Almost every year a hurricane blast through Florida and takes its toll on the business, industry and affects the lives and dollars of the company and its workers. One can ask themselves, "How do we prevent this from happening again?" This is usually what businesses and persons affected by a hurricane ask each other. What about a hospital? How would a hospital prepare for a hurricane? To complicate things more, how would a hospital prepare for a hurricane if the hospital is to operate 24 hours a day? This is the question that Pierre, Keith, Carol, Getta and James have proposed. In order to address this type of question our group had to conduct research. We had to develop a research process. We decided to use the management-research hierarchy model as a basis for our research. The initial research that was conducted was informational. The informational research was to find out how other hospitals react to a hurricane. The problem with this type of search was that a hospital will not have a specific hurricane plan. We had to change our informational outlook. In other words we expanded our search category. A hurricane is considered a disaster. To be specific it is a natural disaster. So we all searched, "How a hospital prepares for a natural disaster". Bingo, we found numerous resources concerning hospitals and how they prepare for these types of incidents. The fist article was titled, "Hospital Disaster Preparedness: Meeting a Requirement or Preparing for the Worst?"(Paul V. Richter [PVR], 1997). This article explained in detail a hospital plan for disaster in West Columbia, SC. The article was written as a basic manual for all hospitals to follow. It was submitted to South Carolina Hospital Association as a guide. Many things are explained in this article. It explained in detail how the different departments within a medical facility should handle disastrous situations. Next we need to find out specific data concerning hurricanes. Hurricanes cause major disaster to the area that they occur every year. Researching on the internet we found a website that explained the years that hurricanes occur and to what extent the hurricane caused destruction. The article was titled, "ALTERED BUILDING CLASSIFICATIONS FOR A HURRICANE LOSS ESTIMATION MODEL", (Makola M. Abdullah, Shealy C. Gross, Terri R. Norton, G. Dale Wesson [MMASCGTRNGDW], 2005). This article was designed with data in mind it described in detailed charts and graphs how buildings are prepared and built to withstand hurricanes.
New Orleans, Louisiana lies at the second lowest elevation among major cities in the United States. It is a city surrounded by water, making it almost like an island. To counter this dangerous combination of the low elevation along with the lakes, rivers and swamps surrounding it, the Army Corps of Engineers built a series of levees around the city to foster its protection. It is these very same levees however that might doom the city should a Category 3 hurricane ever hit. Our statistical analyses examined the current belief that there is a 39% probability that New Orleans will be hit by a major hurricane and based on the resulting Z-score, rejected that belief. We did find however that the probability, while not 39%, was still in the 30th percentile range, which should still be a major cause for concern among the leaders and residences of the city of New Orleans.
Both man-made and natural disasters are often devastating, resource draining and disruptive. Having a basic plan ready for these types of disaster events is key to the success of executing and implementing, as well as assessing the aftermath. There are many different ways to create an emergency operations plan (EOP) to encompass a natural and/or man-made disaster, including following the six stage planning process, collection of information, and identification of threats and hazards. The most important aspect of the US emergency management system in preparing for, mitigating, and responding to man-made and natural disasters is the creation, implementation and assessment of a community’s EOP.
Like Brown told CNN’s Larry King, “I must say, this storm is much bigger than anyone expected.” What should we have to know in case of an emergency, especially if you live in a hurricane evacuation zone. According to Live Science, you have to start with a hurricane plan with your family and find out your zone and local evacuation route. We have to keep in mind the hurricanes are very powerful tropical storms with heavy rains, strong winds and that a hurricane can damage buildings, cars, homes, etc. First of all, always have a hurricane survival kit, during hurricane warning and never ignore evacuation orders. Equally important, prepared your home with flood insurance, buy emergency supplies, plan for your pets, and don’t forget to search for resources for more information about hurricane planning. According to Erik Salna, “Everyone who lives in an area affected by hurricanes needs to take personal responsibility and accountability to be prepared… It has to become a way of life, something you naturally do.” In discussion of how to be prepared in case of a hurricane, one controversial issue has been the disaster of hurricane Katrina. On the one hand, we need to keep in mind that is up to us to try to be prepared in case of a hurricane warning. On the other hand, if you ignored evacuation orders you may regretted later on in life, don’t
Hurricane Harvey was one of the most devastating hurricanes to strike the United States in several years. Harvey resulted in over eighty fatalities and over 150 billion dollars in damages. This proves to be one of the most destructive hurricanes to be recorded. The overwhelming damage was caused by many different aspects; however, three of the greatest aspects are: varying weather patterns throughout the storm, the city structure of Houston, Texas, and the lack of evacuation. Each of these factors affected the city in a different way, but all resulted in a common outcome, devastation.
The category 3 storm changed the lives of the residence who lived there forever. The storm in combination with the fault of the man-made flood protection walls (levee’s) resulted in the death of at least 1,300 people (1). With nearly half the victims over the age of 74, deaths were caused by; drowning, injury/ trauma and heart conditions (2). Hurricane Katrina was one of the most costliest storms to land on American soil, costing around US$135 billion in damages (3). Although the number of deaths caused by Hurricane Katrina are not as high as other natural disasters, Katrina displaced a massive amount of people from their homes, around 85% of the population were displaced directly after the storm hit (6). Being one of the most devastating natural disasters to hit the United States, Hurricane Katrina impacted not only the residence of New Orleans by also many of the surrounding
On August 29, 2005, the third strongest and biggest hurricane ever recorded in American history hit the Gulf Coast at eight o’clock a.m. The interaction between a tropical depression and a tropical wave created a tropical storm later referred to as Hurricane Katrina (FAQS, 2013). Forming over the Bahamas, Hurricane Katrina gradually strengthened as it moved closer and closer to the Gulf of Mexico. Recorded on August 28th, 2005, Katrina jumped from a category three storm to a category five storm with maximum sustained winds up to 160 miles per hour. Although other hurricanes, such as Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Wilma, exceeded Katrina, this dominant storm was classified as the fourth most intense hurricane based its pressure capacity. Once Hurricane Katrina hit land, it was pronounced as a category four storm moving slowly. While people thought that the slow speed of this storm prevented trauma, records show that Katrina did more damage than any fast-moving storm could have ever achieved (Solanki, 2013). Katrina produced abundant debris. The debris was in such large quantity that if it was stacked together on a football field, the rubble would reach the elevation of ten and a half miles. The size of Katrina also caused 90,000 square miles to be affected. Once proclaimed a category three storm, Hurricane Katrina slowed to the speed of 155 miles per hour. At this point in time, Katrina proved to be the sixth most prevailing hurricane traced in history. (Solanki, 2013). Several different aspects of life were impacted by Hurricane Katrina such as availability of gasoline, economic issues, and the ability to have an adequate supply of drinking water (Solanki, 2013). Hurricane Katrina was a large storm ...
On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina forced its way into New Orleans, Louisiana with winds of more than 140 mph. This storm was a strong category three when it hit New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina destroyed homes, businesses, and factories from the high winds and flooding. The devastation that the city suffered was terrible; many people lost family members young and old and also their most prized possessions. Most of all it displaced families and caused an abundance of damage to properties. Due to the costly destruction that the city of New Orleans faced after Katrina, they must now find a way to alleviate the blighted properties from their environment and also face the challenges.
The literature search will include a review of plans, research journals, and reports found through internet and personal meetings with officials. These meetings will be with emergency planners on information about preplanned evacuation routes, notifications, warning alerts, command structure, policies and any other procedures already put in place. The purpose of the meetings will be to gather any documented information they can release. Information will be gathered in other Atlantic and Gulf coast cities that are
Hurricanes are powerful and destructive storms that involve great rain and wind. The United States of America has dealt with many hurricanes that have cost a great amount of damage. However, there is one hurricane that happened in 2005 that stands out among the others, Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst hurricanes to hit the United States, a category 5 on the Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Scale. An estimated 1836 people died because of the hurricane and the floodings that happened after (Zimmermann 1). Katrina initially beg...
I’ve been through earthquakes (1989), flooding, and fires in my area and the assistant from those offices has been immediate and effective. I would improve the preparedness at the citizen level. People need to be prepare on how to handle disasters and have a plan. We need to be aware of the hazards that can threaten jeopardize our communities’ welfare (FEMA, 2016). We have a very good emergency communication system which in case of a disaster it would display on all TVs the information and also can be listened on the radio. With the popularity of the smartphones, there are applications that can assist the warning system too. The plan that we design for our household should be in coordination with the community’s emergency
Hurricanes are one of the deadliest and most expensive natural disasters around. They are more common in areas of humid yet moist weather so they are very foreign to certain places. But to the places were hurricanes are the norm, the people take them extremely seriously because they kill people and ruin countless amounts of property. Hurricanes can attack and harm people in so many ways they can kill people, leave them homeless, it leaves children orphaned and disable them. On the west coast of the United States and other places hurricanes aren’t taken as seriously as other more common disasters, such as, earthquakes and volcanoes yet the hurricane can be a lot more damaging that both of those. Hurricanes are cyclones that develop over warm oceans and breed winds that blow yup to 74 miles per hour.
The clarity and applicability of the study findings rely heavily on a researcher’s ability to effectively identify, code and categorize themes and patterns unearthed in the data acquired. As a result, it is of the utmost importance to ensure that a researcher’s analytical skills be strong. Researchers must document and report all analytic processes wholly and honestly so that the findings can be evaluated for credibility or replicated in the future by other scholars. In order to analyze the vast amount of qualitative data generated from the interviews, grounded theory will be employed to analyze the textual data. According to Bhattacharjee (2012), grounded theory is “an inductive technique of interpreting recorded data about a social phenomenon to build
In order to prepare for a disaster, there are some specific steps that need to be taken to ensure that the least amount of preventable damage and distress is caused. This type of preparation is typically referred to as a disaster plan. In module one, we learned the different components of a disaster plan and why they are all necessary in order to handle a disaster in the best measurable manner. We also learned that when disaster plans are not implemented fully and accurately, how detrimental the outcome can be as the tsunami in 2004 exemplified.
Taher, R. (2011). General recommendations for improved building practices in earthquake and hurricane prone areas. San Francisco, CA: Architecture for Humanity Retrieved from
Hurricanes occur all over the world, at different times, but commonly through June first and late November. However in late August 2005 a catastrophic hurricane struck. This was Hurricane Katrina. With winds traveling over one hundred miles per hour making it a category five on the Saffir- Simpson Hurricane Scale it was said to have cause billions of dollars’ worth of damage. Hurricane Katrina flooded nearly forty thousand homes, and killed at least two thousand people (“Hurricane”). An average category five hurricane has enough energy to power street lamps for more than twenty seven thousand hours (Williams 58). Knowing about Hurricane Katrina, and the devastation of the city in New Orleans would be beneficial. Also, general information on hurricanes can help civilians and people of higher authority better understand and prepare for damage that could once hit their town and community. Because experts know the general information on these storms they can help explain to the public why and how Hurricane Katrina and other hurricanes occur. Hopefully, in the future civilians will know and use this information to their advantage against hurricanes.