NOTABLE HISTORIC AND FUTURE

THREATENING EVENTS ALONG THE

PACIFIC RING OF FIRE

As of April 21, 2012

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for

Disaster Reduction,
University of North Carolina,
USA
RING OF FIRE
1,000 ACTIVE VOLCANOES
ALONG THE RING OF FIRE
MANY HISTORIC EARTHQUAKES
ALONG THE RING OF FIRE
SOME OF THE HISTORIC
EVENTS ALONG THE
RING OF FIRE
 NOTABLE HISTORIC EVENTS
ALONG THE RING OF FIRE

THE PHILIPPINES: MOUNT PINATUBO

USA: NORTHRIDGE, CA EARTHQUAKE
CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND:
EARTHQUAKES
SENDAI, JAPAN: EARTHQUAKE AND
TSUNAMI
CHILE: VOLCANO PUYEUHE
THE PHILIPPINES: MT. PINATUBO:
JUNE 15, 1991
 Pinatubo was the second largest
eruption of the 20th century and the
largest to impact a densely
populated area.
NORTHRIDGE, CALIFORNIA
EARTHQUAKE

4:31
4:31 AM
AM ON
ON JANUARY
JANUARY 17,
17, 1994
1994
M
M 6.8
6.8
NORTHRIDGE EARTHQUAKE

57 DEATHS
9,000 INJURIES
OVER $50
BILLION
DAMAGE
TRANSPORT-
ATION SYSTEMS
FAILED
CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND: SEPT
2010 & FEB 2011 EARTHQUAKES
 TWO EARTHQUAKES
SEVERELY CUT NEW
ZEALANDS 2011
ECONOMIC GROWTH
A DEEP (33 KM) M7.1 AND A
SHALLOW (4 KM) M6.3 QUAKE SIX
MONTHS APART COMBINE TO
HALF NEW ZEALANDS ECONOMIC
GROWTH
 M9.0 TOHOKU
EARTHQUAKE/TSUNAMI
IMPACTED JAPAN WITH THE
TSUNAMI WAVES REACHING
PACIFIC RIM COUNTRIES
4TH
LARGEST QUAKE EVER 3
40 M TSUNAMI WAVES
2:46 pm MARCH 11, 2011
JAPAN: TSUNAMI FOLLOWING
M9.0 EARTHQUAKE
 CHILES VOLCANO
PUYEHUE ERUPTED WITH A
MASSIVE ASH CLOUD AND
SPECTACULAR LIGHTNING

JUNE 4, 2011
VOLCANO PUYEHUES ASH
CLOUD: JUNE 4, 2011
 PUYEHUES ASH CLOUD

The ash cloud over the

Southern Hemisphere has
impacted Argentina and
spread as far as South Africa
and Australia.
 PUYEHUES ASH CLOUD

The ash cloud over the

Southern Hemisphere
impacted Argentina and
spread as far as South Africa
and Australia.
 NOTABLE HISTORIC EVENTS
ALONG THE RING OF FIRE

CHILE: EARTHQUAKE AND

TSUNAMI
COLOMBIA: NEVADA DEL RUIZ
M8.8 EARTHQUAKE STRIKES
CENTRAL CHILE:
3:34 am on February 27, 2010
Subduction Zone Quake 500 Times More
Energy than the M7.0 Haiti Quake
800+ Deaths; 500+ Injured
Numerous Aftershocks
Tsunami Waves Travel Across Pacific
Estimated Loss: $30 Billion
The Chilean people had to cope
with the demands associated with:
1) a mega-quake, 2) a vigorous
aftershock sequence with large
events, 3) tsunami wave run up, 4)
looting of the affluent sector, and 5)
recovery after the loss of 15
percent of the GDP.
It was a catastrophic experience,
even though Chile has experienced
many past earthquakes, has
implemented a modern building
code, and was well prepared to
respond to all aspects of the
emergency.
COLOMBIA: NEVADA DEL RUIZ,
A 1988 DISASTER
 The lahar generated by the
eruption of Nevada del Ruiz
buried 25,000 people in the
city of Armero as they slept.
 SOME OF THE
THREATENING EVENTS
ALONG THE RING OF FIRE
 THREATENING EVENTS ALONG THE
RING OF FIRE

JAPAN: MOUNT FUJI

JAPAN: TOKAI EARTHQUAKE AND
TSUNAMI
USA: NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
USA: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
USA: CASCADIA SUBDUCTION ZONE
MOUNT FUJI: JAPAN; A THREAT
TO TOKYO
 Because of its location in the
densely populated Bay area of
7 million people, an
earthquake on the Hayward
fault could be one of the
USA's worst natural disasters.
 A Hayward fault earthquake
potentially affects 5 million
people, and damages homes,
schools, senior centers,
hospitals, businesses, the Bay
bridge, and the campus of UC
Berkeley.
 A M 7.0 earthquake on the
Hayward fault will cause an
estimated $210 billion dollars in
damage.
The region's transportation
infrastructure and water delivery
systems will take a major hit.
 THE GREAT TOKAI
EARTHQUAKE

POSSIBLY THE WORLDS FOREMOST

IMPENDING EARTHQUAKE DISASTER
FOR WHICH JAPAN HAS BEEN
PREPARING FOR 25 YEARS
REGIONAL MAP
 TOKAI EARTHQUAKE

The Government of Japan

expects its next great
earthquake to be the Tokai
Earthquake.
 TOKAI EARTHQUAKE
Estimated deaths between
7,900 and 9,200 depending on
the amount of advance warning
and the time of day it occurs.
Estimated property damage -
as much as $310 billion.
 TOKAI EARTHQUAKE
Landslides -- 6,449 specific
locations
Structures susceptible to
quake-related fires 58,402
specific houses
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (LOS ANGELES
AREA) EARTHQUAKE SCENARIO
 The magnitude 7.8 scenario
earthquake will cause about
1,800 deaths and $213 billion of
economic losses.
CASCADIA SUBDUCTION
ZONE
CASCADIA SUDUCTION ZONE
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
CASCADIA SUBDUCTION ZONE

The Cascadia subduction

zone (CSZ), which extends
from Vancouver Island to
Cape Mendiceno, is capable
of producing earthquakes of
M8 to M9 and a destructive
tsunami if the M > 8.0.
 A M9.0 CSZ EARTHQUAKE
Long-period waves will
dominate the ground shaking
of a M9.0 CSZ earthquake.
Long-period ground shaking is
very efficient in exciting tall
buildings, long bridges, and
long pipelines into vibration.
 THREATENING EVENTS
ALONG THE RING OF FIRE

MEXICO: POPOCATEPETL
USA: MOUNT RAINIER
ECUADOR: SANGAY
VANUATU: MOUNT YASUR
GUATEMALA: SANTA MARIA
MEXICOS POPOCATEPETL: APRIL 20
An estimated 5 million people in
the states of Mexico, Puebla,
and Morelos would be affected
by a major eruption of the
17,778 ft Popocatepetl
MT RAINIER: TACOMA, WA
Tacoma, the capital city is
at high risk when Rainier
erupts
SANGAY, ECUADOR
 Sangays steep-sided volcanic
cone, which reaches a height of
17,158 feet (5,230 meters), has
been characterized by:
1) a historical eruption in 1628, 2)
more or less continuous eruptions
from 1728 until 1916, and 3)
continuous eruptions again from
1934 to the present.
MOUNT YASUR, VANUATU
 Mount Yasur, an active volcano on
Tanna Island and a part of the
archipelago nation of Vanuatu in the
South Pacific, has been erupting
nearly continuously for over a
century with strombolian- type
eruptionsk, often occurring several
times an hour.
SANTA MARIA, GUATEMALA
 Santa Maria, a 12,375-foot (3,772-
meter) tall stratovolcano, had a
catastrophic eruption in 1902, one
of the largest eruptions of the 20th
century, that caused severe damage
throughout southwestern
Guatemala
 SO---
ITS STILL ALL ABOUT THE ART
AND SCIENCE OF MAKING ALL
CIRCUM-PACIFIC
COMMUNITIES RESILIENT TO
EARTHQUAKES AND
VOLCANOES
 MAKING THE RING OF FIRES
FUTURE BETTER THAN ITS PAST
PERIOD OF WINDOW OF PERIOD OF
INTEGRATION OPPORTUNITY IMPLEMENTATION
1988-2012 2012
NOW

HEAR
HEAR

UNDER-
UNDER-
STAND
STAND
PERSON-
PERSON-
ALIZE
ALIZE
ACT
ACT

IDENT-
IDENT-
IFY
IFY