Final Hazards Report
Russia is the largest country in the world contains 6.60 million sq miles within its borders. Within that in mind, it should be no surprise that it experiences all of the natural hazards we have discussed besides true hurricanes. I say true hurricanes because it experienced a thunderstorm that was nearly the strength of a hurricane, coming just shy a few miles per hour. Maybe if climate change continues there will be more storms near or at hurricane strength. Every other hazard has potential to strike, some relatively often with the potential of increased frequency due to climate change. Should I be put in charge of the Russian effort to mitigate natural disasters I would focus on earthquakes and subsidence. From what I have come to understand concentrating on mitigating these two would save the most lives. They are also related to earthquakes which can set off landslides so addressing the landslide issue could potentially lessen the consequences of a mighty quake. I will go over first the issue of earthquakes and then landslides, ending with where I would build my Russian stronghold considering what I talked about in this paper and my knowledge of the other hazards that I have picked up this semester.
For my first midterm essay I choose to write about earthquakes because out of the three choices we had it was the most significant threat. After going through each of the hazards it still is the first one I would choose to combat. This is because how potentially devastating earthquakes can be to areas unprepared, which is a lesson that was learned in my country during the Sakhalin earthquake. This earthquake claimed the lives of over half the people who lived in the town nearest the epicenter and leveled most of the buildings. A clear example of the power that tectonic plates can generate and the need to prepare for their jolts. There are many events like this, and even weaker ones, that can be compared to strong quakes in areas properly prepared to demonstrate the necessity for preparation and construction of buildings in a way to compensate for the strong shaking from these disasters. An area that is accustomed to earthquakes and has put into place building codes that reflect this can be hit with a significant one and have minimal damage. A place that is not can be hit by a weak one and experience great destruction, much more than a greater magnitude quake will wreak upon a well-prepared city. Over 20% of Russia's land has the potential of experiencing a 7.0 earthquake or higher, 5% an 8.0-9.0, and about 50% has the chance of experiencing a quake of some sort. The frequency of the most ferocious quakes may not be extremely high yet since there is little to no warning when they do people in the area will suffer the consequences of any negligence with no chance of escaping once it begins.
My recommendations for addressing this issue would start with strictly enforcing building codes designed to allow the building to withstand the effects of the strongest earthquakes. This would likely raise the costs of construction yet it would be well worth the cost for many lives could be saved. Any company who shirks these codes will be sent right to the gulags. Just kidding, Russia does not have these anymore. There are a number of effective engineering techniques that exist that have proven to mitigate the effects of shaking and more could possibly be invented in the future. All buildings currently existing would either need to be retrofitted to meet the current standards or condemned. As technology progresses the ease and the number of buildings that are able to go through this process may increase. Any building that cannot be updated yet is deemed worthy of remaining may stay yet it must be made clear to any who might go inside or those who inhabit it that there is the danger. The center of Russia has mostly been devoid of quakes so there is not much worry there. History will have to be examined to determine if any areas that do not regularly have quakes that may need to consider retrofitting or adopting new building codes. If the instances of quakes are extremely rare and it is not known to be near a fault line then it is probably fine. Another key step is to install seismic monitoring systems in as many places as possible, focusing on areas known to be active. While these systems will do no real good for the disaster zone during an event, it will provide important information for future projects and preparedness efforts. There are times when small quakes will occur before a large one so the seismic sensors will be able to provide warnings in these instances. Having these sensors in place will also aid in dealing with other natural disasters such as tsunamis, volcano eruptions, and my second choice subsidence. Emergency teams will need to extensively train on the best ways to deal with disasters and constantly be refining their methods. Any team members who do not meet standards will be sent to the gulags. Just kidding, Russia really doesn’t have these anymore. Even with all the above-mentioned efforts, there will still be times when buildings will fall or destruction will be wrought that necessitates these teams being deployed. Having elite teams of rescue workers will be invaluable when the inevitable disaster strikes so as much funded was needed to keep them in tip top shape would be given. Citizens would also need to be educated on how they should react when a quake hits and how to increase their chance of survival. Drills should be conducted at least annually and information easily accessible.
I would focus my efforts on the border areas of Russia for this is where the most quakes occur. The mountain ranges that make up its border with China is a hot spot along with the mysterious fault line that cuts across Siberian in the northeastern part of the country. The Kamchatka Peninsula is another area that has a lot of earthquakes that definitely warrants priority. The most northeastern area of the Russian continent also has frequent quakes as well as an area going west on the northern coast where the mysterious fault line I mentioned nears the ocean.
Mass subsidence, aka landslides and avalanches, is a huge problem for Russia. Out of the 1110 cities and towns that currently exist in the country 725 are at risk of this type of disaster happening. This is due to the number of mountains and glaciers that exist within the country coupled with the earthquakes that can occur in these regions. Estimates say that the frequency of these events will increase as climate change occurs for more rain and ice melting will make more slopes unstable. This disaster can be tied in with my first choice because when earthquakes happen the potential for landslides and avalanches is very real so preparing for both could go hand and hand in some regions.
My recommendations for dealing with this mass subsidence would be first to identify all the slopes that threaten people. This should be easy for some areas that frequently have landslides and maybe they have already taken steps to take care of the issue. Since climate change is increasing there will be new dangerous slopes so these will have to be discovered and taken note. A danger level for each slope near settlements should be established and detailed information about its makeup acquired. This will help determine what may cause it to come down and what are the options for stabilization. With the base danger level known then the task of monitoring these slopes can begin. In periods of rain or defrosting the information gleaned from the initial examination can aid in making predictions on how the slope may react. Weather forecasts of extreme weather or extra heat causing melts can allow a warning to be sent out to residents in the risk area either to advise or force an evacuation. The slope information can also be used to determine the likelihood of an earthquake triggering a slide. Unless there are small prelude quakes before there will probably no warning for those at risk. If there are then it can be made at least known that there is activity going on. Other than warnings this information will be utilized to stabilize slopes as much as possible and plan for future construction projects. There are many times where there is not much that can be done to prevent something from happening and people have already established themselves in dangerous areas. If this is the case then they should be made aware of the risk, and if extremely great, strongly advised to leave. Any new construction in areas with a high enough risk should be prevented for that is often the best way to 100% avoid the danger presented here. Just like for the earthquake hazard, the same emergency teams would be trained to deal with this issue and made as prepared as possible. Citizens would also be taught on steps they can take to make themselves safer and possibly survive a landslide. I would target all the settlements that are near mountains, especially all the areas that have a high risk of earthquakes. I could not find any information about specific places and their landslide frequency but I can infer from what I learned about the quake-prone regions is that those happen to be around mountains and volcanoes. Chances of a landslide occurring on one of the slopes in those areas are pretty great so starting there sounds like a good idea to me.
Considering what I wrote about above and what I learned this semester I would build my Russian fortress just west of the Ural mountains miles away from the mountains in an area sort of near a town yet still not in a city. I would set up a solid fire defense system which would include clearing dangerous trees directly next to the house and make defensible walls to prevent the evil fires of destruction from encroaching. I probably would be the highest risk for this hazard since I would ideally be out in a fairly isolated area but it is the price you have to pay for that kind of living. This general area does not experience noteworthy earthquake nor would I be near enough a hill or mountain to worry about landslides. It would be inland so no tsunamis or coastal erosions to make me uneasy, nor any extreme weather that would be terribly unmanageable. Since Russia does not experience true Hurricanes that threat is nonexistent. Even if climate change changed that fact they never go that far inland so I would be fine. I would make sure to not be super close to a river so no flooding could occur. I also would make sure the ground is solid so the chances of a sinkhole forming would be very low to nonexistent. Maybe an impact event would do me in, though the chances of that are extremely low and if you have to go somehow then an impact from a space-born object is a pretty good out.
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Lacerda, W., Mauricio Mauricio, S.A.B. Fontoura, and A.S.F. Sayao. "Landslides: Evaluation and Stabilization/Glissement De Terrain: Evaluation Et Stabilisation, Set of 2 Volumes." Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web.
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