERUPTIONS

PYROCLASTIC FLOWS

FLYING DEBRIS

VOLCANIC ASH

LAVA FLOWS

LAHARS

TOXIC GASES

CAUSES OF RISK

CAUSES OF RISK

CASE HISTORIESCASE HISTORIES

A DISASTER CAN HAPPENWHEN THE

POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS OF AN EARTHQUAKE OR A TSUNAMI INTERACT WITH

CHILE’S COMMUNITIES OR WITH THE COMMUNITIES OF ANOTHER

PACIFIC RIM COUNTRY

A DISASTER CAN HAPPENWHEN THE

POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS OF AN EARTHQUAKE OR A TSUNAMI INTERACT WITH

CHILE’S COMMUNITIES OR WITH THE COMMUNITIES OF ANOTHER

PACIFIC RIM COUNTRY

A DISASTER is ---

--- the set of failures that overwhelm the capability of a community to respond without external help  when three continuums: 1)  people, 2) community (i.e., a set of habitats, livelihoods, and social constructs), and 3) complex events (e.g., earthquakes, tsunamis,…) intersect at a point in space and time.

THE ALTERNATIVE TO AN EARTHQUAKE--TSUNAMI

DISASTER ISEARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI

DISASTER RESILIENCE

THE ALTERNATIVE TO AN EARTHQUAKE--TSUNAMI

DISASTER ISEARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI

DISASTER RESILIENCE

THE KEYS TO RESILIENCE: 1) KNOW THE ERUPTIVE HISTORY OF

YOUR REGION’S VOLCANOES,2) BE PREPARED

3) HAVE A WARNING SYSTEM 4) EVACUATE

5) LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCE AND START OVER

Disasters are caused by single- or multiple-event natural hazards that, (for various reasons), cause

extreme levels of mortality, morbidity, homelessness,

joblessness, economic losses, or environmental impacts.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• When it does happen, the functions of the community’s buildings and infrastructure will be LOST because they are UNPROTECTED with the appropriate codes and standards.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community is UN-PREPARED for what will likely happen, not to mention the low-probability of occurrence—high-probability of adverse consequences event.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community is UN-PREPARED for what will likely happen, not to mention the low-probability of occurrence—high-probability of adverse consequences event.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community has NO DISASTER PLANNING SCENARIO or WARNING SYSTEM in place as a strategic framework for early threat identification and coordinated local, national, regional, and international countermeasures.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community LACKS THE CAPACITY TO RESPOND in a timely and effective manner to the full spectrum of expected and unexpected emergency situations.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community is INEFFICIENT during recovery and reconstruction because it HAS NOT LEARNED from either the current experience or the cumulative prior experiences.

THE ALTERNATIVE TO AN VOLCANO DISASTER IS

VOLCANO DISASTER RESILIENCE

THE ALTERNATIVE TO AN VOLCANO DISASTER IS

VOLCANO DISASTER RESILIENCE

CHILE’SCHILE’S

COMMUNITIESCOMMUNITIES

CHILE’SCHILE’S

COMMUNITIESCOMMUNITIESDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATIONDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATION

HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS

•VOLCANO HAZARDS•PEOPLE & BLDGS. •VULNERABILITY•LOCATION

VOLCANO RISK VOLCANO RISK

RISK

ACCEPTABLE RISK

UNACCEPTABLE RISK

GOAL: VOLCANO GOAL: VOLCANO DISASTER RESILIENCEDISASTER RESILIENCE

• PREPAREDNESS•PROTECTION•EARLY WARNING•EMERGENCY RESPONSE•RECOVERY and RECONSTRUCTION

POLICY OPTIONSPOLICY OPTIONS

MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES AND WARNING SYSTEMS ARE A VITAL PART OF SURVIVAL.

THE KEYS TO RESILIENCE: 1) KNOW THE ERUPTIVE HISTORY OF

YOUR REGION’S VOLCANOES,2) BE PREPARED

3) HAVE A WARNING SYSTEM 4) EVACUATE

5) LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCE AND START OVER

TECHNOLOGIES FOR MONITORING, FORECASTING, AND WARNING ARE VITAL FOR

SURVIVAL.

AIR AND LAND MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES ARE VITAL

.