Banda Aceh, Indonesia

Since it is almost the nine year anniversary of the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004, I wanted to do a post from that part of the world.  While researching what is easily the most deadly event of the 2000s decade, the place I frequently read as being "hardest hit" was the city of Banda Aceh which is located near the northernmost point of Sumatra.  Out of the >230,000 people estimated killed by the tsunami, 160,000 were said to have been killed (or were missing) in or around the Banda Aceh area.  That's potentially 70% of the total amount of victims.

The before (1st image in gif) and after (2nd image in gif) give a pretty clear sense of the scale of damage.  From what I'm interpreting, it appears that the entire area contained in this image was inundated by the wave.  The silver lining is in the 3rd image of the gif.  After only four years (2009), the city looks much cleaner in aerial imagery, and reconstruction of the coastline seems to have taken place.  Still, the appearance of the coastline is now dramatically different from its pre-tsunami shape.

The gif below shows June 2004, January 2005 (1 month after tsunami), and February 2009 (~4 years after tsunami):

You can find it yourself on Google Earth using these coords:     5°33'30"N    95°17'00"E  

More info from sources referenced: Tsunami Wikipedia, Banda Aceh Wikipedia, Dec 2012 Article

Check back for more in two weeks! (Unless I decide to take a break for the Holidays. We'll see.)

Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Mount Merapi is an active stratovolcano located on the island of Java.  It erupts fairly frequently, with larger eruptions happening every 10 to 15 years.  The most recent eruption was in 2010 and killed 353 people.  However, in 2006 another eruption occurred.  This eruption was less powerful but it was captured pretty well on satellite imagery.  The eruptions began around the end of April and lasted through May.  Below are before, during, and after images. 

(facts and figures from wikipedia)

May 12, 2006

Wait for it...

May 25, 2006

Kablammo!  Gasses and ash abound!

September 10, 2006

Check out those new lava flows!

You can find it yourself on Google Earth using these coords:      07°32'41.22"S    110°26'41.90"E

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Merapi#2006_eruption

Check back next week to see the town that returned from the depths.

Christchurch, New Zealand

EDIT: I had the wrong dates on the images.  They are now correct.

On February 2nd, 2011, Christchurch, New Zealand was struck by an magnitude 6.3 aftershock from a quake in the October 2010.  Despite the 2010 quake being a magnitude 7.1, the February 2011 aftershock was rated a IX on the Mercalli intensity scale, causing heavy damage and liquefaction across the city.

These images take some scanning, but if you look at the top left of the "before" image, you should see the shadow of the large bell tower on the Christchurch Cathedral.  On the "after" image, notice that the bell tower has collapsed.  If you look at the bottom right, you'll see the CTV building that collapsed during the quake, killing 115 people.

February 14, 2011

February 25, 2011

You can find it yourself on Google Earth using these coords:      43°31'54.62"S     172°38'21.66"E

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Christchurch_earthquake

Check back next week to see my blog's first entry on a landslide!

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

This post marks my final piece of a three-post-series special for Thanksgiving.  This post, as well as the previous posts, will remind us what we have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.


This post also happens to be my final post for 2011.  I'm taking the month of December off in order to enjoy my holidays, contact graduate programs, and find a ton of new blog material.  Keep sharing, and commenting though, I'll still be on and off!  See y'all on January 5th, 2012!

The 7.0 magnitude Haiti Earthquake of January 2010 was one of the biggest disasters of the 21st century.  The Haitian government estimated the death toll at 316,000 which would make it the third largest earthquake death toll in history.  Because of Haiti's poor building codes and a general lack of decent infrastructure, the damage was very widespread and severe.  Humanitarian aid came from many different countries though and worked hard to get medical supplies, food and drinking water, and clean up crews in.  The country is still rebuilding and still in need of many kinds of aid.  As many of my readers are in developed nations and countries that would recover from disaster much more quickly than Haiti, it is crucial to remember to be thankful.  Thankful that we live in countries that can get food, medicine, and drinking water to areas of need in a matter of hours. 

December 22, 2007

January 16, 2010

That's the partially collapsed National Palace after the earthquake.

You can find it yourself on Google Earth using these coords:       18°32'35.34"N     72°20'19.26"W

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake

Check back January 5th, 2012 for ...???

Soma, Japan

This post marks my second piece of a three-post-series special for Thanksgiving.  This post, as well as the previous and my next post, will remind us what we have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season.

I was actually in a hospital recovery room after having a bone tumor removed from my leg when I saw this on the news.  Of every major event so far in my 22-year lifetime that I was mature enough to observe and understand, this definitely had the biggest impact on me.  I had seen footage of the even deadlier Indian Ocean tsunami back in 2004, but the footage that came from the March 11, 2011 tsunami in Japan was incredible.  The 9.0 earthquake that occurred off the coast of Japan was the most powerful ever recorded in the country.  The resulting damage was incredibly widespread as entire towns and prefectures were leveled.
However, the people of Japan are a very hardy, very tight community and they began rescue operations and rebuilding immediately with the help of many foreign nations.  We should all remember that disasters can strike virtually anywhere, even in the most advanced nations.  During these times, we should all be thankful for the help and support that the citizens and governments around the world can give to each other during these times.

September 20, 2010

March 12, 2011

You can find it yourself on Google Earth using these coords:       37°49'49.00"N     140°57'22.02"E

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami

Check back next week to see one of the worst earthquakes of the western hemisphere.