Human amplification of secondary earthquake hazards through environmental modifications

Anthropogenic climate change and modification of landscapes — such as deforestation, sediment movement, irrigation and sea-level rise — can destabilize natural systems and amplify hazards from earthquake-triggered landslides, liquefaction, tsunami and coastal flooding. In this Perspective, we examin...

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Main Authors: Hill, Emma M., McCaughey, Jamie W., Switzer, Adam D., Lallemant, David, Wang, Yu, Sathiakumar, Sharadha
Other Authors: Asian School of the Environment
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2024
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/179371
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-1793712024-07-29T01:10:11Z Human amplification of secondary earthquake hazards through environmental modifications Hill, Emma M. McCaughey, Jamie W. Switzer, Adam D. Lallemant, David Wang, Yu Sathiakumar, Sharadha Asian School of the Environment Earth Observatory of Singapore Earth and Environmental Sciences Earthquake hazards Climate change Anthropogenic climate change and modification of landscapes — such as deforestation, sediment movement, irrigation and sea-level rise — can destabilize natural systems and amplify hazards from earthquake-triggered landslides, liquefaction, tsunami and coastal flooding. In this Perspective, we examine the connections and feedbacks between human environmental modifications and secondary earthquake hazards to identify steps for hazard mitigation. Destabilization of slopes by vegetation removal, agricultural activities, steepening, loading and drainage disruption can amplify landslide hazards. For example, landslides were mainly triggered on deforested slopes after the 2010 and 2021 Haiti earthquakes. Liquefaction hazards are intensified by extensive irrigation and land reclamation, as exemplified by liquefaction causing >15 m of ground displacement in irrigated areas after the 2018 Palu earthquake. Degradation or removal of primary coastal vegetation and coral reefs, destruction of sand dunes, subsidence from groundwater withdrawal, and sea-level rise can increase tsunami inland reach. Restoration of natural coastal habitats could help decrease the maximum inland reach of tsunami, but their effectiveness depends on tsunami size. Sustainable farming practices, such as mixed crop cultivation and drip irrigation, can successfully reduce the saturation of soils and the liquefaction hazard in some situations. Future research should explore the potential of such sustainable practices and nature-based solutions in reducing earthquake-related hazards, in addition to their climate and ecosystem benefits. Ministry of Education (MOE) National Research Foundation (NRF) This work was supported by the Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) under the Tier 3b project ‘Investigating Volcano and Earthquake Science and Technology (InVEST)’ (award number MOE-MOET32021-0002 to E.M.H.) and by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Singapore under its NRF Investigatorship Scheme (award number NRF-NRFI05-2019-0009 to E.M.H.). 2024-07-29T01:10:11Z 2024-07-29T01:10:11Z 2024 Journal Article Hill, E. M., McCaughey, J. W., Switzer, A. D., Lallemant, D., Wang, Y. & Sathiakumar, S. (2024). Human amplification of secondary earthquake hazards through environmental modifications. Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, 5(6), 463-476. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43017-024-00551-z 2662-138X https://hdl.handle.net/10356/179371 10.1038/s43017-024-00551-z 2-s2.0-85192013325 6 5 463 476 en MOE‐MOET32021‐0002 NRF-NRFI05-2019-0009 Nature Reviews Earth and Environment © 2024 Springer Nature Limited. All rights reserved.
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider NTU Library
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic Earth and Environmental Sciences
Earthquake hazards
Climate change
spellingShingle Earth and Environmental Sciences
Earthquake hazards
Climate change
Hill, Emma M.
McCaughey, Jamie W.
Switzer, Adam D.
Lallemant, David
Wang, Yu
Sathiakumar, Sharadha
Human amplification of secondary earthquake hazards through environmental modifications
description Anthropogenic climate change and modification of landscapes — such as deforestation, sediment movement, irrigation and sea-level rise — can destabilize natural systems and amplify hazards from earthquake-triggered landslides, liquefaction, tsunami and coastal flooding. In this Perspective, we examine the connections and feedbacks between human environmental modifications and secondary earthquake hazards to identify steps for hazard mitigation. Destabilization of slopes by vegetation removal, agricultural activities, steepening, loading and drainage disruption can amplify landslide hazards. For example, landslides were mainly triggered on deforested slopes after the 2010 and 2021 Haiti earthquakes. Liquefaction hazards are intensified by extensive irrigation and land reclamation, as exemplified by liquefaction causing >15 m of ground displacement in irrigated areas after the 2018 Palu earthquake. Degradation or removal of primary coastal vegetation and coral reefs, destruction of sand dunes, subsidence from groundwater withdrawal, and sea-level rise can increase tsunami inland reach. Restoration of natural coastal habitats could help decrease the maximum inland reach of tsunami, but their effectiveness depends on tsunami size. Sustainable farming practices, such as mixed crop cultivation and drip irrigation, can successfully reduce the saturation of soils and the liquefaction hazard in some situations. Future research should explore the potential of such sustainable practices and nature-based solutions in reducing earthquake-related hazards, in addition to their climate and ecosystem benefits.
author2 Asian School of the Environment
author_facet Asian School of the Environment
Hill, Emma M.
McCaughey, Jamie W.
Switzer, Adam D.
Lallemant, David
Wang, Yu
Sathiakumar, Sharadha
format Article
author Hill, Emma M.
McCaughey, Jamie W.
Switzer, Adam D.
Lallemant, David
Wang, Yu
Sathiakumar, Sharadha
author_sort Hill, Emma M.
title Human amplification of secondary earthquake hazards through environmental modifications
title_short Human amplification of secondary earthquake hazards through environmental modifications
title_full Human amplification of secondary earthquake hazards through environmental modifications
title_fullStr Human amplification of secondary earthquake hazards through environmental modifications
title_full_unstemmed Human amplification of secondary earthquake hazards through environmental modifications
title_sort human amplification of secondary earthquake hazards through environmental modifications
publishDate 2024
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/179371
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