The Texas Flooding

During the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, International Relief Teams sent over individuals and aid to help the Puerto Ricans have a time to heal. From a food standpoint, the organization was able to donate two twenty food shipping container of canned food, one forty-foot shipping container of canned meats and fish, and three forty-foot shipping containers of drinking water. With many individuals wondering where their next meal would come from, these provisions were definitely an answer to prayer. Two thousand heavy duty tarps were also sent over as means of shelter, giving people a roof over their heads and a place safer than the street to sleep. One thousand one hundred disaster health kits were distributed in addition to further medical assistance in the area. The International Relief Teams organization was able to address serious immediate concerns that were going on in the community. Equipping these people with basic necessities gives them the energy to rebuild their live from the destructions from Hurricane

I was talking with a co-worker this evening about my assignments for the week in my online classes. When I told her we were studying the intermontane west; she told me about a place in eastern Washington State called the scablands. I had never heard the term before, so naturally I was intrigued. Luckily for me the topic was covered in our book when discussing the Great Missoula Flood. The Great Missoula Flood was caused over a period of time during the last ice age when a massive dam buckled under the weight of the water that melted from the polar ice caps (Hardwick, Shelley & Holtgrieve.) The scablands are only a portion of the total area that is encompassed in the area affected by the Great Missoula Flood. According to HugeFloods.com “The

In august 2005, the State of Louisiana was hit with one of the most devastating natural disasters the United States has ever seen. New Orleans specifically was among the cities who felt the full force of Hurricane Katrina. While the storm itself was very powerful the damage wasn’t caused necessarily by the hurricane but by the failure in the levee system. According to Jennifer Trevedi, In the book, Encyclopedia of Disaster, Jennifer Trevedi describes the extent of the damage through breaches of the levee. Trevedi says, the levees were breached in over fifty different spots flooding the St. Bernard and Plaquemine parish.

The American Red Cross is a nonprofit humanitarian organization (501(c) (3) Public Charity) that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and health or disaster related education in the United States of America. This organization operates to provide care and assistance to those in need. Its main goal is to create a network of people who share a compassionate mission to prevent and relieve suffering to those who are local to the U.S. as well as worldwide through five important categories. The five categories are disaster relief, supporting America’s military families, lifesaving blood, international services, and health and safety services. Through disaster relief, the Red Cross responds to various types of emergencies that range from house fires to earthquakes that affect thousands of people each year. The Red Cross is not affiliated as a

On August 29th of 2005, a category 3 hurricane, dubbed Hurricane Katrina, hit the Gulf Coast of the United States. It brought winds of 100 to 140 miles per hour, and stretched more than 400 miles across. New Orleans had its first mandatory evacuation ordered the day before, while listing the Superdome as a shelter for those who couldn’t leave town. More than 70 percent evacuated, while the rest stayed at their homes, or took to shelters, to wait out the storm. The aftermath of Katrina was felt in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi, but New Orleans was affected the most by far. In the end, more than 2000 were either seriously injured or killed, while those who survived were very short on food, water, first aid, and had very few areas for shelter. A large reason the storm was so devastating was the fact that the storm was able to cover almost 80 percent of the entire city under a large amount of water. Before the storm hit, the city used levee systems and flood walls to protect itself from being flooded. During the storm, however, many failures in the levee system caused close to 80 percent of the flooding covering the city and the nearby parish. Many know that the levee system failed but few in the public know that the major reason it had failed was because of the incomplete design. The disaster

As we’re trying to move from relief to recovery and rebuilding, it’s nearly imperative that we look back to unveil why this widespread flooding occurred in the first place. If we trace back to the research of engineers in the 1990’s, it was recorded that the reservoir system was inadequate and endangered thousands of lives and properties (Thompson). Arthur Storey, Harris County’s Flood Director in 1996, coins the wreckage that lies before us as “a massive governmental and engineering failure” (Thompson). Research suggests that we foresaw the potential damage, yet failed to invest in modern development

Hurricane Harvey left many people in despair. Houston is flooded and people have to stay on roofs and in boots. The mayor told the residents of Houston not to leave, which is wrong because lots of them could have died. The Federal emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is a group that helps these natural causes. Donald Trump tweeted about going to Texas and visiting but he’s not doing anything about it. Hurricane Harvey has been the fiercest Hurricane after Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Harvey hit Texas on Friday night and it kept raining all weekend. On Saturday Hurricane Harvey weakened and the hurricane became a tropical storm.

(Ref. 4) On April 28, 2009 Houston, TX experience yet another flood and it was caused by the aftermath of a Tornado. People, houses, vehicles and roads were affected. Many people had to rescued and cars along with ambulances were submerged under water. Highways were forced to be closed and people were captured canoeing or walking to get to places due to high waters in the area. In just 24 hours about nine inches of rain were being reported in areas in Houston.

With that said, the American Red Cross responded to 70,000 disasters in 2013 (“Last Year’s Disasters: The American Red Cross Response”). While not being a very big number, it still shows that the Red Cross uses its donation money to support victims. On that very subject, to further support Superstorm Sandy victims, the American Red Cross gave back some of that money, and by some, they mean 74 million dollars according to the “Last Year’s Disasters: The American Red Cross Response” YouTube video. Which is more than giving back, it is simply a part of their appeal to those in need. In an interview with John Bavendam, a victim of a tree falling on his house, he said in reply to the query of “Based on the American Red Cross providing medical aid, shelter, and food, would they have been able to help you?” He replied with “Yes they would have provided ‘better’ shelter than a run-down home especially when it feels like you’re dying.” This provides an idea as to what the Red Cross would be able to do for this young man. In 2013, the American Red Cross provided over 24,000 overnight stays, and even more so in 2015 with over 34,000 overnight stays according to statistics from 2015. Furthermore the American Red Cross helped over 19,000 households recover from natural disasters. Which would have been helpful for John, given this question and answer: “What disaster occurred in your life that the Red Cross would have responded to?” “During a windstorm, a tree fell on my home, collapsing the roof and causing insulation to flood into my room.” The American Red Cross is all about making sure people recover, as stated on their own website, they claim that they aspire to turn compassion into strength and with that strength they can help people recover from natural disasters across the United States, so that they can receive care, shelter, and

Texas has received record amounts of rainfall, causing serious flooding all throughout the state of Texas. According to an article published on June 3rd, Houston is looking at an economic impact of roughly 550 million dollars. This interests me greatly because I live in Texas, and seeing prices going up, especially on local produces, is something that will directly impact me. Because of the record rain falls, local farmers are especially in a world of hurt as their crops were destroyed by the rain. For local farmers markets, and local grocery stores that support local farmers, I think you'll start to see a raise in prices as the farmers will be having to make up their margins somewhere. Also, I think you'll start to see Texas lean on other

In 2011 Texas entered into a drought that was the worst the state had seen since modern record keeping began 1895. During the driest months of this drought, the water level of two of the largest water resources for two-thirds of the state were measured at 28 percent less than the average water level. In summer of 2013 central Texas received numerous rains, and many people believed it was a sign that the drought had eased, Unfortunately Texas was far from out of the drought. Today Texas water levels barley sit above one-third full. This is a big problem for Texans everywhere because, Texas uses water for everything from its drinking water, to its agriculture, to its recreational activities. According to the TWDB by 2060 the drought will have cost Texas $116 billion dollars in income loses, 1.1 million job losses, and a decrease in population of about 1.4 million people.

On the same note, the group provided relief when the 35-W bridge collapsed in Minnesota. It helped, this past year, to rebuild houses that fell victim to California wildfires too. Post disaster aid comes in many forms. Food relief, site clean up, site repair, blood donations, blood transfusions and other types of medical aid are some of the forms of relief. Although, disaster reliefs and blood donations are crucial in our society today; this is not the only type of service the Red Cross provides for us.

On August 12th, 2016, the southern part of Louisiana was flooded do to massive rain fall. I feel this is a big topic that should be talked about because of the eye opening things that have happened such as damage and the record breaking water levels recorded. This stuff really should be talked about but isn’t.

Hurricane Katrina will forever remain as one of the most devastating natural disasters to have taken place on American soil. On August 27th, 2005, more than a day before Katrina made its way to New Orleans, President Bush, at the request of Louisiana state Governor Kathleen declared a state of emergency to both Louisiana and Mississippi. In doing so, these areas were considered major disaster areas that the federal government would concentrate most of its resources. Despite a declared emergency and the need to evacuate the city immediately, many residents decided to stay in their homes and shelter in place for various reasons, while others left the city as suggested or seek refuge at the state’s designated last resort shelter, The Superdome.

Along with victims of disaster, the organization sponsors members of the U.S. Armed Forced and the families of the people serving our country. Along with the giving site for disaster relief the American Red Cross also provides comfort kits for 50 dollars that will support wounded members of the military. The comfort kit will include a phone card, robe, shower shoes, toiletries, and an MP3 music gift card. The organization also rely emergency communications to members of the military from their families. With the members of the military being able to communicate with their family in times of need comforts the member because they feel they are still connected to home. During difficult times, the American Red Cross