The Impact of Landslides on Fiji Inhabitants

url.jpg
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 the physical destruction done to the building. 

In order to help prevent landslides, Fiji uses warning control. The purpose of this is to divert water it from running across the slope. The Island of Fiji also has a  Drainage Act to help prevent landslides from occurring and hurting it’s inhabitants. These drainage acts are apart of Fiji Legislation because it is typical for Fiji to have floods precede landslides.  To alert the people about potential landslides, there are warning systems, which Fiji uses to prevent people from going on certain roads that might be prone to landslides. In addition to trying to help the people of Fiji, Fiji’s government also offers evacuation centers for those who have lost their houses in the rubble due to landslides.  

Natural Hazards by Keller and DeVecchio 

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 16, 2018 at 5:24 PM

    Here is a link to the picture I tried to post:: http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/8131592-3x2-940x627.jpg
    (Sorry that the picture is not posting)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ana GGMarch 17, 2018 at 11:44 AM

    thank you. I saw this image fine with the link....
    It seems your research shows the country is aware and prepared to address this hazard, which is great...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Differences Between Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes

Many times people believe that hazards, disasters, and catastrophes are terms that can be used interchangeably. However, this is a common misconception. A hazard is an event that is seen as a threat to humanbeings and the property they own. Some examples of a natural hazard would be floods, landslides, expansive soils, and frost because they could do damage to a human’s property. There is no area that is considered hazard free because every country, state, and city is prone to natural events. A disaster is an event that happens in a certain area that occurs over a certain time. One of four aspects have to be met for an event to be classified as a natural disaster—10 or more people are killed, 100 or more people are affected, a state of emergency is declared, and international assistance is requested. Natural disasters cause not only physical damage, but also financial and social loss. A catastrophe is a huge disaster that only occurs when a tremendous amount of money and time is neede
Read more