Natural Disasters in America - Essay Example

Natural Disasters A comparison between the regions of Los Angeles and Oklahoma 1 Introduction Natural disasters can be a tornado, severe storm, high water, flood waters, wind-driven water, earthquake, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought. It completely changes the social structure, life of human beings apart from other inestimable miseries It causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant hazard mitigation or the use of resources of the federal government, or the state and political subdivisions thereof to alleviate the damage, loss, hardship etc. Nowadays the natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcano, Tsunamis etc. generate ever increasing news coverage throughout the several regions of United States .The huge damages are incalculable whether it is human life or it is in property. In the light of this, we shall assess the discrepancies in heads like frequency of these various disasters in two regions of the US, Los Angeles and Oklahoma City and deaths caused by these disasters. Moreover we shall look upon the measures taken by the respective governments for the natural disasters and how it differs. Comparison of rehabilitation process and Insurance coverage aftermath of these disasters in these regions shall also be discussed. Earthquake Los Angeles The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in the city of Los Angeles, California. The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.7, but the ground acceleration was the highest ever instrumentally recorded in an urban area in North America.(1) Seventy-two people died as a result of the earthquake and over 11,000 were injured. In addition, the earthquake caused an estimated $12.5 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. An earthquake emerged in Sylmar, a surrounding region of Los Angeles and hit the Greater Los Angeles and California caused the fatalities of 67 and overall damage of $ 5, 000, 00,000.(2) Oklahoma City About a dozen earthquakes have been felt in Oklahoma City. The most notable and largest of these occurred on 1952 April 09. This earthquake was centered between El Reno and Minco in Canadian Co.Its magnitude was 5.50. Moreover an earthquake of a ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Northridge Earthquake Southern California Earthquake Data Center, October 6, 2006 2. abc7. com Anniversary of Deadly Northridge Quake.. 2007-07-08. 2 magnitude 2.2 was felt in scattered locations in Oklahoma City and Edmond and surrounding area. Oklahoma City has faced another earthquake (Oklahoma Earthquake) on 16 December 2001 whose origin time was 08:21:42 UTC/GMT and Latitude and Longitude were 35.643degrees N, 95.571degrees W respectively had its depth 5.0 km. and its magnitude was 2.2 m3HZ (3) Tornado Okalahoma city It's generally defined as the area of the United States in which tornadoes are most frequent. When high frequency of strong and violent tornadoes (F2 or stronger on the Fujita scale) and relative consistency of the season from year to year are used as criteria, tornado alley would include northern Texas, most of Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska, as well as eastern portions of Colorado and South Dakota. The tornadoes that hit Oklahoma City and the surrounding area on May 3, 1999, had the fastest winds ever recorded on the planet: 318 miles per hour. The number of people who died from this disaster, were 44.The overall damage was $1, 500, 000,000.(4) Los Angeles With 42 tornadoes, Los Angeles County ranks as the tornado capital of the state, five of which was ranked as F-2. These 42 natural havocs emerged between 1950 and 2007, with 5 of those in December. The strongest has been F2 and none have proven deadly, but there have been 45 injuries. Hurricanes/ Tropical storm Los Angeles The only time in history a hurricane with winds over 100 miles per hour has struck Los Angeles been on August 23rd, 1838, and that leveled the then-small city. In 1997, Los Angeles came incredibly close to experiencing a direct-hit assault by the most powerful Eastern Pacific hurricane in history. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. Two Okalahoma City disasters Bayler university medical Center ,Dallas, (Bayl Univ 2001 April; 14(2): 140-143.) 4. Two Okalahoma City disasters Bayler university medical Center ,Dallas, (Bayl Univ 2001 April; 14(2): 140-143.) 3 Okalahoma City The Okalahoma City also faced number of tropical storms .We shall look upon the some important storms/hurricanes smacked in the City. Tropical Storm Beryl was an unusual Atlantic tropical cyclone that formed over southeastern Louisiana in August of 1988. The second tropical storm of the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season, Beryl developed from a slow-moving trough of low pressure on August 8. It tracked southeastward into the coastal waters of eastern Louisiana, and Beryl reached peak winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) while located about 75 miles (120 km) southeast of New Orleans. Throughout its path, Beryl caused about $3 million in damage (1988 USD, $5.12 million 2006 USD), primarily along the immediate coastline from erosion or flood damage.(5) Hurricane Gilbert is the second most intense hurricane ever observed in the Atlantic basin. It was the eighth tropical storm and third hurricane of the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season. In total, it killed 341 people and caused about $5.5 billion in damages over the course of its path. Gilbert brushed the inland city of Monterrey, Nuevo Len before taking a sharp turn to the north. The storm spawned 29 tornadoes in Texas on September 18 before moving across Oklahoma.(6) Tropical Storm Grace was a weak tropical storm, having an ACE of 0.49 that struck Texas in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical storm Grace which caused moisture from the storm, combined with a slow-moving cold front, produced heavy rainfall across the state, peaking at 8.98 inches in Okalahoma County. Due to below normal precipitation by as much as 5 to 10 inches (127 to 255 mm), flooding was localized and overall minimal. Near Medford, t he rainfall lead to 2 foot (0.6 m) deep flooding on U.S. Highway 81, forcing its closure. The rainfall was welcome in the state, and lessened the rainfall deficit.(7) Hurricane Ismael, which was started with the winds of 80 mph (130 km/h) was a weak Pacific hurricane that killed over one hundred people in northern Mexico in September of the 1995 Pacific hurricane season. The remnants of Ismael produced over 3 inches of rain in southwestern Oklahoma and northern Arkansas. Recently Okalahoma ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5.National Hurricane Center (1988) Tropical Storm Beryl Preliminary Report. 2007-03 27 6.Miles Lawrence and James Gross (1989) Atlantic Hurricane Season of 1988 National Hurricane Center 2007-03-27 7.Stacy R. Stewart (2003) Tropical Storm Grace Tropical Cyclone Report National Hurricane Center. 2006-08-13 4 City had to face another tropical storm named as Erin on 19 th August 2007 in which 2 fatalities are declared. While we discuss about the nature and type of the different disasters the importance of the measures taken by the respective government against these calamities, the rehabilitation of the victims of the disasters and of course the insurance coverage also can not be disregarded. Government Aid (8)&(9) The U.S. government, as the insurer of last resort, is becoming increasingly vulnerable to the costs of natural disasters through disaster declarations and spending by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The number of presidential disaster declarations has generally increased over the last half century, since the federal government has assumed continuous responsibility for disaster aid. The FEMA awarded money to an area with a moderate or high population density (200 to 1,800 people per square mile) affected by an earthquake of a magnitude greater than 6.5, the funding increased with the population density irrespective of the magnitude of the event for example, the Northridge. In contrast to earthquakes and hurricanes, which are low-frequency, high-cost events, tornadoes exemplify high-frequency, low-cost events. Tornado events are similar in cost - typically less than $25 million - because they occur frequently in areas of moderate to low population density. An amendment to the original presidential disaster declaration makes additional funds available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Public Assistance program for repair of roads, water control facilities, buildings and equipment, public utilities, and parks. It extends the service to the eligible applicants include state and local government agencies , certain private nonprofit entities, and American Indian tribes. Region of Los Angeles is also already eligible for funds to reimburse them for costs associated with debris removal and emergency protective measures taken before, during and after the fires. FEMA will pay 75 percent of public assistance work. Insurance Los Angeles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8. Federal Emergency Management Agency - 800-621-FEMA - www.fema.gov 9. National Low Income Housing Coalition - 202-662-1530 - www.nlihc.org 5 The potential cost of earthquakes has been growing because of increasing urban development in seismically active areas and the vulnerability of older buildings, which may not have been built or upgraded to current building codes. The Northridge earthquake, which struck Southern California on January 17, 1994, was the most costly quake in U.S. history, causing an estimated $20 billion in total property damage, including $12.5 billion in insured losses. The California Earthquake Authority is one of the world's leading residential earthquake insurers, with 755,000 policies in force in mid-2007 and 17 participating insurers. However, only about 12 percent of homeowners in California now buy earthquake coverage.(10) Oklahoma City (11) Senators Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez introduced six pieces of legislation aimed at comprehensively addressing hurricane and other natural disaster insurance issues across the nation. These bill include, - Catastrophe Savings Accounts Act - Policyholder Disaster Protection Act - - Homeowners Protection Act Martinez's bills include: - The Non-Admitted and Reinsurance Reform Act - The Hurricane and Tornado Mitigation Investment Act, to mitigate the damages occurred during the various natural disasters. Damage from catastrophe annually approaches $1 billion in the United States, according to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Much of the damage inflicted by the storms is done to crops, however vehicle and structural damage to buildings is also very common. While damage from hurricanes and tornadoes tends to be more prevalent, even the rare occurrence of hail storms can be costly to insurers and their customers. CDS Business Mapping, LLC, an online hazard-mapping company, has compiled a list of the top 10 most hail-prone metropolitan cities in which the City of Okalahoma is also included. As part of its report, CDS also classified cities across the country based on their risk level for hail and created a map based on those levels. The map indicates levels of risk from no risk to extreme risk. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10.Insurance Information Institute, Earthquakes: Risk and Insurance Issues October2007 11. Big "I" National News ,Thursday March 22 ,2007 6 Rehabilitation/Housing Construction The events of 03 May 1999 and their aftermath have created extensive concentration towards the construction, and the reconstruction of homes in the path of the tornadoes. During the review of the damage tracks by qualified engineering teams, including the Building Performance Assessment Team (BPAT) sent in by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a number of engineering observations were collected that confirm earlier findings as seen by, for example, the wind engineers at Texas Tech. University Building codes currently in effect over most of the Midwest are aimed at building homes to withstand winds of up to 80 mph. beyond that, it becomes increasingly likely that some structural damage will occur. Clearly, winds up to 80 mph should cause at most only minor damage While the hurricanes of 2005 displaced more individuals than any other natural disaster in U.S. history, the federal government had dealt with the mass re-housing of disaster victims on several prior occasions. Conclusion The misery of natural disasters never ends The U.S. Geological Survey predicts a catastrophic earthquake California with the next three decades. The expected quake would somewhere in be on the scale of the1906 earthquake that destroyed San Francisco. To put it another way, the quake would be 100 times more powerful than the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which has already cost more than $25 billion. Doubtless, natural disasters are a growing problem for victims and government. ************************* Bibliography Books and Authors 1.Tom L. McKnight and Darrel Hess Physical Geography, Physical Geography, Publisher: Prentice Hall. Journals and Publications 2. Bayler University Medical Center ,Two Okalahoma City disasters Dallas, (Bayl Univ 2001 April; 14(2): 140-143.) 3. Big "I" National News, Senators Introduce Natural Disaster Insurance Bills Thursday March 22, 2007 4. Insurance Information Institute, Earthquakes: Risk and Insurance Issues October2007 5. Miles Lawrence and James Gross National Hurricane Center (1989).Atlantic Hurricane Season of 1988. 2007-03-27 6. National Hurricane Center (1988) Tropical Storm Beryl Preliminary Report. 2007-03-27 7. Southern California Earthquake Data Center , Northridge Earthquake, , October 6, 2006 8.Stacy R. Stewart National Hurricane Center (2003). Tropical Storm Grace Tropical Cyclone Report. 2006-08-13. Websites www.abc7. com Anniversary of Deadly Northridge Quake 2007-07-08. www.fema.gov Federal Emergency Management Agency 800-621-FEMA www.nlihc.org National Low Income Housing Coalition 202-662-1530 Read More