Natural Hazards and Effects on San Diego California Introduction The Geographical region that has the most interest to me is that of Southern California in the United States of America. Southern California, in particular San Diego has always been one of the most desirable areas in California to live creating a very densely populated city. The direct access to both the Pacific Ocean and multiple mountain ranges makes it susceptible to massive wildfires during the long and extremely dry summer months and floods during the winter months. Also contributing to other possible natural disasters, San Diego is located near the San Andres Fault, which runs through California making this city another prime location for earthquakes and its catastrophic
The position of the UK makes storm events an inevitable part of our climate. Located at latitude of 52 to 56 degrees north of the equator, low-pressure systems frequently dominate our weather as cold air from the poles meet warm moist air from the equator. In total, five different air masses compete for control of our weather creating turbulent and unstable air that results in storms. A storm can be defined as ‘a rainfall and wind event that produces more than 0.1 inches of precipitation and which is separated from the previous storm event by at least 72 hours of dry weather’. This essay will firstly discuss the extent to which the impacts of storms in the UK, such as ‘The Great Storm’ of October 1987 in Southern England and the recent St Jude’s storm in October 2013, are the result of physical and human influences, and then evaluate the effectiveness the responses to these storms.
The droughts and increased heat has had negative impacts on local aquatic invertebrates. Aquatic invertebrates are adapted to survive in a particular range of temperature and habitat. But global warming makes it harder to survive. This could lead to the extinction of several species of aquatic invertebrates which in turn would lead to serious consequences of the ecosystem. Many of the aquatic invertebrates are responsible for keeping the ecosystem clean by feeding on litters.
The associated air masses of storms within the British Isles are Polar maritime and Tropical maritime. As these two bodies of air move towards each other the warmer, less dense air from the south rises above the colder, dense air from the north. Circulations of low pressure then develop at points where the air is rising vigorously, this then coincides with waves in the polar front and jet stream. As a consequence there is much unsettled weather including heavy rain, strong winds and a variety of stormy cumulus clouds form; all of which can have devastating impacts socio-economically for an area as well as on the environment. The storm of 1987 occurred on the 15th and 16th of October due to a depression forming within the Bay of Biscay and had disastrous effects on the south and south-east of the UK.
Zephyr Mauibem Mr. Dendi, Mrs. Napai History, English 9 November 2012 Hurricane Katrina Imagine what it would be like if your home, your belongings, even loved ones were gone. This is what Hurricane Katrina was like for citizens in the Gulf of Mexico area. States like Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida were greatly affected. Hurricane Katrina was a turning point in history because it affected natural disaster safety plans. Katrina also caused financial problems, and changed the way people viewed natural disasters.
The Great Storm of 1987, UK – Case Study Josephine Jenkins 1) This storm developed over the Bay of Biscay to the south. It started as particularly warm tropical air and very cold polar air collided, forcing the warm air to rise and creating an area of low pressure. It’s clear that several factors came together to make this storm particularly ferocious, but it was the track of the storm which was perhaps most significant. Arriving on the south coast of the UK, it tracked north and east over the course of several hours before reaching the Humber estuary at about 5.30am. This path took in a large, built-up and very populated part of the UK which exacerbated the damage caused.
One of America’s most productive and environmentally sensitive ecosystems is facing collapse (America’s Wetland Foundation, 2009). Louisiana has sustained more wetland loss than all the other state in the continental United States combined due to a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors, including sea-level rise (Glick, 2013). Impacts of both humans and nature are devastating this diverse region and making a huge impact on biodiversity and also a way of life. The impact on these wetlands are far reaching. Wetlands perform many essential ecosystem services- carbon storage, flood control, maintenance of biodiversity, fish production and aquifer recharge, among others-services that have increasingly important global consequences (Keddy, 2009).
CNN did mention that Hermine could dump 4 to 8 inches of rain over northeastern Mexico and south Texas and as much as 12 inches in isolated areas, with the potential for flooding and mudslides, especially in northeastern Mexico. In addition, CNN also states that a storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 2 to 4 feet along the immediate coast near and to the north of where the center makes landfall. Fox News stated in their report that heavy rain is predicted with northeastern Mexico into south Texas getting 4 to 8 inches with as much as a foot in some places. MSNBC reported that officials are worried about flooding because the ground is already saturated from earlier rains. Some areas could get up to 12 inches of rain.
With its long coastline and location, Florida frequently finds itself in the path of these intense storms. The southeast coastline is extremely susceptible to a land-falling hurricane, followed by the panhandle. Areas around Tampa, Jacksonville and the Big Bend do not have as high of a risk of a direct strike from a hurricane but are still susceptible to a landfall each year. Even if the hurricane makes landfall elsewhere in the state, the impacts can be felt hundreds of miles away. Some scientists say the wave of hurricanes is the product of global warming spurred by greenhouse gases from cars and industries.
The country is filled with hilly valleys and lowlands. The country is next to the Caribbean Sea so there is a lot of rivers and basins that go through the country to it. This is good for the agriculture in the country, because it provides enough water for the plants. The country’s location makes it a target for natural disasters like hurricanes though, because of flooding. In October 2005 there a horrible hurricane that killed over 1,500 people.