The Calgary Flood of 2013 forced over 100 000 people out of their homes, caused the death of three people, and caused six billion dollars in damage. Numerous buildings had no electricity, roads were shut down, and residents were asked to limit their use of water. The Alberta Government states that it will take many years to repair all the damage and have everything to return back to its normal state (CBC News, 2013). Most of the recommendations that were made after the flood in 2005 were never acted on, leaving Calgary ill prepared for the 2013 flood (Paperny, 2013). Emergency management is a framework that emcompasses procedures to effectively deal with natural and human disasters (Stanhope, Lancaster, Jessup-Falcioni, & Viverais-Dresler, 2011). The initiatives in the framework illustrate the four stages of disaster management in Canada: prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Natural disasters, namely the 2013 Calgary Flood, impact the community as a whole, and incline nurses to apply expertise skills while utilizing all resources available to initiate the disaster management framework of prevention and mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery (Stanhope et al., 2011).
THE IMPACT
The 2013 Calgary flooding presents an issue for the local community, as well as has an impact provincially and federally. The local community was devastated by floodwaters leading to the relocation of thousands of people, submerging much of the lower bowl of the Calgary Saddledome, and lead to the mandatory evacuation of the downtown core (Kaszor, 2013). Provincially, debt-ridden Alberta paid one billion dollars to help repair the widespread damages (Borreson, 2013). Albertans contributed funds to organization...
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...preparation and warning could have stressed the imminent danger to the citizens in a more timely manner, thus resulting in less damages. The response itself was greatly executed, with utilization of community resources, effective aid, and shelter provided to citizens. The recovery is still ongoing, with constructive focus on remedying the soil and water contamination, the presence of mold in housing, and mental health of the affected individuals. Overall, the recovery has been a positive process with substantial community efforts, and assistance from the provincial and federal governments. Nurses remain an essential resource for disaster management. They can successfully apply their skills in each of the stages to help individuals and families cope with floods, as evidenced by the valuable nursing involvement in the 2013 Calgary Flood (Stanhope et al., 2011).
Case study: the flooding that occurred in Minden Hills in the spring of 2013, flooded the downtown core. The picturesque cottage town has the Gull River flowing through it. The river overflowed in April because of many reasons: a couple of days of rain, the third largest amount in over a century, but it also happened because the frost in the ground stopped the water from going into the Earth, the lakes and rivers being full from the spring thaw, and the rapid
The Midwestern United States has experienced flooding for a long time now, but recently the annual precipitation has been far greater than before. Precipitation has increased 37 percent since 1958 (Jeff Spross). However a few major floods have been recorded dating back to 1913. In 1913 torrential rainfall hit Indiana and Ohio. The ground was greatly damaged from the flood causing difficult agricultural years for many years after the flood. Another flood hit a large portion of the Midwest region including the eastern Dakotas, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Indiana in 1993. Recovery costs for the Great Flood exceeded $4.2 billion. Like the flood in 1913 agriculture was affected for many years hurting the economy of the Midwest. A more recent disastrous flood hit mainly Iowa in 2008. After the flood in 2008 agriculture again took a hard hit and since the government ...
Hurricane Katrina was considered as the worst hurricane in the history of United States. The winds and the rain were shattering people’s homes which collapsed and flooded. Thousands of people were suffering and dying. People were starving, and becoming dehydrated. Many people were left on the street and became homeless. After the hurricane, so many questions were left regarding the widespread damage and loss of loved ones. This devastating disaster destroyed the city of New Orleans and nearby cities and was estimated to cost $80 billion dollars in damage. State and local emergency in the affected area were struggling to perform urgent response missions such as emergency medical services, search and rescue, firefighting, giving food and water,
The Coast Guard, for instance, rescued some 34,000 people in New Orleans alone, and many ordinary citizens commandeered boats, offered food and shelter, and did whatever else they could to help their neighbors. Yet the government–particularly the federal government–seemed unprepared for the disaster. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) took days to establish operations in New Orleans, and even then did not seem to have a sound plan of action. Officials, even including President George W. Bush, seemed unaware of just how bad things were in New Orleans and elsewhere: how many people were stranded or missing; how many homes and businesses had been damaged; how much food, water and aid was needed. Katrina had left in her wake what one reporter called a “total disaster zone” where people were “getting absolutely
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.
Schmidt, C. K., Davis, J. M., Sanders, J. L., Chapman, L. A., Cisco, M. C., and Hady, A. R. (2011). Exploring Nursing Students’ Level of Preparedness for Disaster Response. Nursing Education Perspectives, 32(6), 380-383. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp-02.lirn.net/docview/920892622/fulltextPDF/F759D54F8924633PQ/1?accountid=158614
middle of paper ... ... The. “Hurricane Andrew: The Human Side of Recovery.” Disaster Recovery Journal, System Support Inc. 1 Sept. 2001. Web.
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
Katrina demolished more residential buildings than any other recent hurricane and ‘’Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne which in total, wrecked approximately 85,000 homes.’’ Hurricane Katrina also left ‘’many people homeless as more than 800,000 housing units were destroyed or damaged in the storm.’’ The storm dislocated beyond a million people in the Gulf Coast region. Even though residents have returned home, up to ‘’600,000 households were still displaced a month later.’’ The storm may have happened in 2006, but it still impacted the following year by 85 percent of public schools remaining
Floods that affected Memphis Tennessee have become a part of history, made devastating impacts, and have solutions. The floods in Memphis may not be a major chapter in history, but it has shaped the growth of Memphis. The impact leaves scars on many people and on others small scratches, but either way a very diminutive amount of people would wish for this misfortune. Several would rather have a solution to prevent floods from the river or an immense amount of rainfall. Society has experienced these floods almost yearly, but some have been more detrimental and hazardous, which could lead to a build-up of traumatic events landing that flood in history and impacting Memphis for years. Solutions to floods should be executed as soon as possible so no one will have to face the loss of something precious.
One issue facing my locality is constant, yearly flooding that disrupts much of Glenville and the entire county. The Mayor of Glenville, Dennis Fitzpatrick, mentioned in an interview with me that “almost every year major flooding occurs,” and as someone who has lived near Glenville my entire life, I have also noticed the major issue of flooding as well. In Glenville, almost every ten years there is a major flood event that disrupts businesses and schools, while leaving much of the town with a mess to clean up afterwards. This is a pricey burden for a small town, and one that puts more and more local business at the risk of closing permanently. Once, my grandmother had
Emergency management is a career about managing risk that are both technological and naturally occurring. Though these two terms are synonymous with each other in-terms of modern conceptualization of disasters; this has not always been the case. In the developmental history of emergency management these two sources of disaster; were often seen as two completely independent sources of danger, and as a result the emergency management community encountered steep and costly learning curve in managing the hazards associated with these sources risk.
Gordon, K., & Emerson, J. (2010). Governing through a disaster: Lessons from the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Retrieved from http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2010/08/07/206563/governing-through-a-disaster/
On early morning of August 29th, 2005 on the Gulf Shore near New Orleans, a devastating hurricane struck. It wrecked havoc, demolishing anything in its path. Leaving nothing but mounds of trash. The surviving people were forced to leave due to massive flooding and the destruction of their homes. New Orleans was not the only place hit by Katrina but it was one of the areas that was hit the hardest. Millions of people were affected by this tragedy and the cost range was up in the billions. Crime rates went up, no one had a place to stay and water was polluted. The damage done by Katrina affected New Orleans and the other areas hit years after it struck. Restoration for the areas hit was going to need support from all of America and support groups across the country. No one was ready for this tragedy or could ever predict the horrible outcome.
Hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and other naturally occurring disaster will come in surprise and will cause damage to infrastructure and loss of life. Even though many natural disasters are unpredictable, “it is possible to assess the circumstances that increase vulnerability to a natural disaster ahead of time and take steps to prevent complications” (Harkness and DeMarcus, 2016, p. 407). Coordination with community leaders and providers is essential to effective preparation and successful disaster response. In instances of catastrophic events, leaders are needed to direct people and ensure that everyone is safe and all areas are attended. Good coordination with community leader and providers will lead to better preparedness and easy