OASIS EOF KNOWLED
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JARAMOGI OGINGA ODINGA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SCHOOL OF SPATIAL PLANNING
UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS IN
SPATIAL PLANNING AND BACELOR OF SCIENCE IN WATER RESOURCES
AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
SEMESTER 2022/2023 ACADEMIC YEAR
CENTRE: MAIN CAMPUS
COURSE CODE: PNB 1405
COURSE TITLE: DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE
EXAM VENUE: STREAM: SPATIAL PLANNING
DATE: EXAM SESSION:
TIME: 2 HOURS
Instructions:
1. Answer question 1 (compulsory) and ANY other 2 questions.
2. Candidates are advised not to write on the question paper.
3. Candidates must hand in their answer booklets to the invigilator
while in the examination room.
Question one
Heat waves and wildfires have been common in Europe in the recent past. These
damaged properties and took several lives. The heatwaves proved fatal for those with
chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiac conditions. Use this
information to answer the following questions
a) Which types of disasters were the two in terms speed of onset? (4 marks)
b) Name any two vulnerabilities that made people susceptible to heatwaves. (2 marks)
c) Write and explain the formula for disaster risk. (6 marks)
d) Explain any four objectives of triage. (8 marks)
e) Discuss with examples any two types of vulnerability. (10 marks)
Question two
The eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano on 15 January 2022 was the
largest recorded since the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883. The eruption triggered tsunami
waves of up to 15m which struck the west coast of Tongatapu, ‘Eua and Ha’apai. Ashfall
covered an area of at least five square kilometres.
Damage to the international and domestic undersea telecommunications meant little
information was available from Tonga following the eruption. However, New Zealand
Defence Force and Australian Defence Forces surveillance flights on 17 January showed
significant damage to houses, roads, water tanks and other infrastructure on the west coast of
Tongatapu, the Ha’apai island group and the west coast of ‘Eua. On 18 January, the Prime
Minister of Tonga declared a state of emergency effective from 16 January. The Tongan
Government and TRCS requested international assistance.
Only three direct and one indirect fatality have been officially attributed to the volcano and
tsunami. Early government estimates were that 84,176 people (84 per cent of the population)
on Tongatapu, Ha’apai and ‘Eua) were affected, particularly by ashfall. Around 3,000 people
were displaced in the immediate aftermath, including some evacuated from seriously affected
islands off the coast of Tongatapu and in the Ha’apai island group. Most subsequently
returned to their communities, although some families evacuated from badly affected islands
remain on Tongatapu. (IFRC, 2 Aug 2022) Available at: https://reliefweb.int/disaster/vo-
2022-000005
ton#:~:text=The%20eruption%20of%20the%20Hunga,at%20least%20five%20square%20kil
ometres.
Use the above information to answer the following questions:
a) Classify the disaster according to Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters
(CRED) under the following subheadings:
i. Disaster group. (2 marks)
ii. Disaster subgroup. (2 marks)
b) Identify the hazards in the case presented. (8 marks)
c) Identify one response activity after the earthquake and explain how it could have helped
reduce loss from the disaster. (4 marks)
d) The Tongan Government and TRCS requested for international assistance. If you were in
charge of infrastructural, which two key infrastructures in the case would you give
priority and why? (4 marks)
Question three
Discuss with examples the four theories of disaster. (20 marks)
Question four
a) Discuss two major differences between disaster relief logistics and commercial logistics.
(5 marks)
b) Discuss any five challenges with disaster relief logistics. (15 marks)
Question five
In 2007/8, Kenya experienced violence following the disputed presidential elections. The
ensuing violence led to the loss of many lives, destruction of property and transport
infrastructure. It took the mediation of the late United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan
to broker a peace deal between the two leading presidential contestants.
Use this information to answer the following questions.
a) Explain two early warning signs for a potential civil unrest/conflict in a nation? (4 marks)
b) Discuss twoadvantages and disadvantages of the strategy the late Kofi Annan used to
quench the post-election violence in Kenya. (12 marks)
c) In the presented case, which disaster relief services had the most work and why?
(4 marks)