City Risk Assessment: Charlotte, NC - Case Study Example

 City Risk Assessment Report - Charlotte, NC Table of contents 1. Introduction 3 2. City Risk Assessment 3 2.1 City characteristics 3 2.1.1 Location/ geography 3 2.1.2 Population demographics 4 2.2 Hazards 5 2.2.1 Natural hazards 5 2.2.1.1 Earthquake 5 2.2.1.2 Tornado 6 2.2.1.3 Tsunami 6 2.2.2 Human – caused hazards 7 2.2.2.1 Human Error/ Management of toxic waste 7 2.2.2.2 Vandalisms 8 3. Conclusion 9 References 9 1. Introduction When having to identify and assess the risks of a city emphasis need to given to specific issues, such as: the city’s exposure to natural disasters, the history of the city in terms of such disasters, the level at which human intervention can threaten the city’s safety and so on. Current paper shows the risks related to a particular city of USA: Charlotte, NC. The city’s location and population demographics are presented, since they can influence the city’s vulnerability to certain hazards, as analyzed below. In general, the exposure of the city to risks can be characterized as of average level; the introduction of appropriate measures could help towards the limitation of these risks so that the city’s geopolitical and economic position to be further improved. 2. City Risk Assessment 2.1 City characteristics 2.1.1 Location/ geography Charlotte (Figure 1) has been initially established as a transportation hub (CNN Money 2012). The city ‘is located in southwestern North Carolina and about 180 miles northwest of the Atlantic Ocean’ (City Data 2012b). Through the decades the city’s critical geographical position helped to the enhancement of its economy. Today, Charlotte is considered as the second most powerful city of USA in regard to its financial services industry (CNN Money 2012). Figure 1 – Charlotte, NC (CNN Money 2012, World Population Statistics 2013) Because of its position, Charlotte is often used as an alternative place of residence instead of the state’s southern part, especially Florida, which is hit by hurricanes quite often (CNN Money 2012). The land area of Charlotte has been estimated to 297.68 (square miles) while the average number of people per square mile is about 2,457 (US Census Bureau 2013). Due to its geographical position, being surrounded by the Appalachian Mountains, the city has a very good climate, with moderate temperatures in winter and summer (City Data 2012b). 2.1.2 Population demographics The significant increase of population is considered as a key strength of Charlotte; in fact, between 2000 and 2010 the city’s population was increased by a percentage of 64.4% (CNN Money 2012). According to a report published by the US Census Bureau, in 2010 the population of Charlotte reached the 731,424 people (US Census Bureau 2013); in 2012 the city’s population was estimated to 735,780, achieving an increase of 5.4% compared to 2010 (US Census Bureau 2013). The population of Charlotte for 2010 could be analyzed as follows, in regard to demographics: a) women, of all ages, represent a percentage of 51.7% and b) a percentage of 8.5% are over 65 years (US Census Bureau 2013); in terms of racial characteristics the city’s population can be divided into three, major, categories: a) white, at a percentage of 50%, b) black/ African American, at a percentage of 35% and c) Hispanic/ Latino, at a percentage of 13.1% (US Census Bureau 2013). The percentages of races in Charlotte are also presented in the graph in Figure 2 below. Figure 2 – Races in Charlotte (City Data 2012) 2.2 Hazards 2.2.1 Natural hazards 2.2.1.1 Earthquake The chances for earthquake in Charlotte seem to be important. In fact, based on the earthquake Index Charlotte can be characterized as exposed to earthquake hazards (Figure 3). Charlotte, NC 1.07 North Carolina 0.18 U.S. 1.81 Figure 3 – Earthquake Index, Charlotte vs. NC and USA (USA Com 2013) It should be noted that the earthquake events that have been reported in Charlotte have been of non importance, due to their magnitude (US Com 2013). In fact, the earthquakes developed in Charlotte so far have been between 3.0 and 3.9 MB (City Data 2012). Still, the geographical position of Charlotte can lead to concerns for possible earthquake events, even of low magnitude. According to the Earthquake Index (Figure 2) Charlotte has more chances than other cities in NC to face earthquake events. 2.2.1.2 Tornado Charlotte has an important history in regard to tornado. In fact, up today about 38 strong tornado events have been developed in the greater region (USA Com 2013). In 1992 the tornado that hit the county resulted to 18 injuries (USA Com 2013). In average, the tornado events that have taken place in Charlotte have been of magnitude of 2 (US Com 2013). It should be noted that in terms of its Tornado Index, Charlotte ranks above the average of US and of North Carolina, as indicated in Figure 4 below. On the fifth of May 1989 a tornado followed by winds of approximately 260mph resulted to the death of a person and the injury of 6 more people (City Data 2012); the damages caused because of that tornado were estimated to $50,000,000 (City Data 2012). Charlotte, NC 151.83 North Carolina 115.21 U.S. 136.45 Figure 4 – Tornado Index – Charlotte vs. NC and USA (USA Com 2013) 2.2.1.3 Tsunami Charlotte is cited at about ‘765 feet above see level’ (City Data 2012b). As all the cities of East Coast Charlotte also is highly exposed to tsunamis. In Figure 5 a photo from satellite is presented. The photo shows the Canyons that are below the sea along the East Cost. The geographical structure of the underwater in the specific region, as presented in Figure 5, verifies the high risk for tsunamis. In a meeting held in Charlotte in 2012 the members of the Geological Society of America had the chance to exchange views in regard to the risk of tsunamis in NC and especially in Charlotte (Main 2012). They’ve come to the conclusion that the risk for tsunamis in Charlotte is small but possible, especially due to the existence of Canyons along the East Coast (Main 2012). Figure 5 – Underwater Canyons along the East Coast (Main 2012) 2.2.2 Human – caused hazards 2.2.2.1 Human Error/ Management of toxic waste Apart from the natural disasters, Charlotte is also exposed to hazards that can be caused by humans. Particular reference should be made to human errors in regard to the management of toxic waste. The disposal of toxic waste in Charlotte has been a major challenge both for entrepreneurs and for homeowners (Dispose Hazardous Waste 2013). Firms specializing in the disposal of such waste have been established across Charlotte in order to help individuals and businesses to dispose the toxic waste appropriately. Still, the control over the relevant process seems to be ineffective. This view is based on the following fact: in a report of EPA published in 2009 emphasis is given to the pollution of one of the major sources of drinking water for Charlotte, the Mountain Island Lake (Catawba Riverkeeper 2009); coal ash ponds have been also identified in Lake Norman, a Lake used for covering the drinking needs of various regions, including ‘the northern part of Charlotte’ (Catawba Riverkeeper 2009). In addition, reference should be made to the pollution of Catawba River, also used as a source of drinking water for Charlotte (Catawba Riverkeeper 2009). The pollution through toxic waste is considered as a problem related to human error; indeed, according to the EPA report, the release of extensive amounts of coal ash in Lakes along the Catawba River is related to the failure of certain businesses, especially of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities to introduce effective plans for the management of their toxic waste (Catawba River 2009). 2.2.2.2 Vandalisms Charlotte is exposed to another important hazard that can be caused by humans: vandalisms. According to a report published by the Charlotte- Mecklenburg Police Department, in 2012 the violent crimes across Charlotte have been increased by 9.5% compared to 2011 (Charlotte- Mecklenburg Police Department 2013). Particular reference should be made to the following fact: vandalism, as a crime seems to be continuously increased in Charlotte, a trend that should be taken into consideration by local regulators. On daily basis, about 8-10 events of vandalism take place across Charlotte (Spotcrime 2013). The types of crimes developed across Charlotte in 2012 are presented in the table in Figure 6 below. Reference is also made to the changes in criminal activity in Charlotte between 2011 and 2012. Figure 6 – Types of crimes in Charlotte, changes between 2011 and 2012 (North Carolina Department of Justice 2013, p.2) 3. Conclusion Charlotte NC, as all cities worldwide, has to face a series of hazards. The assessment of the city’s risks, as developed above, has led to the following assumption: Charlotte is threatening more from hazards caused by humans and less from natural hazards. Indeed, the history of the city in terms of natural hazards has been proved to be poor while the risks caused to the city by humans are significant. Therefore, the development of Charlotte, in terms of population but also in terms of economy, is depended on the control of human decisions that affect the city’s various sectors and not so much on the climate changes locally or internationally. References Catawba Riverkeeper (2009) ‘EPA Report Shows Catawba River Threatened by Coal Ash Waste.’ Retrieved from http://www.catawbariverkeeper.org/epa-report-shows-catawba-river-threatened-by-coal-ash-waste Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (2013) ‘Crime Statistics 2013.’ October 14, 2013. Retrieved from http://charmeck.org/city/charlotte/CMPD/safety/CrimeStat/Pages/default.aspx City Data (2012) ‘Charlotte, NC.’ Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/city/Charlotte-North-Carolina.html City Data (2012b) ‘Charlotte NC, Geography and Climate.’ Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Charlotte-Geography-and-Climate.html CNN Money (2012) ‘10 fastest growing US cities.’ April 5 2012. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2012/real_estate/1204/gallery.US-Cities/ Dispose Hazardous Waste (2013) ‘Hazardous Waste Disposal in Charlotte, NC.’ Retrieved from http://www.disposehazardouswaste.com/north-carolina/hazardous-waste-disposal-in-charlotte-nc/ Main, D. (2012) ‘US East Coast Faces Variety of Tsunami Threats.’ LiveScience. November 15 2012. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/24813-east-coast-tsunamis.html North Carolina Department of Justice (2013) 2012 Annual Summary Report of 2012 Uniform Crime Reporting Data. Retrieved from http://www.ncdoj.gov/getdoc/9d422e2e-5ee4-4b6a-a175-90b948e857a0/2012-Annual-Summary.aspx Spotcrime (2013) ‘Charlotte NC – Crime statistics’. Retrieved from https://spotcrime.com/nc/charlotte USA Com (2013) ‘Charlotte, NC Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes.’ Retrieved from http://www.usa.com/charlotte-nc-natural-disasters-extremes.htm US Census Bureau (2013) ‘Charlotte NC.’ June 27 2013. Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/37/3712000.html World Population Statistics (2013) ‘Charlotte Population 2013.’ September 7, 2013. Retrieved from http://www.worldpopulationstatistics.com/charlotte-population-2013/ Read More