“What happened in Samar - Leyte is not a game. There are no two sides but the whole of humanity. There are no winners and losers, we all either win or lose in the future we make for ourselves.” (Yeb Sano). On November 8, 2013, Super Typhoon Yolanda, also known as Haiyan is considered as one of the strongest tropical storms ever (World Vision, 2013), hit the Philippines, particularly Tacloban, Leyte and parts of Samar. It is the deadliest Philippine typhoon on record and also the strongest storm recorded at landfall. Images of houses was damaged, large trees were uprooted, and swelling waves caused by storm surges towering as high as 16 feet have occupied international and local headlines. An estimated 25 million people was affected, 10 million of them are children, almost 6,200 unfortunately died, and many of them were displaced (World Vision, 2013). The United Nations said that it will take several years before the affected areas could fully recover. Secretary General of UN, Ban Ki – moon said that the Philippine Government is facing a huge statistical challenge in carrying out its ...
... the catastrophic event into an opportunity for the future. Even though the tsunami of December 2004 ended in a huge death toll, ongoing trauma and homelessness of millions of Asians, still they can recuperate from this entire horrific event. If any good at all is to come from this adversity on a human scale, it will certainly be considered by the compassion and generosity that the world reveals to the survivors. I must admit that I find very difficult to let it sink in my brain the fact that it can happen to all of us anywhere and any time around the globe. It might not be a tsunami that these citizens have experienced, but there are other natural disasters we can stumble upon as well. Surely, it has been a great experience for me to write this paper and to discover the truth about the tsunami and the total effects of what these people have to deal with.
On August 24th, 1992 in the state of Florida, complete destruction was the end result of Hurricane Andrew. A Hurricane that began in the Atlantic ocean at 20mph. That is almost twice the strength that normal hurricanes begin at. The peak strength of Hurricane Andrew was so strong that devices were not able to measure the winds. An approximation of the force of the winds was said to be up to 200mph. Andrew destroyed about 28,000 homes, damaged 100,000 homes and left 250,000 people homeless along with 30 billion dollars in damage and almost 30 deaths. Hurricane Andrew did not end its devastation in Florida, soon it went to Louisiana causing more damage. (Fig.1)
Disasters are often followed by reports of damages to the built environment—the cost of buildings, roads, bridges, electricity lines, stores, schools and hospitals. These of course follow the death toll and economic and social impacts of citizen’s lives. It was not different from Hurricane Ike, whose 20-foot surge left one of the biggest damage ever. The stories of how it impacted other things for the benefit do not make much of the well-known history. For Gene Straatmeyer, a resident of Bolivar Peninsula— which was most hit by the storm, the story is not just about how destructive it was.
Natural disaster can be traumatic events that have a huge impact on the mental health of communities often resulting in an increase in mental health needs that don’t get met. In 2005, one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. History, Hurricane Katrina, hit the states of Louisiana and Mississippi affecting 90,000 square miles. In addition to the 2000 people killed and million displaced as a result of the Hurricane, a significant number of people, according to multiple studies, suffered and continue to suffer from mental health issues including stress, anxiety, depression and PTSD. After the Hurricane, communities were both physically and emotionally devastated leaving individuals without loved ones, homes, belongings or jobs (Rhodes, J., Chan, C., Paxson, C., Rouse, C. E., Waters, M. and Fussell, E., 2010. p. 238). The Gulf Coast, whose mental health system had been obliterated by the Hurricane, was in desperation of mental health services in order to prevent chaos and initiate recovery immediately. The U.S. government did not provide sufficient services; thus, illustrating how the affected communities’ mental health needs weren’t being met and continue to not be met today. The survivors of Hurricane Katrina did not receive sufficient mental health services due to lack of government action and lack of programs with the capacity to assist large numbers of people which resulted in the individuals and communities affected to endure homelessness, poverty, and mental health issues even till this day.
Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating tragedies to ever hit North America. It claimed the lives of over 900 people from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Unfortunately, that is not why a majority of people in America remember. As many know, these three states in the heart of the Deep South represent some of the poorest in the country. After the storm, the government was disgracefully slow to respond to the cause. Health care was in an overwhelming shortage. Depending on where people lived, determined their chances for survival. Race and class are believed to be the main factors in determined who was put at the top of the priority list. The purpose of this essay to explain how these factors contributed to the pitiful response
Apartments, townhouses, business, local stores, schools and much more were completely underwater. The sun was shining bright but the darkness stayed a little longer. "The word catastrophic does not appropriately describe what we're facing," said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who represents much of Houston. "We just don't know when it's going to end." (Griggs). By now most of the country knew the damages that were left by the hurricane, starting a movement to aid those in all the counties that lost so much in so little time. Millions of dollars were raised by many organizations and every state lend a helping hand, our neighbors became our brothers and a whole country came together for one
Hurricane Harvey has put numerous lives in jeopardy as it continues to rage across Houston and the surrounding areas. Harvey has had major repercussions that are going to affect both the present and future. Those affected by Harvey are currently battling flooding, watching convention centers open, and seeing the release of water from reservoirs are all impacts Hurricane Harvey, one of the largest storm systems to ever hit Texas has uprooted thousands of lives and caused mass terror to those directly and indirectly affected.
Sparks, Amelia. "Responding to the Southeast Asian Tsunami." Peace Corps. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.
In conclusion, hurricane Sandy was unlike any other hurricane. Its large size, intensity and unusual path made it a force to be reckoned with. Although its rainfall measurements and wind speeds weren’t that high compared to some other hurricanes, the storm still managed to significantly disrupt the country’s infrastructure and the cost of rebuilding and repairing affected areas was billions. Understanding the causes, characteristics and impacts of such natural disasters is one way we learn to prepare for such events before and rebuild our communities
The catastrophic event of Hurricane Maria caused Puerto Rico to be in great danger and tragedy. It will take a very long time for the island to recover. They are dependent on the help that their fellow citizens that are on the mainland can give them. On a micro level, education in school and work can prepare people in knowing how to survive a natural disaster. Classes could be designed to have people understand the various ways for them to not only know how to help them themselves but other states or territories.
Having investigated the case studies of two natural disasters, Hurricane Katrina & Typhoon Haiyan, I have noticed that MEDCs and LEDCs respond much differently to a certain situation. Katrina and Haiyan both happened in countries with contrasting levels of economic development, therefore reacting much differently to the circumstances. In this essay, I will be discussing the various reasons to why LEDCs and MEDCs behave in such a contradictory manner.
Governments, the private sector, Non Governmental Organizations and Community Organizations play vital roles in recovery. The essence of a recovery effort is the resources captures to assist, the capability of assistance and other best practices for recovering from a disaster. Rubin and Popkin, (1990) in their report entitled Disaster Recovery after hurricane Hugo in South Carolina thoroughly outline many challenges to which organization and other bodies had face in Hurricane Hugo’s recovery effort. These inefficiencies cause a spiral of increase lost of life, property and livelihood for hundreds of people to which the hurricane affected.
Natural Disasters can occur anywhere at anytime. Some are more predictable than others, but they all bring hardship to everyone’s life. Examples of natural disasters are Earthquakes (Haiti 2010), Tornadoes, Tsunami, Hurricanes, Wild Fires, Winter Storms, Heat waves, Mudslides and Floods. Regardless of what kind of disaster occurs, bottom line, everyone needs to be prepared mentally and physically to deal with the aftermath. Education is the first step to prepare you to deal with any major disaster. Three of the major disasters that can potentially disrupt normal day to day operations in our lives, are Hurricanes, Tsunamis and Tornadoes.
On November 12th, 1970, the deadliest cyclone in the history of Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, struck around the northwest shores of the Bay of Bengal. East Pakistan was undergoing widespread poverty at the time, leading to a wide range of uncertainty in the death toll of the cyclone (Encyclopedia 501). Tensions between East and West Pakistan were at large at the time, leading West Pakistan to be disinclined to assisting East Pakistan in recovering from the storm (History 4). This became a factor to the national mutilation of East Pakistan (Geol 1). This calamity is by no means the strongest storm in history. The storm merely struck the worst possible place at the worst possible time (Disaster 172). Due to this, Bhola is frequently recognized as the most devastating tropical storm in history (International 5).
A Study of the Changes in Natural Disasters due to the Effects of Climate Change in the Republic of the Philippines