Final Post

I have described on many blog post’s that Australia is a very large and unpredictable country. In my experience, it remains obvious to me that Australia is in itself a land of extremes. It contains extreme weather, extreme animals, and in some cases extreme people. It was for over a period of nine months that I had the opportunity to experience the Australians extreme culture and climate. The majority of my experience I gained from the time I spent working in the extreme heat conditions within the outback. Therefore, I would say that the most prevalent hazard that Australia faces is extreme whether. 

Australia experiences extreme weather seasonally each year during their wet and dry seasons. I can tell you that when it rains, it is some of the strongest rainfall I have ever seen. When it is hot, you have to wear full body protection to protect yourself from the intensity of the sun. I’ve also seen extreme heat within minutes switch to extreme rain all within the same day. These conditions prove to be problematic because they lead to the creation of flash floods and bushfires. The second most prevalent hazard would be the bushfires that destroy thousands of acres worth of land and life within the outback. Over the last year, Australia has been experiencing record breaking temperatures and droughts, these conditions have facilitated a dry environment for bushfires to thrive. Windy conditions also contribute to the growth and spread of bushfires along coast. This is due to the extreme heat conditions that occur seasonally throughout the year. Also much of the fauna in Australia is dry and considered very flammable, the Eucalyptus tree (also the most common tree in Australia) has chemicals within its bark that makes fires burn hotter and longer.

You’ll find that as you travel farther from the coast of Australia and move more inland, the more extreme the weather conditions get. So far, there is no clear solution to preventing extreme weather conditions. A person can only adapt to them as need be and pay attention to local weather stations in order to take preventative measures. In the case of wild fires, it would be in your best interest to maintain a controlled burn during certain seasons of the year. This is one of the best preventative measures you can take towards bushfires. Finally, if I were to build the house it would be along the eastern coast. This is due to the cooler weather conditions and the fact the majority of the population lives along these coasts. 

Australia and Coastal Erosion

Coastal Erosion is the process in which sediment and bedrock along the coast is removed because of wave erosion. In most cases coastal erosion is a slow onset hazard because it takes years before any major damage is done. In cases where there is extreme weather, coastal erosion is typically more intense and can destroy the coastline within days. Australia is know for its beautiful coast, yet it is also a land that commonly experiences extreme weather conditions. Maintaining the beauty and magnificence of Australia's coast is very important to the Australian people.

The New South Wales coast has a long history of experiencing coastal erosion. Along with damaged beachfront properties within Sydney. A series of large storm events have led to extensive property damage to homes and infrastructure along these regions. It is estimated that 40,000 homes rest on soft shorelines along the Australian coast and are at risk of being destroyed.

The Australian government in an effort to fight against erosion has built coastal protection such as  sea walls and breakwaters. This mitigation effort does stop tides from eroding selected locations, yet by altering tides you can unintentionally erode other areas along the coastline. Most of the erosion from the coast is caused by human interaction along the coast. A lot of effort has been made to educate the public about their beach habits.

Sources:
https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/community-safety/coastalerosion
https://www.coastalwatch.com/environment/4524/the-impact-of-coastal-erosion-in-australia

Extreme Weather

In my experience Australia is a land of extremes, its weather can range anywhere from 40 degrees (Celsius) in some areas to below freezing in others. It's very common for Australians to experience these extremes within the same day. Overall, the majority of the continent experiences average rainfall while the tropical regions experience some intense seasonal rainfall. I remember when I was working within the outback we would be working in 40 degree weather. Then storm clouds would roll in seemingly out of nowhere and warm intense rainfall would pour down. 

It is also quite common for draught stricken areas to experience spurts of intense rainfall and flooding. Overall, Australia is a very intense and unpredictable place. When crossing the country you often have to take in account the extreme weather conditions you may experience. Sometimes you may have to stop and recover either from intense heat waves or extreme rainfall. 

Sources:

https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/national-location-information/dimensions/climatic-extremes

https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-51175698

Australia and Mass Wasting

Within Australia, 114 landslides are known to have caused injury or death between 1842 - 2011. It is estimated that around 138 people have been killed as a result of these deadly slides. Many of these landslides were the result of human activity and improper maintenance of geological areas. Most landslide deaths were caused by beach sand or excavation cave-ins, this makes sense considering the sandy and sometimes silty ground that is commonly found within the outback. The estimated cost of landslide during the period 1842-2011 is approximately $82 million dollars (this is also taken in account for inflation). Landslides also caused considerable damage and disruption when they impacted or destroyed roads, railways and bridges. 

Landslides within Australia especially in Queensland area (where I lived) are caused by heavy rainfall. It is highly recommended by the Australian government that before you inhibit an area that you should check the areas geographical history. Besides that there hasn't been much action in preventing landslides within vulnerable areas. The Australian government does of course try its best to educate people on the tell tale signs of a landslide and what one should do if they find themselves in such a predicament. The most highly recommended option is that you evacuate an area as fast as you can before or during the events of a landslide. If one cannot escape then it is recommend they find steady shelter and barricade affected areas with benches. tables, and mattresses. 

Sources:

https://www.qld.gov.au/emergency/dealing-disasters/disaster-types/landslides

https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/ajem-jan-2013-impact-of-landslides-in-australia-to-december-2011/

Australia and Volcanic Activity

Australia has no current volcanic activity to date. Although there was volcanic activity that was recorded within Southern Australia around 5,000 years ago. The nearest active volcanoes to Australia rest in Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and Indonesia.

One well known volcano "Whakaari", rest on a neighboring island near New Zealand called White Island. It is a popular tourist attraction because much of the geothermal active occurs under the water and other activity can be observed from the surface. The most recent eruption occurred on December 9th, 2019 and injured and killed a great deal of tourists visiting the island. The volcano itself is quite volatile and has been placed on alert level 2, meaning the volcano isn't quite ready to erupt but is high in volcanic activity.

Sources:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-12/new-zealand-white-island-volcano-eruption-how-it-unfolded/11789586

http://www.australasianscience.com.au/article/science-and-technology/australias-volcanic-history-lot-more-recent-you-think.html

https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/community-safety/volcano

Australia's Seismicity and Fault movements

(Common Earthquake hotspots)

Seismic activity is defined as the different types, sizes, and frequency of earthquakes that occur in a certain area over a certain period of time.

Australia lies in the center of the Indo-Australian tectonic plate and is not near any other plate boundaries. This means that Australia has a relatively low amount of seismic activity, yet low seismic activity does not mean that Australians don't experience strong earthquakes. It just means that they experience large earthquakes after longer periods of time.

Seismic studies have shown that Australia experiences earthquakes of magnitude 7 around every 100 years. More common earthquakes in Australia occur every 5-10 years and are recorded at a magnitude of 6. It is very unlikely for Australia to have an earthquake that is larger than magnitude 8 because those quakes mainly occur at plate boundaries. Most of the earthquakes occur under the surface at a distance of 20 km, which compared to other countries seismic activity is considered quite shallow.

The geology of Australia mainly consists of old, cold, and dry rocks that rest on the surface. They do not absorb seismic activity very well so earthquakes can be felt at a long distance. Earthquakes of a magnitude of 6 or greater have been observed to break the crust.

The majority of buildings within Australia before the 1990's were not prepared for earthquakes. It wasn't until the 1989 newcastle earthquake, where 13 Australian's lost their lives, that Australia decided to create new construction standards.

Sources:
https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/ajem-april-2019-earthquakes-happen-in-australia-but-are-we-prepared/
https://www.src.com.au/earthquakes/seismology-101/earthquakes-in-australia/

Australia in Respect to Plate Tectonics

Plate Tectonics is the process of the earths lithosphere moving, shifting, and changing in accordance to the placement of crustal plates. Each country is close or near to its regions tectonics plates and is affected by certain geologic activity. As you can see Australia currently rests in the center of the Indo-Australian Plate which is one of the 7 major tectonic plates. It borders other plates in the north, south, and east, such as the Eurasian plate, Antarctic plate, and the pacific plate.

The Australian plate is moving approximately 7 cm each year and is known to cause violent earthquakes to its neighboring countries like New Zealand. The Indo-Australian plate is also credited to raising the Himalayan mountains because of convergent plate boundaries colliding with each other.

Convergent Boundary: Plates moving towards each other and colliding.

Sources:

https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2011/10/earthquakes-in-australia/

https://earthhow.com/indo-australian-plate/

Keller,Edward A., and Duane E. DEVecchio.Natural Hazards. Fourth ed., Routledge, 2016. 

Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes

Whenever a natural disaster occurs like a tornado, hurricane, or earthquake I hear some similar terminology being used. Usually I hear the words disaster or catastrophe get thrown around, while the word hazard is used for more commonly understood dangers. Honestly, I thought that many of these words meant the same thing, that something quite terrible and out of our control has occurred. Yet I've come to learn that terms Natural hazard, Disasters, and catastrophe describe different states of danger and damage that is inflicted on human life.

First off, a Natural Hazard is the natural processes or events that pose a threat to both human life and property. Many of us experience these natural hazards in the form of earthquakes, flash floods, hurricanes, Many of these events are repetitive and may occur seasonally over a certain area depending on the time of year. Therefore these hazards are natural events that occur freely whether we are the cause of them or not.

Second, A Natural Disaster is a hazardous event that occurs for a limited time over a specific area. I think that it is important for us to understand that natural disasters are the result of natural events or hazards that occur within nature. A great example of a natural events turning into disasters would be the result of a flash flood after a heavy rainfall. 

Lastly, A Catastrophe A massive disaster that requires significant expenditure of money, time, and resources. I think that one of the most commonly discussed catastrophes is that of the earthquake that rocked Haiti in 2010. Hundreds of thousands of lives were both lost and affected due to the state of Haitis architecture and ways of living.

Sources:
https://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/Natural_Disasters/introduction.htm

Keller, Edward A., and Duane E. DeVecchio. Natural Hazards. Fourth ed., Routledge, 2016.