DBQ Essay: The Bohol Earthquake

Every day in the United States hurricanes, floods, fires, accidents and other disasters happen. Once the organization is contacted, they are more than likely the first organization to respond. During hard times, the American Red Cross has a giving site where volunteers can go online and buy items to help support the victims of the disaster. For 18 dollars a volunteer can donate three blankets. For 20 dollars a volunteer can give hot meals to two people. For 2,000 dollars, a volunteer can supply a food truck that will be rushed to the victims of a disaster. 91 percent of its funds on programs support around 200 disasters in the United States daily.

Tragic events that cause damage to property and life may destroy the social, cultural and economic life of a community. Communities must be engaged in the various phases from prevention to recovery to build disaster resilient communities. In order to do this, there must be a disaster preparedness plan in place that involves multiple people in various roles.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, fires broke out, corpses were in streets, looting was taking place around the city, floor waters became toxic with sewage and gas. US Army Corps of Engineers came in to pump New Orleans dry; this was a continuous operation. (video: The Lost City of New Orleans: A Case Study) Organizations such as the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, National Guard and others helped the relief effort with housing,

The San Francisco Earthquake written by Jack London is journal of his events throughout the devastating acts of God that hit San Francisco in 1906. (461-466)

Communities, according to Kapucu and Özerdem (2011) have a drastic effect on the recovery process. In the end, by having a recovery place in plan within the community, it will ensure economic and resident resiliency for when a crisis is to occur. In order to ensure such a plan is in place, it is up to the American Red Cross to partner with and focus on the citizen involvement in decision making, from the beginning stages of planning all through mitigation; increase the buy in within the community; and provide for the community in an effective manner after a disaster has occurred Kapucu and Özerdem

Effective disaster management is highly important when it comes to assisting in rescue and relief to affected. This does not only include post disaster rescue efforts but these disaster management activities should be proactive. They start right from taking preventive measures before the disaster actually occurs and goes on till the effected people are resettled back in their lives. This disaster management pertaining to human life is not only associated with physical well being but also focuses on psychological, emotional, and spiritual rehabilitation.

On April 18, 1906, an earthquake occurred in San Francisco with a magnitude of 7.9. The earthquake was caused by the San Andreas Fault since the San Andreas Fault slip over a segment. The earthquake could be felt from Oregon to southern California. Buildings in San Francisco was destroyed by earthquake and fires. Fires started after the earthquake occurred and firefighters were not able to stop the fire because the water mains were broken and because of this, firestorms started to develop around San Francisco. Then, the San Francisco Mayor E.E. Schmitz called the U.S. Army troops to shoot anyone that is found looting. While the army was doing that, firefighters and U.S. troops tried to fight the fire by dynamiting the city to create firewalls.

The damages were catastrophic as houses lay in ruin and debris littered the roads. There were mudslides and fallen rocks that paved the roads and made them impassible for vehicles to get through. Ultimately by the roads being clogged up the response time by rescue workers and essential personal were hampered. This also made it exceptionally difficult for supplies to be rushed to the locations for the earthquake survivors. As some were digging and excavating for survivors they were being halted by aftershocks and falling debris from above. Approximately 8000 people were killed either by their houses caving in or by the other disasters this earthquake triggered. It was a real life tragedy that

Imagine if you had to restart your life, new shelter, new job, new lifestyle. Well locals or people in the Philippines had to restart their life when an earthquake with an magnitude of 7.1 hit the country and destroyed people’s lives. The earthquake had a devastating 7.1 magnitude. The earthquake hit the Philippines on October 15th, 2013. The likely culprit of the earthquake was the East Bohol Fault because the two tectonic plates were sliding against each other and the creates an earthquake. Sadly, earthquake killed more than 90 people. Ports, schools, and airports were damaged. A hospital collapsed then that lead to a killing of 18 people. Children were also injured at sports complexes because people rushed the exits when the the ground started to shake. Lastly, 5 people were killed in a landslide that was triggered from the earthquake. What really matters though is how people respond to the

People respond to a natural disaster by gathering materials. The Red Cross had provided many of the most needed items such as blankets, mosquito nets, and water containers (Doc A). People were in great need of these organizations at this time in their lives because people in families had died, and they were not ready to take on the change of overcoming this tragic time. Some of the most needed items were water and health care services (Doc A). The people were in need of food, but they had struggled to find it. “Just 10 hours later, food was there” (Doc B). Although food was there, it was not enough for some people to eat.

I left for work but had to walk, as no streetcars were running. I was

The resources most in demand for the vulnerable populations after a storm in Houston: electricity, food, water, information, and housing. Also, citizens

On the same note, the group provided relief when the 35-W bridge collapsed in Minnesota. It helped, this past year, to rebuild houses that fell victim to California wildfires too. Post disaster aid comes in many forms. Food relief, site clean up, site repair, blood donations, blood transfusions and other types of medical aid are some of the forms of relief. Although, disaster reliefs and blood donations are crucial in our society today; this is not the only type of service the Red Cross provides for us.

Another human factor is the earthquake mitigation through education and community awareness. Schemes such as the one in Sichuan, China helped to save thousands of lives. The weekly intervals of training in case of an earthquake, educated children and adults of what to do when the quake struck. Evacuation schemes such as the window slides or hiding under tables was reported to have saved thousands when the magnitude 8.0 hit the area in 2008. However, some were not saved due to their unwillingness to move and evacuate the area. Some people of the village, notably the poorer and elderly refused to leave as they didn’t want to leave all they owned behind.

Every emergency or disaster, from a small house fire to a hurricane that devastates entire communities, have a distinct cycle. This is