1. LANDSLIDES, EARTHQUA
KES AND TSUNAMIS
Examples of Mass Movement

2. Landslides
 Landslide is the sliding down of a mass of
earth or rock from a mountain or cliff
(Georgina)
 Landslides often occur after heavy rain (Jess)
 Landslides could be caused by an earthquake
(Anjali)
 Landslides can also be caused by human
activity (Ms Williams)

3. Protecting against landslide
hazard
 It may be possible to predict a landslide based
on previous events and current weather
conditions (Yasmeen)
 Planting trees and shrubs may help to
stabilised ground (Cameron)
 Building barriers could protect people (Nika)
 Building zones and codes could help to keep
houses safer (Danielle)

4. An example of a landslide:
Thredbo
 1997
 Two ski lodges were
destroyed
 18 people killed
 Caused by
suspected leaking
underground pipes
and a poorly
maintained road

5. Earthquakes
 Caused by movement of tectonic plates
(Danielle)
 Large tremors felt on the earth’s surface.
(Small earthquakes are called tremors). (Mya)
 Duration of earthquake is dependent on the
movement of broken rocks between tectonic
plates – and the size of the tectonic movement
(Yasmeen)
 Earthquakes are measured on the Richter
Scale (Cameron)

6. Protecting against earthquake
hazard
 Serious earthquakes aren’t common in
Australia because of our location on the
continental plates (Scott)
 It’s difficult to predict earthquakes, but
seismologists do monitor activity (Yasmeen)
 It is possible to build buildings that are better
suited to withstand an earthquake (Mya)

7. An example of an earthquake:
Newcastle
 1989
 5.6 on the Richter
scale
 13 people were
killed

8. Tsunami
 Occur as a result of a shift in tectonic plates
under or near the ocean (Paige & Scott)
 The waves radiate from the epicentre in all
directions; the further they travel, the weaker
they get. (Forbes)
 Australia’s risk of tsunami is relatively low, due
to our location.
 Signs to watch for: shaking ground; watch for
receding water; listen for the roar

9. Protecting against tsunami
hazard
 Bouys in the water to transmit messages
notifying of higher ocean movement. (Nika &
Inga)
 Planning regulations, to reduce number of
houses in areas likely to be impacted by
tsunami (Mya)
 If warned, move to higher ground (Forbes)

10. An example of a tsunami:
Indian Ocean
 Boxing Day 2004
 Largest, most
destructive tsunami
on record
 Over 200.000 people
killed
 Indonesia was most
badly effected; much
of south-east Asia
was impacted upon;
countries as far away
as Africa were also hit