Another factor includes the rising sea levels; these enabled the storm to be much more damaging storm surge than before. Hurricane Sandy broke record with 13.2 foot storm surge in New York. At least 1 foot of this height was arguably due to sea-level rise. As sea levels are now 1 foot higher than they were a century ago. Personally, I believe that these 2 factors were very important as much of the damage was due to water rather than the 80 mph winds Sandy brought.
Hazards are complex. They all vary in effects however generally; a hazard is anything that could cause damage to humans or buildings. Many volcanic and seismic events happen, cause hazards to humans. Volcanic and seismic events can take place all over the world and therefore both more economically developed countries (MEDCs) and less economically developed countries (LEDCs) can be affected. In the last 30 years there have been multiple examples of where volcanic and seismic events have had an impact on both MEDCs and LEDCs.
They can cause widespread destruction, such as the 1980 eruption of Mt St Helens. Lahars are a secondary effect of a volcanic eruption and are cement-like mudflows consisting of volcanic ash and water. They often occur in the days following an eruption when people are at their most vulnerable and with the capacity to travel up
More animal species are becoming endangered or extinct as a result of global warming.” “The carbon emissions, pollution and human health problems that have resulted directly from the Industrial Revolution’s accomplishments have only been disastrous for the world environment. For example the increase of the production in the textile industry, iron and steel and the steam power. As a result, many people died cause of too much smoke spread in the air. Another example according to the reading, air and water pollution came from coal burning, as well as most stages in the production of metals and basic chemicals. Moreover, “The advent of the steam locomotive and railroad also saw the start of major pollution caused by big business, which is all too often seen today.
The scale or better known as magnitude of the earthquake effects these characteristics and determines the physical destruction. The local geology of the area such as whether building on reclaimed land can have huge toll on building destruction and impact on hazards. Along with this the proximity of the earthquake to the coast can have a huge impact on the hazards. If the earthquake occurs out at see the tsunamis can be just as devastating if not more destructive than the earthquake. It would result in services being unable to reach areas due to the flooding and many more lives could potentially be lost.
A wide-ranging, advanced and various approach is to be taken to reduce disasters, and support in bringing new tension to research on disasters, on pre- planning. Therefore, “to include disaster education and preparedness of the public as well as early warning systems is directly depended on us, in whom people at risk receive, understand, and act upon the warning information conveyed”(Abhishek 1). Natural disasters are the effects and result of natural hazards. Natural disasters, like hurricane Katrina, represent a serious breakdown in sustainability and disruption of economic and social progress and they signify to the great loss of human lives and their properties. The enormous number of dead, seriously incapacitated and homeless people after the strike of a natural disaster and the large amount of money to be spent for reestablishment and rehabilitation connects to a natural disaster.
The Eastern side of the county must be accessed by a round-trip through adjacent Skagit County. Risks of potential natural hazards are listed in the above table. Whatcom County has a high vulnerability to earthquakes related to the location of oceanic and continental crusts. The University of Washington seismology lab reports up to 1000 earthquakes per year in Washington and Oregon. With a severe earthquake the county could be at risk for a Tsunami.
Whether or not a country can cope with the effects of a flood depends greatly on whether it is a less economically developed country (LEDC) or a more economically developed country (MEDC). This is because MEDCs have more money and resources to be able to deal with the problems caused. They have better infrastructure which means emergency services are able to quickly attend the scene and more money that can be spent preventing and repairing damage. An example of a recent flood that occurred in an MEDC is the 2004 Boscastle (UK) flood. There were many factors in the cause of the flooding, these include: torrential rain, 500mm of rain fell in a few short hours, remnants of Hurricane Alex; deforestation in the valleys; the construction of small bridges across the river (trapping material behind them during the floods, creating small dams); and so on.
Global warming has been a giant issue in our world today the rising of seas, melting of ice caps, experiencing some of the worst natural disasters in centuries. We have known of this since 1980 to be exact. I've just got done reading two really good articles on global warming. Two articles that I read were Greenland Ice Cores: Frozen in time and the other article is named the Rising Seas . These two articles really informed me on whats happening in the world due to global warming.
The primary effected area would be the damage of infrastructure, loss of power, fires and other potentially catastrophic hazards. Much of San Diego is located in low lying valleys and in a densely populated central business district, because of the strong concentration of people damage and loss of life from collapsed infrastructure and debris would be great. According to (Guzzetti& Carrara 1993 ) It is the location to human population that is key distinguishing feature of population risk .Furthermore much of the secondary effects like the loss/damage to property can be severe, according to (californiagreensolutions.com) in the past 26 years an accumulated amount of 19.43 billion dollars of damage has been attributed to catastrophes, and 19.43 billion has been related to earthquake damage. Conclusion Through my findings and research I have found that the two most common natural disasters that San Diego and its outlying areas are susceptible to are wildfires and earthquakes. Although the frequencies for earthquakes are relatively low the possible of catastrophic damage from one is a major possibility during the next 20 years.