The Natural Disasters Of The United States

During our week in New Orleans, we will have excellent opportunities to learn about different cultures, the effects of natural disasters, and reasons as to why New Orleans is facing poverty and economic distress through our volunteer work with Project Homecoming, 1 in 5 homes in New Orleans is still blighted, 10 years after Katrina. New Orleans still has a high rate of blighted (abandoned) homes. We will be helping to rebuild homes, but we will also be helping to improve the surrounding community spaces such as there local gardens.

Natural disasters often occur in the extreme climate in the American Prairie. Some examples of these are Tornadoes, Hail Storms, and Heat Waves. These natural disasters are the most that occur in the American Prairie, but at different times of the year. One example is the Dallas hailstorm of 2012. Baseball-sized hail stones destructed the northern part of Texas as part of a series of several strong thunderstorms. Hailstorms like this usually take place in the American Prairie’s cold winters. Another example, is the deadliest tornado to ever hit Oklahoma, the Woodward Tornado of 1947. This was 1.8 miles wide, killed over 100 people, and destroyed about 1,000 building structures. It was rated as an F5 on the Fujita Tornado Scale, and flew at

Why was the Louisiana National Guard unable to help? The headquarters were flooded also by Katrina

A government, by definition, is the governing body of a nation, state, or community. Those that work within the government conduct the policy, actions, and affairs of a state, organization, or people. By the United States government is divided into three branches, executive, judicial, and legislative, much every aspect of governing the nation falls under that umbrella. Since the forming of the United States government in 1789, those who govern the country have been held accountable for all actions that go on within the nation. Within this constitutional republic, when the nation faces a crisis of any kind, epidemic, pandemic, or act of terrorism, there is usually a call for government intervention. There’s even governments set up at the state and local level in the form of governors, mayors, local and state law enforcement, etc. Very rarely are all parts of the U.S. national government forced to work hand-in-hand. Yet, on April 15, 2013, a very rare occasion had occurred, an act of foreign terrorism on U.S. soil, the Boston Bombings.

Citizens of America seek thrill and excitement. Whether this is in the form of concerts or snorkeling in the waters off the coast of Hawaii. However, others choose to go to the extreme and participate in the utmost endeavours. These thrill seekers may go through intense training before taking place in these activities. Accidents, although, do happen. Individuals cannot predict all that will transpire. People have a moral obligation to save others in need.

The article about the new ISIS video makes it clear that our government needs to have a plan of action prepared if the U.S. is attacked. They need to be in control even during extreme situations. The article about the State of Emergency in Ferguson is an example of the government trying to prevent people being hurt.

Residents of the Lone Star State are fond of saying that everything is bigger in Texas, from football teams to marching bands, farmers' markets to barbecue favorites. But a corollary to that oft-spoken refrain is everything is better in Texas as well. After all, the state was the second-most inbound location for families who moved in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and for eight consecutive years, Harris County maintained the distinction as the U.S. county with the most significant annual population growth.

Does anyone remember the Republican predictions of disaster during the last eight years? They warned us what could happen if Obama was elected President and if Congress was controlled by Democrats. Let me list my personal top ten:

Florida’s list of natural disasters ranges from floods to wildfires. The most notable natural disaster that impacts Florida are Hurricanes. Hurricanes are powerful storms that can cause intense winds and massive damaging floods. One of the most famous hurricane to hit Florida was Hurricane Andrew. Compact in size Hurricane Andrew devastated southern Dade and Monroe counties. David Hickcox notes that “Andrew’s damage path was quite narrow; it appeared that a tornado had struck, rather than a hurricane” (par 8). Andrew is one of two category five hurricanes to ever hit Florida with winds reaching 145 mph (Williams and Duedall 42). Hurricane Andrew impact was felt in many ways such as environmentally, economically, and socially in 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

The massive hurricane that decimated large areas of the southeastern coast originated as a small category 1 hurricane. The state and federal government received lots of criticism for their minimal preparation and their ineffectual evacuation procedures. The storm shed light on the role of the government in natural disasters and its need for serious evaluation.

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.

Natural disasters have never been an issue for me in the twenty years I have been living in Florida. There have always been the threats of dangerous hurricanes living near the coast, but I never took them seriously. I always thought " they're just little storms, what's the worst that could happen?". I was so naive to think that way.

This paper will discuss the differences between two different natural and man-made disasters. The disasters that will be discussed are Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Additionally, this paper will look into the specifics of what constitutes a natural and man-made disaster. Specifically, this paper will look into each disaster to include the events surrounding them; the risks; and the assessments. Furthermore, this paper will look at some of the details of each disaster and why there was so much devastation. Finally, this paper will look at a few similarities, but mainly the differences between the two, and how the effects of each still linger today.