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• term paper: disaster recovery plan
• term paper: disaster recovery plan
Executive summary disaster recovery options
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Imagine that a family is sitting at home watching a calm game of baseball, when suddenly they realize that a massive wall of water is approaching the neighborhood. Where did this flash flood come from, a reader might ask? The wall of water was made by the raging winds and immense power of Hurricane Andrew. Hurricane Andrew was the second most expensive storm in history that destroyed over 250,000 homes in the states of Florida and Louisiana alone. Hurricane Andrew was not predicted to make landfall, so when it did many civilians did not have any ideas that the Hurricane was coming until it was almost too late. Hurricane Andrew also caused many short and long term effects in the ecosystem and local economies.
Leading up to this storm, many prominent scientists believed that the hurricane would never make landfall, or if it did hit, would not cause any major damage. Due to this foolhardy belief held by the scientists, many civilians did not have any time to evacuate their homes and barely escaped with their loved ones and whatever small valuables or keepsakes they could grab. Regretfully, many families had to leave everything they had behind. Hurricane Andrew also damaged the livelihood of many small shop owners or farms and caused long term problems as well. Due to the large flooding and high wind speeds, much of southern Florida was left in ruin and many years were spent trying to clean the rubble and restore buildings. Hurricane Andrew also destroyed many precious ecosystems on top of all of that.
Leading up to the hurricane, many scientists expected the storm to dissipate over the ocean and cause little to no harm (Rappaport). The scientists were relying on faulty equipment that said that due to slow air speed and l...
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Once there was, as never before, a hurricane of great might and strength. As never before, there once was a hurricane of many names: storm, cyclone, tempest, typhoon, and flood. Yet it has lived on in history as the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900. Humanity has glorified and immortalized the hurricane. The Great Galveston Hurricane has been the subject of numerous articles, novels, plays, and poems, as well as four major nonfiction studies (Longshore). It is truly one of hurricane lore’s greatest of storms.
In 1992, hurricane Andrew was a category four hurricane and said to be one of the worst natural disasters to happen in the United States at the time. It’s winds surpassed 160 miles per hour and caused damage to over 125,000 homes within 400 square miles. Hurricane Andrew left approximately 175,000 families and children temporarily homeless.
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.
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
At an immense price to living and possessions, Hurricane Andrew unpredictably fortified to a Category 5 hurricane while it landed in southeastern Florida right after an eyewall replacement cycle
Hurricane Katrina had a huge impact on the world and more specifically, New Orleans for there was substantial damage to the citizens property and more importantly their body and minds. The biggest impact Hurricane Katrina has was on the people of New Orleans. Having their homes destroyed or uninhabitable, thousands of New Orleans residents were forced to flee in the Superdome and t...
A hurricane is easily the most powerful storm that mother-nature can throw at us. Every year people who live on the coasts fight hurricanes with no dismay. A hurricane is simply too strong. Their winds reach speeds of 75 mph. The winds around the eye wall can reach 130 to 150 mph. They are 200 to 300 miles in diameter. The number of casualties is endless, as well as the widespread destruction that takes millions of dollars to repair. Even if the hurricane doesn’t cause a lot of damage, the storm surge will. Storm surge is the great tidal waves that crash into our coasts and make huge floods that are caused by hurricanes.
Zimmermann, Kim A. "Hurricane Katrina: Facts, Damage and Aftermath." Live Science. N.p., 20 Aug. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
Katrina’s high-speed winds ripped roofs off of homes, knocked trees down into homes, and lifted homes from sturdy foundations. One example of how damaging the high winds were being that a casino in Biloxi was torn from its foundation and carried for two miles. For example, not only were homes ruined from high-speed winds but some were also ruined by water damage. Many people whose homes were ruined by flooding didn’t even have flood insurance. For example, my mother’s friend spent seven years working two jobs to be able to afford a place for her and her two children to live since her insurance didn’t cover flooding. Also, for those people who did have insurance, they had to live in Katrina cottages for several years’ before they were able to get a new house or damages
One of the major problems was the flooding. Water submerged mostly everything that people owned including their homes and businesses. This led to another major problem, millions left homeless. People were forced to evacuate their homes because it was not safe and even after the hurricane was over they were not able to go back. Those who were fortunate enough to be in their homes, still had to face the problem of major power outages. Economic suffering also took place. The government had to spend lots of money so that they can restore the damaged areas such as New Orleans. Money and effort went towards ridding access water, rebuilding homes, businesses, and helping people get back on track after this devastating time. Furthermore, many people began to worry about medical problems that might arise. In New Orleans, the flooding had brought all new types of bacteria. The people could not defend themselves because medical centers were all destroyed. There was also concern about outbreaks of West Nile, mold, and endotoxin levels rising. In addition, much of the food and water of New Orleans was contaminated and the people had to be very
According to “Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (HHSH), Ivan is classified as a category 5 Storm. The Cayman Islands were well prepared when comparing it to other countries hit by the storm. “Classical long lives Cape Verde Hurricane” i...
Three major hurricanes we will be focusing on are Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Katrina, and Hurricane Sandy. Hurricane Andrew was the result of a tropical wave that moved off the western cost of Africa. On August 22, 1992, Andrew became a hurricane and the next day was categorized at a 4. The hurricane weakened as it passed over the Bahamas but then intensified as it moved over the Gulfstream on the way to Florida. Hurricane Andrew hit Dade County on August 24th as Category 5. Andrew then moved into south-central Louisiana as a weakened Category 3.
Hurricanes are destructive and dangerous forces of nature that exist because of a long process involving heat, wind, and vapor. When sea water heats, it creates vapor that rises in the atmosphere as time passes. These vapors become strong winds and are classified as a hurricane when they are greater than seventy-four miles per hour (Emily, Helen, and Mohamed). According to John Roach of National Geographic, these conditions have occurred very frequently since 1995 due to an increase in the temperature of the ocean, which created more vapor, heavy rainfall, and serious hurricanes. This increase in temperature caused the dangerous floods of Hurricane Irene in 2011 and the deaths of more than eleven thousand people in 1998 due to Hurricane Mitch (Cimons and Landsea). We plan to investigate the impact of floods and storm surges on coastal areas and cities caused by these high water temperatures and the currently proposed and partially effective solutions used to slow hurricane waves and prevent floods.
Beginning as nothing more than a tropical wave off the western coast of Africa, no one ever expected a monster like Hurricane Andrew to plow through the southern half of the united States, leaving everything in it’s trail destroyed and the people devastated. Andrew was officially recognized as a tropical storm on August 17, 1992 and continued to whirl through the Atlantic, gaining speed and a great deal of power. On August 22, 1992 Andrew finally mustered enough strength to evolve into a terrifying category four hurricane. On August 23, 1992 Andrew began claimed three lives of innocent Bahamian citizens, rushing through the island at one-hundred and fifty. The next morning Andrew finally touch-downed near Homestead causing a wave of panic to ripple throughout Florida, Texas, and Louisiana and the citizens to evacuate by the thousands and take cover.