Final Blog

 

Earthquakes

Venezuela is not ideally the best country to deal with natural disasters. They deal with economic crisis, hardly have any functioning hospitals and are low on medicines. Although they are a country who struggle in many aspects, they seem to suffer from large earthquakes.This is because they are located in an earthquake prone zone. These earthquakes often have a magnitude of more than 7.0 which causes damages within a radius of 100 kilometers. 

                  

 

 Venezuela lies in two tectonic plate boundaries. These two plates are the South American Plate and the Central American Plate, which is also known as the Caribbean Plate. These plates move towards one another (convergent boundary). If the convergent boundary and the transform boundary (move past one another) hit one another side by side it causes them to slide underneath one another causing major natural disasters such as earthquakes. On August 21, 2018, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit Venezuela's Coast.  This earthquakes made severe damages, destroying homes, and affecting many families. Usually after an earthquake occurs, it is followed by tsunamis, floods and landslides. 

Since 1990, Venezuela has been struck by multiple earthquakes that have caused the loss of lives and loss of homes to multiple families. Natural disasters are prone to happen and there is nothing that can be done to stop them from happening. Venezuela's government has taken specific measurements to help their citizens overcomes these natural disasters. First thing is educating them about the natural disasters that can occur in their coast. They have also asked families to create a plan of what to do when these disasters happen. The government has also made the efforts to move the families who are in a danger zone, despite their efforts there's still many families at risk. Along with the government, the Red Cross has also taken measures in their own hands. They have gone through a special training on how to response when any of these natural disasters occur. Volunteers have also been recruited to take these trainings with the Red Cross. 

          

It is hard to say that there is a safe area to live in Venezuela. This is because the entire country is at risk of being damages during a natural disaster. 

References: 

https://reliefweb.int/report/venezuela-bolivarian-republic/venezuela-prepares-disasters-come

https://www.usgs.gov/news/featured-story/magnitude-73-earthquake-venezuela

Blog week 13

 

Coastal Erosion

In the last couple of years, coastal erosions have been a major problem for Venezuela. This is a big issue because Venezuela's Western Coast is home to many beaches and fragile ecosystems. Not only can it destroy lands, but most  importantly it can damage Venezuela's coastal oil infrastructure. 

BLOG WEEK 10

 WEEK 10: EXTREME WEATHER 

BIG STORMS: Venezuela Lightning Storm 

For almost 300 nights through the year, small parts of Venezuela is hit with lightning storms. This storm is known as the "Relámpago del Catatumbo." The storm is caused when warm air from the Caribbean meets the cold air from the mountains, this creates a lighting. 

These lightnings are known to last for about 9 hours or 28. Believe it or not, the Relámpago del Catalumbo has become a tourist attraction. It is recommended that if you want to see this lightning for yourself, that you go with a tour guide for your own safety and so you can be inform of what measures to take incase of an accident.

Resources:

https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/venezuelas-eternal-storm

https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/catatumbo-lightning-storm-facts

https://www.atlasobscura.com/videos/see-venezuela-s-everlasting-lightning-storm

Week 8: Mass Wasting

March 16, 2023

Mass wasting in Venezuela 

• Mass wasting is the movement of rocks and soils. Some examples would be debris flows, slumps and rock falls. Landslides are usually triggered by earthquakes, Volcanic eruptions and intense rainfall. 

In Venezuela Landslides are known to be one of the most dangerous disasters to happen in the country.  The landslides have caused numerous deaths and massive damages. In Las Tijeras, Venezuela a landslide  hit affecting the death of 34 residents and a total of 60 people missing. Residents neighborhoods were blocked with mud. A heavy machinery was used to remove the debris. Dogs and drowns had to be used to find people under the debris. It was reported that a total of 317 homes were wiped out.

For more information:  https://www.paho.org/english/sha/be994venez.htm

                                      https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jun/21/latin-america-will-never-be-the-same-venezuela-exodus-reaches-record-levels

https://www.britannica.com/event/Venezuela-mud-slides-of-1999

Volcanoes in Venezuela

Volcanoes In Venezuela 

A volcano eruption is resulted when the lava beneath the earth's surface blends with rocks, causing it to thick-end into magma. Due to the pressure, it erupts. 

Over the years, there has not been any volcano eruption in Venezuela. Nor is the country around any volcano hazards. The only volcanoes they have are know to be "mud Volcanoes." 

sources:

https://www.volcanoesandearthquakes.com/map/Venezuela

https://steemit.com/nature/@apple96/why-are-there-no-volcanoes-in-venezuela

Week 3 Blog

Thursday, February 8, 2023

Earthquakes in Venezuela 

It is known that over the centuries Venezuela has been tremendously affected by earthquakes. Reportedly, there has been about 180 earthquakes that have caused destruction to the country. The most tragic earthquake occured on March 26, 1812. in Caracas. The earthquake death toll was about 20,000 people. 

Back in july 29,1967 yet again, another earthquake hit the coastal area of Venezuela with a magnitude of 6.3. This earthquake affected many lives and various towns in the country. This eventually led to the Venezuelan government to establish Presidential Earthquake commission. This commission concentrated in studying the after effects of the earthquakes. This was to understand the effects but also to be better prepare for another strike. 

The most recent earthquake that had about the same impact as the ones above , Was back in 2018 in the Trinidad region. It was a magnitude of 7.3. The shifting tectonic plates was a depth of 146 km. This earthquake led to a tsunami killing a number of people and causing a massive destruction. 

Here you can track and see the map of the latest earthquakes in Venezuela:

Week 2 Blog

 Saturday, February 4, 2023

 

  Tectonic Plates: Venezuela 

 Venezuela lies in two tectonic plate boundaries. These two plates are the South American Plate and the Central American Plate, which is also known as the Caribbean Plate. These plates move towards one another (convergent boundary). If the convergent boundary and the transform boundary (move past one another) hit one another side by side it causes them to slide underneath one another causing major natural disasters in Venezuela. Earthquakes is one of them. In the past year Venezuela has reported a total of 41 Earthquakes.  When these earthquakes happen, the boundaries often create new landforms causing many issues to the citizens of Venezuela. 

Sources : 

https://phys.org/news/2021-10-caribbean-south-american-plate-boundary-primed.html

https://prezi.com/v-3w_kd5hcwt/plate-tectonics-in-venezuela/?frame=7daa6ff72571cb7552031ffed9d70f986ed63c64

Hazards: Damage to properties and the environment. It causes injury, health impacts and the loss of life 

Disasters: Natural Disasters such as earthquakes and tornadoes. They can also be Man Made Disasters which include fires and war. 

catastrophes: A massive disaster that occurs suddenly and takes years of recovery along with money. 

 

Hazards in Venezuela

Saturday January 28, 2023

Hazards in Venezuela 

Venezuela is a country that is located on the northern coast of South America.

Venezuela is a tourist attraction do to the beautiful Tropical Islands that surround it's caribbean coast. This country is known to have the world's largest waterfall,named as the home of "the Angels Falls."

 

Although this country is very beautiful, it is vulnerable to earthquakes. In the year 1812, an earthquake hit causing the destruction of the capital of Caracas. Due to the damage that the quake left, a new lake was formed. This earthquake is known to have killed around 20,000 people. The most recent earthquake hit back in 2018, with a magnitude of 7.3