Introduction Natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, seaquakes, and volcanic eruptions are all events that frequent the country of Nicaragua and its neighbors in Central America and the Caribbean. But one of the most devastating natural disasters to affect the country, Hurricane Mitch, has had a lasting effect on Nicaragua. There was an approximate of 3,000 deaths, 1,000 missing persons, 900,000 injured persons. The hurricane caused damage to 50,000 homes, 340 schools, 90 health care centers, 40 health posts and 6 hospitals across the country (Christopolos, et al, 2010). This paper will examine the conditions of Nicaragua before and after Hurricane Mitch and answer the question, what man-made factors played a role in the severe devastation of the country? First, the paper will discuss the major hazardous natural events that occurred in the wake of Hurricane Mitch and their effect on the country. Then the effect of human influence in geography, politics and social structure will be analyzed. Finally, the paper dissect the socio-economic effect Hurricane Mitch had on the country of Nicaragua.
Hazardous Natural Event Though Hurricane Mitch never made direct landfall, the 50 inches of rain it brought, led to lasting damage for the country of Nicaragua. Damage to infrastructure, roads, and buildings pushed the country 30-50 years back in development according to Menendez-Duerte, Marquinez, and Devoli (2003). They found that the heavy rains and floods led to
A natural disaster has the capability to cause large scale damage and destruction to an area. Seismic events have been known to alter landscapes and affect the livelihoods, health and development of communities. No two earthquake events are the same and the level of threat posed by an earthquake can vary due to both the human and physical factors of an area. The 2010 magnitude - 7.0 earthquake that occurred in Haiti is an example of where a natural disaster caused a previously vulnerable area to suffer tremendous loss and debilitating socio-economic impacts, to an already poverty-stricken nation.
In the last century, there have been approximately 13 hurricanes to hit the United States’ landfall (Citation). Many of these hurricanes don't only have a social impact, but also have an economic impact on the United States. However, the question is how impactful does a natural disaster have to be to cripple the United States, or can it help improve the economy? One crucial factor in the economy is the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is a common measurement for determining the health of an economy. Unemployment has a negative effect on the economy because it leads to higher payments from state and federal government for unemployment benefits, food assistance, and Medicaid. Not only is the government helping unemployed individuals
Over the past decade, the world has experienced more natural disaster than people can count. Floods, mudslides, earthquakes, and raging fires are just a few of the events that have stripped people away from their families, homes, and possessions. The deadliest of these natural disasters are hurricanes. Extremely strong winds mixed with large waves can cause enormous damage, taking months, even years for towns to recover. Hurricane Katrina left millions of people without homes and families torn apart. Hurricane Sandy demolished the Jersey coast, leaving years of repair work behind. The most recent and powerful hurricane that surfaced is Hurricane Maria. A level five hurricane, Hurricane Maria ripped straight through the United States territory of Puerto Rico. The island lost power, supplies
natural disasters). Gallup et al. (2003, pp.41, 46) have estimated that natural disasters in Latin America over the last 30 years have cost up to $3.3 billion and in extreme disasters costs can reach 10 per cent of a country’s GDP. This, coupled with the fact that they suffer regularly from natural disasters due to their location, means that they find it harder to recover from them. The destruction of crops causes vast economic loss which cannot be regained as farmers rely on monoculture. Furthermore, many buildings in developing countries are often built from weak materials which causes mass destruction and costly re-construction which these countries cannot afford.
The primary response to the Haiti earthquake disaster would involve the issuance of the mandatory briefing, proper gear, and shots before taking off to Haiti. For Haiti nationals, immunization against outbreaks of measles, Hepatitis, and other communicable diseases would come in handy. Education in how to prevent, reduce and avoid spread of commun diseases during this type of event, will be essesntial. On the other hand, the secondary intervention would involve the evaluation of the damage, screening for injuries and diseases, such as infectious and communicable diseases. Finally, the tertiary intervention for the Haiti disaster would involve follow up care and post-traumatic stress educational forums for all the affected individuals (Katz,
After Hurricane Sandy there was a bunch of damage done to theses states : Jamaica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, and the U.S. (“Superstorm Sandy”). “The hurricane left an estimated 200,000 people without shelter” (“Superstorm Sandy”). The property damage was an estimate from between $30-$50 billion (“Superstorm Sandy’’). Many people had no home for a long time nothing to come home to or
Hurricane Hugo affected South Carolina and also perturbed the Atlantic Ocean, devastating the Caribbean Islands of St. Croix and Puerto Rico in September 1989. This phenomenon was responsible for 86 fatalities around the impacted lands where people were not educated or prepared enough for this natural disaster.
The Hurricane hit Haiti with life-threatening rain along with winds. There have been many weak storms to pass through Haiti and have caused mudslides as well as
Natural disasters cause a lot of damage to the economies in Latin America when they happen. The damage can last for months, years or even decades. Natural disasters are hard for everyone, but it is even harder for Latin American countries to recover
Additionally, Cuba is often hit by hurricanes, which causes the plants to get too much water and die. When a hurricane hits, people lose everything: Food, Shelter, Crops, Clothing, Clean water, and most importantly family. There is widespread loss of and some people even die. In 2016, Hurricane Mathew hit Cuba. Even though 11.2 million survived Hurricane Matthew, 179,000 people were affected
In late August, Tropical Storm Isaac hit Haiti with rains and winds causing flooding and mudslides. Though the tropical storm did not cause widespread damage as initially feared, it was still a large obstacle for a nation still recovering.
Hurricanes are one of nature’s most natural occurrences and intense phenomenal storms. Yet, as phenomenal as they are, they are still one of the deadliest and disastrous natural occurrences that continue to plague costal residents with fears of their homes being destroyed, their towns wiped out, and loved ones either disappearing or dying.
Hurricanes are among the costliest and the most destructive of natural disasters. Since 1995, the United States has witnessed more intense activities by hurricanes with Mobile County in Alabama experiencing hurricane Ivan and hurricane Dennis in 2004 and 2005 (Link, 2010). In 2005, Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes to have hit the United States and was rated category three in Mobile County (Marchi, 2007). The response to the disaster was poor owing to the lack of proper disaster preparedness as
The USSR had recently funded a communications site on Nicaraguan soil to help them communicate with other socialist nations. With a rising fear of the USSR and other socialist nations, the US immediately accused it of being a spy base. Not shortly afterwards the US began to take action against Nicaragua by issuing an economic blockade. Because the Nicaraguan economy relied so heavily on imports, this had a profound effect and contributed to the collapse of the Nicaraguan economy. “It was impossible to spend even a day in Nicaragua without becoming aware of the huge and unrelenting pressure being exerted on the country by the giant standing on the northern front” (p.24).
Natural disasters may be defined as natural catastrophes which cause great damage by disrupting the functioning of a society thus rendering the country incapable of coping through using its own resources as there is a need for outsider assistance in order to effectively preserve lives and the environment. Conversely, Natural hazards are natural phenomena that are potential threats to people within a society, structures or economic assets and may cause disaster. Natural disasters are inevitable and ubiquitous worldwide. Within the Caribbean, they are chiefly present in the forms of hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, droughts, and volcanoes. The great damages caused by natural disasters may be divided into three categories: social, economic