Pros And Cons Of The SLOSH Model

For example, the barrier islands on Louisiana’s coast are being destroyed or altered. The islands, reefs, and shelf protect Louisiana from storms and hurricanes. However, humans have altered the formation and existence of the protection. Stone et el. argues, based on statistical analysis of the coast, that the “physical loss of the barrier islands and marsh resulted in a considerable increase in modeled surge levels and wave heights.

However storm surges also impact those further inland as well, and this is can be seen through the secondary impacts of Hurricane Sandy. Severe flooding along the coast dumped about eleven billion gallons of raw and untreated sewage in the waterways from Washington DC to Connecticut- this resulting in more damage than flooding alone. This starts to convey weaknesses in the essay title, that perhaps it is too simplistic in its assertion.

The fact that Hurricane Katrina was a Category Five storm when it was over the Gulf of Mexico is important when looking at the hurricane’s effects on the Gulf Coast. One big contributor to onshore damage from hurricanes is the storm surge, or the “continual increase in sea level as the storm approaches landfall” (Keller, 346). Especially in low lying areas with elevations near 0 feet, storm surge can be very devastating. Due to its Category Five intensity over the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Katrina had a storm surge that got up to as high as 28 feet, which is extremely high. To put this in comparison, the average storm surge for a Category Three hurricane is only around 9-12 feet while the average for a Category

Being prepared for a hurricane is not just the responsibility of first responders like firefighters, law enforcement, and EMS. An entire community from one individual or a family all the way up to state and federal government personnel need to work together and do their part and everybody has their own role to play. It is very important for communities to have strong collaborative planning teams. These teams are made up of governmental, nongovernmental, private, and public organizations and agencies that need to be integrated and share information and also trained together during the planning phase to increase the successfulness of the response to a disaster. Having educated and informed citizens is key for a prepared community, for example they can create evacuation and family reunification plans, compile disaster kits, and engage in trainings and neighborhood preparedness activities so that during an emergency they are able to help themselves, their families, neighbors, and friends. Another way to lessening the effects of a hurricane is to implement mitigation

Increased frequency and intensity of storms and weather extremes may increase safety and health risks for vulnerable populations including water ingress, mould and loss of housing for poorly housed and health risk to the homeless.

In a World Health Organization publication titled “Environmental Health in Emergencies and Disasters: A Practical Guide, disasters are defined as “events that occur when significant numbers of people are exposed to extreme events to which they are vulnerable, with resulting injury and loss of life, often combined with damage to property and livelihoods” (Wisner & Adams, 2002). These disasters can be natural or man-made; one type of natural disaster are those of hurricanes. Hurricanes are large, powerful storms that can create winds of 74 miles per hour or higher. Swirling winds can cause significant damage to buildings and trees, heavy precipitation can result in severe flooding, and the emergency situations that arise during and after hurricanes can greatly impact the health and well being of many individuals, particularly the vulnerable population of elderly individuals residing in nursing homes (NASA, 2017; Wisner & Adams, 2002).

Hurricanes leave a lot of damage to the states they hit. It also can kill people and leave people injured, my topic is Hurricane Sandy and this affected a lot of people.

I am from Charlotte, NC where we receive an average amount of rain, nothing too crazy. Coming to school in Norfolk I was first introduced to what flooding actually was. It was beautiful day prior, and suddenly it began pouring down raining. In about 10 minutes the streets were flooded. Staff had to take students to the other side of campus in their own cars. The underpasses were filled with so much water, that no cars could get through. Later on that was when I was informed that Norfolk is below sea level causing it to flood when it rains. Coming from a city where it doesn’t flood, to a city that floods was a shock. Through research I found of what Costal Resilience was, and how other cities are dealing with the same problems the Tidewater District is dealing with. If cities could be better prepared in times of hazardous events, less money would be lost and people wouldn’t relocate.

I have always found the ocean to be a very intriguing part of the Earth. There are infinitely many discoveries that have yet to be made about it. My fascination with the ocean sparked the idea to do my class paper on hurricanes and what they are along with their effects. I remember hearing about all the damages from Hurricane Katrina after it hit the coast near New Orleans. The only information I really know about them is what is briefly covered on the news. I thought it would be interesting to discover the true effects they can have on not only people that endure them, but also the environment as it gets ripped to shreds by the plethora of winds and water.

For millions of people living near the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the United States, a team of weather experts in Miami were helping make a difference between another hurricane disaster and safe evacuations in the wake of the oncoming storm. These experts are trained to interpret data from satellites, weather stations and specialized computer equipment to give the public advance warning of hurricanes barreling toward any shores (Treaster, 2007, p. 26).

The Great Hurricane of 1938, or known to many as the Long Island Express, was known as one of the most disastrous hurricanes to hit New England. It wasn’t the high winds, heavy rain, and high waves/storm surge that gave this hurricane its title in history. The Great Hurricane had a fourth deadly weapon; the element of surprise. It was the beginning of September, a time where many packed up their summer clothes, boarded up their houses, and left to return back to the real world leaving their summer homes behind. When symptoms of a storm approached New England, many locals convinced themselves and others that it was just the normal “line storm” which occasionally comes in September. It wasn’t until Sept 21 that people realized the so-called

Thesis/Preview of Main Points: Today I am going to be talking to you about hurricanes. Hurricanes are one of nature’s most powerful and destructive storms. We’ve heard, watched the news, and read articles about the devastating repercussions that hurricanes have left behind from whenever they hit land. However,

Thesis statement:We must take notice and learn about the hurricane process so that we are able to

It is with the salient awareness of its susceptibility to hurricanes that the city of Mobile in Alabama initiates the development of hazard mitigation planning. The Mobile County Alabama Hurricanes Hazard mitigation plan is a multi-jurisdictional guide for the county of Mobile. Its communities and other stakeholders who are the vital players in their efforts to successfully prepare a plan that will act as a roadmap in responding to hurricane disasters. The plan addresses the hurricane hazard that is a major threat to the people, property and the infrastructure of Mobile County in Alabama. The plan focuses on hazard mitigation planning and actions necessary to reduce or eliminating long–term effects to people and their property as a result of the occurrence of hurricanes. The purpose of the mitigation plan is to ensure that the repetitive cycle is broken by producing less vulnerable conditions amongst the people, property and topographical features.

According to the National Hurricane Center, the SLOSH is “a model that involves of a set of physics equations to all of a specific area’s shoreline and other physical features”. It helps the state and other local agencies know exactly whom it will affect with the possible risks of them staying in the area. That is when the agencies start planning evacuation