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Thousands are dead after the worst earthquake in generations struck off the northeast coast of Japan on Friday. The 8.9-magnitude quake rocked the country, sending cars off bridges and causing numerous buildings in the area to collapse while causing several tsunamis that essentially washed away entire parts of the island nation. The following aftershocks, which were only slightly weaker than the earthquake itself, were felt throughout the country, causing even more damage and death.
Companies there have evacuated and closed plants in the aftermath of the world’s fifth-largest earthquake since 1900. Because Japan is the destination of so many global businesses, the economic effect of the earthquake will be felt throughout the world. From the Wall Street Journal:
Volvo The automobile company was among the worst hit. Its main facility in Japan that produces heavy-duty trucks was forced to halt production. Volvo employs 10,000 people in Japan.
Daimler One of the company’s facilities in Kawasaki was slightly damaged. Production is continuing with all employees accounted for.
Nestle The Swiss food giant has reported damage to two of its buildings, one of which was closed and production halted. The company says all employees are safe and accounted for.
GlaxoSmithKline Operations at one of its manufacturing plants is suspended for several days as damage is assessed.
Procter & Gamble
A company spokesperson has reported that the majority of the consumer product company’s employees have been accounted for. It has suspended operations at its fabric care products plant.
Autoliv The world’s biggest producer of car safety products reported that it was forced to halt operations at one of its plants due to infrastructure damage.
An official from Chunghwa Telecom, who asked not to be named, said the affected cable belongs to the Asia Pacific Cable Network 2, which is owned by a consortium of 14 telecom operators led by AT&T Inc.
Though the emotional effects of such a devastating natural catastrophe will be felt for years to come, it is hoped that the economic effects won’t be so long-lasting. It’s hard to be optimistic when you see the damage, however. Below is a frightening video of the earthquake and tsunami as it unfolds.
The recent tsunami that devastated several remote islands in Indonesia has brought to light the country’s horrible history of natural disasters. Here, we take a look at the worst disasters to strike the chain of islands in Southeast Asia this year alone.
June 16, 2010: The 7.0 magnitude Papua earthquake destroyed nine villages and killed 17 people. More than 2,500 houses were destroyed. This came on the heels of the 2009, 7.6 magnitude Papua earthquake that killed four and injured dozens.
October 6, 2010: The Papua area experienced yet another disaster when torrential rains caused overflowing rivers and landslides. More than 145 people were killed, more than 800 injured and hundreds more displaced. The government blamed heavy rains for the severe flooding, rather than illegal logging and deforestation.
October 25, 2010: The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island, causing a deadly tsunami.
October 25, 2010: The tsunami struck Indonesia’s Sumatra province, flattening villages and a resort. West Sumatra provincial disaster management official Ade Edward was quoted as saying, “The number of dead is now 282 and 411 are missing.” He said aid such as food, blankets and tents had begun filtering into the affected areas but that clean water was scarce and that the risk of disease was growing. Indonesian officials have said that the country’s tsunami warning system was not working because it had been vandalized. (The warning system was implemented after the horrific 2004 earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 230,000.)
October 26, 2010: Indonesia’s most volatile volcano, Mount Merapi, erupted, killing at least 28 people. Authorities have been attempting to evacuate 11,000 villagers living on the slopes of the volcano where many houses have been destroyed. Among the dead was the elderly spiritual guardian of the volcano, a man who, Japanese believed, possessed magical powers over the mountain.
This morning, many Americas awoke to the tragic news that an magnitude 6.9 (or 7.1, according state-run China Earthquake Networks Administration) earthquake had struck the western Chinese province of Qinghai. The initial reported death toll made it seem as though the population had perhaps dodged a bullet, but there have now been close to 500 casualties identified, with another 10,000 injured. And if we use history as a guide, these numbers may very well increase as well. Heart-breaking.
Still, when you consider that the 2008 Sichaun quake struck along the same Longmenshan fault system in a more populous region and killed some 90,000 people, things could have been worse. And in a year where another powerful, seismic event shakes the globe seemingly every week, that is at least one thing to be thankful for as the region tries to launch successful rescue and recovery efforts.
But has the earth really been producing more major quakes? It sure seems like it, and Newsweek gives a rundown of the recent evidence:
Yesterday, a 6.9-magnitude quake struck Qinghai, China, resulting in an estimated 400 dead and 10,000 injured. One week before that, a 7.7 tremor hit Northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Two days before that, a 7.2 shook Baja, Mexico. At the end of February, Chile shuddered under an 8.8 earthquake, little over a month after a 7.0 crumbled Haiti and killed nearly 230,000. With such a list, 2010 appears to be the year of the apocalypse or, at the very least, unnaturally active for these natural disasters.
Scientists say 2010 is not showing signs of unusually high earthquake activity. Since 1900, an average of 16 magnitude 7 or greater earthquakes — the size that seismologists define as major — have occurred worldwide each year. Some years have had as few as 6, as in 1986 and 1989, while 1943 had 32, with considerable variability from year to year.
With six major earthquakes striking in the first four months of this year, 2010 is well within the normal range. Furthermore, from April 15, 2009, to April 14, 2010, there have been 18 major earthquakes, a number also well within the expected variation.
“While the number of earthquakes is within the normal range, this does not diminish the fact that there has been extreme devastation and loss of life in heavily populated areas,” said USGS Associate Coordinator for Earthquake Hazards Dr. Michael Blanpied.
The last line is the key.
There aren’t more earthquakes. There are more people.
And that is why the need for better preparedness, building codes and emergency response is greater than ever. The worst-case events of the recent past may not actually be worse than the true true worst-case disasters we will see in the future. (For reference, here are the 11 deadliest earthquakes in history.) With the global population projected to reach nine billion by mid-century, there will be way more people who are — quite literally — atop shaky ground.
We have seen a similar phenomenon both in the United States and globally in terms of hurricane/windstorm risk. Whether or not hurricanes are actually increasing is debatable (and not something I want to get into here), but what is undisputed is that more people today live near the coast than ever before. Internal migrations and population booms in recent decades have left more people directly in the path of the storm.
And now, we are seeing how the same thing can — and will continue to — tragically play out near fault lines.
[All this recent storm] activity underscores just how precarious it is to live and work on the world’s coasts. Despite this, the United Nations has estimated that 37% of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) of the coast. In theUnited States, coastal areas make up one-fifth of the landmass but are home to more than half of the population. And according to a paper by Charles Colgan, chief economist of the National Ocean Economics Project and professor of public policy and management at the University of Southern Maine, 75% of the U.S. domestic economy came from coastal areas in 2000. With these numbers steadily increasing, it is vitally important to understand the natural catastrophe risks related to coastal development, especially in light of what was a particularly active year for such events.
Our other editor Morgan O’Rourke wrote the piece and breaks down both tsunami risk and the memorable 2004 hurricane season if you want to read more on the topic.
UPDATE II: EQECAT, a leading catastrophe risk modeling company, released an update on the Qinghai quake, announcing that — as expected — the insured losses will be “minimal.”
Approximately 16,000 people were exposed to strong ground shaking, and hundreds of deaths have been reported, primarily due to the particular earthquake-vulnerability of the of the conventional mud-brick construction. Though this earthquake has caused immense consequences to the people affected, its significance among the insurance community will be minimal. The Yushu prefecture in which the earthquake was centered contributes a fraction of a percent to China’s GDP, with primary industries of herding and farming, as well as limited tourism related to Buddhist monasteries throughout the region.
Seismic activity in the Tibetan plateau is related to extrusion within the Eurasian plate resulting from convergence of the Indian plate along the Himalayan front. Extrusion-related earthquakes with moderate to large magnitudes, of which the magnitude 7.9 2008 Wenchuan earthquake was one example, are known to occur throughout central China from the Himalaya northward.
