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The impact of disasters on poor and developing countries
Disaster from different perspectives
Occurrence of natural disasters
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The Earth and the solar system in which we live in was created as a result of natural disaster about 14 million years ago. Ever since that first historic bang, the Earth has continued to create natural forces and phenomenons, in and around our home planet. To fully understand disasters and how they occur, we must first understand the natural phenomenon that causes them. Natural disasters are commonly caused by one of two forces, the first being a result of a shift of the Earth's tectonic plates, and the second being related to disasters caused because of extreme weather. Natural phenomenon such as the movement of tectonic plates is believed to have caused he separation of the super continent Pangea When Pangaea began to split about 200 million years ago it was a result of movement of tectonic plates and mantal convection caused weak spot in the earth surface. plate tectonics is the slow movement of the tectonic plates in the outer most part of the earths layer. This movement also causes earthquakes and volcanoes responsible for creating most of our natural wonders of the world
Natural disasters are caused either by, movement in the earth, or extreme weather conditions . Both of these occurrences, strike unexpectedly making them inaccessible to human intervention. Fortunately the technologies to prevent some natural events from causing mass destruction of the land, property, and quality of life have been discovered and are be practised in many parts of the world. No, we haven't gained any control over weather situations, but we do have the ability to to track and predict extreme conditions in order to be prepared. Some countries lack these luxuries along with resources of external or international assistance, others lack of ef...
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...f disaster management, prevention, and mitigation. The vulnerability of the public sector, and the lack of disaster management/ awareness is a result of poverty. Vulnerability is reduced by mitigation and preparation actions such as, evacuation plans, reliable roads in flood situations, shelters or other safe places to stay, access to food, and disclosure of these plans to the public sector. If they had access to better recovery and reconstruction plans, this too would reduce the magnitude of the aftermath. There is no such thing as "zero risk" but we can reduce the loss of life property, and increased poverty but this will require industrial, environmental, economic, legal and political involvement. Disaster management measures varies according to the types of threat, and the environments that it will effect., all this contributes to the reduction of vulnerability.
Hurricane Katrina left a devastating scar on the citizens of the southern coast of the U.S., especially New Orleans, Louisiana. The category 5 hurricane was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the most deadly. Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29th, 2005 and after that day, 66,000 people were displaced from their homes. Of those who decided to ride out the storm with hopes of success and survival as they had experienced with other storms, they were found on their rooftops, in their attics, hoping for boat or helicopter rescue, relying on others for help to survive. The storm had reached 28,000 square feet inward to Louisiana, which was 60 percent of the state. 1,100 Louisianans lost their lives, and 200,000 were displaced and/or lost their homes (Davis 8). It was a devastating time of despair and suffering. People were put through experiences that would scar them for a long time. While preparing for evacuation, people left most of their belongings at home to flee to a safer city or to find shelter in the Superdome and Convention Center. Some even decided to remain in their boarded up homes. After the hurricane had past, a few hours went by and a levee located near the Mississippi River canal broke leaving New Orleans flooded (Delisi). After the disaster, the state and federal governments were pointing fingers at each other as to who was to blame for the poorly planned evacuation and rescue efforts for the victims. The state government promised to help evacuate those who could not transport themselves. Citizens were told to go to the Superdome and convention center for evacuation, but the supplies needed for survi...
In August of 2005 one of the worst “natural disasters” hit New Orleans, putting the city through many hardships after Hurricane Katrina hit. The city would not have gotten as damaged as it did if it were not for the levees breaking. In addition, if the government acted immediately upon what happened in New Orleans, the city would most likely be further along in reconstruction and transition than it is now. Finally, if FEMA gave the citizens of New Orleans water, food, and other much needed humanitarian aid and supplies immediately following this devastation than many people would be satisfied and back up on their feet, but that is not what happened. After Katrina hit the government and President Bush knew long before the hurricane came what
When Hurricane Sandy hit shore in 2012 it left behind a path of debris and destruction that the coastal communities of New Jersey and New York were not adequately prepared for. Starting as a tropical cyclone in the Caribbean, Sandy made its way up the Atlantic coast before making a sharp turn for the densely populated northeast. Unlike other hurricanes in the region, Sandy maintained momentum as it moved north and met unusually warm waters that helped fuel the storm’s enormous power. It made landfall during a high tide that creating record storm surges, that resulted flooding and massive damage. On its journey, the the hurricane accumulated energy as it merged with a low-pressure system coming from the west. These conditions created the vicious weather system that dumped rain and snow across the region. The destruction costs were among the highest in history, and more than a year later, communities are still working to recover. To many, Sandy was a wake-up call, creating a new sense of urgency to make cities and neighborhoods resilient in the face of natural disasters. Storms are an inevitable part of living on the coast, but the need for long-term recovery and preparation for the future is growing due to the threat of climate change.
Hurricane Sandy, also commonly referred to as Superstorm Sandy, is known as the most devastating, destructive, and deadliest hurricane that hit the Atlantic in 2012. The storm emerged in late October of that year. In terms of fatalities, over 286 people were killed in seven different countries. 117 were killed in the US and an additional 69 were killed in other countries throughout the world. [2] In terms of costly damage, this natural disaster was the second most expensive hurricane in US History. [3] Hurricane Sandy was a Category 3 storm at its peak when it had first hit Cuba. Eventually, Sandy had turned into a Category 2 storm once it had moved up and hit off the coast of the Northeastern US. The storm was named the largest Atlantic hurricane that was ever recorded, with measurements that included winds reaching an upwards of 1,100 miles per hour. [3]
The Texas City Disaster of 1947 was a disaster that really left a impact to the world. The Texas City Disaster of 1947 was one of the world's worst industrial disasters.
On October 22, 2012, a tropical depression began to form in the Caribbean Sea due to steadily increasing wind speeds and low pressure. Hurricane Sandy quickly developed making landfall as a category 1 hurricane. From its formation in the Caribbean Sea on October 22, 2012 to its dissipation on October 31, 2012 hurricane Sandy lasted a total of 9 days ravaging the east coast of the United States and parts of the Caribbean. Hurricane Sandy was an extremely large and complex cyclone; analyzing its highly affected areas, unique characteristics, and damage reports help us to understand the lasting impact natural disasters leave in their wake.
Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 hurricane at its highest, made impact between August 23-30th 2005, and has since gone down as the most devastating and costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States. In preparation for the impact of the storm, on August 27th 2005, two days before the hurricane made landfall, President George W. Bush declared a state of emergency in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Waterford nuclear plant was shut down for precautionary reasons in the wake of the oncoming storm and mandatory evacuations were issued for large parts of the southeast. Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans stated that about 80% of the 480,000 people asked to evacuate heeded warnings. Evacuation orders were also made for areas along the Mississippi coast, low-lying coastal areas in Alabama, as well as the barrier islands in western Florida Panhandle.
Planet Earth is under attack by the very entities charged with its protection. Human beings are systematically destroying the planet and are deaf to its, so far, relatively subtle warnings. When temperatures rise by just a fraction of a degree, or yearly precipitation amounts increase by just an inch or two, these changes can be imperceptible. However, when these small changes accumulate after a period of years they can result in natural disasters that are uncommon to certain geographic areas. Ocean temperatures have steadily been on the rise for years. These changing temperatures have the potential to irrevocably change weather patterns for the entire world. In August of 2011, Hurricane Irene gave much of the east coast of the United States a taste of what changes in global weather patterns can do. The hurricane showed many communities how vastly underprepared, and unequipped they are to deal with such a storm, and it served as a wake up call to the human race, to take better care of the planet. A case study of these realizations can be viewed through the prism of severe weather related events at the Humane Society of Ocean City.
Hurricane Maria was destructive and caused a large amount of damage to the entire island of Puerto Rico. Maria hit on September 20 and was a category four hurricane, nearly a category five. Hurricane Maria has had a tremendous impact on the lives of Puerto Ricans and even the world.
Earthquakes are caused by tectonic plates moving in the earth's crust. They either move apart or pull together at faults. Two forms of faults are normal faulting where the hanging wall moves downward causing rocks to be pulled apart by tension and reverse faulting, which is the opposite where the hanging wall moves upward casuing rocks to be forced together by tension. These movements cause tectonic plate boundaries called divergent boundaries, convergent boundaries and transform boundaries. Each boundary is different and play a
Earthquakes are sudden, violent shakings in the ground that is caused by the movement of the Earth’s crust or volcanoes. More than 10,000 earthquakes take place every year, most of them not recognized by humans. Earthquakes do not occur at random locations, however, as some people believe. A pattern can be seen where most earthquakes occur at or near the plate boundaries. In fact, these earthquakes are what help scientists discover where these plate boundaries are. Plate boundaries are the cracks between the set of tectonic plates that make up the Earth’s crust. The moving of these tectonic plates is what causes these earthquakes. There are three types of plate boundaries: divergent boundaries, convergent boundaries, and transform boundaries.
In the early morning hours on January 17th, 1994 a very violent tremble took place across Los Angeles, California area that left fifty-seven people dead, more than 7,000 injured, more than 20,000 homeless and left over 40,000 buildings damaged. Around 4:30 a.m. a horrific 6.7 magnitude earthquake, that tested building codes and earthquake-resistant construction, shook Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura, and Orange Counties with the most intense damage occurring in Sherman Oaks and Northridge. The earthquake caused several bridges and overpasses to collapse closing sections of the Santa Monica Freeway, Simi Valley Freeway, Golden State Freeway, and the Antelope Valley Freeway. There were also several fire outbreaks throughout the San Fernando Valley, Malibu, and Venice area because of underground gas lines that had been ruptured during the earthquake that caused additional damage.
There are different types and causes of disasters: man-made, natural and a combination. Man-made disasters are caused by human error or human actions that cause harm to the environment, and people (Baack & Alfred, 2013). Natural disasters are caused by nature, a hurricane for example, and a combination of NA-TECH (natural-technological). Examples are earthquakes that cause structural damage such as a collapse of a bridge (Nies & McEwen, 2011). Communities must have effective emergency preparedness in place to reduce the casualties of a disaster.
An earthquake occurs when there is a shaking of the Earth, caused by a buildup of energy in volcanic or tectonic form (“Earthquakes”). Essentially, an earthquake results from sections of the Earth moving, causing slippage. When two chunks of the Earth slip past each other, the point at which this happens is called the fault plane. In fact, an earthquake begins in the hypocenter beneath the Earth’s surface. Next, located right above the hypocenter is the epicenter (Wald). And finally, the main, and most important thing to remember about earthquakes is that they are random, and extremely hard to predict (“Earthquakes”).
Obliterating everything in its path, a bushfire is a natural hazard, which can be defined as wild fires in scrublands and or bushlands, especially one that spreads rapidly and is hard to contain. They can be catastrophic, causing severe damage to properties, the environment and even deaths. And as a result there is an ever-increasing need to prepare for the potential impacts of bushfires.