Impacts and External Events
The meaning of “Impact” is the effect or an influence that a certain event or issue creates. There can be both positive and negative impacts, but in the case of natural disasters, there are definitely more negative impacts than positive impacts.
As for external event, it simply means an event that happens outside of Singapore which is beyond her control. The external event discussed in the following paragraphs will refer to natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and floods.
Earthquakes
Negative impact: The Sumatra earthquake in 2004 affected Singapore, since tremors from the massive earthquake were felt. Singaporeans had to evacuate the buildings. This resulted in unnecessary fear in Singaporeans, and caused panic among them.
The earthquake also affected the cruise lines in Singapore, because of the tsunami that the earthquake caused. The earthquake was estimated to have a magnitude of 9.3, which was why the tsunami was also so huge and destroyed many beaches along Thailand. The most affected area for cruise lines is Phuket, where many tourists go to for their holiday. However, due to the tsunami’s destruction, tourists are unwilling to go to Phuket, for both their safety and because the place is full of debris. As Singapore is a major cruise centre, it resulted in loss of earnings for the cruise liners.
Positive impact: Despite the negative impacts, there is also a positive impact on Singapore during the earthquake. Singapore is always very generous with human resources and tries to provide aid to countries which are suffering from the aftershocks of natural disasters. This would help to foster bonds within the different countries and would form closer diplomatic ties with the countries. This might come in handy should Singapore suffer from any crisis in the future!
Tsunami
Positive impact: Tourism of coastal countries is affected because tourists are worried of the risk of another tsunami occurring. Since Singapore is surrounded by countries, there is a very low risk of us encountering a tsunami. Therefore, there would be an increase in tourism, since people would associate Singapore being a safer country at that point of time. Many tourists would then come to Singapore for their holiday, seeing that Singapore has a more conducive environment to have fun.
Negative impact: Despite the unlikely tsunami, a “mini- tsunami” can still occur on the shores of some beaches in Singapore. The waves would be between 0.4m and 0.7m high, and the inundation level is estimated to be less than 50m from the shore. “Even though the shallow waters in the Malacca Straits and South China Sea - unlike the deep waters in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean - will significantly slow down any tsunami propagation and dissipate its energy, Singapore would still have a possibility of having the side effects of the tsunami.” The study considered two possible occurrences that might generate a tsunami that will affect Singapore. These include an undersea landslide near Singapore, and great earthquakes of the order 9.0 and above
Next, tsunamis also affect the food supply. The fishing industry would be affected, since debris from the shores would pollute the waters. Dead humans or animals on the shore would be washed out to sea, and would decompose there. Similarly, sea creatures such as fish and seaweed would be washed onto the shore, where they are not safe for consumption. Therefore, this is how the tsunami affects Singapore’s food supply.
Negative impact: Cyclone Nargis swept across Myanmar on May 2 and 3, 2008, triggering a huge sea surge and killing nearly 140,000 people. This cyclone swept over other Asian countries such as Burma, Thailand and Vietnam. The paddy fields in these areas were destroyed, affecting the rice supply of Singapore, since Singapore gets most of its rice from Thailand. Singapore would face a shortage of rice, and the prices would therefore increase.
In addition to that, the cyclone also caused floods in areas like Malaysia and Singapore. Floods can cause many different types of problems. A minor problem would be the traffic jams caused during floods. In a flood, many cars would be in chaos. The heavy rain would cause drivers to slow their cars down, since there is a low visibility. Many cars would also have broken down because of the water level entering their engines. This would then in turn cause much time to be lost, and work cannot be done efficiently. Next, severe flooding can cause extensive damage to public utilities and disruptions to the delivery of services. Loss of power and communications can also be expected, causing much inconvenience.
Lastly, cyclones cause a lost in lives. This indirectly affects Singapore, as many people do have relatives who are living in such countries. The lost of a relatives would affect their lives a lot.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the sources are all similar in the area that they all affect Singapore negatively. The most common similarity among these three sources is the problem with the food supply. Singapore is too small to produce a lot of its own food, and we depend on these countries for our rice, vegetables and meat. Any shortage due to natural disasters would result in higher prices for the consumers.
Bibliography
http://geology.about.com/od/historicearthquakes/a/aasumatra.htm
http://cruises.about.com/od/cruisenews/a/tsunami_cruises.htm
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1019285/1/.html
http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20081216-108275.html
