The Cause Of Devastation In North America

Natural disasters occurring from the climate change could be on the rise. Global warming has been rumored to be causing more hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, heavier monsoonal rains that cause major flooding, mud slides, and other disasters worldwide. A tropical cyclone, also referred to as hurricanes, typhoons, or cyclones, depending on where in the world the cyclone is occurring, are one of the world’s grandest shows of energy provided by nature. Hurricanes are large, swirling, low pressure storms that have sustained winds of over 74 miles an hour and are formed over warm ocean waters (NASA, n.d.). The purpose of this paper is to discuss hurricanes

Having lived in the southern coastal region of Texas I have seen many of the beauties that nature offers, but many of these beauties also bring complicated needs to those they effect. I've discovered the power and magnitude of lightning storms I've been entranced by the soft crashing of the waves on the coast but the most beautiful and perhaps the most devastating phenomena I have ever viewed are hurricanes. Hurricanes have swept through my home front on many occasions, these powerful giants drift through towns decimating all in their paths breaking trees, ripping roofs off houses, and bringing with them a flood like no other. The high water and gale force winds that comprise these natural wrecking balls can cripple families and in my community

Over the course of humanity, there have been several notable types of disasters ranging from severe floods, earthquakes, tornados, fires, ice storms, bombings, tropical storms, and hurricanes. Many individuals have experienced some form of these disasters throughout their life, either natural or manmade. “Surveys suggest that 13–30% of individuals will be exposed to one or more natural disasters in their lifetime” (Jacob, 2015, p. 512). Along the eastern and southern United States coastlines, the more common disaster associated with these areas are hurricanes. “Each year, on average, 10 tropical storms, of which six become hurricanes, develop over the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, or Gulf of Mexico from June to November. Many of these remain over the ocean; however, about five hurricanes strike the United States coastline every three years” (Hurricanes, nd, para 4). Based on this average, roughly two hurricanes per year make landfall. Depending on the severity, that is two large areas with several

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,

At 6pm on April 30th, 2014, a life-threatening disaster struck the Florida panhandle. At that time, Florida residents were not aware of the rain and flooding that was about engulf Pensacola and the surrounding areas. But as time began to pass, it became obvious this was not an ordinary storm. As the rain poured and the lightning struck, many people lost power and television connection, unable to see that what was thought to be a small storm would set national records and be the cause for severe-weather threats. This event taught me how to prevent a disastrous situation in dire conditions as well as the importance of being prepared.

South Florida is particularly vulnerable to the effects of major hurricanes. The sub-tropical weather places the region directly in the historical path of seasonal storms. The area has faced repeated battering by major storms over the decades (Blake, Landsea, Gibney, & I.M. Systems Group, August 2011). Furthermore, the geographic location and the constraints of being located on a peninsula create unique and difficult challenges for the population during these events. The millions of people that live from Okeechobee Lake to Key West are vulnerable to the destruction capable by a major hurricane. Emergency responders must be prepared to deal with these issues when planning and responding to large scale events.

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.

While we do not have historical record of all of the natural hazards that have impacted the United States, we do know that for multitudes of years, the United States has been hit by many natural hazards – hurricane, tornado, drought, wildfire, flood and earthquake, to name a few. As each of these natural hazards occur, multiple issues arise – relative to the core components of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Yet, even with prior knowledge from years past and the destructive events that have occurred, we as a nation continue to struggle with natural hazards that more often than not become natural disasters. For too long it seems as if we have settled in to a rhythm of responding, attempting to recover, rebuilding and then repeating the cycle as another natural hazard strikes.

It is well known that hurricanes are extremely dangerous and cause a significant amount of damage and devastation among many cities and countries. Researchers have studied and found that hurricanes could be classified and categorized into five different areas ranging from least severe to most extreme. Category one being the least severe and Category five would be known to destroy a whole city. Hurricanes are categorized on how much damage one can cause and how strong they are. There have been many hurricanes around the world that were known to cause a significant amount of damage but not one hurricane was compared to what the people from New Orleans, Louisiana experienced when Hurricane Katrina hit on Monday August 29, 2005. Katrina was known to be the hurricane that devastated the country, and the biggest hurricane recorded in the history of the world. The city of New Orleans was confronted with social, ethical, and economic implications after the tragic occurrence of Hurricane Katrina.

Climate change has progressively become more problematic for coastal societies in recent history as a result of elevated greenhouse gas emission levels across the planet. Increases in sea level and sea surface temperature, as well as atmospheric pressure accretion, are unnatural effects directly linked to increased carbon dioxide (CO2) release into the atmosphere. Some of the sources of these increases have come from the greater use of coal and gasoline for industrial and transportation purposes. Hurricanes (tropical cyclones), most common in the North Atlantic region, have intensified due to this “global warming”. But occurrences of such events are predicted to diminish (Emanuel, 2011). Hurricanes are expected to form less frequently in the North Atlantic, but they will become more intense and powerful over time. As high intensity hurricanes become more common events along the densely populated eastern coast of the United States, more resilient engineering solutions will need to be implemented by current generations to reduce their destructive impact.

In this text the author talks about some major hurricanes that have affected us. First, we have Hurricane Harvey. Harvey started as a tropical storm August 17th and 56 hours later it was a Category 4 Hurricane. Harvey hit the city of Rockport on the 25th and pounded Houston for 4 days straight. Harvey ended up bringing 1.3 metres of rain and killing 82 people. Next up was Irma, by August 31st Irma was a Category 5 hurricane. On September 6th Irma ravished the Caribbean islands. Barbuda was hit the hardest, being wiped out by a 2.5 metre storm surge. In the Florida Keys, there was a 4 metre storm surge. In mainland Florida, 106 million litres of sewage was released from pumps due to power outages. The text said that winds were 300km/h, and that

The main sources of destruction for these storms are wind speeds in excess of 74 mph, storm surges, and floodwaters several feet deep (Havelock, 2016). For people in the path of these incredibly dangerous storms, the most crucial action to be taken is evacuation (Havelock, 2016). Unfortunately, as was seen in the case of Hurricane Katrina it is quite common in response to the threat of a hurricane for those most at risk to not heed warnings and to stay in unnecessarily risky situations (Demuth et al., 2012, p.1133)

Did you know that Hurricanes have killed approximately 1.9 million people worldwide over the past 200 years. (Karen lenhardt said in her 2017 article on facts about hurricanes). We are seeing more and more of these occur, this year we have already encountered 13 named storms, 7 of them being hurricanes. Only four other seasons since 1995 have had that many by Sept. 18. Just two more by the end of the year would put 2017 in the top 15 since 1851. Maggie Astor stated in her New York Times news report about the 2017 Hurricane season . We must take notice and learn about the hurricane process so that we are able to understand the stages that hurricanes go through to get to be so fierce and devastating to get the strength to kill that many people.

Debates over the impact of global warming on weather patterns around the globe have been the source of intense scrutiny in recent years. One such debate that has seen increased attention in the scientific community is: What impact does global warming have on hurricane frequency and intensity? Since the especially intense hurricane season in 2005 that spawned the devastating storms of “Katrina” and “Rita” this question has spawned a lot of media attention as well. However before we can even begin to answer the question posed by the title of the paper we must first explore; What is a hurricane? How it is formed? And we must also examine what is meant by the term global warming?

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