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The Impact of Earthquakes and Cyclones on Fiji

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    Throughout the semester, we have learned about different types of hazards. However, for our last blog for this class I will be discussing two of Fiji’s most destructive and frequent hazards. Fiji has been greatly impacted by various types of hazards, but there are two main hazards that impact Fiji tremendously: earthquakes and cyclones. Earthquakes occur due to “sudden movement of a block of Earth’s crust along a geologic fault”(Keller, DeVecchio). Earthquakes occur along a fault, which is a spot of weakness in Earth’s crust. Earthquakes tend to be frequent occurrence on this island. The most recent earthquake that happened in Fiji occurred on May 13, which had a magnitude of 4.7. The reason behind Fiji being prone to so many earthquakes is due to its proximity to the Fijian plate, therefore, making Fiji’s semicity is very high. This is one of the two primary hazards to address because earthquakes are frequent in this country. In some instances, there are earthquakes
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Erosion on Fiji's Coastline

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     Since Fiji is an island, it is prone to have various coastal problems. However, a coastal problem that is prominent in Fiji is coastal erosion. Coastal erosion is  defined as “the wearing away of material from a coastal profile.” This problem may have various causes. This problem is seen specifically in the Yasawa Islands in Fiji. Even though the main cause of coastal erosion is sea level rising, there are also other causes to the coastal erosion in Fiji.  In one area, the beach erosion had been caused by the construction of a stonewall which diverted the currents to hit the shore, ultimately causing local beach erosion. In another area, erosion can cause removal and re-deposition of large amounts of sand. Many coastlines have also started to erode due to constant flooding and waves bombarding the shores.      Not only does this erosion effect the beauty of the island, but it also greatly impacts the coastal communities. The inhabitants houses are the most vulnerable
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Heat Wave Strikes New Zealand

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In this weeks blog, I will be talking about extreme weathers. Extreme weather is any unusual severe or unseasonal weather. There are various types of extreme weather; such as thunderstorms, heatwaves, and tornadoes. Unfortunately, for my country it is not common to have any of these types of extreme weather. A common extreme weather in Fiji that you’ll see are cyclone. Since, I cannot write on cyclones this week, I have decided to research heat waves in New Zealand.       On January 29, 2018 a heatwave had struck New Zealand so harshly that it was sparking health alerts. During this time, the temperature of New Zealand was ranged between 35-40 degrees Celsius(95-104 degrees Fahrenheit). In New Zealand it is very rare to get to temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius. With this heatwave being a week long, New Zealand actually experienced a shortage of fans due to people’s attempt in trying to keep them cool. However, the heatwave caused the most impact on school children. T
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The Impact of Landslides on Fiji Inhabitants

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In this weeks blog, I will be discussing the topic of mass wasting. Mass wasting is defined as “a comprehensive term for any type of downslope movement of earth materials”, which can also be referred to as landslides. Landslides have had a great impact on the land of Fiji and it’s inhabitants.  This mass wasting has been seen to occur repetitively in areas near mountains. In these mountainous places, rock and soil move down toward people’s homes. One family had to wake up in the middle of the night in order to alert the others in the house that they needed to evacuate immediately. Thankfully, the parents of the household were able to evacuate their family and no one was hurt. Unfortunately, the family had experienced a landslide like this in the past. However, it was also not in 2003 as it was recently in 2017. In another incident, the  Dreketi Health Centre on Qamea was also destroyed by a landslide. Fortunately, the services provided at the center were still given out despite
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Volcanoes in Fiji

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Koro Nabukelevu   Taveuni This week in my blog I will be discussing Fiji’s volcanic activity. There are three main volcanoes located in Fiji which are Koro, Nabukelevu, and Taveuni. Koro is a group of basaltic cinder cones that are located between Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. Many of these cones are less than 10,000 years old, but are not likely to erupt.  Nabukelevu is an andesitic-dacitic lava dome complex. This volcano is located at the end of Kadavu Island. Nabukelevu has not erupted in over 10,000 years, but is still proposes dangers to Fiji. A main hazard from Nebukelevu is that debris from the complex can cause issues by damaging near by coastlines. Also, earthquakes  can cause avalanches and landslides of debris and volcanic rock to slide into the ocean, disrupting the underwater life. “Three fault lines run through Nabukelevu, making the volcano prone to failure.”(Volcanoes of Fiji).  The Taveuni volcano is so massive that it forms the third largest island
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Earthquakes Strike Fiji

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In my last post I shared with you all that Fiji is very close to the Fiji plate, therefore, it is not to any surprise Fiji's seismicity is very high. According to the USGS website, the most recent earthquake had occurred on February 5, 2018 in Lambasa  which projected a magnitude of 4.2. However, seven hours prior to this earthquake another earthquake, at a magnitude of 4.5, struck Ndoi Island. Even though these magnitudes may seem relatively normal, Fiji has also experienced high magnitude earthquakes. According to Earthquake Track , the largest earthquake to hit Fiji this year had a magnitude of 6.4 in Levuka, Fiji.  With earthquakes always disturbing the islands of Fiji, it is prevalent that action must be taken to ensure the safety of the people. The residents do all that they can to make others aware of the earthquakes that frequently occur. A committee is brought together every year to address procedures on what to do during an earthquake and to discuss eva
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The Fiji Plate

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In this weeks blog, I will be focusing on the concept of plate tectonics and the distance from Fiji to the Fiji Plate boundary. According to Natural Hazards:Earth's Processes as Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes, written by Edward Keller and Duane DeVecchio, Fiji is approximately 100 miles from the Fiji Plate.  However, Fiji is also located near the Indo-Australian and the Pacific Plate boundaries which make for a very complicated plate boundary history.  Within the Keller and DeVecchio's text, they specify that there are there types of plate boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform. Divergent boundaries occur when new crust is created because the plates move away from each other. Convergent boundaries occur when crust is destroyed by two plates move toward each other. Transform boundaries occurs when no new crust is created due to the plates sliding past each other in opposite directions. The Fiji Plate has convergent boundaries, which result in many earthquakes an
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