The Impacts Of Natural Disasters

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

Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters on record in the United States (Skinner, 2006) In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast destroying buildings, homes and communities (Skinner, 2006). Storm surges and levee failures resulted in an estimated $108 billion in physical property damage, specifically in the areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama (Skinner, 2006). Furthermore, Katrina proved itself to be one of the deadliest disasters in U.S. history as it claimed the lives of more than 1,800 people (Skinner, 2006).

In the year 2005, New Orleans was famously hit a major natural disaster that took lives and destroyed the homes and civilians. This wrath of Mother Nature became to be known as Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 hurricane with gusts peaking at 174/mph according to the Safir- Simpson wind scale (SSHS). With this Hurricane having its path directly on a city only being on average 1-2 feet below sea level, it created conditions for serious havoc (NOAA, 2012). The aftermath left a serious physical imprint on the city, which has the potential to never be removed. This imprint left by Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage to 134,000 housing units, destroying multiple bridges along the Gulf Coast, as well as various buildings across the city, which led to harmful chemicals leaking into the water system, such as petroleum and natural gas. Finally, Hurricane Katrina also caused the main power grid to be disoriented for a number of weeks. As a result, the damage costs from the storm added up to be about $108 billion (2005 USD), which according to Eric Blake was the costliest storm ever to hit the United States (Blake et al. 2011). Hurricane Katrina perpetuated all of these tribulations, as it drastically altered the lives of the many inhabitants of New Orleans and they continue to face the repercussions of the storm in their day-to-day lives.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, two days later roughly eighty percent of New Orleans was underwater. This hurricane ranked number three in the thirty deadliest US Hurricanes (Weather Underground, 2007). This disaster has had a ripple effect on the economy, the environment, the population of New Orleans, and the habitats of animals in that area. It also put to death over 1,500 people in Louisiana, more than half were senior citizens. In New Orleans, 134,000 housing units —70% of all occupied units — suffered damage from this Hurricane.

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

In the year 2005, New Orleans was hit by a major natural disaster that took lives and destroyed the homes of many civilians. This wrath of Mother Nature came to be known as Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 hurricane with gusts peaking at 174/mph according to the Safir- Simpson wind scale (SSHS). The mix of both poor geographical characteristics and scientific accuracy resulted in damage costs accumulating up to $108 billion (2005 USD). The high damage costs made this natural disaster to be ranked as the costliest storm ever to hit the United States of America (Blake et al. 2011). The entirety of the damage is exemplified by the plethora of housing units dismembered, the annihilation of several bridges and buildings, which led to petroleum and

Natural disaster currently has become a large part of US economy, from tornadoes, fire, floods and hurricanes. These natural disasters have lead to death of people but also a billion dollar damage to several cities or states. According to National center of Environmental Information, in 2015 there were at least ten weather disasters that lead to property damages exceeding one billion dollar across United States. The natural disasters are found in many ways, the one most famous is Hurricane Katrina and another Hurricane Sandy. These two hurricanes are Atlantic hurricanes, Hurricane Katrina hit the Southern States and Hurricane Sandy hit near Atlantic City affecting many eastern States. Although the two hurricanes have occurred in separate years, yet they have caused a lot of damage in large cities leaving thousands of people without home. Furthermore due to these natural disasters has questioned the government how to prepare for natural disaster in near future. The hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy are both consider Natural disaster that has lead to heavy damages but one has more devastating effect than the other.

Many hurricanes that have hit landfall were very dangerous to people, the environment and the economy. Hurricane Harvey took more than 72 lives in Texas alone. Shortly after, Hurricane Irma took the lives of 30 plus lives in the path of her destruction in just the United States, along with the 24 plus in the Caribbean. The wind speeds of up to 160 miles per hour and the water from the hurricane caused major damage to homes, cars, streets and buildings. The wind caused many homes, cars and buildings to blow over, rip off roofs and siding. The strong wind gusts also blew over many trees. With the torrential amounts of rainfall that came through the area, flooding came through shortly after throughout areas in Texas, Louisiana and Florida.

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.

Hurricanes are among one of the most damaging forces of nature that exist in regards to a natural disaster occurring. Also, these tropical storms have potential wind speeds of over eighty miles per hour, and large amounts of rain. Hurricanes have the potential to demolish large amounts of territory. A number of safeguards have been taken long-ago, and also looking forward to the present time, even though you never really know what to expect from Mother Nature. While, some well-being measures have been taken into consideration not all precautions are reliable in regards to mother nature. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina swept into New Orleans, which is a city in the state of Louisiana, on the US Gulf Coast. New Orleans is a city known largely for its culture involving such things as Mardi Gras, Jazz, Art, and even the culinary dishes of exotic foods prepared just to name a few things. It is no secret that the city of New Orleans has faced adversity before when it comes to natural disasters. Furthermore it has been documented that during the past century hurricanes have flooded New Orleans at least five times: in 1915, 1940, 1947, and 1965. Consequently New Orleans has always been at risk, though due to its geographical location being that it is utterly bounded by mass amounts of water. Engineers created a system of levees and barricades with the hopes of trying to keep the city from flooding as they stretched levees and barricades along the Mississippi river, and

"Four years after Katrina, a mix of progress and inertia." USA Today, 28 Aug. 2009, p. 06A. Global Issues in Context, ezp.gvltec.edu:2048/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A206816088/GIC?u=gvltec_main&xid=a646acc3. Accessed 1 Nov. 2017.Summary: In this article it puts into perspective the risk of living near the coast. That is the reason insurance near the coast is so expensive. This is because in the event of a hurricane you could lose your house. The insurance companies will be more in the hole than the house owners because of their low premiums with a large return. The article also addresses how much more prepared we are now for a massive hurricane. One of the ways is we are upgrading our flood control systems, to prevent

Have you ever witness a hurricane or been in one well, I got some safety tips on how to survive and protect you and your family so don't worry.

Hurricane Katrina is the unforgettable pain of American. In April 2005, a fifth hurricane caused serious damage in New Orleans. The city was full of dead bodies, some were found in the attic of the house, some were found soaked in foul water. The economic losses caused by Hurricane Katrina had estimated to at least seventy-five billion dollars, and it became the most damaging hurricane in the United State history. According to National Center for Biotechnology Information, there were “971 Katrina-related deaths in Louisiana and 15 deaths among Katrina evacuees in other states”; and according to livescience.com, “An estimated 1,836 people died in the hurricane and the flooding that followed in late August 2005.” Hurricane Katrina has the largest number of deaths of the US hurricane besides the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane.

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.

Earth existed as an ecosystem in equilibrium for millions of years, with only short periods of disturbance due to natural disasters like volcanic eruptions or asteroid impacts. Since the industrial revolution starting in the 1760’s, there has been a massive population increase and humanity has become a global force of change. By pursuing the fundamentals of life, like acquiring necessities such as food and water, humans have inadvertently changed much of the planet. Many of humanity’s actions have gravely disrupted the balance of Earth’s equilibrium; by looking at the environmental impacts of human demands on water, food and energy, we can understand the impacts of human actions.