Disasters are multidimensional occurrences that disrupt many if not all aspects of normal human life, including environmental, social, economic, political, and biological systems (Bankoff 2004:10). To understand why disasters have such wide ranging affects and how we can effectively manage them, we must understand the concepts of hazard, risk and vulnerability.…
The first step of the disaster cycle is usually considered to be preparedness although one could start at any point in the cycle and return to that point before, during, or after a disaster. For the sake of understanding, we will start with preparedness. Prior to a disaster’s occurrence, emergency manager will plan for various disasters which could strike within the area of responsibility. For instance, a typical city located along a river would need to plan for not only flooding but also hazardous material accidents, large fires, extreme weather (perhaps tornadoes, hurricanes, and/or snowstorms), geologic hazards (perhaps earthquakes, tsunamis, and/or volcanoes), and other applicable hazards. The emergency manager learns about past disasters and current potential hazards and then begins to collaborate with other officials to write a disaster plan for the jurisdiction with appendices for specific hazards or special types of response scenarios. Part of the planning process is the identification of human and material resources needed during a specific disaster and obtaining information about how to access those resources, whether public or private. If specific material resources are needed to have on hand prior to a disaster, those items (such as generators, cots, decontamination equipment, etc.) are obtained and stockpiled in appropriate geographic locations based on the plan.…
Natural disasters are a devastating, but undeniably inevitable part of life and society. Because of this fact, many of us tend to believe that they happen as an act of nature, purely out of the human control. We need to start realizing that this is far from the truth and it this attitude that is stopping us from learning from our mistakes. The contemporary world inaccurately labels various disasters as ‘natural’ when in fact, when looked at more closely; there is an enormous correlation between ‘nature’ and ‘society’. There are many flaws in the human preparation for natural disasters that have equated in death and injury where it could have been minimized. Although the occurrence of a disaster can happen at any time, it is vital that we start recognizing that there is much that we can do reduce the effects that they have on us as well as taking ownership to the fact that there have been many changes that we have made to the environment in the past and present to aggravate ‘natural’ disasters and allow them to impact on us with much more severity then they would of otherwise.…
1. The rig's malfunctioning blowouts preventer ultimately failed, but it was needed only because of human errors. Those errors originated with a team of BP engineers in Houston, such as 1. Fewer barriers to gas flow 2. Fewer centralizers to keep cement even 3. No bond log to check cement integrity 4. Pressure test misinterpreted 5. Mud barrier removed early 6. Blowouts preventer failed.…
Natural disasters have been shaping and reshaping our planet since the beginning of time. These natural disasters have had a devastating effect on communities all around the world. No matter how far societies have come throughout history, natural disasters humble mankind with their disrupting nature. Natural disasters come in all shapes and sizes. Earthquakes can rip apart the earth and destroy infrastructure along the way. Hurricanes come and rip through cities and uproot everything in their path. These are just a few of the many types of natural disasters that can devastate a society. There are many natural disasters that have reshaped regions within the world.…
A natural hazard is a threat of a naturally occurring event will have a negative effect on humans. This negative effect is what we call a natural disaster. In other words when the hazardous threat actually happens and harms humans, we call the event a natural disaster.…
This being my senior project I wanted to look at a topic that I found…
Nowadays, people around the world are affected by natural disasters. These may be caused by climate change such as drought, flood, and cyclone, the environment such as pollution, deforestation, desertification, pest infestation or combinations of these, or the destroy of ozone layer will contribute to the green house effect. People's homes are wiped out and livelihoods are destroyed. Poverty, population pressures and environmental degradation mean that increasing numbers of people are vulnerable to natural disasters.…
Chen C., Tan H., Liao L., Chen H., Chan C., Cheng J., Chen C., Wang T., Lu M., 2007, Long Term Psychological Outcome of 1999 Taiwan Earthquake Survivors: a survey of a high risk sample with property damage, Department of Psychiatry Center, Natou, Taiwan.…
PRINCIPAL CAUSES OF DISASTERS .................................................................................................. 2 – NATURAL DISASTERS........................................................................................................................... 2 – MAN-MADE DISASTERS ....................................................................................................................... 2 SOME MAJOR EFFECTS OF DISASTERS ........................................................................................... 3 FIRE ...................................................................................................................................................... 3 W ATER .................................................................................................................................................. 3 EARTHQUAKES ....................................................................................................................................... 3 BIOLOGICAL AGENTS .............................................................................................................................. 3 DISASTER PLAN .................................................................................................................................... 3 PHASE 1 : PREVENTION .......................................................................................................................... 3 PHASE 2 : PREPAREDNESS ..................................................................................................................... 4 PHASE 3 : RESPONSE ............................................................................................................................. 4 PHASE 4 : RECOVERY............................................................................................................................. 5…
Everyone knows about flood, but did you being in that situation? Can you imagine how painful the victims feel? What is the things that we can do to help them or just sitting at home and watching the victims suffering from the flood? The effects of the natural disaster and measure taken to help the victims.…
In the recent years, our country has been plagued by typhoons, earthquakes, and other natural hazards. But it is important to keep in mind that disasters are not natural, they only occur when people lack preparedness or the ability to cope with hazards.…
Can you name the world’s tallest mountain, longest river, and deepest lake? Click on the map to learn about Earth’s most extreme places!…
A strong earthquake struck Friday off the coast of northeastern Japan in the same region that was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami last year. A city in the region reported that a small tsunami had hit, but there were no reports of injuries or damage.…
An earth quake can be described as a shaking of the Earth’s crust. It is mainly a movement of the whole crust that originates in the center of the earth. Earthquakes happen when the underlying rock suddenly shakes or breaks off. The moving of the underlying rock causes the surface rocks to slide and, as a result, leads to the earthquakes. Earthquakes can be extremely disastrous and cause a lot of damage in the place where they happen. The earthquake can happen once or happen as a series. This depends on the magnitude of the earthquake. There are other tremors that can cause an earthquake, for instance, nuclear bombs. These cannot be considered as earthquakes, as they are not naturally triggered (Coffey, 2010).…