“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 ...
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.
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)
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.
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.
Disaster Relief: Hurricanes Annotated Bibliography 2017 was a record breaking year for hurricanes. Victims of hurricane Harvey, hurricane Maria and hurricane Irma are still struggling. Many people are unaware of the impacts of these hurricanes and how much help is needed. Shelters are over capacitated, victims are still without a home and help is still needed. Hurricanes this year have caused a huge impact on our land and our people.
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
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.
1. Introduction After reviewing the two articles: The systematic examination {evaluation} of the humanitarian actions were intended to draw lessons learned---in order to improve disaster and emergency management best practices, to make efficient public policy-decisions, and to enhance future accountability during preparedness, response, mitigation, and short/long-term recovery phases. The typical systematic evaluation process ought to involve the affected populations {i.e., victims, survivors, or beneficiaries}, as well as, the Whole Community {individuals, families, communities in neighborhoods, businesses---the private and nonprofit sectors, faith-based and community organizations, schools and academia, media outlets, state, local county
Winds roared as roofs were torn off and trees thrown like kindling. I sat in pitch-black darkness listening to the winds howling against the windows, praying with every fiber of my being that our roof would stay intact. It took only a few hours for this monster storm, the largest to ever hit the Atlantic Ocean, to evoke an unforgettable fear in me, a sickening pit of anxiety that would last for days to come. Hurricane Irma, which started out as a tropical depression broke the calibrations of the Saffir-Simpson Wind-Scale with winds over 185 mph as it headed towards my home, the island of St. Maarten. Within a blink of an eye I saw 37 square miles of paradise turn into 37 square miles of devastation.
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).
An article by Kerry Emanuel focuses mainly on the scientific facts given by studies and scientist in order to get across the point of that the threat of hurricanes will increase. Even though Emanuel leans more towards disagreeing that the threat of hurricanes will not improve, the article incorporates scientific data and predictions, making it a crucial addition to this essay. The article says, “At the same time, projected increases in coastal population will continue to expose more and more people to tropical cyclone hazards, making preparations and evacuations more difficult and costly” (Emanuel 500). She says this in order to make her claim that the threat of hurricanes will in turn increase due to careless human activity on Earth. She presents the increase in projected amount of people moving to areas where hurricanes can impact with evacuation and relief factors to explain how much more difficult it will be for aid organizations and businesses to help in the near future.
Imagine more than half of the population of Kenosha being over-taken by a deluge of water without warning or the ability to escape. On December 26, 2004, an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale, occurred in the Indian Ocean off of the Samaritan coast, triggering the deadliest tsunami in recorded history. Before the tsunami, this region of the world was one of the most sought after vacation spots. After the record-breaking destruction, the pristine beach front and inviting residents were forever changed. The regional damage was so massive that it demanded a response on a global scale for rescue, recovery, stability, and to rebuild this treasured place.
A Study of the Changes in Natural Disasters due to the Effects of Climate Change in the Republic of the Philippines
Good morning everybody, by now all of you will have seen the morbid and shocking images on television. Known to man as one of the most damaging, disastrous and detrimental typhoons in history, Super Haiyan ravaged through our entire country leaving nothing to spare. Within a split second those which were known as our most prized possession were instantly consumed by the monstrous typhoon. Our initial reports show that this monstrosity left a wake of massive destruction that is unthinkable, unprecedented and horrendous. Thousands of neighbourhoods were left in ruins, thousands more were injured among those were children struggling with all their might to deny the horrible fact that their parents were lying on the ground, lifeless, cold, pale . The devastation is so staggering that I struggle to find words to describe the horrific events that have occurred.