Not all places have upgraded or been allowed to upgrade to better equipment due to their budget. If the firefighters had better equipment to help stop wildfires maybe the wildfires we had this year wouldn’t have taken so long to put out or destroyed as much property. The uniforms they wear are designed to tolerate the heat of the wildfires. But there has been some that have burnt through because the fire was hotter than it could handle. But with the technology we have today this age could probably design a completely fireproof uniform. How would we pay for it? Because most of the firefighters that fight the wildfires are volunteers from all over the country and come from their own departments. Where would we get the supplies, scientists, and lab to even try to figure out how to make a completely fire proof uniform that withstands all heat temperatures. This wouldn’t exactly be a way to prevent wildfires but more of a way to keep our firefighters safe and able to fight to the fire…
Hurricanes are cyclonic storms that can originate in tropical oceans poleward of about 5 degrees latitude. Basically, hurricanes are heat engines, fueled by the release of latent heat from the condensation of warm water. This County is vulnerable to the latent heat because of the average heat index of 62 degrees as discussed in the above “geographical features of Wayne County”. The County has a history of Category 3 (Winds of 111 to 130 miles per hour) hurricanes. North Carolina/Wayne County has had an extensive hurricane history dating back to colonial times. During the nineteenth century, storms occurred in 1837, 1846, 1856, 1879, 1883, and 1899. During the 1950’s North Carolina was impacted by several hurricanes, including Hazel, Connie, Diane, and lone, and to this day hurricanes, and floods are prevalent in North Carolina, and Wayne County. Whenever there is a considerable amount of water there is a considerable amount of dams, and that can be a part of the mitigation phase in the hazard mitigation plan. There are approximately 50 dams in or affecting the Neuse River basin region with a hazard classification from low, intermediate, to…
Natural Disasters have powerful forces , they affect the environment and the people because they destroy the areas where they hit .“The Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900 was the deadliest hurricane to ever hit the United States and caused between 8000 and 12000 deaths. The storm reached the Texas coast south of Galveston on September 8 as a Category 4 hurricane with a storm surge of 8 to 15 feet.” All Natural Disasters can be formed in different ways but one of the examples are that hurricanes can be formed by the warm and moist air…
Because of human interest in living near water due to access for recreation and fishing, nearly 40% of the world’s population lives within 100km of the coast. (www.challenger.org/sciencechallenges/climate-change-challenge/) Therefore, people and property are at risk of tidal and storm surges associated with hurricanes.…
The Bahamas will be increasingly affected by extreme weather events, including higher-intensity hurricanes and consequent flooding. The incidence of Category 4 and 5 storms in the North Atlantic (between the United States and The Bahamas) is projected to increase notably, producing estimated losses of $2.4 billion over the next few decades.…
All communities - urban or rural - are vulnerable to most hazards. However, different regions will be more prone to certain types of hazards than others. Floods and windstorms are the hazards that most frequently lead to disasters in Asia, the Pacific, Europe and North America, while it is droughts and epidemics that are reported in African countries. In contrast, Pacific and Caribbean islands are most vulnerable to the effects of tropical cyclones. El Niño events, floods, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes affect in greater degree the Andean and Meso-American countries. Even within a specific region, such as the Pacific, the frequency and intensity of specific hazards varies from one country to another. Hydrometeorological hazards are most common and floods alone account for two-thirds of people affected by natural hazards…
Briefly answer the question asked: “Why do similar kinds of hazards have different impacts in different places?”…
On August 19, 1910 the Big Burn in the Rocky Moutains began, recorded as the largest and most destrustive fire, in North America. At the time the United States fire service was only five years old, with very little experience and preparation to handle such a large forest fire. It destroys an area the size of Connecticut within a matter of 36 hours, equaling more than three-million acres of forest, and $1 billion worth lost in timber. There were atleast 78 firefighter fatalities, however it is unknown how many more died soon afterwards, due to the effects of smoke inhalation and other long term side effects. During that summer the weather was extremely dry, and without any rain for 3 months many small sparatic fires began to appear, quickly growing with all the available dried fuel.…
Why New Orleans is Vulnerable to Hurricanes? Since its founding in 1718, the city of New Orleans and its surrounding areas have been subject to numerous floods from the Mississippi River and hurricanes and other reasons are, its Location near Gulf of Mexico, Low elevation (below sea-level) Subsidence caused by compaction of river deposited sediments, erosion of inactive delta lobe, sea-level rise due to global warming . A series of levees and other flood control structures built over the years were expected to greatly reduce that threat. The greatest natural threat posed to the New Orleans and south Louisiana area continues to be from hurricane induced storm surges, which is caused by human with Coastal Erosion accelerated by the changes made to the river system. The coastline of Louisiana is eroding at an incredible rate, estimated at 25 square miles per year. (1 football field of area every 45 minutes)…
Hurricanes: The 21st Century’s New Threat? Introduction When we first starting deciding upon our research topic, our original motivation or at least what intrigued us was the idea of global warming/climate change...is it a hoax or is it the cause of all the crazy weather and abnormal storms the United States has been experiencing as some are claiming? Although not the first time, but still an unfortunate disaster, Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey and the Atlantic coastline and all you heard about on the news was the spin masters blaming it on global warming. There were those claiming that hurricanes have become more frequent and severe due to global warming. This is what inspired us to pursue our topic and hypothesis of: there has not been an increase in the frequency and/or strength of hurricanes which made landfall with the continental United States in the first decade of the 21st century, as compared to the previous fifteen decades. Our research questions further define & delineate our hypothesis: 1) Based on recorded historical data since 1851, has there been an increase in the number of hurricanes which made landfall with the continental United States during the first decade of the 21st century as compared to the previous 15 decades? And 2) Based on recorded historical data since 1851, has there been an increase in the strength of hurricanes which made landfall with the continental United States during the first…
Every day there are natural disasters all the time occurring all around the world. They are something that we can't help, but we can be aware of them and what to do if one occurs near you.…
As this hurricane season in Florida is supposed to be the strongest in four years, the treat of inland flooding increases. The biggest threat for coastal buildings is wave run up. High winds in storms pushes much water than usual on beaches, which is called a surge. On top of the high water, waves crash into land causing the wave run up. The reason this problem is becoming more serious is the Earth is getting warmer. Barrior reefs in the ocean act as the first line of defense for these surges. They cut down the wave so by the time it reaches land it is not as powerful. The warmer oceans are killing the coral that makes up the reef, therefore, making the reff less effective in slowing down a wave. The warming of the Earth is threating coastal…
Tucked away in the vast Alaskan wilderness only assessable by boat or plane, lays the state capital, Juneau. This isolated town, and the people born and raised in it have seen a sight that many people can’t fathom. Many Americans see the world climate change, but don’t take action because they have not seen the major effects of it. Being born and raised in Juneau, Alaska I have sadly seen over a dozen glaciers recede at a rapid rate, each year being a record-breaking year. Years where snow fall has been minimal because the difference of a few degrees. Unfortunately, these unusual years are become the standard. The farther north you travel the larger the effect climate change has on the landscape and animals that inhabit it. Do you really want your children growing up not knowing what a polar bear was or asking why over 760 million…
Environmental cultural hazard is the risk of damage to the environment involving air pollution form all of the massive factory’s and mills that are placed around the earth. Water pollution is a main hazard because it kills a lot of the aquatic life that we as humans feed on and it also kills the food that the food we eat feeds off to survive. Toxins like all of our trash that is getting pilled sky high around the world is seeping down into the earth and spreading into water supplies and farmland causing things to get contaminated. Radioactivity is also big because it stays for a long time. Chinas reactors when they got hit but the earthquake spread for miles and miles contaminating everything.…
There are many exposures to hazards in our environment today that brings along the risk of an injury, different types of diseases, and even in some cases death. These hazards are called human environmental hazards. There are four categories to human environmental hazards which we will discover and discuss further in detail and they consist of cultural hazards, biological hazards, physical hazards, and chemical hazards (Wright & Boorse, 2011).…