IGCSE Geography / Hazardous environments

Case study: managing earthquakes in Italy

Edexcel International GCSE Geography (4GE1), chapter 3: Hazardous environments, specification point CS3, 3.3a, 3.3b, 3.3c. Part of the full course.

Read the revision notes · IGCSE Geography past papers

The 2016 central Italy earthquake shows how a developed country prepared for, responded to and planned for earthquakes. Italy had strong resources, but weak enforcement of its building law meant preparation did not fully protect people.

More lessons in Hazardous environments

• Natural hazards: types and where they happen
• How tropical cyclones form
• Plates and plate boundaries
• Why earthquakes happen
• Volcanoes and hotspots
• Measuring hazards
• Why some countries are more vulnerable
• Case study: the Nepal earthquake, 2015
• Case study: the central Italy earthquakes, 2016
• Case studies: Mount Merapi and Mount Ontake
• Why people live with the risk
• Case study: Hurricane Katrina, 2005
• Case study: Typhoon Haiyan, 2013
• Preparing for earthquakes: warning, drills and mapping
• Earthquake-resistant buildings
• After the earthquake: short-term response and relief
• After the earthquake: longer-term planning
• Case study: managing the earthquake in Nepal
• Case study: preparing for earthquakes in India
• Hazard fieldwork: collecting the data
• Hazard fieldwork: results, conclusions and evaluation