Reducing the Impact of Natural Disasters

The key lessons that have been learnt from the event is that those in charge of ensuring the safety of Haiti’s citizens need to recognize the risk of their location and acknowledge the advice of seismologists for any future seismic events. The implementation of early warning systems and the use of SMS messaging as seen in Japan would greatly reduce the hazard of an earthquake. In addition, environmental management is crucial for the long term survival of Haiti, strategies to reduce deforestation and claiming back land unsuitable for housing would lead to better soil quality and less risk of landslides and liquefaction to buildings should another event occur. However, the main lesson to be drawn from the disaster is the need for proper construction techniques and guidelines. Education and training to provide construction workers with enough knowledge to make future infrastructure earthquake

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.

Thank you, Ms. Leona Graham (mayor), for the opportunity to provide an assessment report for Hazard City. This report will provide an assessment on structural damage of an Intensity IX earthquake, and emergency housing needs. It will also identify actions homeowners can use to help prevent future structural damages, and give more information on possible effects of an Intensity IX earthquake. The assessment report will identify danger of a failing dam, and provide further understanding of the elements which will include an emergency plan. The table that follows is an assessment of the number of people needing emergency housing due to an Intensity IX earthquake.

Critical incidents require immediate action (Levinson & Granot, 2002). Additionally, they also require ongoing support in order to ensure that they are correctly managed and the long-term effects are mitigated (Schneid & Collins, 2001). Addressed here are four specific events - earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and tornados. There are ways to mitigate the damage of these events, and there are also ways to try to prepare for them. Additionally, the type of response to these events is important as is the recovery from them. For earthquakes, mitigation is limited. It is possible to build houses and buildings stronger and more able to withstand shaking, and in earthquake-prone areas the cabinets often have latches and large appliances are strapped to the wall (U.S., 2007). People who live there should also have emergency supplies of food and water, and should be prepared for an earthquake by knowing information about evacuation routes (U.S., 2007). The response to earthquakes and the recovery from them are usually strong, because the areas that are most prone are also most prepared. When an earthquake hits in an unusual area, however, it can take much longer to help people and to rebuild the infrastructure.

Natural disasters affect thousands of lives each year, and have the potential to drastically alter a country/state and its people. Because of the destructive force Mother Nature can bring about, it is imperative to have mitigation plans set up in populated areas to protect people and reduce the structural damage to buildings, houses, etc. There are some mitigation plans, however, that have been unsuccessful, resulting in catastrophic disasters. Best examples of these are the Connecticut Flood of 1955 and Hurricane Katrina. Even though these are two different types of natural disasters; the level of destruction, preparedness, mitigation strategies, and the overall aftermaths had profound and lasting changes on the areas inflicted, mainly Connecticut and Louisiana.

The ability to rebuild after a natural disaster depends on the population strength and the government timely response to the disaster. The government’s response to natural

Disasters are bound to strike at a given time and they more often find us unaware, this is the sole reason why the majority of the disasters that happen are usually fatal and destructive. This then calls for the need to try as much as possible to prevent these disasters and in particular in our cities. This is due to the fact that in the cities there are large populations that live close to each other or work in offices crammed together hence the likelihood of a disaster turning absolutely fatal if and when it strikes. However, due to the inevitable nature of these disasters, it is upon us to make adequate preparations that can enable us to minimize the effects of the natural disasters as much as possible when and if they happen.

Imagine living your life on a regular day for you and BOOM! Your life is now suddenly completely changed, everything you thought was normal or part of you has changed. This is what natural disasters tend to make happen in your life, they affect us in many ways. In this essay i will discuss the various elements each author uses to express the causes and effects of disasters. The author Jacqueline Adam clearly expresses the causes and effects of disasters through the use of text structure, choice of vocabulary and use of data and details.

There are also things that we will do, if we suspect that there is a problem with the structure or the roof, which includes knowing the warning signs for failures. Things we will do before there is a threat of any type of weather, including, things to do after the weather issue. Before a weather storm hits, we will take certain measures to help limit building damage and safety issues. First, we will always have an emergency response plan in place before a weather event occurs, and we will make sure that everyone has easy access to the plan. Next, the maximum safe distance from the building's roof and the structure will be determined. The roof and structure will be regularly inspected for the structural integrity before a storm. After a storm the structure will be inspected, documented and repaired if needed. Furthermore, we will be proactive, and petition a local contractor with the proper credentials for structures, to go back behind the original construction crew to hold us accountable to the highest level. This ensures that in the event of a storm, a proper contractor and the paper work will be on

Natural hazards — are different natural phenomena that disrupt the usual live of a population, destroy and demolish objects of material value. They often have a negative effect on nature, and can happen anywhere in the world. Many different types of natural hazards exist; for example, earth quakes, landslides, floods, snow drifts, hurricanes, droughts, volcano eruptions, storms, etc. Natural hazards can happen independently or can be related to each other. If there is an earthquake, it can lead to a tsunami or massive fires. Some of them happen as a result of mankind’s doings; construction work, depending on the location, can cause snow drifts, or massive fires.

With the tremendous loss of life and destruction of property that resulted from Hurricane Katrina, the American Society of Civil Engineers and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began redesigning and implementing new hurricane prevention system guidelines. Through extensive studies, it was evident that the structures for the levees were constructed on weak and compressible soil. “Although the geology of the area was relatively well known and borings taken were reasonably adequate for characterizing the variety of conditions in the area, the spacing could have missed local anomalies in soil type and strength” (USACE I-119). As a result, geotechnical engineers suggested a

Disasters, whether natural or manmade, can happen anytime and anywhere, without warning. An earthquake, hurricane, tornado, fire, or hazardous material spill or even an act of terrorism can happen

In the United States, people who live in poverty are already one of the most vulnerable populations and it is this population that is heavily impacted by public policy relating to natural disasters. Often, public policies relating to disaster preparedness and recovery are not discussed until after a natural disaster takes place which is too late to do any good for the people affected and who are devastated almost beyond comprehension. The role of government in disaster preparedness and recovery became a “hot button” issue especially after Hurricane Katrina when the federal and local governments seemed to protect/help those who already had resources and not those with little to no resources. According to a Gallup Poll by Jones & Carroll (2005), forty-nine percent of respondents said that FEMA was most helpful to them while thirty-one percent of respondents said that nothing was helpful to them during recovery from Hurricane Katrina. This information indicates that there is a gap in services disaster relief policies and programs that needs to be filled.

Most urban buildings are steel and concrete structures designed to resist typhoons and earthquakes. Damage is still significant, however, and many people are marginalized each year by typhoons, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.

On August 29, 2009, Hurricane Katrina struck the United States Gulf Coast. It was a Category 3 Hurricane, according to the Saffir Simpson Scale. Winds gusted to up to 140 miles per hour, and the hurricane was almost 400 miles wide . The storm itself did a tremendous amount of damage, but the storm’s aftermath was cataclysmic. Many claimed that the federal government was slow to meet the needs of the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the storm. This paper will examine the four elements of disaster management – preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation – as well as an analysis on the data presented.