Introduction
When Hurricane Sandy hit shore in 2012 it left behind a path of debris and destruction that the coastal communities of New Jersey and New York were not adequately prepared for. Starting as a tropical cyclone in the Caribbean, Sandy made its way up the Atlantic coast before making a sharp turn for the densely populated northeast. Unlike other hurricanes in the region, Sandy maintained momentum as it moved north and met unusually warm waters that helped fuel the storm’s enormous power. It made landfall during a high tide that creating record storm surges, that resulted flooding and massive damage. On its journey, the the hurricane accumulated energy as it merged with a low-pressure system coming from the west. These conditions created the vicious weather system that dumped rain and snow across the region. The destruction costs were among the highest in history, and more than a year later, communities are still working to recover. To many, Sandy was a wake-up call, creating a new sense of urgency to make cities and neighborhoods resilient in the face of natural disasters. Storms are an inevitable part of living on the coast, but the need for long-term recovery and preparation for the future is growing due to the threat of climate change.
Climate Change and Sea Level Rise
While it is hard to directly connect Hurricane Sandy to global warming, it is clear that warmer waters and increased sea level contributed to the severity of the storm. Higher sea levels increase the chance that hurricane winds will bring more water on land and storm surges that reach further inland. The Atlantic region is already experiencing sea level rise, and globally this trend is expected to continue. Ocean temperatures are also on the rise, an...
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...ments. Geospatial technologies, such as LiDAR, can assist in mapping the flood vulnerability of particular areas. There is a wealth of information from the federal agencies, such as flood hazard maps developed by FEMA and sea level rise calculators. This information can also be used proactively to identify locations where restoration could be most effective and to discourage development in areas that still have their natural coastlines in tact. In some cases, structures can be updated to be more hurricane and flood proof by as using stronger materials and building at higher elevations. Buildings can also be designed to allow flooding to occur with minimal damage. Another alternative is to actually relocating people and buildings in the most high-risk areas. This will be exceedingly difficult as population increases and demand for coastal development is on the rise.
Royer, Jordan. “Hurricane Sandy and the importance of being FEMA”, Crosscut.com, Crosscut.com, Web. 1 Nov 2012, 3 May 2014.
In the late summer of 2005, a terrible tragedy occurred that changed the lives of many in the south-east region of the United States. A Category 3, named storm, named Hurricane Katrina, hit the Gulf Coast on the 29th of August and led to the death of 1,836 and millions of dollars’ worth of damage (Waple 2005). The majority of the damage occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana. Waple writes in her article that winds “gusted over 100 mph in New Orleans, just west of the eye” (Waple 2005). Not only was the majority of the damage due to the direct catastrophes of the storm but also city’s levees could no longer hold thus breaking and releasing great masses of water. Approximately, 80% of the city was submerged at sea level. Despite the vast amount of damage and danger all throughout the city, officials claimed that there was work being done to restore the city of New Orleans as a whole but many parts, and even the people, of the city were overlooked while areas of the city with higher economic value, and more tourist traffic, were prioritized along with those individuals.
Authorities at LSU's Hurricane Center and Water Resources Research Institute, and US Army Corps of Engineers lead a discussion of how Louisiana's coastal region is doomed to storm surges. A case in point is the deterioration of the Mississippi Delta, a triangular-shaped deposition of sediment, which works to mitigate flooding and damage caused by storm surges. In fact, every four miles of the delta could knock down a storm surge by one foot. Unfortunately, some areas of the delta like Port Fouchon are losing 40 to 50 feet of land per year. By 2090, experts at LSU have postulated that the delta will be gone - vulnerably leaving New Orleans on the sea. Aside from the delta, barrier islands and marshes are the only other two natural entities which could mitigate a storm surge. The barrier islands' black mangrove trees and the marshes' tall grasses interfere with incoming gulf currents. However, just like the Mississippi Delta, these natural entities are also eroding (Fischetti, 2001).
In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, leaving its signature of destruction form Louisiana all the way to Florida. The hardest hit area and the greatest catastrophe was in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. For many years the people of New Orleans had feared that one day a hurricane would drown their city with its storm surge. Katrina brought that nightmare storm surge and flooded the city. Yet the New Orleans levees system and flood control was the major cause of flooding, due to the inadequate repair and maintenance failure, incompletion of the levee system, and engineering designs based on outdated scientific data.
This may be a common trend in every large city if more hurricanes strike. Urban development in almost all cities in America has made flooding worse than it should be. The creation of buildings, asphalt, concrete, and other things have eliminated much of the grass in the cities, which will cause less rainwater to be absorbed into the ground. Although most major cities have rain drainage channels, Houston may not have had enough of them, which caused them to fill up with water. The water had nowhere to go except on the streets. The city of Houston avoided floodplains. The floodplains that were present in Houston were often ignored by construction companies. These companies chose to build houses on the floodplains. This is discussed in this quote by Sean Breslin, “In the months following Hurricane Harvey, Houstonians face an important decision: respect the floodplain and stop building homes wherever, or continue to ignore the lessons taught by countless flood events and build more homes in the most vulnerable areas of town” (Breslin n. pag). I feel that if the civilians and building companies in Houston would have respected the floodplains years earlier, fewer lives would have been lost in this hurricane. Coral reefs provide excellent coastline protection which slows the hurricane just before landfall. The death of coral reefs also could have played a large role in why the hurricane was so
Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters to happen in the United States. The storm resulted in more then US$100 billion in damage when the cities flood protection broke and 80% of the city was flooded (1). The protection failure was not the only cause for the massive flooding, the hurricanes clockwise rotation pulled water from north of New Orleans into the city. 330,000 homes were destroyed and 400,000 people from New Orleans were displaced, along with 13,00 killed (1). Although the population quickly recovered, the rate of recovery slowed down as the years went on leading us to believe not everyone
Hurricane Katrina left a devastating scar on the citizens of the southern coast of the U.S., especially New Orleans, Louisiana. The category 5 hurricane was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the most deadly. Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29th, 2005 and after that day, 66,000 people were displaced from their homes. Of those who decided to ride out the storm with hopes of success and survival as they had experienced with other storms, they were found on their rooftops, in their attics, hoping for boat or helicopter rescue, relying on others for help to survive. The storm had reached 28,000 square feet inward to Louisiana, which was 60 percent of the state. 1,100 Louisianans lost their lives, and 200,000 were displaced and/or lost their homes (Davis 8). It was a devastating time of despair and suffering. People were put through experiences that would scar them for a long time. While preparing for evacuation, people left most of their belongings at home to flee to a safer city or to find shelter in the Superdome and Convention Center. Some even decided to remain in their boarded up homes. After the hurricane had past, a few hours went by and a levee located near the Mississippi River canal broke leaving New Orleans flooded (Delisi). After the disaster, the state and federal governments were pointing fingers at each other as to who was to blame for the poorly planned evacuation and rescue efforts for the victims. The state government promised to help evacuate those who could not transport themselves. Citizens were told to go to the Superdome and convention center for evacuation, but the supplies needed for survi...
"Hurricane Sandy: One Year Later | FEMA.gov." Hurricane Sandy: One Year Later | FEMA.gov. N.p., 28 Oct. 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. .
Hurricane Maria was destructive and caused a large amount of damage to the entire island of Puerto Rico. Maria hit on September 20 and was a category four hurricane, nearly a category five. Hurricane Maria has had a tremendous impact on the lives of Puerto Ricans and even the world.
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...
These same tropical storms are known as cyclones in the northern Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, and as typhoons in the western Pacific Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean’s hurricane season points from mid-August to late October and averages five to six hurricanes each year. Hurricanes begin as tropical disturbances in warm ocean waters with temperatures of at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit. These low pressure systems are served by energy from the warm seas. If a storm reaches wind speeds of 38 miles an hour, it is known as a tropical depression. A tropical depression becomes a tropical storm, and is given a name, when its sustained wind speeds top 39 miles an hour. When a storm’s sustained wind speeds reach 74 miles an hour it becomes a hurricane and earns a category rating of 1 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Hurricanes are enormous heat engines that generate energy on a staggering scale. They draw heat from warm, moist ocean air and release it through condensation of water vapor in thunderstorms. A current hurricane that occurred was Big Sandy. FEMA became involved with the issue when the hurricane hit Rockaway, New York. President Obama declared a major disaster on October 30, 2012. According to what President Obama said, “We're going to have a lot of work to do. I don't want anybody to feel that somehow this is all going to get cleaned up overnight. We want to make sure that people have realistic expectations. You know, we go through tough times, but we bounce back. And the reason we bounce back is because we look out for one another and we don't leave anybody behind. And so my commitment to the people on this block, the people in this community, and the people of this state is that that same spirit will carry over all the way through until our work is done. In this country, we look out for one another.
Oil and gasoline prices snapped back to levels seen before Hurricane Harvey disrupted about a quarter of U.S. refining capacity, but another incoming storm could cut fuel demand and weigh on prices, analysts said on Tuesday.
Natural Disasters play a huge role in not only our everyday lives, but they play a role in the economy as well. Every single person has had their own experience with a natural disaster. Perhaps one of the more common ones such as fires, tornadoes, floods, and blizzards. Maybe you have even experienced an earthquake, volcanic eruption, or a tsunami before. These natural disasters take a huge toll on our economy, with all the damages these can cause, prices can jump higher than you can believe. Prices rise, jobs can drop, and many other terrible effects happen on our economy. But in some ways could they somehow bring a boost to a country’s economy?! Let’s take a look.
Climate change and rapid variations in weather patterns have put both developed and developing countries equally at an increased risk of occurring natural disasters (Polain, Berry and Hoskin, 2011). Polain et al (2011) explains, in the last decade alone, many countries have endured life threatening natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, tsunamis and closer to home here in Australia wild bushfires. With the amount of anticipated natural disasters only expected to increase, there is an urgent need to support the groups and individuals who are identified as being most vulnerable to natural disasters (Redwood and Abrahams, 2011). Redwood and Abrahams (2011) further explains that, mental health needs will continue to change and develop as counties evolve through the stages that follow a natural disaster. It is critical that the complex mental health needs are taken into considerations from a service perspective and become an integral component of disaster readiness, response, and recovery (Carol & Pfefferbaum, 2013). The complexity of social, environmental and psychological dynamics pre and post a natural disaster cannot be underestimated consequently the response of mental health care providers needs to be available so that treatment needs can be identified and initiated to those affected (Fernandes & Boehs, 2013).
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.