Category: Disaster

The vast majority of volcanoes lie near the oceans, and, until recently, this aspect of their distribution was rather puzzling. Equally, most volcanoes are closely associated with earthquakes, which are also concentrated in narrow bands. It had long been known that earthquakes and volcanoes were somehow related, but nobody really knew the reason until closer analysis brought some correlations to light. The key points covered in the paper are volcanic chains and earthquakes, a correlation between earthquakes and eruptions.Earthquakes are caused by shift in plates and subduction processes.

Volcanoes do not erupt everywhere. They are restricted to narrow bands in very specific locations. The Pacific Ocean is virtually surrounded by a belt of volcanoes commonly called the “Pacific Ring of Fire” which contains about twothirds of the world’s active volcanoes (Gilluly 26). The “Ring of Fire” is marked by the volcanic chains of Japan, Kamchatka, South Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, the Cascade Range of the United States and Canada, Central America, the Andes, New Zealand, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua-New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philippines, and finally the Mariana, Izu and Bonin Islands, which complete the circle. In contrast, the Adantic Ocean has few volcanoes around its edges, except those of the Canary Islands, the Cape Verde Islands, and the West Indies (Blaikie 45).

On the other hand, the Atlantic Ocean has many volcanoes along its central ridge, which are largely submerged. Its crest, however, emerges in Jan Mayen and Iceland, and volcanoes have arisen on the ridge flanks in Ascension Island, Tristan da Cunha, and in the Azores. Similarly the mid-ocean ridges of the Pacific and Indian Oceans are also marked by innumerable submerged volcanoes. The Mediterranean Sea, too, has volcanoes in its midst in southern Italy and Greece. Other volcanoes occur in, or alongside, some of the major rift valleys: the East African Rift Valley system and the Rhine Rift Valley. Several major volcanic areas rise in isolated clusters on both land and sea, including the Tibesti Mountains of Saharan Africa, the Hawaiian Islands, and many submerged seamounts (volcanoes not yet built above sea level) in the Pacific Ocean (Blaikie 47).

Earthquakes are weak and usually less than magnitude 4 and are often accompanied by swarms of minor tremors. The severity of earthquakes is measured on the logarithmic Richter scale, based on the strength of shockwaves propagated through the Earth’s crust. Thus, a magnitude 5 earthquake is ten times greater than one of magnitude 4, and so on up to magnitude 10 or more. Such earthquakes are closely tied to volcanoes, both in time and space, because they are generated by the rise of molten material towards the volcano itself. The second correlation was found on the mid-ocean ridges (Davis 49). Earthquakes accompany the quasi-continual volcanic action along the mid-ocean ridges. Many of these earthquakes are weak, but the strongest tend to range from magnitude 5 to magnitude 6 on the Richter scale. They are also generated at a greater depth, commonly some 25km below the crests of the mid-ocean ridges (Gilluly 66).

The correlation between earthquakes and volcanoes occurs around the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and also, to a degree, in the Mediterranean Sea. The earthquakes occur closely parallel to the lines of volcanoes. These earthquakes are often vigorous, exceeding magnitude 7 or magnitude 8 on the Richter scale, and are extremely destructive if they happen in built-up areas, as was testified by those at Anchorage, Alaska, in 1964, in the Ionian Islands, Greece, in 1953 and at Messina, Sicily, in 1908 (Gilluly 36).

These are deep-focus earthquakes, generated at greater depths than any others, with their main centres often between 100km and sometimes as much as 500km below the Earth’s surface. They occur, moreover, along sloping planes known as Benioff zones after one of the scientists who discovered them (Davis 49). The volcanoes in the belts parallel to these zones of vigorous earthquakes are also marked by violent eruptions. On any individual volcano, the explosive episodes are often separated by decades or centuries of tranquillity. However, the volcanoes in these zones are so numerous that scarcely a month goes by without one of them being active. But cases are extremely rare of an eruption resulting directly from a deep-focus earthquake. The earthquake that destabilized the north flank of Mount St Helens at the start of the eruption on 18 May 1980 was very shallow and relatively weak at magnitude 5 (Gilluly 67).

The deep-focus earthquakes do not cause eruptions, nor vice versa, but both represent different aspects of the same fundamental relationship. It was increased investigation of the oceans in the 1960s that revealed the most likely connection between earthquakes and volcanoes-and even explained the frequent relationship between volcanoes and the sea (Gilluly 68). The facts known about volcanoes, earthquakes and the ocean floors were then pieced together in another fashion. It was as if the methodological kaleidoscope of the Earth sciences had been given a great jolt. A new pattern emerged which then appeared so obvious in its broad outlines that it now seems amazing that it had never been comprehended before (Degg and Chester 125). The distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes, instead of being the problem, actually provided the solution-and the science of plate tectonics was born. It was discovered that the unstable volcanic and earthquake belts mark the edges of plates that together make up the lithosphere, the Earth’s outermost shell, composed of the crust and the upper rigid part of the mantle. The correlation was that many earthquakes occur beneath, or near volcanoes. These are shallow, mostly less than 5km in depth and happen with increasing frequency before, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions (Hobbs 27).

Sea-floor spreading could only be accommodated on the globe in two ways. Either the Earth must itself be expanding (which is unlikely on all sorts of other grounds), or the ocean floors must somehow be consumed at more or less the same rate as they are being formed along the mid-ocean ridges. This second view was soon verified. The true significance of the Benioff zone of severe deep earthquakes became clear (Degg and Chester 125). The outer, leading edges of the plates converge and one plate descends beneath another as a broad, cold, solid slab into the hot, plastic layer, known as the asthenosphere (“the zone without strength”) situated below the lithosphere. This process is called subduction, and it is the main way in which die global plates are consumed.

The overall speeds of subduction range from 2cm a year to about 10cm a year from plate to plate (White 62). The subduction can sometimes be accomplished by smooth downward sliding, but the slab usually descends intermittendy both in time and space. It is the jerky downward motion, or a sudden temporary rebound, that produces the violent deep-focus earthquakes. Once subduction has been initiated by differences of temperature, pressure or density, it continues as a passive response to the sinking of the dense cold plate into the hotter zone below the lithosphere, where it is eventually assimilated at depths of about 700km (Hobbs 82). Thus, one oceanic plate may be subducted beneath another, or an oceanic plate may be subducted beneath a plate also carrying continental crust. A continent cannot itself be subducted because it is composed of less dense material than the ocean floors and is therefore buoyed up (and hence the continental rocks can be very much older than those of the ocean floors). It is not directly related to volcanicity, plates sometimes also neither converge nor diverge, but slide past each other along major fractures or transform faults (Blaikie 49).

When the magma solidifies as lava, it is added to the plate edge. Further divergence caused by continued movement beneath the plates generates other fractures up which more magma may then rise. Plate divergence, the ascent of magma, and its accretion to the growing edge of the plate are thus going on all the time. The plate is rather like a conveyor belt moving away from the mid-ocean ridge where its diverging edge is constantly being augmented by new magma. This is “sea-floor spreading”.(Blaikie 43). The newest parts of the ocean floors occur on the ridge crests, older bands run parallel to the crest on either side of it, and the oldest parts occur, as might be expected, on the outer edges of the oceans towards which they have spread farthest from the ridges where they originated. The very oldest parts of the present ocean floors are no more than about 180 million years old. Together these relatively youthful ocean floors constitute two-thirds or so of the rock surface of the globe (Blaikie 82).

The zone where subduction begins is marked by long trenches, which are commonly between 5000m and 11000m deep. Such trenches, the deepest part of the oceans, are deeper even than the abyssal plains that form most of the ocean floors. The angle at which the plate is subducted varies according to many factors including the relative densities, temperatures and mineral contents of the slab, compared with those of the materials into which it is sinking (Blaikie 41). The Marianas subduction zone, for example, curves down until it is almost vertical, whereas the subduction beneath the Peruvian Andes takes place at an angle of some 15°. Subduction initiates a series of complex changes which result in partial melting of the asthenosphere and the formation of magma. In subduction zones, the magma rises intermittently to the surface, with sojourns of varying lengths in reservoirs en route, where it undergoes changes that usually cause it to erupt violently above the zone of melting.

The volcanoes often form on the overriding plate about 150-200km from the ocean trench marking the inception of subduction-the distance depending primarily on the angle at which the plate is subducted. They form lines of islands in the oceans or chains on land, which are frequently more than 1000km long and about 50km wide, with volcanoes spaced at intervals ranging from 10km to 100km apart. The magma generated by subduction does not reach the Earth’s surface continuously, nor at the same rate, otherwise the volcanoes in a given subduction zone would all erupt in a prolonged explosive chorus. Two outbursts along the same subduction zone at the same time are, in fact, rare. The eruptions in the West Indies of the Soufriere on St Vincent on 7 May 1902, and of Montagne Pelée in Martinique on the following day, were quite exceptional-at least as far as historic records and absolute dating methods have revealed. Because the magma that rises from subduction zones often remains in reservoirs for a time, eruptions from subduction zone volcanoes are irregular and separated by long dormant periods (Degg and Chester 125).

In spite of technological developments and innovative solutions, researchers do not understand the nature of eruptions and earthquakes. When an oceanic plate is subducted beneath another oceanic plate, the resulting volcanoes rise from the ocean floor to form a gently curving island arc. These may be relatively simple volcanic island series such as the Aleutian arc, or they may have a greater age and complexity derived partly from the addition of continental masses into their make-up. When an oceanic plate is subducted beneath a continent-carrying plate, the magma rises up fractures through the continental crust onto the surface and creates land-based, usually straighter, volcanic chains

Works Cited

Blaikie, P., Cannon, T., Davis, J. At Risk: Natural Hazards, People’s Vulnerability, and Disasters. Routledge, 2003.

Davis, M. Cosmic Dancers on History’s Stage? The Permanent Revolution in the Earth Sciences. New Left Review, a, (1996): 48-56.

Degg, M.R., Chester, D.K. Seismic and Volcanic Hazards in Peru: Changing Attitudes to Disaster Mitigation. The Geographical Journal, 171 (2005): 125.

Gilluly, G., Waters, A.C., Woodford, A.O., Compton, R.R. Principles of Geology. W. H. Fremmil: Sn Francisco, 1958.

Hobbs, W.H. Earth Features and Their Meaning. Macmillan Company, 1991.

White, J.F. Study of the Earth. Prentice-Hall, 1962.

Introduction

The earth is made up of four main layers which include; the outer layer, the inner layer, the mantle, and the crust. Another layer is the lithosphere which comprises the crust and the outer layer of the mantle. The lithosphere does not occur as a concrete piece but is broken into ten pieces that can move independently. The driving force of these movements is known as the convective forces which are created by the mantle (Mathez & Webster, 2004, p.84). During these movements, the plates can diverge with each other; others can converge while others can move past each other. Finally the plates grow and depart forming boundaries which act as the sites of earthquakes and volcanoes.

The essay seeks to give an elaborate discussion on plate margins and how they move in addition to exploring the events that cause earthquakes and how they can be measured.

Plate Tectonics

Movements of the Earth after quaking and shaking

Plate tectonics is the phenomenon that explains the structure and the movement of plates (Mathez & Webster, 2004, p.84). Due to plate movements, the Earth is also in a continuous motion. This involves different movements in the earth’s crust whereby, “North America moves stealthily away from Europe at 1 to 3 centimeters per year; huge regions of the Pacific seafloor plummet beneath the surrounding continents; while India pushes northwards into Asia, creating the Himalayas; and Arabia pulls away from Africa, thereby opening the Red Sea” (Mathez & Webster, 2004, p. 84). The edges of tectonic plates are known as boundaries. These boundaries are composed of numerous faults which are rough-edged in shape. During plate movement, the rough edges of the faults can stick together while the other parts of the plate move. After the plate has moved to a considerable distance over time, the edges of one of the faults can unstick thereby resulting in an earthquake.

The events that cause the earth to quake and shake

An earthquake can be defined as the shuddering and trembling of the ground as a result of release of stored energy from faulting that involves breakage of the rocks along weak joints. This involves plate movements whereby the rough edges of the faults stick together as the other parts of the plate move. This leads to the build-up of energy that would have otherwise been used to slide the plates past each other. Finally, the force of the moving plate trounces the friction forces of the stuck edges forcing them to unstuck and the energy that has accumulated is released. This energy is released from the faults in all directions producing patterns referred to as the seismic waves. These waves cause the earth to shake as they move from the center of the earth to the surface. They also cause the ground to shake as they emerge on the surface of the earth.

Scientists have identified “the elastic rebound theory” as the mechanism behind the release of stored energy from the rocks during the course of an earthquake (Monroe & Wicander, 2009, p.190). Earthquakes occur in rocks since they are capable of storing energy and they consist of fractures which are the points where rupture and therefore release of energy occurs first. When the fracture starts at a certain point on the rock, it moves along the fault at a very high speed usually in many kilometers per second. Therefore, the distance of the fracture will determine the intensity of the vibrations caused by the earthquake and the duration of the effect, that is, shaking the ground.

Measurement of Earthquakes

Seismology is the study of the characteristics of earthquakes. Scientists use equipment known as seismographs in measuring the intensity of vibrations caused by the earthquakes. These measurements are then recorded in form of seismograms. Currently seismographs are automated and they can record vibrations in a precise manner. They consist of an electronic sensor that sends signals to a computerized system that records the intensity of the earthquake precisely (Monroe & Wicander, 2009, p. 192). In other equipment, the vibrations can be measured manually. The earthquake is caused by the release of the energy accumulated in the faults which spread in all directions in form of seismic waves. The waves can cause the ground to shake. When the ground shakes, the base of the seismograph shakes too thereby allowing a string that suspends weight in the equipment to absorb these movements. Measurements are recorded by taking the distance between the base of the seismograph and the steady weight suspended by a string.

Types of body waves created by an Earthquake

Since the Earthquake occurs as a movement that shakes the ground, it creates various waves. These waves include; surface and body waves. The body waves originate from the Earthquakes’ epicenter and travel through the earth to the surface. The other forms of waves also known as shock waves include; the primary and secondary waves.

Primary waves are also known as pressure or P-waves be the fastest and can move through elements of matter causing forward and backward earth movements. On the other hand, secondary waves also referred to as Shear or S-waves are unable to move through liquids since they travel sideways causing a lot of damage by moving the ground horizontally. Upon reaching the Earth’s surface, some of the P- and S-waves are converted to surface waves which include the Long waves and the Rayleigh waves. These are known to travel slowly through the surface of the Earth but they do cause a lot of damage.

An example of a place prone to earthquakes in the United States is Alaska which records the highest number of earthquakes per year most especially in the remote areas of the Aleutian Island.

Conclusion

The essay has given an extensive discussion on plate margins and their relationship with earthquakes. The discussion also did touch on the ways of measuring the intensity of the vibrations caused by earthquakes. These measurements are important in predicting the intensity of any future earthquakes so that the people affected could prepare themselves adequately. These should also be coupled with predictions of the earthquake which can be indicated by changes in conductance and unusual animal noises.

Reference List

1. Mathez, E. A. & Webster, D. J. (2004). The earth machine: the science of a dynamic planet. New York: Columbia University Press. Web.
2. Monroe, S. J. & Wicander, R. (2009). The changing earth: exploring geology and evolution. Brooks/ Cole, Cengage Learning. Web.

Introduction

Earthquake is a hazard that should be made public this is because it leads to high loss of life and property if people are not made aware of in this I mean that there should be a way through so that people can have most of damages that are caused by the earth quake reduced. Therefore a country that is frequently involved in this hazard has to know which ways to take sop that they have clear information given to people. This will mean that even if they have to be assisted by other countries to should be done because this hazard when it takes place in a country it claims high percentage of lives and loses that can not be recovered. This will mean that there should be a public campaign in that country on how to go about this hazard in other words this is something that is natural but it can be prevented only through the people getting involved in activities that will reduce the effects of it when it takes place. Zagros is a mountain system in Iran and extends from the Turkish- Armenian frontier south east to the strait of home. Zagros vary from the rigged, forested and snow capped mountains of the North West with volcanic cones and valley system and salt marshes that is in the central point and in the south west there are bare rock and sand dunes. In the northern there is a high population and fertile valleys that support agriculture. In the uplands of the central range the tribal pastoralist are available and in the south east there are cereals that are grown at oases. There are different groups that stay in the mountains that are like the Kurds and lurs and some of the groups are sedentary. Iran is a country that is known for oil; production which lies on the western foothills of the central part of the zagros where there are salt domes that have trapped huge amounts of oil. In speaking of the geology of zagros the structural belt consist of different litho logical units and the geology prospective of the study are indicates that the litho logy in age from the Oligocene up to recent. The study area of this place contains dolomite. Alluvial and sand stone and the sediment flux are critical in controlling erosion rates and lineaments that are the common elements of structural features. Zagros folded belt has been related to folding of cover that is controlled by a ductile decollement. The geological constraints, topography analysis reveal that the basement thrusting may produce locally deformation in the cover. (Nilfouroushan, 2006).

Area of study

In order to determine the depth of the deformation in the basement there will be need for over all contribution to topography and will have to first examine the filtered large and short wave lengths of the topography. In determining the short wave length of the topography then one has to include the zagros folds that is surimposed on different uplift of the regional scale in that the regional base level; of the folded marker horizons has to remain parallel to the regional topography of interest. (Martinod, 2003).

In the modeling there is the revealing of salt based wedge that is not able to reproduce the large wavelength component of topography of the zagros folded belt, this will reveal that when a thick layer of salt forms on the basal decollement then it becomes a problem for the support of growth of significant topography. In referring to the thick skinned crustal wedge model that is involved in Arabian margin that is above a viscous lower crust then the information that is received from this model shows that the observed topography is satisfactory and is also consistent with the present day basement thrusting and the topography analyses and geological problems. This will mean that the basement that is involved in thickening and shortening is mechanically required to produce the shape of zagros belt. The involvement of the basement still provides mechanical and kinematic problems that should be accounted for cross sections that balances and assesses the evolution of zagros at crustal scales. The heat driven circulation from the zagros plateau has impact on the climate of Middle East plain and mainly during summer time winds, air and temperature. From the experiments that have been done to this plateau then it shows that it is highly reflective in that it is snow like and the heat driven circulation produce an extra summertime warming of 1A and 2A degrees c in the middle east plains. There is effect of spatial distribution of hormuz salt on deformation in the zagros fold and thrust belt which shows that there is adjacent viscous and frictional decollements that stimulate this effect in zagros belt. (Martin, 2003).

The zagros fold thrust belt in Iran forms the external part of the zagros active orogenic wedge and this includes a sequence of heterogeneous neoproterozoic sedimentary that cover strata of approximately 12 kilometers thick and composed of alternating incompetent and competent layers. Balancing the structures of the cover stat graphic units in the zagros fold thrust there is need for a sequencing and sequence out involvement of the Precambrian basement in the deformation. In creating the structural complexity the out sequence thrusting mechanically weak layers of the cover strata have played a role by providing several detachment horizons and the shortening estimates across the belt are variable and are based on the constructed cross sections and their restorations, minimum shortening estimates that range from 17 percent to 35 percent in different sectors.

Iran is a country that suffers from social and economic damages that result from seismic activities that are done by human beings. In connection to public awareness of earthquake the zagros belt has had an impact in that they have to keep people in formed and mostly those who have settled new volcanic cones so that they can know of any risk that may arise due to earthquakes. There was a strong earth quake that occurred in western part of Iran and this earthquake measured about on the Richter scales. This earth quake flattened nearly about 100 remote village valleys in the western part of this country and it led to killing of many people, with other injured and thousands left homeless. Earthquakes have proved to cause many destruction therefore there is need for a government to have measures that will lead to changes in weather. (Masson, 2004).

A record that shows the earthquakes that has taken place in 2002 of magnitude 7.0 and greater.

Table 1:

One approach that can be used will be to have public awareness on the safety issues that will be involved to this type of houses they live in and of the earth quake considerations inside the home and work place. This will mean that these people who have to built house in places that are mostly affected by the earth quake should follow the right measures that have been given to them what they will have to do will be to have masonry who knows how to built house that will not be shaken by earthquake when it takes place. (Masson, 2004).

Therefore the building of houses is something that has to be put in consideration because if a house is built against the set instructions then it will collapse and this will lead to loss of life. Therefore as they build houses then they are supposed to be keen so that they know the person to build the house in other words the house should be build in a way that it will support its walls during earth quake. In many buildings this system has to consist of some combination of horizontally distributing elements and the vertical bracing elements. This will mean that this building if it has to follow this system then every thing that is required should be put in action because failure of any part will result to high damage in the building which will even include the total collapse of the building. An earth quake that occurs in a place shakes the whole building and if the building is to remain then it means that it was well built. Therefore there is need for a major design consideration that has to be chosen so that they can have a strong building that will not be affected by earth quake meaning that various separate elements must be positively secured to one another. Another method would be to predict the earthquake and evacuate the occupants of the buildings before it takes place. This is a short term prediction and can not reduce damage to property but if it is successful it can safe human injuries and some secondary effects of earth quake like fire. (Buiter, 2004).

There have been delays in communicating this danger to public this has been due to problems that have been in existence and therefore claiming a high population of people due to lack of information. It is very much costly to reconstruct a damage that has taken place this is because the people lives that are damage cannot be put back to life and in this I mean that many people end up losing their lives mainly due to lack of information that is required therefore it is important to keep people informed so that they know what they are expected to do. This is because if the earth quake strikes a place then there are serious injury and severe damage of structures and therefore what people require is information so that they know what they are expected to do. The predictive studies and mitigation efforts will improve these problems and the state has to be quick implementing the legislation so that they protect people from these hazards. The education and public willingness to comply with the recommended home retrofitting procedures is the responsibility of people ion that people are supposed to take their responsibility so that they follow what is expected so that they have prevention that is right. This will mean that if people are not ready for an action then they will end up getting their loss of life and property and will not get any other assistance because the government will not have income that will be able to cover the affected group of people. Therefore what the public is supposed to do in case of proper building will be to have industries that will have their main concern on providing building materials and have proper transportation infrastructure. This will reduce the cost that can be incurred by people during earth quakes because the buildings will be strong enough to encounter the waves of this earth quake. In public awareness then it should be done in the geological processes of work and how effectively they have to deal with there disasters which may take place. There have been tidies that have been carried out so that they can give in formation in relation to tectonic settings about volcanic cones that exist in the zagros belt in Iran. These studies have been to provide information on volcanic deformation inreverse, normal and trascurrent faulting environments. (Buiter, 2004).

The selected areas have been the Stromboli which ids a normal fault, Cotopaxi which is a reverse fault and mayon which is a trascurrent fault. These three volcanoes are active and similar in size and are composed of inter layered lava and pyroclasatic units. The model that has been in use has been the analogue scaled model which has to plan and develop base on real filed observations and it is not just on theory. From the collected information then it has been clear that earth quakes are very much in places where there are active volcano meaning that in these places then they are not safe for people to live or even carry out their activities. This will mean that if people arte provided with this information then they should be ken so that they know what they are supposed to do so that they do not get in this problem of been harmed and losing their property. The thrust belts and fire land basins record both the phases of orogenuic evolution and influence of depth and surfical, the geological processes at different time scales.

From a report that was collected from alborz seismic belt of northern Persia showed that in estimation of intensity in the villages of the central part of the are is not possible this is because most of the rural settlements in the region use the traditional building style of one or two story single dwelling houses, built of unreinforced sun dried brick with wooden beams. The walls are constructed using mad and the masonry building with mud mortar have little resistance to earth quake motions. The adobe constructions are built close together in cluster and separated by very narrow winding streets. This will mean that incase an earth quake occurs then the building will be affected as they will not have resistance that ids required. Therefore such buildings are seen to be less resistance and this will lead to high damage of property and human lives. In this place the public buildings and some governmental buildings in the larger villages use kiln brick masonry with still beam or they are reinforced by concrete structures this will mean that the adobe construction will be damaged beyond repair and in villages where this construction is done become impossible to assess epicenter intensities.

Variations in spill conditions, topography and water table cause local amplification of ground motions and influence the pattern of damage in the epicenter area. In ground acceleration the peak acceleration in the main shock at other sites can be measured in different areas and from the information that is received then one can be able to access earth quake rates in a place. There is the ground response where by it is possible that ground amplified by resonance of seismic waves within the thick closely consolidated and alluvial deposits containing a high water table on which this part of task is constructed. The concentration of damage in the large buildings suggest that effects are dominant at longer wave lengths but ids not easy to separate site effects from those related to building quality and design. Although threw were frequent earth quakes in this place there is no firm evidence of co seismic surface faulting been reported but the earth quakes that had taken place were associated with active faults. The faulting was hard to find as it occurred high in the mountain range in a region with wet climate and rapid erosion where no convincing Holocene activity could be seen in that place and still no young geomorphic features could be detected on aerial photographs. But there are several geomorphologic indicators of active tectonic processes in the epicenter area. (Bayer, 2005).

The prehistoric landslips in this there is no evidence of fault that affects young alluvial sediments but the earth quakes is associated with past large earth quakes but not on the fault. The raised over terraces of the sefid rud these terraces together with a summer raised river terrace near the sefid rud dam above the present river bed are indicators of active uplift in the area and are recognized to cause earth quake. Spatial variations in uplift are may be account for the changes in the position of the sefid rud channel; in the epicenter area and the river has sinuous and straight reaches. The channel sinuosity is low in most parts but have many branches that will have discharge in the slope areas. The straighter reaches are there ones that are associated with tectonic steeping relative to the meandering reaches. The steepening of certain reaches may be sufficient to have separating meandering from straight and braided modes of channel pattern. From all these factors then they are closely related to the pattern of zagros belt meaning that of they are considered then there can be a way through to get solution to the problem of earth quake. Infact most of the factors that leads to earth quakes in one belt are the same factors that can cause this earth quake in another belt in this I mean that the belts are similar and this will mean that they will not have different causes of earth quake one from another. Therefore the control measures that should be taken by one country to have control over the earth quake and other hazards should be the same measures to be used by another country to reduce and have control over earth quake. Having the main cause of this hazard then people should be ready to follow the precautions that are set. This is because without the right follow up of the set measures then it will be hard for people to know how to fight this disaster as they can fight the other disasters like drought but this will have to take a different direction so that it can reduce the problems that are likely to occur. Therefore all countries should come together and have a camping on public awareness so that they know that people are losing and at the same time the country will loss. Thus it is an important strategy that a country should take in coming up with solutions that will curb this problem all together in the whole world. (Bayer, 2005).

Major earth quakes are uncommon in Iran which lies on a major seismic line and the moderate tremors are reported on various parts of the country every day. Since 1990 there has been many death cases that have been reported in three major earth quakes and the recent earth quake has occurred in Iran in the zagros fold belt and thrust belt which has claimed a large population of people. The highly seismic regions form the boundary between the Arabian and Eurasian plates. With the size of the plates the Arabian plate is smaller in size and split from the African plate by rifting along the red sea. When this plate collides with the massive Eurasian plate then it causes uplift of the Zagros Mountain and many damages are caused by earth quake. From the researches that were carried out in different belts then it shows that the earth quakes result from the colliding of their plates that exist in the mountain that is in this belt. This will mean that with this collision then a movement is caused which will lead to earth quake. There are other causes of earth quakes that can be known and most of these are the active volcanic eruptions. If people carry out activities in such places then they are likely to interfere with it and this will cause this eruption to take place leading to loss of life and loss of property. (Abbassi, 2003).

Generally what is supposed to be done will be to come up with ministries that will cater for the affected people in different areas. This is because in dealing with disasters what people have to do is to know a problem before it comes up and come with a solution to these problems. Therefore with international links and other organizations then a government has come up with strategy and implementation mechanism because of the natural disasters that are wide spread in these places. The ministry that is concerned with this control and implementation has been the bureau for research and coordination of safety and reconstruction affairs. This ministry is concerned with research on safety measures, formulation of preparedness and mitigation plans, disaster information collection. Analysis and dissemination and provision of coordinated services of relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation activities and monitoring activities that include the coordination of budget forecasting and disbursement and provision of logistical support activities. The Iranian emergency response system has the disasters categorized as being national, regional or local. In the national authorities then they are concerned with emergency relief operations and they do this through a national disaster task force which has to give relief response across sectors and the responsibility to the appropriate ministries. What they do will be to call upon the military for as that can assist in giving relief to the affected people in a nation. In the regional structure they deal with giving of relief through a formal arrangement for the neighboring provinces so that they respond to assist the affected area. As soon as the disaster occurs then the neighboring regions are encouraged to respond as the auxiliary provinces. In local structure what they do will be to have sub district governors who report to the district what has taken place then from this pointy the concerned group will take its role in managing the immediate search and rescue operations and the relief phase which follows. So that they could deal with this problem as required there has been committee formed and they have to take their role in carrying out research and teaching people on what is required. There has been the formation of many projects in a year that has to deal with infrastructure so that they ensure that the infrastructure is well set this is important because it will ease the cost that will be required if they have to take people to different places when they make the prediction of this problem.

The committee have to consider the dry and semi dry climate which had effects to agriculture and natural resources what they do in these places is to come up with irrigation projects so that they have water reserved, have waste and vaporization mitigation and construction of earth dams. These practices have to be done in several places so that they have cover for all people who are likely to be affected by lack of water due to drought. In the sector for housing that have been damaged due to floods and earthquakes then they have rebuilt and renovated their house and also they have qualified engineers and technical guidelines followed so that they can have the right earth quake resistant construction and reconstruction. There has been the need for many projects to have prevention of disaster like earth quake this is because without assistance then what people have to do will be to get information that will lead to the right measures taken. In these projects of disaster prevention then they has given information to people so that they know what they are required to do at a particular time there has been self assistance training plan against earth quakes, risks and impacts.( Abbassi,2003).

Conclusion

Zagros belt in Iran has been with frequent earth quakes this is because of the collision of the Arabian and Eurasia plates meaning that people should be kept informed all the times so that they can be well prepared. In this I mean that predication method should be used and other methods that are effective so that people do not have to face these dangers in their lives.

Reference

Abbassi, M. (2003): present day crustal deformation. Geophysical journal international, 157, pp, 300-400.

Bayer, P. (2005): active deformation in zagros. Geophysical journal international, 165, pp, 300-400.

Buiter, H. (2004): analogue benchmarks of shortening and extension experiments. Geological society special publication.

Masson, G. (2004): shortening of central alborz in Iran. Earth and planetary science letters, 223, pp, 100-200.

Martinod, W. (2003): the Arabia- Eurasia collision deformation. Journal of geodesy, 77, pp, 400-425.

Hatzfeld, H. (2006): difference in GPS deformation pattern in zagros. Geophysical journal international. 167, pp, 1000-2000.

Nilfouroushan, P. (2006): GPS study of active tectonics in Iran. MPhil thesis, Uppsala University.

Talbot, R. (2006): investigation of zagros thrust fold belt deformation frascati, Italy.

The documentary under review is a YouTube video uploaded on 9^th February 2018 by Sheila Baker. The video is titled “Documentary: Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011” (Baker, 2018). It reports the natural disaster events, including an investigation into the cause and effects (Baker, 2018). Just like several other documentaries, it has a vast target audience even though the information it provides mainly targets governments and natural disaster experts.

Despite providing a factual report on the events in Japan in 2011, the video has an apparent purpose. It aims to inform its intended audience about the unprecedented events that are likely to occur in the case of a natural disaster (Baker, 2018). In this case, even though the country had the best technology and preventive measures for earthquakes and tsunamis, its devices could not predict the magnitude and nature of the events experienced on that particular day. Furthermore, the director wants the audience to be aware that natural disasters are uncontrollable since they result from natural earth processes. Thus, no amount of technology or preparedness can mitigate their effects (Baker, 2018). Nonetheless, she still encourages her audience to always have preventive measures due to the volatility of such occurrences.

Before watching the video, I had minimal knowledge of the subject. I had only read about the event in the newspaper, but I never took the time to research the issue adequately. Nonetheless, I expected to witness the events that led to the disasters in question and why they claimed so many lives. Additionally, I wanted to see the impact it had on the environment. In this regard, I had questions concerning the causes of earthquakes and tsunamis and their effects on the environment.

The documentary reflects the events leading to the natural disasters and their aftermath, including an investigation into the reasons for the failure of the precautionary measures in place during the 2011 earthquake in Japan (Baker, 2018). Therefore, its main events include the detection of the catastrophe and a depiction of how they occurred. A significant part of the video was filmed in Northeastern Japan, where the tsunami took place even though the first section showing the effects of the earthquake was shot in Tokyo.

Undoubtedly, this documentary has incredible sound effects which blend the cataclysmic events. However, the images are not as sharp as expected, probably because of the nature of the disasters. Despite these shortcomings, the documentary is appropriately filmed with varied camera angles to capture both calamities in depth. Another notable attribute of the documentary is the interviews that have been integrated. They are very educative, especially on understanding why Japan’s defense could not prevent the effects of the tsunami (Baker, 2018). This is blended with computer-generated imagery, which is the special effect used widely in the film to underpin the facts it presents.

I find the documentary very interesting and educative on the earthquake and tsunami that occurred in Japan in 2011. Nonetheless, the video section where coastal engineer Allison Raby is interviewed is my favorite because of the demonstrations she presents. Moreover, the documentary has taught me about the geological volatilities of lying at the junction of major geological plates. Additionally, I have understood why natural disasters are uncontrollable and unpredictable despite the measures that could be, which is surprising. However, the documentary is highly disadvantaged by the quality of the images used and its sharpness, even though I would still recommend it to my friends because of the knowledge it holds.

Reference

Baker, S. (2018).Documentary: Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011 [Video]. YouTube. Web.

Summary

The article by Quarantelli and Dynes (1977) discusses the topic of social crises and disasters; it summarizes the related literature published during the 1960s-1970s. The authors focused on studies where the term “disaster” denoted social phenomena, omitting the literature pertaining to “natural hazards” or technological catastrophes; an attempt was made to concentrate on omissions and problems ignored in publications (Quarantelli & Dynes, 1977).

Quarantelli and Dynes (1977) observe that there had been several attempts to generalize and codify existing findings on disasters; several such studies are mentioned. Most codification attempts are stated to have a severe drawback, i.e. being based on data that only pertains to a single set of events, which considerably limits these generalization efforts; however, despite this, different generalizations based on different disaster events often come to very similar conclusions.

It is highlighted that although social psychological emphasis had tended to dominate in sociology earlier, the disaster studies of the 1960s-1970s mainly focused on social organizational issues. This is viewed as positive, for the causes of disasters were sought in the social structure and conditions, rather than only in psychological characteristics of people. It is noted that groups rather than individuals were used as basic units for disaster studies; however, there existed several problems related to this fact, such as the difficulty to define the boundaries of certain social groups, making it hard to choose methods of study, as well as to pinpoint the object of study itself. Also, small (in size) groups lack formal structure and the “division of labor,” which further complicates their study. Another difficulty is related to the fact that disasters are often addressed by groups that emerge because of that disaster (Quarantelli & Dynes, 1977).

The authors summarize that disaster research often concentrates on systems addressing the disasters; these studies utilize approaches related to collective behavior and complex organization. This led to an emergence of a link between collective behavior and complex organization studies (Quarantelli & Dynes, 1977).

Quarantelli and Dynes (1977) also highlight that the pre-disaster period is often viewed as a source of post-disaster events by researchers; this principle of continuity is stated to seem to apply both to individual and social behavior.

Additionally, Quarantelli and Dynes (1977) summarize that many studies tend to concentrate on long-term outcomes of disasters, both functional and dysfunctional; it is stressed that while previous research only focused on adverse outcomes of disasters, the reviewed studies also highlight some of their positive consequences, such as increased solidarity of victims. The authors also point out that the methods of model building are often used in disaster studies.

On the whole, the authors note that disaster studies became more institutionalized in academia and that such research achieved some support from federal structures. A “critical mass” of disaster scholars apparently appeared, enabling further development of this sphere. Finally, the authors observed that numerous areas related to disasters, both theoretical and practical, still required extensive research (such as the need to develop theoretical background, confirm the existing generalizations, and expand the studies beyond the territory of the U.S.) (Quarantelli & Dynes, 1977).

Critical Remarks

Generally speaking, the authors delivered a thorough overview of disaster studies in the 1960s-1970s. However, it should be noted that studies of social response to e.g. natural and technological hazards also require attention.

The authors stressed that some groups acting during and after a disaster lack clear “division of labor” and definite structure. It may be suggested that such lack of structure might be viewed as an essential feature of some groups, and the processes of distribution of tasks in such groups may be studied separately.

Finally, the authors’ observation that disaster studies should be expanded beyond the territory of the U.S. is rather apt; it is noteworthy that reactions to disasters may differ considerably in other settings.

Discussion Questions

1. Compare the benefits and drawbacks of using social organizational vs. social-psychological approach to disaster studies.
2. Do you believe that the use of the term “disaster” to refer to certain social phenomena (organized by certain groups) may sometimes be ideologically driven? Why?

Reference

Quarantelli, E. L., & Dynes, R. R. (1977). Response to social crisis and disaster. Annual Review of Sociology, 3, 23-49.

The Flood Story is perhaps one of the few themes that recur in almost every culture in the world. Although the Bible and the Torah include the most famous flood stories, these ancient writings were not the first to use this pattern. The scientific community recognizes that the oldest flood myth known to humanity is the Epic of Gilgamesh, which tells the story of Utnapishtim, who attained immortality by escaping from the flood on a ship. Moving beyond these fundamental writings, other cultures also have their own peculiarities in describing the flood myth.

Studying the myths of different cultures about the flood, it becomes clear that Gilgamesh is extremely unlikely to have become a model for writing local myths. Even the story of Noah, very similar to Gilgamesh, hardly had a direct correlation with the more ancient version (Dolansky, 2019). For example, the flood myth of Aztecs is completely different in detail from the usual plot. In this story, all of humanity drowned and turned into fish. But the man Note and his wife Nena were warned and survived in the hollow of the cypress. Disobeying the order to eat only maize, Nena and Note ate fish. As a punishment for this, they were turned into dogs. This story shows how plots can drastically twist from conventional readings.

Many flood myths arose in civilizations that were prone to flooding. The destructive nature of floods frightened people, significantly influencing the fearsome image of flooding in culture (Shah, 2021). The Chinese history of flood control is an excellent example of the emergence of a myth about this. Sister and brother freed the God of Thunder from imprisonment, for which God rewarded them and saved the children from the flood in a large gourd. The theme of incest, unacceptable to many people, made this story multivariate. This suggests that flood myths in many cultures may have changed and transformed.

Examples discussed in the essay in only a tiny part of a huge heritage of global flood stories. Nevertheless, the myths of Aztecs and Chinese underscored crucial features. Although the key element of flood exists in every story, details are radically different. The differences in the plot depend on the characteristics of the cultures. For example, there is a pattern that flood myths appear in flood-prone regions. Finally, flood stories can transform through time and have different endings.

References

Dolansky, S. (2019). Gilgamesh and the Bible. Bible Odyssey.

Shah, K. (2021). The flood story: A cross-cultural conundrum. Curiosity Shots. Web.

Hurricane Katrina has clearly become one of the most notorious disasters of the decade, having brought destruction and taken many people’s lives. Even those, who managed to survive the cataclysm, had to suffer through a very complicated period of drastic changes in their lives.

A graphic example of such a tragic change, Patrick, a man of 35, had to face a major challenge in the process of adjusting to new living conditions, dealing with the PTSD, integrating into the new social environment and handling the emotional insecurity issues, which the changes in his life and the following stress triggered.

The research question, which is going to be answered in the given study, therefore, can be out in the following way: what are the possible intervention methods, which can be applied to solve the problem of PTSD, shock, depression triggered by the death of a family member, and the changes in the social, economic, financial and cultural environment of the patient, who has suffered a cataclysm (Hurricane Katrina in the specified case).

At the time that the hurricane struck, Patrick was 26 and had enrolled in a bachelor course by 2005. However, as the disaster occurred, Patrick had to terminate his studies and move to the place that as safer. Unfortunately, the patient had also lost his sister to the catastrophe; since the two were very close, Patrick suffered an immense shock followed by depression and years of self-accusation.

As soon as the patient moved to Texas, he started feeling completely out of place due to the rapid change of the environment and the immersion into an entirely different culture. As a result of the patient’s inability to adjust to the new environment and the focus on his family tragedy, Patrick stopped being an active member of the community and take part in the social life of the latter.

The following move to New Orleans only made the process of acculturation even more complicated and added the feeling of uncertainty to the range of Patrick’s issues. Combined with the disappointment about his loss of the opportunity to get a Bachelor’s degree and, therefore, rather gloomy career prospects, this emotional strain triggered a neurosis in the patient.

It should be noted that two key developmental periods can be identified in the patient’s state. The first period concerns the life that the patient used to lead before Hurricane Katrina struck and changed it completely, and the second one is represented by the time slot, on which the patient was trying to adjust to the changing sociocultural and economic environment.

Considering the issue from the age perspective, one should add that on the specified time slots, the patient was 26 (early adulthood) and 35 (adulthood) correspondingly.

The course of the cognitive development of the patient seems to have been altered significantly. Before the accident, the patient displayed rather even cognitive evolution, with a very strong tendency to abandon the adolescent egocentrism and become more independent, as well as more mature.

The accident, however, made Patrick regress to the previous stage of developing a personal fable (Pfeifer & Peak, 2012). Consequently, even though much time has passed since Hurricane Katrina, Patrick still feels insecure when making adult decisions and being independent.

As far as the social changes are concerned, the patient is obviously experiencing a shock after the recognition of his failure to gain the desired position in the society. Seeing how hard the realization of the necessity to abandon his bachelor studies was for Patrick, one may suggest that the patient simply fears to embrace the possibility of getting a less promising job and being less successful in his career.

Indeed, Patrick was obviously trying to explore the further academic opportunities. Hence, his social status, which was comparatively high, dropped significantly as he had to cease his studies. The bitter realization of the missed opportunities must be one of the keys to the current deplorable state of the patient, especially to his depression.

The fact that the recent intervention has addressed this problem is very important in the further recovery of the patient (Berk, 2014); by acknowledging his potential and getting his priorities straight, the patient could pull himself together and start working on his personal and professional development; however, combine with the rest of the issues, which the patient has to face at present, the problem concerning the drop of Patrick’s social status is yet to be addressed.

A closer look at the biological development of the patient shows that he currently has no signs of underdevelopment whatsoever. Therefore, most of the problems faced by Patrick concern his inability to confront his fears and face the necessity to let go off the past.

As far as the emotional development of the patient is concerned, the differences between the two periods are evident. Before the hurricane occurred, the patient was passing the stages of emotional development in a rather efficient manner.

A closer look at the emotional evolution of the patient will show that up until 2005, he had been communicating with his family members (particularly, with his sister) rather closely and based their relationships on complete trust and empathy.

In addition, the social aspect of the educational environment, in which the patient used to be, could also be characterized quite positively; with impressive academic success and the creation of strong links between him, his peers and his teachers, Patrick could be described as rather sociable and easygoing person. Compared to the specified progress, the changes, which the following developmental stage has inflicted on him, are truly drastic.

Patrick faced the death of one of his family members, whom he had grown very attached to, not to mention the fact that he had also lost most of his social contacts. Here the cessation of his emotional intelligence growth stems from.

The patient’s record shows that Patrick has attempted at adapting towards the environment of Texas, yet had very little success in blending with the local residents and acculturating in the local environment; partially because of the difference between his environment and that one of Texas, and partially because of the stress that he had suffered, he failed at accommodating in the specified regions.

Which is even more upsetting, the patient is hardly capable of getting used to the realm of his home, i.e., New Orleans. It can be assumed that the rapid change in the environment, i.e., Patrick’s moving from the South to the North and then returning to New Orleans has triggered a dissociation in the cultural context (Schneider, Lam, Bayliss & Dux, 2012).

Seeing that the PTSD issue is only one of the numerous problems that the patient is suffering from at present, it is suggested that new elements should be introduced to the intervention.

While helping the patient adjust to the idea of losing his property and the chances to build his career fast, as well as allowing him to recognize his ample capabilities in terms of employment, it will also be essential to address the loss of his relative, as well as the state of cultural shock, which he is currently in.

To be more exact, the fact that Patrick is focused on searching for the available job options may seem positive only at the first glance. On a second thought, the process of integration into the society does not seem to be happening.

Without the death of his sister being addressed in the intervention, the process of searching for a job and the willingness to plunge into the working process signifies that the patient is trying to oust the feeling of guilt and repress the painful memories instead of coming to grips with the latter and realizing that what happened was not his fault.

Consequently, it is obvious that the PTSD syndrome has not been treated properly and that the patient has entered the sublimation state (Eglinton & Chung, 2011).

Addressing the cognitive problems faced by the patient will require the application of a CBT (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy). Particularly, the PTCI (Post-Traumatic Cognitions Inventory) must be used in order to help the patient get rid of the emotional and psychological trauma, thus, recovering his cognitive development.

According to the existing evidence, though used primarily for addressing the PTSD issues in children and adolescents, the specified approach also has a positive effect on adults: “Up to 15% of participants would improve sufficiently to lose their diagnosis of PTSD after symptom monitoring; CBT would result in greater improvements in symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety” (Smith, 2007, p. 1051).

As it has been stressed above, the key problem of the patient is that he is attempting at defying his current problems, therefore, bottling his emotions inside instead of searching for an emotional relief. As a result, the PTSD rates are getting increasingly high.

First and foremost, a series of therapy sessions based on a patient-centered approach must be carried out so that Patrick could get rid of the feeling of guilt, which he is currently under. The choice of the therapeutic strategy was predetermined by the fact that the patient needs to explore his self and learn more about emotional control.

In addition, it is obvious that Patrick needs to learn to navigate in the realm of his emotions, which means that he must be introduced to the concept of emotional intelligence (Schweizer & Dalgleish, 2012).

The meta-cognition process, which will be launched thereafter, will help the patient analyze the mechanism of his own emotions and, therefore, handle the latter more efficiently. Consequently, it will be possible to introduce the patient to an appropriate coping mechanism, which will help him come to terms with the loss of his beloved sister.

As far as the psychosocial issues are concerned, it can be suggested that the patient should try searching for new contacts and new friends to make. With the adoption of modern technologies, particularly, the social network, the process is most likely to accelerate. Finally, the few biological issues, which Patrick as recently encountered, can be solved with the help of pharmaceutical treatment.

Reference List

Berk, L. E. (2014). Development through the lifespan. 6^th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Allyn & Bacon.

Eglinton, R. & Chung, M. C. (2011). The relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder, illness cognitions, defence styles, fatigue severity and psychological well-being in chronic fatigue syndrome. Psychiatry Research, 188(2), 245–252.

Pfeifer, J. H. & Peak, S. J. (2012). Self-development: Integrating cognitive, socioemotional, and neuroimaging perspectives. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 2(1), 55–69.

Schneider, D., Lam, R., Bayliss, A. P. & Dux, P. E. (2012). Cognitive load disrupts implicit theory-of-mind processing. Psychological Science, 1(1), 1–6.

Schweizer, S. & Dalgleish, T. (2012). Emotional working memory capacity in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49(8), 498–504.

Smith, P. (2007). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for PTSD in children and adolescents: A preliminary randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 46(8), 1051–1061.

Introduction

Disasters provoked by the natural forces or the technical activities of people became a distinctive feature of the 20th and the 21st centuries and a major cause the mass traumatism among the population. In the common sense of the term, disaster is considered an unexpected destructive change followed by the significant disruptions and death of the people involved in the given situation. The researchers suggest distinguishing several types of disasters: natural, technogenic, and social (Lindell, 2013). And despite the differences in the origins of diverse disasters, they have the common features of abruptness, a serious threat to health and welfare of individuals and communities, interference with a regular mode of life, and violation of the environmental conditions’ integrity.

Human Behavior: Disaster Disruption and Adjustment

Along with the apparent negative impact on physical well-being, disasters affect the psychological state and human behavior. During the initial period of disaster unfolding, human behavior is usually determined by an intensive emotion of fear which mobilizes the organism for life-saving activities. Fear activation affects motor activity – the effect can vary from the increase in physical activity to the complete termination of motion – and decrease in decision-making capabilities (Duo, Shen, Zhao, & Gong, 2016).

In crisis situations, only a few people can maintain composure and evaluate the alternatives for actions, while the majority of people become overwhelmed for several minutes.

Within a few days after exposure to a traumatic experience, the victim comprehends the tragedy, and this initial post-traumatic stage is associated with a high level of stress and psychological instability. At this stage, a person may feel an acute aggravation of physical and mental conditions. At this stage panic attacks, the decrease in moral behavioral norms, depression, loss of appetite, and motivation for activity may occur.

The stage of psychological adjustment usually commences in two weeks after exposure to the impacts of a disaster, and it is manifested in behavioral reactions such as the resumption to interpersonal communication, normalization of emotional state, and mental condition.

Factors Influencing Response to Disasters

According to Lindell (2013), exposure to disasters may cause a great variety of adverse psychological responses, and the character of the psychological impact significantly depends on the type of disaster, its location, and the demographic background of the victim’s personality. It is considered that the condition of time may significantly affect victims’ behavior as well. For example, the analysis of the Titanic and the Lusitania disaster demonstrated that when the events unfold rapidly, the individuals become driven by the vital instincts which highlight individual egoistic concerns (Frey, Savage, & Torgler, 2011). On the contrary, when the situation develops slowly, people tend to demonstrate altruism, compliance with social norms, and personal values.

The common post-disaster effects include the changes in family bonding (both positive and negative), social and psychological maladaptation, changes in risk perception, excess stress, depression, and other psychological conditions influencing individual behavior.

The research in the effects of traumatic experiences on the behavior of rural residents in Indonesia made it clear that natural disaster drastically increases risk-vulnerability and results in the exhibition of “risk-averse behavior” in victims (Cameron & Shah, 2015). Exposure to traumatic experiences may also change personal beliefs. The victims of natural disasters in Indonesia started perceiving their environment as risky, and the fearful recollections largely affect individuals’ performance in multiple domains of life.

According to Elliott and Pais (2006), in the society characterized by a high level of social inequality, social identities and resources impact human response to a disaster and the consequent adjustment.

The analysis of Hurricane Katrina’s impacts on the residents’ well-being makes it clear that people with lower socioeconomic status experienced greater difficulties during evacuation and short-term recovery of physical damage and loss and, as a result, their adverse experiences were stronger (Elliott & Pais, 2006). At the same time, the promptness and availability of resources fostering the short-term recovery – medical service, housing, employment – are correlated with better long-term post-disaster adjustment.

Theoretic Approach to Development of Disaster Preparedness

Preparedness for disasters at both individual and social levels may become an efficient method for the reduction of disaster risks and mitigation of their adverse effects. The development of preparedness implies changing human behaviors in order to reduce individual risks and adopt the skills of coping with hazards.

According to the Vested interest theory, human behavior is significantly affected by individual attitudes. Vested interest is regarded in connection with the attitude objects and “it’s capacity to have meaningful personal consequences for an attitude holder” (Miller, Adame, & Moore, 2013). When a person perceives the attitude object as relevant to her welfare, her attitude predicts a behavior aimed at the achievement of a desired and relevant outcome.

A less vested interest relates to behaviors and actions which do not imply any attitude. To make the mitigation of disaster risk a vested interest and develop the relevant attitudes, it is important to raise public awareness while taking into consideration the geographical, social, and cultural characteristics of the regions.

According to the Social Cognitive Theory, preparedness intentions depend on the level of trust to the social, governmental, and informational agencies, as well as the perceived likelihood of disaster occurrence (Terpstra, 2011). It is possible to say that the level of trust is defined by personal beliefs, culture, experiences, perceptions of security, and thus, it is a subjective phenomenon. Therefore, the efficiency of risk management and the stimulation of human behavior is a critical situation depends on the abilities of authorities to consider the multicultural characteristics of the population, technical skills, and development of adequate disaster defense policies.

References

Cameron, L., & Shah, M. (2015). Risk-Taking Behavior in the Wake of Natural Disasters. Journal Of Human Resources, 50(2), 484-515.

Duo, Q., Shen, H., Zhao, J., & Gong, X. (2016). Conformity behavior during a fire disaster. Social Behavior and Personality, 44(2), 313-324. Web.

Elliott, J. R., & Pais, J. (2006). Race, class, and Hurricane Katrina: Social differences in human responses to disaster. Social Science Research, 35(2), 295-321. Web.

Frey, B. S., Savage, D. A., & Torgler, B. (2011). Behavior under extreme conditions: The Titanic disaster. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 25(1), 209-222. Web.

Lindell, M. K. (2013). Disaster studies. Current Sociology, 61(5-6), 797-825. Web.

Miller, C. H., Adame, B. J., & Moore, S. D. (2013). Vested Interest theory and disaster preparedness. Disasters, 37(1), 1-27. Web.

Terpstra, T. (2011) Emotions, Trust, and Perceived Risk: Affective and Cognitive Routes to Flood Preparedness Behavior. Risk Analysis: An International Journal, 31(10), 1658-1675.

Introduction

The Mennonite Services is a network consisting of various groups of the Anabaptism churches that has been, over the years, volunteered to work together to help people who have been faced up by disasters. The program is based in Canada and the U.S and it was integrated in 1993 as a non profitable organization.

It uses various relief organizations and other service agencies to deliver assistance to those who need it. The organization’s main is focus is rebuilding and repairing of destroyed homes and cleaning up the society’s environment. This way, restoration of life to the people becomes very possible as the struck families are given hope in life. Besides Canada and the United States, the Mennonite committee has also been organizing responses to disasters in around the globe in the international setting.

Basically, much of this organization’s projects are supplements to the services offered by the Red Cross society. The year of the incorporation of the organization saw numerous occurrences of disasters including the hurricane Andrew and the floods that hit the Midwest. The recovery process by the MDS network saw many volunteer response to the same disasters from which the network’s growth was initiated.

What the organization does

Currently, the network has various programs that are all aimed at ensuring effective assistance to the needy people suffering from disasters.

For instance, the organization has a partnership home program that is aimed at increasing the organization’s ability to meet the needs of many families within the shortest time possible so that they can bring them all home. The main aim of this program is t link sponsors with the community as well as the organization itself. This way, families that lack services such as house insurance cover and funds to rebuild their homes have been assisted in building quality houses.

In order for the organization to effectively fulfill its objective of assisting the needy, it has developed disaster studies programs in conjunction with other service agencies, to train leaders to ensure proper management of all activities involved in disaster responses. This program has been of more help than anticipated as some colleges and universities have formed their own programs to help in recovering from disasters.

The organization also has a program for pastors who encourage them to give spiritual support and hope to the people who have been hit by any kind of a disaster. This move by made possible by the availability of financial support to the pastors such as transport expenses to the sites where the Mennonite disaster services are working. The organization believes that through working together with church representatives, God’s love will be expressed and this makes it easy for people to renew their hope and faith in God.

Besides these disaster response projects, the organization also has a youth project which is held every year at different locations. This project is not necessarily meant for responses to disaster but can also work on other projects for the betterment of the community. However, this project is not tied up to community projects because it works on disaster hit areas as well (DeHaan, 2010, p. 1).

Since the important players of the Mennonite disaster service are the volunteers, the organization has developed a volunteer training program which trains volunteers on how to relate well as they work together to represent the organization in the society. The MDS network also has a recreational vehicle program whose aim is to facilitate assistance to areas which lack fully warranted MDS projects.

This project is designed to attract retired volunteers who may want to work but for fewer hours than the normal working hours for volunteers. Such volunteers use their own vehicles and the provide most of their personal requirements although the organization assists in service provisions such as parking sites, electricity and water provision. Some of the responses by the MDS include cleanup activities in the hurricane Katrina which had left many families devastated and hopeless as their homes were destroyed.

Criticism facing the MDS network

However helpful the Mennonite disaster service may seem, it has been faced with various criticisms from other organizations or even individuals. The network has been criticized for not being certain on what and how it intends to achieve.

This has been related to poor organizational planning. Due to the support of the church, the MDS network has been criticized for not being able to fully represent the church and the organization’s objectives. The argument is that the organization, being a church based organization, excludes the church which should be the driving spirit for them and even for volunteers.

The Mennonite disaster committee has also been blamed for not paying enough attention to the faith aspect. This could be improved by involving members of the church in the boardroom as committee members. Another major criticism is the inappropriate use of power by those in authority as many members are more involved in the secular side of life than in the Christian life which is meant to mold them (Stoesz, 2011, p. 1).

Conclusion

The Mennonite Disaster Service has been over the years helping many families rebuild their homes after being destroyed by natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes and storms. The organization is based on Christianity although many people feel that it is not completely incorporating its work with Christian faith. However the criticism it is facing, the organization has been a savior of many families without which they would have been homeless and in suffering.

Reference List

DeHaan, M. (2010). Modern Mennonite Relief Organizations and Service Agencies. Web.

Stoesz, E. (2011). Institutions are returning to the church. Web.

Public policy refers to the guided approaches used by governments or government agencies to cover a specified class of issues that need the attention of the government (Stewart, Hedge & Lester, 2007).

Although public policy is meant to cater for a myriad of government initiatives, it sometimes become evident when a nation is faced with an emergency and it needs an elaborate plan to cater for such emergencies.

When the US government was faced by the disastrous hurricane Katrina, it responded with elaborate policies to ensure that the disaster and its effects were contained.

Hurricane Katrina is one of the most memorable natural disasters in the history of the United States due to its magnitude of destruction (Stewart, Hedge & Lester, 2007). It led to loss of properties, loss of lives and deformation of the natural land, which is of great importance to human beings as well as for the economy of the United Sates of America at large.

Its effects were extremely exhibited in such places like Mississippi, Louisiana City of New Orleans, and Alabama. Two days before the disaster, the president had declared a state of emergency in several regions such as Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama (Stewart, Hedge & Lester, 2007)

The government responded to the hurricane by use of several agencies. Among the agencies that were used by the government was Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Stewart, Hedge and Lester (2007) also note that other stakeholders that took part in this response were private individuals, NGOs and local-level agencies.

This illustrated the concern and empathy that people showed towards the affected ones. People living in Louisiana and coastal Mississippi as well as in Alabama were quickly issued with evacuation orders either voluntarily or by use of force. Among those issued with evacuation orders were about one million, two hundred thousand residents in the Gulf Coast (Stewart, Hedge & Lester, 2007).

US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) was sued due to the failures of the hurricane protection measures especially due to the role of the identified agency in designing the levee system (Stewart, Hedge & Lester, 2007). Army Corps engineers were found solely responsible, but their sovereign immunity protected them from being held accountable. The response that was received during the crisis from the federal state as well as local government was also investigated. This forced the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director to resign (Stewart, Hedge & Lester, 2007).

The resignation of the director contributed to the slowness in the operation offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and of New Orleans Police Department (NOPD). However, there were areas where the response was highly commended such as the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the National Hurricane Center (Stewart, Hedge & Lester, 2007). The government on its side failed in timely delivery of goods as well as early rescue of victims of the hurricane Katrina.

Generally, the government of the United States of America should be solely committed to natural disasters that may occur in the country through timely response to the situation and provision of the necessities to the affected individuals. The public on the other hand should also play a role in giving support to the affected persons through their generous contributions.

Non Governmental Organizations should offer their support to victims of such disasters fully. These include assisting homeless individuals through tent construction and also creating awareness on the effects of natural disasters. This would ensure full protection of the public as well as solidarity and unity in the country.

Reference

Stewart, J., Hedge, D. M. & Lester, J.P. (2007). Public Policy: An Evolutionary Approach.New York: Cengage.