Columbia University completed a study on natural hazards in Caracas - Daily News - EL UNIVERSAL

Analysis of housing and transport systems

Columbia University completed a study on natural hazards in Caracas

Apropos the natural disaster in 1999 and based on forecasts after the earthquake of 1967, taking into account the urban development of the Venezuelan capital city, multiple recommendations were made to Venezuelan government authorities to prevent the potential untoward impact of a sizable earthquake

The report shows detailed maps of the areas and available security services (Photo: Columbia University)

Study
After the natural disaster of Vargas, in December 1999, when heavy rains fell down and destroyed part of the Central Seabord, many studies were conducted about sensitive cities like Caracas. On this matter and any contingencies that could endanger the capital city, whether due to massive muds and landslides or an earthquake, Columbia University conducted a thorough study on the situation in Caracas and the potential effects of a sizeable earthquake.

Based on collected data on the earthquake of 1967 and forecasts from the demographic burden on the capital region, together with lack of services and preparedness for such natural disasters, the study describes risk zones and potential hazards.

The report shows risk areas with an emphasis on transport and public service utilities, in addition to old buildings and informal squatter settlements.

The report stated that such recommendations were submitted to government authorities in Caracas, the Andean Community (CAN), the National Assembly (AN), academic institutions, the United Nations Development Program (UNPD) and the Venezuelan Red Cross.

The work presents a pedagogic approach to urban planning.

See here the report prepared by Columbia University.

Columbia University completed a study on natural hazards in Caracas - Daily News - EL UNIVERSAL
MasterBlog en Español: Columbia University completed a study on natural hazards in Caracas - Daily News - EL UNIVERSAL

Nuclear industry in turmoil after Japan quake | Reuters

Nuclear industry in turmoil after Japan quake

By Julie Gordon and Lynn Adler
3:26pm EDT

* Uranium stocks hardest hit, Cameco down over 14 pct
* Germany put nuclear plants on hold, Italy pushes forward
* Utility shares fall, nuclear reactor builders down

TORONTO/NEW YORK, March 14 (Reuters) - Investors hammered companies that build nuclear reactors and supply them with fuel on Monday as Japan struggled to avert a meltdown at a stricken reactor, on fear that the whole sector could be in for a downturn, in the short and medium term at least.
But analysts said the industry could recover from the stock market setback as negative perceptions fade, and the current price slump might be a buying opportunity.
"Meltdown is a very big word in people's minds, so I think that the public sentiment is probably going to swing against nuclear power," said BMO Capital Markets analyst Edward Sterck. "But I don't think this is the end of the nuclear industry."
"With the hype that some commentators are making that this is the end of the nuclear energy, I think we're going to possibly see an overreaction in the stock prices. At some point there will be value there."
Japan's crisis, already the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, hit shares of industry giants like General Electric (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Hitachi (6501.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), along with uranium producers Cameco (CCO.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Areva (CEPFi.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), and power utilities like Entergy (ETR.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Exelon Corp (EXC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
The Japanese reactors were designed to withstand earthquakes, but Friday's quake was a record for Japan, and a devastating tsunami knocked out backup power, causing and deepening the problems.
With the 24-hour news agenda focused on the possibility of a meltdown at one or more reactors in Japan, analysts said the market will need time to recover from losses.
"We need to see those reactors brought under control before people start to review the situation with a little more perspective," Sterck said.
Nuclear power accounted for about a third Japan's of energy generation before the quake, and the damage has raised concerns about future of the industry there.

The Economic Aftershocks of the Japanese Earthquake

The Economic Aftershocks of the Japanese Earthquake
Seeking Alpha

By David Zeiler

The 8.9 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami that hit northeastern Japan Friday had an immediate impact on financial markets all over the world. However, the effects of the damage and rebuilding will reverberate through the Japanese economy for months, if not years.

In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, which struck in midafternoon, factories shut down, railways stopped running and roads, ports and airports closed. Markets remained open, but a lack of power and a disruption of the mobile networks curtailed trading after the temblor struck.

Some of Japan's biggest companies were affected:

• Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (NSANY.PK) halted production at four factories in the area hit.
• Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM) closed two assembly plants and a parts factory.
• And Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) closed six factories.

"This is certainly the worst thing that can happen in Japan at the worst time," economist Nouriel Roubini told BloombergTelevision, noting that Japan's deficit is 10% of its gross domestic product (GDP) and repairing the damage from the quake will cost the country tens of billions, if not hundreds of billions of dollars.

Because Japan is the world's third-largest economy (as measured by gross domestic product), economic turmoil there soon ripples out to the global economy.

One immediate international consequence to the quake was a drop in oil prices, with oil dipping 3.6% to $99.01 a barrel in New York on Friday. In London, Brent crude dropped 2.8%.

The quake forced the closing of several refineries, including three operated by JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation (NPOIY.PK) that process 600,000 barrels a day. Japan normally uses a total of 4.42 million barrels a day, compared to U.S. consumption of 19.25 million.

"With Japan's economy decimated, it will constrict oil demand from Japan," Mike Fitzpatrick, editor of Energy Overview newsletter, told ABC News. "For the moment, the tsunami problem seems to have trumped Libya concerns apparently."

Concerns over the cost of the disaster slammed foreign insurance and reinsurance companies, with the stocks of several big reinsurers taking hits of 5% or more. Nevertheless, officials at major insurance companies don't expect huge losses.

While today's event is unique, it is worth noting that in the most recent major earthquake in Japan, the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in Kobe, the economic loss was estimated to be in the region of 2.5% of Japan's [gross domestic product] at the time and the insured loss was only in the region of $3 billion, which was mostly retained domestically,

James Vickers, Chairman of Willis Re International & Specialty, part of Willis Group Holdings PLC (WSH), told the Wall Street Journal.

In fact, investors already may be factoring recollections of the Kobe earthquake into their calculations.

The Japanese yen, which fell initially, quickly reversed its slide and closed stronger against the dollar as traders remembered that capital came flowing back into the country after the 1995 quake, boosting the yen to an all-time high.

Investors should also take heed of what happened to Japanese equities following the Kobe earthquake. Within six months of that January temblor, the Nikkei 225 index lost 25% of its value. But by the end of 1995, it had fully recovered.

Stocks will probably fall on Monday, especially of those companies that have factories in the affected areas. But on the whole the sell-off will likely be short-lived,

Mitsuhsige Akino, a fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management,told Reuters.

One sector that stands to benefit is large construction companies, which outperformed the market in 1995. Sure enough, Kajima Corporation, a major Japanese contractor, was up 11% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday.

The Kobe experience also demonstrated how Japan, as a developed nation, has the resources to rebound from disasters relatively quickly.

Six months after that quake almost all of Kobe's factories had reopened and the city's infrastructure repaired. All the trains were running within nine months, and the port was 80% functional within a year.

Japan's biggest economic headache will be paying the bill.

"The government would have to sell more bonds, but this is an emergency, so this can't be avoided," Yasuo Yamamoto, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute in Tokyo Yamamoto, told Reuters.