Science CAT wisdom

By Indiana Colledge
Possible questions?
Completed by Indiana
Colledge and Maddi
Sampson
 What is an earthquake
and tsunami and how are
they connected?
An earthquake is caused by sudden movements like breaking from the activity of
the tectonic plates, this affects the outer most layer of the earths crust. Most
earthquakes occur due to the fault lines. These fault lines or fractures mean that
the earths tectonic plates collide with each other causing great damage among
those in surrounding areas depending on magnitude.

A tsunami also know as a seismic sea wave are a serious of large waves. These
waves become so large when they are traveling into shore as the ocean floor
decrease in depth the wave starts to gather up higher and higher, destroying
anything in its path. Tsunamis are often cause by either an earthquake or
volcanic eruption.

A Tsunami can occur due to an earthquake. Typically the earthquake would

happen underneath the sea floor near a fault line. As this occurs it displaces the
oceans surface due to sudden movements. From this it causes a disturbance in
the sea floor, displaces water and from these sequences they cause a tsunami
wave. Depending on magnitude will affect the height of the waves and the
destruction that they wave will cause.
If a 30 metre tsunami
did happen in Bass
strait how would
have an earthquake
occurred?
 Looking at the map the
possibility of a earthquake
in Bass strait occurring
under natural
circumstances are near
impossible. This is clearly
shown as no tectonic plate
faults are any where near
the area in which the
tsunami would have
occurred concluding could
the earthquake have
possibly been a man made
disaster? The white circle outlines where Bass strait is in
between the Victorian coast and Tasmania.
 Man-Made
A man made earthquake would be the only logical answer to the question. If
this was to happen the risk of an earthquake happening in Bass strait to
trigger a tsunami is impossible. The map in the slide before clearly provides
evidence of where Bass strait is located on the map is no where near the
faults where most earthquakes occur.
However what man made thing could cause this to happen?
Oil rigs, in Bass strait there are 23 offshore oil rigs alone. In this there is a
600km underwater pipe that has oil and gas flowing through it 24 hours a
day. As a whole these oil rigs have created 4 billons barrels of crude oil and
around 8 trillion of cubic feet of gas has been produced. With such
staggering numbers the pressure that is building and continuing to build will
have to eventually give way at some point which could cause an earthquake
to occur. As the oil is drilled this creates pressure around the area of
drilling , therefore disturbing the tectonic plates because of all this pressure
building around it.
A recent earthquake that has happened in Papua New Guinea has people
pointing the finger at gas and oil extraction could be to blame. A recent
article has come out after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit Papua New
Guinea that is in an area not know for any sting earthquakes, how ever is in
an area very close to gas and oil extraction. This cause great pressure on
the earths crust when oil is drilled relating back to how this could occur in
Bass strait with so many oil rigs and the high supply they are making.

News article: https://ramumine.wordpress.com/2018/03/01/was-pngs-

deadly-earthquake-a-man-made-disaster/
Are their any warning
signals if a tsunami
was to hit Victoria?
Victoria doesn’t have any warning signals in place if
there was a tsunami, this is because of it being at such
a low risk. However if there was an underwater
earthquake (would happen if there was a tsunami to
happen) according to the SES the magnitude of the
earthquake would be monitored to see if it was large
enough to create a tsunami. For the most part this is
unlikely for this to occur that’s why no warning signals
are in place, so if it were to happen it may be to late.
Under water buoys
Under water buoys monitor the seas level. They are
anchored at underwater depths of about 3,000m to
provide protection from swells and wind waves. Being
on the sea floor means that it can sense changes in the
water above it. When the under water buoys are put in
place they send information every 15 minutes however
if a seismic wave is detected it sends this information
every 15 seconds then from there sends information
very minute.
There are two under water buoys off the northern coast
of Australia and two between Tasmania and New
Zealand.
What will be affected
when the tsunami hits?
If a 30 metre tsunami was to hit, the areas that are from 30m and
under would be complete destroyed especially the houses that
are so close to the beach from 20 below. In saying that once the
30m wave hits it would still continue to follow through once it has
therefore land in the 40m zone and this could potentially be
affected. Out Mount Duneed way at 50m would be the safest area.
Along the beach in Torquay we have the sand dunes which are
home to species like the hooded plover, further more the point
danger marine sanctuary is home to a variety of species like blue
ringed octopuses and many crabs. If the tsunami would hit this
would kill the hooded plovers which are currently vulnerable in
Victoria. The marine sanctuary would be destroyed, wrecking the
homes to many marine animals that lived their.
A lot of house are close to the beach for example the esplanade
has a ton of house along it. Once the tsunami would hit nothing
would be left of them. On the esplanade of Torquay there is few
business that would be completely ruined through the destruction
of the tsunami. This plays on the after affect of the people
because their homes and businesses are destroyed.
The central part of Torquay would be destroyed wrecking all
businesses. At 40m some houses and business could potentially
be affected still but not the extent of below 30m. At 40m all
emergency services would be safe from the wreck however these
emergency services couldn’t be used until most of the water is
cleared to get to any survivors, if there was any. Mount Duneed is
the only area that wouldn’t feel any of the affects of the tsunami.
Evacuation areas and
survival plan?
 Evacuation areas
Evacuation areas could possibly
be at the Surf Coast Secondary
College high school on White
Street or at Torquay Colledge
which is on Grossmans road near
the fire station. The safest area
over all to evacuate to is Mount
Duneed, this is completely out of
the way off the tsunami due to it
being at 50m and above. If you
have family or friends that live
further then staying there will not
be affected at all.
 Survival plan
If the tsunami was to happen what would you need to have/do?
The most important thing is to monitor, this means check local radios to see what is
happening or when this tsunami may occur. Having a satellite phone will help because
once the tsunami hits power lines will be forced down and disconnected. Staying in contact
will help to know what’s going on from anywhere. Evacuating early will help to save as
many lives as possible. When evacuating early this gives enough time to pack things like
first aid, food and water, just in case you won’t have access to these services for a long
time. Knowing evacuation places in the area for example I said the two schools due to
them having kitchens in the both schools and space for large amounts of people. Staying
at family or friends house further away could be arranged too. Knowing routes if something
goes wrong to get out and possible ways because there could be traffic jams if everyone
goes the same way. Knowing community evacuation plans on the Surf coast shire website
there is currently no plan if there was a tsunami. This is because the probability of that
happening is slim to none however, if this was to happen out of the blue Torquay doesn’t
have an action plan. Stay together and assist those who need it. Taking full car groups
mean that there is less cars blocking roads and you are then staying together.
After the tsunami has hit the residents that live in Torquay can come back when emergency
services have said that it is safe. Then the clean up begins.
 The after affects of the tsunami?
Looking into health, food, water, and
power.
After the tsunami has hit returning back into Torquay with extreme
cautions in place to ensure you and others aren’t hurt. If a person
was hurt during the tsunami going to see a medic as soon as
possible to ensure wounds and other possible injuries aren’t
infected or just because they may need to treated too. Some
residents may have trapped when the tsunami had hit. If someone
was to be trapped the best thing is to alert medics, firefighters
(ect) as they are more equipped with the equipments to carry out
a safe rescue. Doing this can spare your life if something were to
go wrong when saving citizens. Be careful when walking through
water because in this situation you may not be able to see the
ground through the water making potential hazards not seen.
Keeping away from dirty water as well as oil spills and sewage if
there is these hazards.
 After the tsunami two of Torquay supermarkets (Woolworths and IGA)
would be destroyed from this two main supermarkets would only be still
standing Woolworths in Torquay north and Coles. Peaches would also
still be available how ever this wouldn’t keep an estimated 25,000
people in Torquay full. Hence, Torquay would have to rely heavily on
relief services bringing food to those who would need it. Services like
CARE Australia, World vision, have helped provide relief to countries
over seas that have been through devastating tsunamis therefore would
help in assisting their own country, if a tsunami was to hit providing
food. The Salvation Army would also provide relief services including
food to families affected by the tsunami. The last option for people
would be to go buy their own food from Geelong however this should
be last option because the people have would have already lost so
much thus, the support by having food provided for them already is a
more supportive option for those struggling.
 Torquay gets their water from the Barwon water supply.
After the tsunami has hit houses would be destroyed
therefore disconnecting water pipes from homes could
also cause some burst water pipes. In the new homes
around the Torquay North area taps outside homes are
recycled water which aren’t safe for drinking. If pipes were
disconnected no water would get through to Torquay
meaning that residents would have to rely solely on relief
services providing fresh water to all those affected, until
the clean up begin to restore broken pipes.
 Power services- All electricity would be completely ruined throughout
Torquay and a potential hazards if not seen and a person decided to
walk into some water that you couldn’t see the bottom of, therefore
could be electrocuted. Cable boxes in streets would be destroyed.
With no electricity, power generators would need to be put into affect
to give citizens power. Torquay has two petrol stations, these wouldn’t
be affected by the tsunami due to both being further up from Coles.
Hence, they wouldn’t be affected but pipes running through Torquay
could potentially be ruined in the tsunami further more causing oil
spills. Sewage systems would be definitely affected but the tsunami
leading to a very messy clean up, if main pipes were affected in the
destruction of the tsunami then all things that require sewage would
not be in use. Relief services may direct people to seek shelter centres
in the area to shower and things. Portable toilets may need to be
provided.
Clean up
 The Japan tsunami occurred in 2011 being a 39m tsunami that hit the north of
Japan, this tsunami killed over 15,000 people with around 2,500 people still reported
missing. This costed $235 billion in total for the clean up however the Japanese
government reportedly had said that they spent $199 billion the disaster. The clean
up has taken until this day and probably will continue to be in the clean up process
for a while. This tsunami also affected the nuclear plant causing it to be so costly
and a long process on top of the destruction that the tsunami did to buildings and
homes. The government would cover all costs for rebuilding, however not everyone
may have home insurance especially being in an area that wouldn’t have these sort
of natural disasters. The clean up process would take quite some time this is
because there would be potential hazards in the water. Also the spread of bacteria
and debris in the water too. Wearing protective gear in clean up is a must to protect
yourself and others. After most is cleaned up that’s when things can start to be built
back up again like roads, houses and businesses. Tsunami clean up processes are
definitely a long process but it is crucial so that safety for others is there but also to
prevent spread of diseases, and to ensure that the Torquay is stable again to live in.
Environments would also have to be restored for marine and animal life to
repopulate again for example plants and sand dunes would need to be replanted/
made again to bring back animals and marine life back.
During this process residents of Torquay may
have to either stay in relief shelters, organise
to stay with family or friends or stay in a hotel.
However I couldn’t find anything that would
say if the government would pay for these
costs hopefully though the families that may
have to stay in hotels would receive support
in some way for costs.