Disaster Preparedness And Recovery Plan

In 1992, The Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act of 1992 authorized the US Federal Government to acquire the hydroelectric power projects of Elwha Dam and Glines Canyon Dam, where are located on the Washington State for demolition for habitat restoration and decommissioning. The dam removals began in 2011 and finished in 2014. I wondering that why government decided to remove the dam and what happens in Elwha River after dam removal. In this paper, I write about the following topics: main purpose of the Elwha and Gliens Canyon dam, effects to the Elwha River as well as ecosystem after constructing dam, reasons of the dam removal, process of the dam removal, and effects after dam removal.

The Hoover Dam is legendary. Having visited and stood on it’s bridge many times, there is no way to describe the incredible power that one feels just setting foot near the place. In 1922, the Reclamation Service presented a report calling for the development of a dam on the Colorado River for flood control and electric power generation. Even before Congress approved the Boulder Canyon Project, the Bureau of Reclamation was considering what kind of dam should be used. Officials eventually decided on a massive concrete arch-gravity dam, the design of which was overseen by the Bureau's chief design engineer John L. Savage. Construction of Hoover Dam began in 1931, and the last concrete was poured in 1935, two years ahead of schedule. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the dam on September 30, 1935. The power plant structures were completed in 1936, and the first generator began commercial operation in October of that year. The vital statistics describing Hoover Dam and its benefits are quite impressive on paper, but having visited the location and lived in areas of the country who benefit from the dam, the overwhelming size and impact of the project is made real. The dam is thick at the bottom and thin near the top, and would present a convex face towards the water above the dam. The curving arch of the dam would transmit the water's force into the

The Elwha river is located on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest in Washington State. It travels 72 kilometers from the Olympic range in the Olympic National Park to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Before human disturbance this watershed was considered one of the most productive ecosystems in Washington State and all of the Pacific Northwest (Duda). In the early 1900’s two dams were built in this watershed on the Elwha river forming two lakes. The Elwha hydroelectric dam at river kilometer (rKm) 7.9 (Figure 1.) was finished in 1913 and formed the Aldwell lake. 14 years later when electricity demands were greatly increased the Glines dam (Figure 2.) was built further upstream at river kilometer (rKm) 21.6 which then formed Mills lake. (NPS, Dam Construction)

Army Corps came up with a plan and put it into motion in the nineteen-fifties in an effort to keep the Mississippi independent. To get the result they wanted in the future they knew they had to build a structure that would dam the river, so that the flow between the Atchafalaya and Mississippi would be under their control. To accomplish complete control they decided to build a Lock and Dam. This structure dubbed “Old River Control” spans over the Old River at a staggering five-hundred-and-sixty-feet. It consists of two sills - a high and low sill. The low sill is the most important of the two as it deals with the water which passes between the Atchafalaya and Mississippi daily. However, the high sill acts as the valve which relieves the Mississippi during times of flood. The engineers who took part in this feat knew that they could not just walk away when they were finished with the construction of the structure. The “Old River Control” project had to be vigilantly monitored indefinitely. It would have to be monitored in times of flood and drought. The Atchafalaya acted as a relief when the Mississippi took on too much water. Water would flow into the Atchafalaya in times of flooding, which in turn relieved some of the pressure put on the Mississippi and kept from washing away major cities like New Orleans. There are experts and professionals at Old River Control at all times because nature can counterattack at any time and the U.S. Army Corps knows that. If nature catches the Corps off guard they know that they will lose, therefore they keep a close eye on the inconspicuous Old River. Unfortunately for the U.S. Army Corps, it did not matter how close of an eye they kept on the structure because nature had a plan to regain control. In the year 1973, there were large amounts of precipitation, which in turn led to massive amounts of flood water bombarding the lock and dam. The water caused the rapid deterioration of the structure. The structure was deemed

In addition, the values of local governments and community leaders should have been acknowledged in the article due to that they are the main frontrunners on disaster recovery. In the article “Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Strategy Pre-Publication Edition” by HURRICANE SANDY REBUILDING TASK FORCE organization on Shaun Donovan and Laurel Blatchford it’s mentioned how these people epidictic is really important because they confront the problems to Federal Government for us. Then it makes it possible to get the fulfilling resources needed like how they say, “Sandy-affected region by attracting world-class talent to develop innovative projects that will protect and enhance our communities. Everybody has a part to play in building a stronger region,

Evidence indicates that engineers decided to change the course of the Siem Reap River by constructing a dam. The goal of the dam was to direct river water toward a newly built reservoir. But the engineers miscalculated and built the dam too shallow. The effect of this was that when monsoons arrived the dam turned into a massive spillway. Water began flowing over the top of the dam into abandoned canals, causing catastrophic damage to other parts of the system. Once the dam was fully breached

Firstly, a dam is some kind of strategic imortant constraction wich allowed to control and store level of water. Moreover, that kind of building important for cizitezns and humans in general as it grant opportunities to provide fresh water in arid Australians zones for drinking, bathing, power generation and fo others imortant and essentiial needs for life. Additionaly, Australia has over 500 huge dams constuction. During 1962, the Australian National Committee on Large Dams (ANCOLD) adapted, on behalf of the International Commission of Large Dams (ICOLD), a Register of Large Dams in Australia for inclusion in their World Register of Dams.

Disaster recovery plans allows and gives the opportunity to a business to be able to recoup from any number of disasters, whether it may be a natural disaster or a fault of equipment to include power loss. These plans can be fairly basic with a goal and summary of what is to happen in the event of a disaster, to intensely involved and well spelled out plans that break down the summary, personal, intent, goal, and a timeline of events to follow. While disasters are unforeseen events that a business may never see or have to implement their plan, it allows them to be setup for success if it were to happen and not be doomed for failure in hopes of it not being a possibility.

Disaster recovery plan consists of protecting and recovering information systems to resume normal business operations in the most cost-effective manner. A disaster recovery plan ensures that all business processes and systems can be restored to its original state. Personnel are critical to the recovery of the restoration of business processes; therefore it is essential to have well-trained staff that will remain calm during an emergency, realize the potential threats that may affect the normal business operations (Snedaker, 2007). Recovery staff must develop a plan with step-by-step procedures that can be safely implemented without jeopardizing their lives or the lives of others. Furthermore, a wide-ranging annual training program must be developed for all employees; documentation of all annual training will be maintained to ensure that everyone understands their respective roles in the recovery process. In addition, an audit trail should be maintained to document management 's training efforts (Snedaker, 2007).

Building of Pac Moon Dam and other Dams have affected Thailand in several other adverse methods. It severely decreased fish up to 60%. “According to the Foundation for Ecological Recovery, the rivers fishing industry alone is worth up to 3 billion annually, and the existing dams are already decreasing that profit.” (Blake, Haley 2009). Whole species became extinct. The river had 50 different rapids that flowed with river dependent fish. Riverbank vegetation, Bamboo, and mushrooms began to disappear. Liver fluke, Blood fluke, and Schistosomiasis increased due to stagnant water. Villagers were dependent on income generated from fish, bamboo and mushrooms. Food and income deteriorated. Many Villagers moved away. Their lives and livelihood depended on the river. The people of Pac Moon Dam had already experienced the ill ecosystem change from past dams built as expressed in

Every year in the United States, disasters, whether catastrophes on a national scale such as the 2006 Hurricane Katrina or more localized disasters like the 2013 Northern Colorado floods devastate communities by taking the lives of hundreds of people, and injuring thousands more. In additional to the emotional and mental toll disasters have on communities and individuals, the total cost of disasters is continuously increasing to an extent that the public has a difficulty comprehending. Nationwide, taxpayers pay billions of dollars annually to help communities, organizations, businesses, and individuals recover from disasters. These monies only partially reflect the true cost of disasters, because additional expenses to private insurance companies and nongovernmental organizations are not reimbursed by tax dollars. The lasting financial, physical and emotional damage inflicted by disasters become all the more tragic with the consideration that many disasters are not only predictable, but are preventable with the foresight of adequate planning and preparedness for disasters. In addition to significant increased potential to save lives and prevent injuries, adequate disaster planning has been shown to save, on average, $4 per every dollar spent on preparedness efforts (National Institute of Building Science Multi-Hazard Mitigation Council 2005).

On the other hand, Plateau continued intense seismic activity, if the earthquake caused the collapse of the dam, it could have disastrous to the downstream neighbors.

Completed in 2010, the Nam Theun 2 Dam (herein after referred to as “NT2”), is a 1070 Megawatt hydroelectric dam located on the Nam Theun River in central Lao PDR. Tokyo based Mekong Watch, a non-governmental organization (NGO), estimates NT2’s cost at US$1.45 billion, one of the largest public works projects in Lao PDR’s history. The dam flooded a 450 square kilometer area, creating the Nakai Plateau reservoir. A principle component of the project included selling ninety to ninety-five percent of NT2’s electrical power to neighboring Thailand (2013).

Levee designs must take into consideration many effects of natural disasters including rising water height, damage from debris, and wind damage. However, civil and environmental engineers must also look at naturally occurring phenomenons overtime before disaster, such as erosion from wind and water, when designing levees. In the case of our levee, we utilized the given materials to build a levee which was able to withstand threats to integrity by both commonplace weather patterns and more severe damage caused by flooding.

On the other hand, Plateau continued intense seismic activity, if the earthquake caused the collapse of the dam, it could have disastrous to the downstream neighbors.