Recovering From a Natural Disaster

1316 Words3 Pages

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.

A Hurricane is a tropical storm with winds more than 74 miles per hour (mph). Hurricane wind damage is influenced by the duration and change of wind direction, amount of rainfall and how well land structures are build. Hurricanes are measure in five different categories and each category can produce different degree of damages. Category One Hurricane has sustained winds 74-95 mph. Category Two Hurricane has sustained winds of 96-110 mph with very strong winds that can produce widespread damage and extensive damage to power lines. Category Three Hurricane has sustained winds of 111-130 mph that will cause extensive damage with near total power loss that could last several days to weeks. Category Four Hurricane has sustained winds of 131-155 with extremely dangerous winds causing devastating damage. Finally, a category five hurricane has sustained winds greater than 155 mph. This is a catastrophic damage storm. Category five can have severe injury or death due to wind blown debris. A Category five hurricane can produce extensive power outages that will last for weeks to perhaps months. Therefor...

... middle of paper ...

...stand what is expected in the recovery process.

Throughout the recovery period, it is crucial to monitor local media sources for information about where to obtain emergency housing, food, medical, and financial assistance. Direct assistance to individuals and families may come from different organizations such as American Red Cross, Salvation Army, FEMA and non profit organizations. Such organizations can provide food, shelter, essential hygiene supplies and assist in the aftermath clean-up efforts.

Finally, safety is the number one priority in order to survive and recover from any major catastrophic event. Education is the key to prevention. Know your local area and common disasters that occurs in that particular area. Knowing what they are and how to protect yourself will in terms help the recovery and healing process faster and easier for you and your family.

More about Recovering From a Natural Disaster

Open Document