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Final Blog

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The Maldives is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean consisting of over a thousand islands (two hundred inhabited). Over the last hundred years this country has experienced minor natural hazards here and there. However, in recent years, global warming has sped up two specific hazards that pose the greatest risk to the country as a whole. Coastal erosion and droughts are two serious hazards that the Maldives are constantly working to mitigate. As sea waters warm and rise, that water has nowhere to go but towards land, effectively resulting in loss of land, and considering these small islands are barely a meter above sea level, all land is of value. Change in the ocean and the earth's warming has begun to change weather patterns, especially the rainy seasons for this country. The Maldives has very limited groundwater sources, meaning they rely on rainwater as their main source.This has led to various diseases, food/water scarcity, illnesses, etc. I feel these are priorities considering...
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Week 13: Coastal Erosion

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          The Maldives is made up of about a thousand islands, meaning they are quite susceptible and vulnerable to coastal erosion and the destruction of their land/homes that come with it. Looking at this country's coastal erosion, more than 90% of islands within this country have been affected by some level of erosion, and being islands, every inch of land they have is considered vital. There are a couple main factors contributing to this happening. The one that seems to be speeding up this process the most is global warming/climate change. As the temperatures warm, so do the oceans and frozen glaciers. This effectively creates more water in our oceans, and since that water has no where to go, it pushes onto the shorelines, breaking down the land and sand previously there. This country also having less than a five-foot elevation is another big problem. With such low elevation, there is nothing protecting or blocking the water from reaching the land. This...
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Week 10: Extreme Weather

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Earlier this year, the Maldives experienced some of their hottest days of the year and recent history. Some parts of the country were or felt as hot as 40 degrees Celsius, which can be quite unusual as the average temperature is around the mid-30's. For example, places like Hulhule, Male, and Gaafu Dhaalu all reached feel-like temperatures ranging from 43 to 48 degrees C, which are some records for the country. In the beginning months of the year, the low winds, clear skies, and high humidity all contributed to the temperature feeling hotter than what it really was. Global warming is also a contributing factor to this extreme heat. As the Earth warms, so do the weather conditions.           The Maldives Meterological Service as well as the authorities had a few ways for the public to prepare and protect themselves from the excessive heat. Heat related illnesses are quite serious and can lead someone to experience fatigue, dizziness, dehydration, and even de...
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Week 8:Mass Wasting Events

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Mass wasting is the downslope movement of a mass of sediment and/or rock due mainly to the force of gravity. The "mass" refers to the downward movement of sediment or rock, and the "wasting" refers to cliffs or mountain slopes diminishing or wasting away. This can happen in different forms, including landslides, avalanches, mudflows, and rockfalls. While mass wasting events don't necessarily need a "trigger" for them to happen and can instead happen just unexpectedly, common causes are heavy rainfall, earthquakes, rapid erosion, or droughts. Considering all of these components, the Maldives is a country with circumstances that make these things quite unlikely to happen. While the Maldives is no stranger to things like flooding or other natural disasters, they do not experience the hazards that would be considered a "mass wasting event." As a main part of this hazard requires there to be mountain slopes or some type of elevated ground, the Mal...
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Week 5: Volcanic Activity

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       Millions of years ago, the Maldives islands were formed by volcanic activity/eruptions due to these islands being located on the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge. This ridge was thought to have been created by subsequence volcanism on the Indian plate and once had a chain of volcanoes. Today these once active volcanoes are nonexistent considering they have sunk and/or are considered to be dormant.        As a result of these volcanoes sinking, the coral reefs and sand began to grow and surround the sinking land, forming the atolls (rings of coral that create protected lagoons) we now know. With the continued growth of these reefs, circles are formed around and have made lagoons inside/between islands. These reefs and marine life that have migrated there over millions of years are now one of the most attracting things about this country and are said to be quite unique. As of today, the Maldives has no new volcanic activity, nor have they had any for ...
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Week 3:Earthquakes

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        The Maldives are less prone to any seismic activity and are somewhat considered rare. On average, this country only experiences about one/two earthquakes per year. If there was to be more earthquake activity, it would most likely take place in the southern part of the country, as that part is closer to an area with more seismic activity. Since the 1970s, this country has only had 45 quakes with magnitudes higher than 4, which is considered rare as the earthquakes they do experience are quite small.           As the Maldives don't really have to worry about any serious earthquakes, they still have general precautions for hazards that may take place there. One safety measure is community emergency response teams (CERTs), which are supported by UNICEF and the NDMA and plan and respond to emergencies/hazards on each island. These organizations also work with the government to conduct disaster management planning workshops with the pu...
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Week 2: Tectonic Plates and Boundaries

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The Maldives are located in the western part of the Indian tectonic plate, which has a transform boundary with the Arabian plate and a divergent boundary with Africa. The Indian tectonic plate continues to shift northeast into the Eurasian plate, resulting in 2 mm of landmass lost per year. The Maldives are typically not prone to earthquakes, although southern parts of the country, like Seenu, Gaafu, Alifu, etc., have a higher likelihood. It would be more likely to feel the aftershocks of earthquakes potentially nearby. The Maldives were actually a result of two plated ramming into each other. India began to move up North and banged itself into Asia, which resulted in where India is located now and Africa was not too far behind. This Indian tectonic shift opened a rift in the Earth's crust, which allowed the formation of volcanic peaks to grow and rise out of the Indian Ocean. This mountain range of volcanoes (the Maldives Ridge) spans just about 1,300 miles and is what created the...
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