I have already written a proposal and annotated bibliography for this course. I have attached them so you would have an idea about the topic. Iran, which is above a complex tectonic region, is to the

Bam Earthquake

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Bam Earthquake, Iran

A factual description of the earthquake and background information on Iran            

Bam was reduced to rubbles under tones of rocks after two earthquakes and more than a  aft                                                       

Abstract

            Bam was reduced to rubbles under tones of rocks after two earthquakes and more than a dozen aftershocks. The main factors contributing to the huge loss in human life and property was due to factors as being in a mountainous region with a nuclear power plant on the faults of the plate. The poor housing structures were another reason There is the power plant which has faced previous destructions from it lying on a fault line. Though it was easy to predict the earthquake, it was hard to imagine the environmental disaster the earthquake caused. It economically affected the regions as it affected the economic charges.

                        The powerful 6.6 magnitudes and an XI Mercalli intensity earthquake hit around 5:26 am on December 2003, and killed close to 26,271 people and injured another 30,000 in the mountainous region. This quake was centered near the Iran/Iraq border and was mostly catastrophic in Bam. As it was close to 40 miles below the earth’s surface, it increased the risk of destruction and death. The earthquake also led to billions of dollars in damage.

            With minor quakes happening daily, Iran is frequently troubled with tremors. What caused the earthquake, however, was stress caused by the movement of the Arabian plate against the Eurasian plate. The earth’s crust has to adjust to the new position and is deformed in the process, therefore causing an earthquake from either reverse or strike-slip faulting along the lines of deformation (Berberian and Yeats, 2009). While addressing the causes and the consequences of the earthquake, it is essential to keep in mind that there are steps taken post-quake and measures established to ensure the safety of lives and property.

                        The area is a relatively rural and mountainous region where the residents rely on farming to make a living. The region is not new to earthquakes, and it is where Arabia and the Eurasian tectonic plates meet. Because their building and housing structures did not meet the earthquake regulations as per 1989 laws, the effects were worsened by the brick and mud structures (Fallahi, 2008). With a change on building regulations and an education that teaches on what to expect during and after an earthquake has.

Introduction

            Standing for more than 2000 years, the city on straws and mud collapsed within minutes. As an original trade center for the region, so much history was lost during the wave. Being part of the Silk Road made it grow to become a trading city with the citadel being the center of this city.  In the tragic earthquake, Iran not only lost its most important history, but it also lost tourist who came in the hundreds of thousands annually. The Bam earthquake hit Kerman Province on December 26 of 2013. Before Bam got hit, it had a population of around 97,000 people.

            The U.S offered humanitarian assistant, another 44 reported countries sent labor to assist in rescue and relief operations, and a total of 60 countries were of assistance after the earthquake. Also, after the quake, the government of Iran considered changing the country’s capital in fear of another earthquake striking again. Victims suffered psychological trauma for years after the shock, and there were talks about reconstructing the city as well as address the urban planning issues in Bam, all in compliance with seismic and the earthquakes regulations. As this course of action marked the country’s turning point, leaders, ministers and organizations came together and worked with the people of Bam and engineers to rebuild the city.

            Though earthquake education is deficient, the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology came up with an education system during the late ’90s to improve on the culture, safety, prevention and preparedness when it came to earthquakes as the effects of public blindness on earthquakes were described as poisonous (Berberian and Yeats, 2009).

Address the cause of devastating consequences of the earthquake (for example poor infrastructure)

            As the houses were made of mud and straw, the effects of the quake worsened. When the two tectonic plates meet, the build-up of pressure will cause these plates to jerk past each other and produce shock waves, which happen to be the earthquakes being felt. As the shock waves are from the focus, they spread outward and upward to the ground level where they become stronger. The fault lines are rock fractures evident after significant rock displacement due to movement.

            Though 26,271 people died and another 30,000 injured, in Iranian history this earthquake was the worst in terms of loss of human lives (Yeats, 2011). As most were crushed while sleeping, the quake saw the loss of 11,000 students lives and close to 1200 teaching staff, creating a huge gap in their education system. The top officials of Education in Bam reported the state, its pupils and their teachers badly needed psychological support as they were morally crushed and wrecked.

            With this comes both the primary and the secondary effects. Primary impacts are the effects felt straight away, such as buildings falling. The secondary impacts are felt after the aftermath, maybe the next day or so. The Bam earthquake saw the collapse of their buildings within minutes given their building standards were below expected. Close to 90% of Bam’s infrastructure and buildings were ruined. With close to 70% of their houses and their residential areas destroyed, an estimated 100,000 were left homeless with no house standing at Baravat. The main reason for this is that their structures were built during the 16th and the 17th Century and were not made to withstand such trembling. Also, as their homes were homemade, they did not have the use for skilled labor and the needed material to build a house resistant to tremors (Ghafory-Ashtiany & Hosseini, 2007).

            What escalated the number of casualties was the weak walls, which began falling, making the roof implode. With dust, without oxygen and very few air pockets left during the rubble, people suffocated to death. This prompted the Iranian government to put stringent measures to deal with those who do not follow the proper regulations when setting up buildings.

            A study on 210 victims after the earthquake showed that each spent an average of 1.9 hours under debris and many had compartment syndrome with most having bone fractures. Power and water supplies were cut short after the earthquake.

            The Citadel in Bam (Arg-e-Bam) was destroyed by the earthquake, as another 30 aftershocks severely struck the city soon after the main shock hit (Yeats, 2011).

            These are the primary impacts and can at times cause the secondary consequences. Earthquakes can trigger landslides and tsunami, and this can double the effects and losses due to more primary and secondary impacts. Without water, and sanitation compromised, waterborne diseases become a threat and electricity makes saving lives impossible.

            As Bam’s citadel was mostly there due to business and as an attraction site, the people lost their source of livelihood, and a number of them were unemployed due to the loss of property. This goes without saying as the economic status of the country suffered, and these effects can at times be long-lasting. A lot of resources will be used in repairs as with most earthquake’s, and this saw the people of Bam, the Iranian government and local engineers come together to reconstruct the city again. Though long-term, development at times has to stop. In this case, the Iranian government considered changing the state’s capital fearing that such tremors may hit again. Tehran was to be replaced by Isfahan as their new capital given that Tehran lies on fault lines, which scientists warn, may face what it did in Bam 2003.

            That year was declared the deadliest, regarding the earthquake since 1990. It was estimated that the Bam earthquake accounted for 79% of the world’s quake casualties in the year 2013.

Provide the steps taken towards improvements and how these consequences can be minimized in the future

            An earthquake cannot be predicted, as they are very random. However, there are ways to minimize the effects. To reduce the impact, aid from other countries minimized the effect the earthquake has. It is however not the most sustainable and is quite expensive.

            Buildings can be improved and designed that they withstand earthquakes (Omidvar & Derakhshan, 2009). This will reduce the amount of property loss, primary and secondary impact as well as save people’s lives. Though this is a bit expensive, it is better than the initial costs of repair. Future development should also be constructed in less-earthquake prone areas. Evacuation routes should be built around these areas for easier transportation and just in case infrastructure collapses. After the earthquake, weak buildings were replaced with better and firmer ones that can withstand tremors (Fallahi, 2008).

            Though controversy rises over the issue of having to move people to a less prone area, people have been living there their whole life, and this becomes a problem. Again, at times people stay in these areas because they believe the government will support them, but these aids could be given to more needing countries instead. Another reason why they decide to stay despite them knowing the effects these areas are prone to because they deceive themselves that earthquakes will not happen again.

            Planning is another method taken to improve the situation. It is not expensive, and it is useful. What people will need is just a plan when it comes to earthquakes and survival. People should also be educated on what to do or what not do during an earthquake, and what a survival pack requires. This was not the case as a large population was ignorant about planning and earthquake education.

            Healthcare is an essential aspect in such situations, and the bigger the hospital, the better the results. With quite many people affected by the earthquake, hospitals offer treatment, support and care for the affected. After the earthquake, two of three hospitals in Bam collapsed, and the remaining hospital was overcrowded. Emergency clinics and centres were set up to assist with the number of casualties, but they also pot outnumbered.

            As close to half of  the health workers in Bum lost their lives, the World Health Organization (WHO) requested for $4 million for aid and relief, with one of its priority’s being to help the mentally-ill cope with the effects in a less destructive way as there was a rise in depression and post-traumatic stress disorder cases.

            It does not mean that the steps taken are operative and successful at first attempt. The most critical issue after such an occurrence is the feeding of the survivors. After the Bam earthquake, food distribution was challenging, as well as providing these people with the right foods (Moghadam, Hassibi, & Khosravi, 2017). It is of great importance to form teams with professionals and educate people on nutrition and other sustainable solutions to making nutritional aid helpful and enough for the survivors. This was not the case, however, as there was a lack of the proper food supply and distribution to the Bam victims. Issues that were identified when it came to the supply and distribution of food included those as lack of integration and coordination among the managerial and among the team members. There were nutritional problems as there was a new need when it came to their dietary needs, there were problems with infrastructure and a lack of unity and oneness during food distribution (Moghadam, Hassibi, & Khosravi, 2017).

State the lesson learnt from this event

            With the flattening of the Iranian city of Bam and close to a third of the population lost, there are lessons to be learnt from these events. People in earthquake-prone areas can minimize the effects of such an occurrence and save lives. The buildings in Bam did not stand a chance in surviving the quake given that their houses were made of mud and straw. Having buildings that comply with building regulations and those that can stand the tremor should be a major priority. Also, people should be educated on what to do during and after an earthquake. As such, natural disaster affects everybody including those outside the country, and people suffer to get food, shelter, water and medical care (Kent, 2011). There are those who battle with psychological trauma and need help and support.

Conclusion

            The reconstruction of the city happened after the earthquake, and it took the help of various organizations like the United Nations Disaster Relief Office (UNDRO) and Housing Foundation of Islamic Revolution (HFIR). New policies were put in place based on the events that led to massive destruction and participation from the public as well as the city’s culture and traditions. Close to 1 billion was used in reconstruction, which will be a long-term effect in securing these buildings, as per the building regulation and laws.

References

Omidvar, H., & Derakhshan, S. (2009). Reconstruction Management Policies in Residential and Commercial Sectors after the 2003 Bam Earthquake in Iran. Natural Hazards, 54(2), p. 290-305

Ghafory-Ashtiany, M., & Hosseini, M. (2007). Post-Bam earthquake: Recovery and Reconstruction. Natural Hazards, 44(2), p. 228-240

Fallahi, A. (2008). Bam Earthquake Reconstruction Assessment. Structural Survey, 26(5), p. 388-390

Moghadam, M., Amiresmaieli, M., Hassibi, M., Doostan, F., & Khosravi, S. (2017). Toward a Better Nutritional Aiding in Disasters: Relying on Lessons Learned during the Bam Earthquake. Pre-hospital and Disaster Medicine, 30(4), p. 382-386.

Parsizadeh, F., Ibrion, M., Mokhtari, M., Lein, H., & Nadim, F. (2015). Bam 2003 Earthquake  Disaster: On the earthquake risk perception, resilience and earthquake culture – Cultural beliefs and cultural landscape of Qanats, gardens of Khorma trees and Argh-e Bam. International  Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction,14, p. 455- 460

Berberian, M., and Yeats, R. (2009). Patterns of historical earthquake rupture in the Iranian Plateau, Seismological Society of America Bulletin, 89(1), p. 120-139.

Yeats, R. (2011). Contributions of archaeological data to studies of earthquake history in the Iranian Plateau: Journal of Structural Geology, 23(2), p. 563-584

Fehervari, G. and Caldwell, R. “Islamic sites outside the Bardsir Valley; Investigations at Tal-i-Iblis: Illinois State Museum Preliminary Report, No. 9, 1967, p. 41-64.

Gaube, H. (2016) ‘Bam - A Provincial Center’. 15(3), p. 99-132.

Kent, G. (2011) “The Human Right to Disaster Mitigation and Relief,” Environmental Hazards 3, 3(1), p. 137-138.