Floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States. In the United States, floods cause around six billion dollars, worth of damage in a year (National Geographic, 2015). Over the past ten years, the total cost in flood insurance claims has averaged around four billion dollars each year (“National Geographic”, 2015). Over the past five years, all 50 states have experienced floods or flash floods (National Geographic, 2015). Homes, buildings, and the community members are all at risk during a flooding. Typically, losses due to flooding are not covered under homeowner's and business insurance policies (National Geographic, 2015). Flooding both before and after can have a devastating impact on a community. In many cities, flooding …show more content…
Augustine, area there a few groups who may be at higher risk of being severely crippled after a flooding. St. Augustine has a five percent unemployment rate, while 15.8% are under the poverty line (“Poverty rate data”, 2013). Generally, low-income groups have less possibility of getting rapid and appropriate medical treatment if they are injured or fall ill as a result of flooding (“Understanding”, n.d.). Low-income groups also have the least resources on which to call when some disaster damages or destroys their housing (“Poverty rate data”, 2013). Often, low-income families have jobs that do not provide for health insurance or sick leaves (“Understanding,” …show more content…
The National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC) was created to deliver training and educational programs for natural disasters, especially for the poor (“About us”, n.d.). The NDPC program works collaboratively to develop and deliver training and education in the areas of disaster preparedness, response, and recovery (“About us”, n.d.). It also incorporates urban planning and environmental management, emphasizing community preparedness and addressing the needs of vulnerable at-risk populations (“About us”,
Floods can be a very dangerous natural disaster because a flood has the power to move cars, buildings, and cause massive damage to life and property. Even the small floods that are only 30 centimetres or so can do massive damage to houses and if the
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.
They found that various socio-demographic predictors of flood risk impact the difference across flood zone categories. The main residents in inland flood zones are non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic, while coastal flood zones have more higher median income and housing value residents. I considered the study a valuable reference for future flood hazard research and comprehensive public policy making. Social groups with higher vulnerability also tends to stay instead of moving away, for they do not have the affordability for moving to other neighborhood, giving up what they have and almost start from scratch. Thus, they are actually the group of people that suffers the most and paying the most towards natural events. It is also important for the government to create a official help system to improve their resilience.
Most of the destructions from the events of August 29th 2005, when Katrina Hit the City Of New Orleans, were not only caused by the storm itself; but also, by failure of the engineering of the levee system protecting the entire infrastructure of the city. The years of poor decision making and avoidance of the levee system led to one of the most catastrophic events in the history of the United States. Throughout our research, we have identified three key players in charge of the levee system design, construction and maintenance. These three organizations are the Unites States Corps of Engineers, the New Orleans Levee District and the Louisiana Department of Transportation. The consequences of the hurricane showed the organizations negligence in the design, construction and maintenance of the protective walls. Later independent sresearch showed that more than 50 levees and food walls failed during the passage of the hurricane. This failure caused the flooding of most of New Orleans and all of ST. Bernard Parish. The Unites States Corps of Engineers had been in charge of the of the levee system and flood walls construction since the 1936 flood act. According to the law, the Louisiana Department of Transportation is in charge to inspect the overall design and engineering practices implemented in the construction of the system. Once the levee systems were finished, they were handed over to the New Orleans Levee District for regular maintenance and periodically inspections. The uncoordinated actions of these three agencies resulted in the complete failure of a system that was supposed to protect the people of New Orleans. The evidence is clear that this catastrophic event did not happened by chance. The uncoordinated response of these...
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.
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.
When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans with its fierce intensity, the lives of its inhabitants was forever changed. The winds rose and the waves crashed upon the only security system this, below sea level, city had against the many water systems surrounding it. Most people think that the waves simply rose up over the banks and levees of the city; however, evidence proves this thought wrong. The actual reason New Orleans was flooded was due to poor engineering. According to experts, two thirds of the tragic flooding could have been prevented. Thousands of homes could have been saved if the engineers responsible for building New Orleans’s levees had followed regulatory guidelines.
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
Simonovic, S., Morris, M.,O. 1997. Assessment of Social Impact of Flooding for Use in Flood Management in the Red River Basin. International Joint Commission Red River Basin Task Force, 1-45.
Memphis Tennessee floodings are awful events, but some have left their mark in history, and have impacted society making many people search for solutions. Historical flooding events have dated back beyond 1927, but Memphis’s first calamitous flood was in 1927, then in 2011, but between those dates there have been street floods that happen without interacting with the river. Many important aspects of everyday life are lost during floods such as lives, homes, and money. People have been searching for solutions to prevent floods, and ideas that are executed well could easily become an ideal panacea. Memphis is where I have been raised and experienced several floods, which gives me a much stronger feeling about the history, impacts, and techniques to stop floods.
Some of the damage done by Hurricane Katrina could have potentially been avoided if protection systems were installed to the proper extents. In Louisiana, “some parts of the metro area continue to lack hurricane protection built to federal standards” (Webster). Had the greater Louisiana area been better protected, it is very likely that more people would have survived and the total cost of the storm been less. Even in areas where levees...
One of the biggest issues and concerns about flooding is the destruction and associated costs to fix the damage. In the spring flood of 2017 Quebec and Eastern Ontario were decimated and more than $223 million in insured damage as reported by the Insurance Bureau of Canada (Micnnis). Flooding can create destruction to our economy, and cause problems to main roads, highways, and bridges because they are submerged in water. If people need a way to evacuate quickly, they must leave at a reasonable time with a fairly large warning. If they cannot leave early they may be trapped because transportation is disturbed and exits are underwater. Not only the Roads will be damaged but, the rest of the infrastructure will have interruptions from flooding. For example power lines can fall and people won’t have any electricity which is very costly to repair. Companies will have a hard time getting back on their feet since they will lose product and work spaces due to water damage. Flooding will ruin both the interior and exterior of a building. An abundance of repairs will be required so there is a great deal of legal costs related with lawsuits and insurance companies become are very overwhelmed with claims (Mega secur). Flooding will affect our economy because citizens and governments will send money to aid everyone who has suffered financially
After Hurricane Betsy flooded the city in 1965, Congress authorized the first flood protection system. The project was expected to take 13 years and cost roughly 85 million dollars. When Hurricane Katrina made land fall, almost 40 years later, the system still had not been finished and the cost had been soared to 738 million dollars. (news article) Knowing that New Orleans stood a good chance every year of getting hit by a category five hurricane, leaving its levees at a category three strength was like playing Russ...
A disaster is not a simple emergency. A disaster is that point when a human is suffering and has a devastating situation which they themselves need help from others to survive. Regardless if natural or human caused, a disaster causes a vast amount of issues in the community. In the simulation of “Disaster in Franklin County reveals that preparation is key and even with that more can be addressed. A community nurse remains an essential part of the team involved in a disaster including before, during, and after the event.
Understanding the types of disasters for which the community is susceptible is essential for emergency preparedness (Nies & McEwen, 2011). All communities are susceptible to man-made disasters; terrorism, fires, and mass transit accidents; and emergency preparedness is essential. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) is responsible for disaster planning. Assessment, Predictability and Prevention For the purpose of this paper, the surrounding communities of Central Pennsylvania will be assessed.... ...