Category: Hurricane

Definition

In the past 20 years, hurricanes have had a more devastating impact on the insurance industry than in the entire history. This fact made the industry players more sensitive towards the catastrophes, especially when determining the insurance policies to offer. According to insurance definition, hurricanes form in the oceans, and both the winds and floods move towards the mainland causing great damages to properties in urban and rural areas. Hurricanes can affect any state regardless of the location. In the United States, however, several regions have been identified to be more prone to this natural catastrophe. Indeed, today, the main challenge is the flooding caused by coastal hazards, such as hurricanes that become more frequent and severe, creating unexpected threat to the coastal regions and the Midwestern states. In fact, in those areas, hurricanes have historically taken place once in every 20 years, but now, they are expected to occur every four or five years. The situation has become a major concern of insurers because more than a half of the American citizens live in the coastal regions, and about a half of the nations GDP is produced in the Gulf and Atlantic coastal regions.

According to estimates given by Pasich, Fleishman and Paar, losses caused by flood along the Atlantic and Gulf coastlines will increase by 80 percent with a half meter rise in sea level by 2030 (1-3). About 210 hurricanes have occurred in the eastern US in the last 100 years, reflecting a mean frequency of 2.1 land-falling hurricanes annually. The relative dearth level because of hurricane occurrences and the complexities resulting from rapidly changing demographics are the major reasons that insurers have used simulation models to accurately forecast hurricane losses. The hurricane season starts in June and lasts until November or early December. In most cases, many insurance firms will not accept any new application after an allocated hurricane enters the Gulf of Mexico and, in particular, the area located in the borders of 20 degrees north latitude by 80 degrees west longitude.

Insurance coverage

Insurance for losses caused by hurricanes can be offered under a number of different kinds of insurance policies. The insurance coverage is provided under a property policy as well as other laws including home-owners, comprehensive and renters ones (Tutwiler 2). Many of these property insurance policies cover damages of real properties caused by the disaster. Due to the breadth of coverage given by an all risk policy, when an insured states that he/she has suffered a loss from a disaster, the burden of evidence shifts to the insurance carrier to demonstrate that the damage is not paid back. Property insurance policies generally cover all the structure that are mentioned and scheduled in the policy.

The property insurance policies are also responsible for insuring personal property. In most cases, this coverage is offered under a personal property provision that is not classified. The provision usually offers coverage for personal property not listed that is typical or secondary to the occupancy of the structure or utilized by the insured in the particular structure. Certain types of property, especially those that can be moved easily, are covered only under floater endorsements to the larger policy. The endorsements or policies are used for business personal staff, such as furniture, stock, machines, at least to the level where the properties are within the insured sites.

Typically, property policies consist of provisions that are paid for preventive efforts put by the insured to avoid damages as well as those that might require such efforts. The provisions are known as sue and labor ones. Essentially, these provisions apply only if the insured spends some money to protect the covered premises from destruction or damage resulted from a hurricane. The purpose of the provision is to encourage the insured to engage in protecting the threatened property so as to avoid unnecessary expenses to the insuring company caused by a greater damage to the covered item. The policy normally applies, for instance, when an insured reinforces its roof to avoid damage.

In insuring disasters like hurricanes, many home-owners and renters policies offer coverage for another expense called additional living expenses. This kind of policy is defined as any essential increase in living expenses an insured incurs so that the family can continue living under the normal standards. The coverage for home-owners policies is usually offered in the shortest period required to replace the damaged property or to relocate. This coverage has not only a time limit, but also a financial limit.

In addition to the policies mentioned above, property insurance policies relating to hurricanes also provide coverage in business interruption. This kind of insurance protects against the several kinds of economic damages. The damages are defined in the following manner. The insurance covers physical properties of the business as well as the consequences related to business operations. The coverage includes contingent business interruption, gross earnings, profit and commission, extra expense and civil authority coverage. Generally, the business interruption coverage involves the expenses that an insured incurs in reopening a business for a certain period.

Property policies exclude only damages caused by floods (Wall 7). In such cases which extend coverage to damages caused by wind, the usual flood exclusion which is presently in use alleges to exclude damage resulting from or caused by wind. Such kind of exclusion that is probably brought to a court as a result of damages suffered by the insured following a hurricane has been the bases of many controversies. The more the insurer policies fail to include flood damages which are directly related to hurricane cases, the more litigations have been put in place in regard to insurance claims.

Issues regarding coverage

Most policies dealing with property insurance offer coverage for damages resulting from hurricanes, apart from flood damage caused by the disaster (Mills 67). As a matter of fact, flood coverage cannot be fully covered with the general property insurance policies though if an insured has a flood insurance policy, then he/she will get a coverage in case of flood damages. Many insurance firms as well as the federal government which is to follow the National Flood Insurance Program are responsible for paying the coverage back. The program includes the insurance premiums and covers the claims and losses. Some property insurance policies, however, offer restricted coverage in case of hurricanes or demand a greater deductible to be bought specifically for the hurricane hazard. Most states that are vulnerable to hurricanes have government controlled insurance programs that offer hurricane coverage to individuals who cannot get insurance via the voluntary market.

The consequences of Hurricane Katrina resulted in large debts in National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and its continued reliance on taxpayer support. According to insurance brokers estimation, the hurricane could cost world insurance and reinsurance sectors about US$40 billion (Buckley 1). Other government studies claimed that NFIP was not actuarially sound. The program could not collect enough premium income to create reserves to respond to long-term anticipated future flood losses. This was in part because the US Congress authorized sponsored insurance rates for certain properties. The catastrophic hurricane which had induced flood occurrence in 2005 required large loans from the US Treasury to pay claims. Another concern was that properties that had suffered repeated flooding and were still to be paid caused a great drain on NFIP resources (Linnerooth-Bayer and Mechler 4).

Hurricane Katrina also raised the major issues for private insurers. For instance, in Florida, the hurricane inflicted the largest US catastrophe loss and resulted in chief insurance insolvencies. Florida insurance markets financial strength had already been affected by the withdrawal of some national insurers (partly due to regulations requiring insurers to provide the same premiums to most vulnerable coastal regions and low-risk mainland properties) that were replaced by government-sponsored entities and weakly-capitalized insurers. For example, the second biggest insurance company in Florida, the Poe Financial Group which insures homes, apartments and condos, declared insolvency in 2006. Indeed, this was the biggest bankruptcy the Florida state had ever overseen. The state-sponsored insurers were to bear the outstanding claims. This case shows that even strongly capitalized and diversified insurance firms faced insolvency as a result of hurricane Katrina.

Hurricane Katrina uncovered the lingering dissatisfaction with the state sponsored programs and private insure procedures, particularly pertaining to definition between flood coverage and wind damages. Since NFIP does not offer wind damage insurance, it has been argued that the US should establish a nationwide all-hazards policy. Hurricane Katrina also showed a principal problem in communication and information in regard to NFIP and private insurers policies. Many complainants were surprised to find restricted coverage, which prompted some to argue that there was a need to increase the maximum insurance limits substantially (Griffin 3). Mills observed that the limitation of insurance was often criticized, but in some situations, it could also be seen as an sign that society was restricted in its capacity to pay the skyrocketing costs of hurricanes (1042).

Conclusion

In respect to insurance standards, hurricanes are natural disasters caused by weather changes in the ocean which are characterized by very strong winds and floods in some cases. Although the coastal regions of the United States are the most vulnerable to this hazard, its impacts can extend to the mainland as well. There is an increasing trend in the frequency of the hurricanes occurrence within the last twenty years, reporting on the highest level of this natural catastrophe in history. Hurricanes mostly occur between June and November. The insurance loss caused by hurricanes is mainly covered under the property policy though there are other relevant policies, such as home-owners and renters policies. Damages caused by floods are not covered under the general property policy as the federal government alone bears the risk through NFIP which includes the premiums to insured as well as pays the claims and losses. This is the major reason for hurricane Katrinas controversy when NFIP could not collect enough premium income to create reserves to respond to long-term anticipated future flood losses though most of the insurance firms had experienced insolvencies as a result of previous hurricanes in the past.

Works Cited

Buckley, Patrick et al. The Insurance Industrys Troubling Response to Hurricane Katrina. 2006. Web.

Griffin, D. L. Testimony Before the US Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Concerning the National Flood Insurance program on Behalf of the property Casualty Insurers Association of America. Washington DC: Congressional Record, 2007. Print.

Linnerooth-Bayer, Joanne and Reinhard Mechler. Federal Emergency Management Agency Challenges Facing the National Flood Insurance Program. 2005. Web.

Mills, Evan. Insurance in a Climate of Change. Science 309(2005): 1040-1044. Print.

Mills, Evan. From Risk to Opportunity: Insurer Responses to Climate Change. Boston, MA: Ceres, 2007. Print.

Pasich, Kirk, Fleishman, Barry and Randy Paar. A Guide to Insurance Coverage for Losses from Hurricane Katrina. 2005. PDF file. Web.

Tutwiler, Charles. Property Insurance Law and Ordinance Coverage-Illusionary. n.d. PDF file. Web.

Wall, Dennis. Flood Exclusions, Hurricanes and Theories of Insurance Coverage. Property Insurance Law Committee Newsletter 2005: 7-10. Web.

Throughout history, the United States has had many catastrophic and costly natural disasters, some of which have caused billions of dollars in damage, and the number of dangerous phenomena is only increasing. Hurricanes are one of the most potent forces of the elements, which cause significant destruction, great damage to economic facilities, and lead human casualties. To prevent the frequent occurrence of this weather phenomenon, it is necessary to understand the process of its occurrence and how human actions affect it.

A hurricane is a dangerous natural phenomenon that threatens people’s lives and the animal world, bringing great destruction to residential buildings and economic facilities. This wind is of destructive force and considerable duration, the speed of which exceeds thirty miles per hour (Prager, 2020). Hurricane appears under the influence of strong winds, when the pressure on the water’s surface decreases and the air temperature is high enough, forming a steam cloud (Lim et al., 2018). It accelerates as it moves through the water, reaching the land. It calms down and weakens as it loses all water and moisture supply.

The occurrence of hurricanes is not constant and has no significant dependence on the sun or instead on solar flares. A hurricane generates perturbation, which occurs when warm and humid air coming into contact with the sea begins to rise (Prager, 2020). Most hurricanes form in the area of the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane season begins in early June, as the water starts to warm up and the pressure slowly drops. Science has not yet reached the level to deal with hurricanes and calm them down, but forecasters can already predict the location and size of hurricanes and cyclones.

The last incident was Hurricane Laura on August 27, 2020, which hit the US states of Texas and Louisiana. It has become the most destructive in the last few years – it has been assigned the fourth category of power. When making landfall, Freedman et al. (2020) wrote that Laura contributed to the formation of destructive winds with tragic damage and power outages. Tens of thousands of coastal residents were also evacuated, some of them losing their homes and property. In the aftermath of Laura, parts of Louisiana experienced catastrophic storm surges, hurricane-force winds, and flooding.

Increasingly, scientists are now saying that global climate change directly impacts the frequency and strength of hurricanes. It does not contribute to the number of hurricanes but raises the periodicity of the most devastating of them and affects the statistics of earthquakes and tsunamis. As the shift in the environment impacts the number of mighty winds, it also directs them to where they can cause the most damage. The struggle of developed countries for clear skies by reducing the level of dangerous aerosols and particulate matter in the atmosphere also has its negative consequences (Lim et al., 2018). With a cloudless sky, the Earth receives more sunlight, which is then delayed by greenhouse gases, which only exacerbates global warming.

Such disasters as a hurricane have always been unpredictable and utterly natural. It is one of the most frequent and dangerous cataclysms on the planet. This rapid funnel comes from the sea, and once on land, it quickly dissipates, causing significant damage before that. If in most cases, climate change has little influence on the nature of dangerous phenomena, then the situation with hurricanes, as recent studies show, is different, as it has a significant role in the appearance of this mighty wind.

Introduction

Hazards and natural disasters have until recently caused uncountable losses to property and life, with some calamities giving losses in hundreds of billions of dollars. An example is the most damaging flood in United States’ history, known as the 2005 Great New Orleans Flood or the Katrina. It is estimated that the damages incurred in 2005, by insurance industries, rose to hundreds of billions in United States Dollars. Among the Insurances that gave these figures, include Risk Management solutions, which is one of the leading United States insurance industries. Risk management has been a major concern for multinational industries as well as small-scale businesses. However, this has not been the same in natural disasters, which in most cases come unexpected. The level of progress in calculating risks, as well as loss prevention and management has improved, especially when the risks in question are unnatural. Nonetheless, adequate progressive steps are yet to be taken when dealing with natural disasters like, floods, earthquakes and the likes. These calamities are usually unexpected, and may cause unimaginable amount of damages to properties and lives (ConsumerAffairs 1).

Having said that, it is quite imperative to note that loss prevention is still essential to limiting the level of damage in natural disasters. For instance, Government response to the 2005 hurricane Katrina was intensely criticized for lack of leadership, mismanagement, delays in response, and state of chaos the transpired later, among others. It is believed that if more was done to improve loss prevention, then it is highly unlikely that such levels of losses could have occurred. This paper will try to define loss prevention, relate it to Hurricane Katrina and finally try to bring out the effects of Hurricane Katrina on loss prevention.

Loss prevention

Loss prevention refers to the act of taking positive measures to abate or put a stop to risks that have been identified and when left unchecked, may cause great damages or losses. Loss prevention measures are virtually carried out in almost every institution to avert any unnecessary expenditure as well as for safety purposes. Natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, lightening, and such like, require immediate response as loss prevention measures. This requires relevant departments and personnel on whose shoulder loss prevention lies to work within their limits to ensure that the least possible damages and loss of lives is incurred. To do this, they require organization, funding, training, preparedness as well as the goodwill in executing such tasks. As it appears, this was not the case or at least according to those who criticized loss prevention process in 2005 (Smolka 1).

Several institutions in the modern world have put in place acceptable loss prevention programs to help raise awareness on safety. Governments throughout the world have provided funding thereby allowing the various states to endow much of their resources and time on loss prevention tasks to mitigate on injuries, losses as well as improve their ways of responding to emergencies. One gets the feeling that, the mentioned number of deaths, at around 1800, with hundreds of thousands displaced as well as a loss tuning to hundreds of Billions, loss prevention was greatly affected. This left a lot to desire of loss management mechanisms, as well as government preparedness to tackling such calamities. Significant improvement in the government’s response and loss prevention mechanisms is required to help manage such risks in the future (Smolka 1).

Hurricane Katrina

Also known as, the 2005 Great New Orleans Flood, Hurricane Katrina is considered as one of the deadliest and costliest natural disaster to have occurred in the United States. It is also considered among the five most deadly hurricanes ever to occur in United States’ soil. It was the sixth strongest hurricane to occur in the Atlantic Ocean and the deadliest in terms of actual hurricane deaths, since Hurricane Okeechobee, which occurred in 1928. Moreover, property loss was nearly three times that of Hurricane Andrew that occurred in 1992. Clearly, this was a deadly natural disaster, which required a well-networked loss prevention mechanism. This risk was unimaginable, let alone the cost of loss prevention and rescue mechanism. Figures given by the United States records confirmed that 1836 people lost their lives in the initial hurricane floods alone; this brings to focus what should have been done to reduce this number, as well as property loss (ConsumerAffairs 1).

This disaster is said to have formed in the Bahamas by 23rd August of 2005, and then crossed to southern Florida, having caused several casualties. It then strengthened at the Gulf of Mexico before moving to Louisiana six days later. Storm surge caused severe damage to gulf coast, Mississippi beachfronts as well as Texas and significant deaths in Louisiana and New Orleans. The floods went inland for about 12 miles, with boats ramming into buildings and severe destruction of properties witnessed (Barr 2). The levee system, which had been made for hurricane protection, failed to contain this intense flood in New Orleans, causing significant damages and deaths thereby prompting lawsuit against the designers and builders of the levee system. Lawsuits took shape against the federal agency but they could not be held responsible financially due to sovereign immunity (ConsumerAffairs 1).

Further investigations on response mechanisms from the federal states as well as the local government prompted resignation of FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) director. In addition, the New Orleans Police Department superintendent also resigned. On the contrary, National Weather Service, Coast guards, and the National hurricane center were commended for their dealings, which gave accurate forecasts and lead times (Amanda 1). In essence, leads and forecasts were given at their correct times, but the response, leadership, and planning for loss management was greatly affected. Six years down the line, thousands of displaced residents of Louisiana and Mississippi still live in provisional housing as the Army Corps of Engineers try to address reconstruction in the areas (Barr 2).

Effects of Hurricane Katrina on Loss Prevention

Hurricane Katrina greatly affected efforts to salvage lives and properties due to its magnitude and slow response, the following are some of the effects of Hurricane Katrina on loss prevention.

Alteration of Disaster prevention landscape by Hurricane Katrina affected Loss prevention

It is observed that climate, imminent catastrophes as well as cities, among others, are continually altering the disaster prevention landscapes. This makes it increasingly difficult to lay out mechanisms for loss prevention. For instance, the Army Corps Engineers, designed a levee system in New Orleans, most probably based on their perception of the hurricane strengths they expected. However, the pending Hurricane was unknown, the magnitude at which it hit the city was unimaginable and in that respect, loss prevention failed, even though plans had been made to abate the catastrophe. Clearly, it can be seen that something failed (levee system), and deciding on the best corrective measures and loss prevention was not obvious. It then meant that other course of actions had to be taken to assist in rescue operations (The World Bank 42-100).

Policies designed for loss prevention are usually based on a given expectation of the disaster. These policies are formulated based on already marked disaster prevention landscapes, it therefore means that if these landscapes are altered, risk is increased and the focus is diverted. When this happens, there is a high likelihood of witnessing risky behaviors (The World Bank 42-100).

Arguments that Hurricane Katrina was caused by Climate Change greatly affected loss prevention mechanisms

Global warming due to Climate change has overtaken debates in recent discussions, with it s repercussions varying from one researcher to another. Hurricane Katrina is argued to have occurred due to climate change. This is quite instrumental in distracting concentration from loss management policies, in the process mispricing the risks, and facing its consequences, as was seen in Hurricane Katrina. The ambiguity of understanding global warming and its effects have been the main undoing of loss prevention. This is because, when predicted risk is ambiguous, then there is likelihood of underestimating or overestimating disasters and in most cases, when dealing with natural disasters, like Hurricane Katrina. It is therefore quite understandable that even though the forecasts were accurate and leading times available in abundance, the kind of preparation and response for loss prevention was unsatisfactory (The World Bank 42-100).

Hurricane encouraged Overestimating/or Underestimating risks

Residents of riskier areas tend to overestimate risks, while those in low risk areas underestimate. Risk level for inhabitants of New Orleans, and Louisiana, was quite different from those in Bahamas, and Texas. This is because, according to their risk levels, Hurricane was overestimated in some areas than others. Since resources are dispatched based on risk levels, it is quite possible that loss prevention was distracted in allocation of personnel and rescue equipment. In addition, response time is very important as it provides a faster evacuation routes before the condition worsens (The World Bank 42-100).

Economic and Insurance costs of Hurricane Katrina depended highly on response and loss prevention mechanism

Hurricane Katrina greatly affected loss prevention measures since its associated consequences depended greatly on how quickly response would overtake the situation. Unfortunately, the longer it took to drain the warm polluted stagnant water, the less chance it had to achieve its loss prevention objectives. In essence, Loss prevention depended on how fast water could be drained, and rescue attained. This was quite difficult as it took a longer time for water to drain, moreover, its infiltration on the wooden residential houses and properties led to more damages (Smolka 1).

Furthermore, the kind of loss prevention measures that had been put in place in the form of a levee system did not perform its task as was required. It had been designed for category three, strength, while what befell the city was a category four or five. This greatly affected loss prevention measures as it meant a new beginning for the rescue group. Shortcomings in response and preparedness for Hurricane Katrina were exacerbating more failures in loss prevention, negating the efforts made in loss prevention. Loss prevention was therefore; affected by the Hurricane, especially due to the magnitude of the disaster, slow response from federal government, poor maintenance on disaster management facilities and alterations on disaster prevention landscapes, among others (Smolka 1).

Summary

Hurricane Katrina, which occurred in New Orleans, was one of the deadliest to happen in the United States’ history. Its death toil of 1836 was the deadliest for a natural disaster since Hurricane Okeechobee that occurred in 1928. Moreover, property loss was nearly three times, that of Hurricane Andrew, which occurred in 1992. Loss prevention measures were greatly affected given that response and preparedness was sluggish. Poor maintenance of disaster management systems was instrumental in negating loss management mechanisms. For instance, the levee system that had been put in place to handle hurricane was well short of its needs as it gave way to the Katrina floods, which in turn inflicted severe damages to properties and significant loss of lives (Caruso 1).

Arguments that climate change could have caused hurricane Katrina were on the rise, and this diverted attention from loss prevention policies, which needed to be followed to reduce the repercussions effectively. Moreover, frequent occurrences of natural disasters led to alterations of disaster prevention landscapes, inflicting a heavy blow on disaster estimation, preparedness and loss prevention (Shah 1). Overestimation of risks involved in Hurricane Katrina as well as its underestimation also carried the day in affecting loss prevention and allocation of resources for immediate response. It is therefore quite clear that loss prevention mechanisms were well below its desired levels in dealing with Hurricane Katrina (Caruso 1).

Conclusion

Hurricane Katrina was one of the costliest and deadliest in the history of United States. Slow response, mismanagement, lack of leadership, poor maintenance of disaster management facilities as well as alteration to disaster prevention landscapes, among others, greatly affected loss prevention mechanisms. Several lives were lost and billions of dollars in damaged properties encountered, these would have abated, if an effective loss prevention mechanism had been initiated. This leaves a lot to desire on loss prevention measures in the future, especially when dealing with natural disasters such as flooding, earthquakes and the likes (Shah 1).

Introduction

The coast of the United States in general and Texas in particular experiences tropical storms on a regular basis. Hurricanes hit the Texas coastline, often causing property damage on different scales and, sometimes, fatal casualties. However, some of the hurricanes in the history of the Lone Star state mandate special attention due to the unprecedented magnitude of destruction and death they brought. If one searches for the worst hurricane to hit the United States, one should look no further than the Great Storm of 1900 that nearly wiped Galveston, Texas, off the map. More recently, devastating Hurricane Harvey of 2017 had also caused widespread destruction, property damage, and multiple deaths. Comparing and contrasting these two natural disasters and their effects on each other illustrate how different technological and organizational advances help in countering natural disasters. The impact of Hurricane Harvey when compared to that of the Great Storm reveals the effectiveness of the warning system and advantages of modern communications combined with historical experience, although property damage still stays extensive.

Main body

The most apparent criterion to access the damage caused by a natural disaster is the number of fatal casualties – and in this respect, the Great Storm of 1900 remains the deadliest in American history. Precise estimations of the casualties differ due to the imperfection of the statistics. However, there is a consensus that no less than 6,000 people lost their lives when the hurricane hit (Weller et al. 1). Others raise the estimate as high as 8,000 deaths, but, in any case, the Great Storm of 1900 remains, by far, the deadliest hurricane in American history (Weller et al. 1). One may attribute these unprecedented casualties to the magnitude of the event – according to some estimations, the Storm of 1900 was no less than a five-category storm (Weller et al. 1). Still, the vast numbers of the dead suggest that the storm’s power cannot be the only explanation, and other factors likely contributed to the death toll as well. The most important of those was the fact that the hurricane struck the coastline unprepared due to the absence of an early warning system.

When compared to the Great Storm of 1900, Hurricane Harvey of 2017, for all its damage, still reveals a much more positive picture in terms of fatal casualties. According to the report by the National Hurricane Center, this time, the number of deaths amounted to dozens rather than thousands. Hurricane Harvey had caused 68 direct death in Texas, mostly in Harris country, where the damage was the worst (Blake and Zelinsky, p. 46). With 68 dead, Harvey was the deadliest hurricane in Texas in almost a century – specifically, since the cyclone of 1919 (Blake and Zelinsky, p. 1). Still, even these casualties are approximately 100 times lower than those in suffered the Great Storm of 1900. These comparatively low casualties speak of the efficiency of the early warning system. National Hurricane Center began providing “direct support to emergency managers on 22 August” – approximately two days before the hurricane hit Texas – and continued providing it until 30 August (Blake and Zelinsky, p. 13). Hence, Texas was much better prepared for Hurricane Harvey than it was for the Galveston Hurricane, and lower casualties speak for the effectiveness of the warning system created between 1900 and 2017.

One of the reasons why Texas was able to meet and endure Hurricane Harvey without such catastrophic casualties was the rapid advance in communications throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries. To begin with, Texans of 2017 had extensive access to telephone communications, which provided for the better and more effective sharing of relevant information. However, Hurricane Harvey is also notable as one of the first large-scale hurricanes where the Internet and, specifically, social networks played a prominent role (King, p. 22). Even though the state government advised the citizens to use “traditional lines of communication like 911,” these were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer number of calls (King, p. 22). Under these circumstances, the people turned to social networks to obtain or distribute information (King, p. 22). As one can see, the Texans of 2017 had means of communication vastly superior to those available to their predecessors in 1900. Even with 911 lines overwhelmed, they still had a way of sharing information almost instantaneously, which contributed to decreasing the overall risks and casualties. Thus, comparing the Great Storm and Hurricane Harvey reveals immense progress in communication technologies.

Another factor that contributed to much better preparedness in 2017 than in 1900 was the historical experience. While early warning systems and communications are crucial, none of these will matter if they fail to convince the people to evacuate in time. In this respect, the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 played an unexpectedly positive role. When interviewing those who have evacuated in time to escape Hurricane Harvey, Weller et al. established that the knowledge of the 1900 storm was one of the factors that influenced their decision to leave (p. 6). The most frequently mentioned reasons to go were having a secure place or the desire to protect family members, but the Great Storm had its shape of mentions as well (Weller et al , p. 6). People cited their knowledge of the Storm of 1900 as a reason to leave just as frequently as the fact that they lived alone, in a low place, or had a handicapped family member (Weller et al, p. 6). Hence, one of the reasons why Hurricane Harvey had a much smaller body count than the hurricane in Galveston was the Hurricane in Galveston itself – or, more accurately, the historical memory of it.

Another critical impact to compare is the property damage associated with both hurricanes, and the Great Storm of 1900 appears catastrophic in this respect as well. Naturally, it would be wrong to access its damage in the prices of its time and then compare it face-to-face with the material damage dealt by Hurricane Harvey. The US dollars of 1900 and 2017 have different purchasing power, and the accurate comparison of property damage in both cases has to account for this fact. Fortunately, Weinkle et al. calculated the property damage for 197 hurricanes from 1900 to 2017 and normalized it in 2018 US dollars. According to them, the damage caused by the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 amounted to $138.6 billion in current prices (Weinkle et al.). This fact makes the Great Storm not only the deadliest but also one of the costliest hurricanes in the history of the United States, second only to the Miami Hurricane of 1926 (Weinkle et al.). Considering this, one may conclude that the hurricane of 1900 in Galveston was virtually unprecedented in terms of both human casualties and property damage.

Hurricane Harvey proved less harmful in this respect as well, but the damage was still extensive. In 2018 prices, the losses incurred due to the hurricane amounted to no less than $62.2 billion (Weinkle et al.). While this number is more than two times lower than the tremendous damage of the Great Storm, it is, nevertheless, one of the costliest hurricanes in American history as well. In the rating of the most devastating hurricanes from 1900 to 2017, it occupies the 8th position – a clear enough testimony of its magnitude (Weinkle et al.). Thus, comparing the hurricane of 1900 in Galveston and Hurricane Harvey in terms of property damage reveals that material consequences of large-scale tropical storms remain disastrous regardless of the time period.

Conclusion

As one can see, comparing the Great Storm of 1900 in Galveston, Texas, and Hurricane Harvey illustrates considerable advances in saving people’s lives, while the property damage still amounts to dozens of billions of dollars. The Great Storm of 1900 caused from 6,000 to 8,000 fatal casualties and became the most deadly hurricane in American history due to the combination of its power and unprepared population. Hurricane Harvey, on the other hand, resulted only in 68 direct deaths in Texas, which testifies for the significant advances in the early warning and timely evacuation. One of the factors contributing to the significant reduction in body count is modern communication technologies ranging from telephones to the Internet and social networks. Another essential factor is the Galveston Hurricane itself, as the historical memories of it motivated Texans to evacuate in a timely fashion. However, in terms of property damage, the two hurricanes demonstrate no striking difference, and the losses still amount to dozens of billions of dollars in 1900 as well as in 2017.

On the 29th of August 2005, Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 hurricane hit New Orleans, Louisiana. With its location and altitude New Orleans is especially vulnerable to Tropical storms. But was the response to the storm optimal?

One of the good points of the response to this hurricane is that the population of New Orleans were informed before the hurricane hit of the importance of leaving the city. A full day before the storm hit the residents of New Orleans were issued with a mandatory evacuation order by the then mayor Ray Nagin. The SuperDome, the stadium for the city’s New Orleans Saints baseball team, was called a last resort shelter for those incapable of leaving the city. It was chosen because of its large capacity and crucially the fact that it is above sea level. It was also built to be able to withstand 320 kmh winds. At the end of the day 80% of the city evacuated and there were thousands of people residing at the SuperDome. The US National Guard and several specialist battalions and companies like the 890th Engineering Battalion, Air Defence Artillery Battalion, 115th Engineer Group, 203rd Combat Engineer Battalion, 72nd Military Police Company were deployed to New Orleans after the Hurricane passed, 150 National Guardsmen were monitoring and managing people at the SuperDome on the 28th of August. They were assigned tasks like surveilling the streets, preventing riots, managing food at the SuperDome, rescuing people as shown in Figure 2, rebuilding levees and upgrading pumps. It is claimed that 51 000 people were airlifted out of their homes and 17 000 saved from flooding by the Army and Air National Guard. However the response to Hurricane Katrina had many failures.

In the days leading up to the Hurricane hundreds of buses were in parkings, not being used. And once the hurricane struck New Orleans it was too late to evacuate people because the roads were flooded. This meant that many people were waiting to be evacuated but never did. Many people who were elderly, hospital patients and people without cars were left stranded. Most of them managed to find shelter at the Super Dome but many drowned or died in hospital or their homes. The bodies of 45 elderly patients were found in a flooded hospital in New Orleans after the hurricane. Only 150 000 people were evacuated and it is deemed that 20 000 people could have been saved from the hurricane if the evacuation was more coordinated. With a history of hurricanes the levees that were built to protect the city simply weren’t good enough to protect the city, the water broke the levees resulting in around 80% of the city being submerged.

Most of the levees dated back to the aftermath of the 1965 hurricane Betsy. After Betsy hit the US Army Corps of Engineers were authorised by Congress to rebuild the New Orleans levee system but by the time Katrina hit 40 years later the levees weren’t completely finished (60-90%) completion due to budget cuts. To add when the project was started the USACE estimated that New Orleans would be struck by a Saffir-Simpson category 3 hurricane every 200-300 years therefore the levees that were built could only withstand category 3 hurricanes. This estimation was extremely inaccurate considering New Orleans hurricane history and how it is exposed to hurricanes. The GAO (US Government Accountability Office) found that the US Government and the USACE were at least partially responsible for the destruction and the flooding. FEMA (The Federal Emergency Management Agency) also refused help from many organisations such as the Red Cross and different police forces until they were strictly necessary claiming that the Army could manage the response on its own. In the end FEMA were the major reason why the response to the Hurricane was largely slow and ineffective. After the Hurricane the then director of FEMA Michael Brown stepped down from his position. In Figure 1 (although unrelated to Katrina because it Is a picture of the rebuilding of a house after super-typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013) we see a house being rebuilt, but in the case of New Orleans only the wealthiest parts of the city got that treatment, many parts of New Orleans are still derelict and the few poor areas that were rebuilt weren’t upgraded which means that they are still drastically inferior to accommodation in other parts of the city.

To conclude, Hurricane Katrina revealed the incompetence of the US Government and many agencies including FEMA , DOT (Department of Transport) and the Army to deal with a large natural disaster. Many New Orleanians still feel left out to this day as the city wasn’t given a proper amount of aid to build back this is proven by the fact that now, 15 years after the Hurricane New Orleans is still suffering. The response to Hurricane Katrina is deemed by many as an example of one of the worst responses to a disaster in recent history especially for a country with the means of the US and an overwhelming failure.

Introduction:

What are hurricanes? “A tropical cyclone is a warm-core, non-frontal synoptic-scale cyclone, originating over tropical or subtropical waters, with organized deep convection and a closed surface with circulation about a well-defined center.” (“Hurricane Science” 2010-2015) They usually appear in places with low pressure that have strong winds and heavy rains. A typical hurricane speed is over 110km/h. Its usual width is between 160 km to 500 km and its height is 10 miles. The middle of the hurricane is called the eye and that part is usually wide 20 to 50km. Because of their massive size and chaotic actions, hurricanes have a massive effect on nature, by destroying living things, forests, homes, etc. Unfortunately, the hurricanes are getting even worse and the reason for that is people.

How are hurricanes formed?:

Hurricanes first appear as tropical storms over the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean, in the parts where the water is warmer, near the equator. (“Hurricanes and Climate change” 2008) And as the moister raises, it starts to create a big amount of warm water that is moving in circles higher and higher. If it stays over water and if the temperature is over 26 C, it will continue to get bigger and stronger, the temperature can go to about 40 C. If the circulation of water remains relatively small and active, and the diameter is not that big, the heat will remain inside the hurricane itself. (Hart 2006, p 3) The moment when the hurricane gets over land or when the temperature drops, it slows done until it stops. There are cases where a storm is created of water with a lower temperature, however, the moment it reaches warmer water it is reformed into a hurricane. Another way of creation can be with cold winds that at a lower level can create a place for a storm to appear. Additionally, also a cyclone that has been created in a cold atmosphere can move towards the equator and if it stays over that part of the earth for enough time it may become a tropical storm. Also, there is a group of storms over land. They create circulation and shift over water. Because of their strong force lately, there have been satellites or helicopters, for example, that monitor and watch over those parts of the world, where hurricanes most often appear, trying to prevent enormous damage. (“Hurricanes and Climate change” 2008)

Negative effects of hurricanes on nature:

Hurricanes have a negative impact on nature. For example, after a number of hurricanes, there has been a lot of pollution and contamination throughout the seawater, which affected a lot of sponges by smothering sponges chasing away lobsters and sea whips. (Sergio 2018) Additionally, after another case of natural disaster, there were a lot of metal objects in the sea, which lead to the high quantity of iron, in which algae blooms live. After a hurricane, there can be a lot of other garbage in the water, for example, bags or balloons, which turtles consider food. Or also plastic straws that turtles breathe into their nose and this most of the time leads to death.

An interesting fact is that sharks in a way can sense when a storm is coming. (Sergio 2018) While they were monitored, part of the sharks moved to open water, another part disappeared from the monitor. This actually happened a while before a hurricane appeared. It is considered that they were scenting changes in the pressure.

When it comes to coral reefs, there have been different statistics. (Sergio 2018) In some places over 80% of the coral reefs have been destroyed. Also, because of the heavy rains that hurricanes bring, the saltiness of water is reduced, which harms reefs too. The reason for this is that some hurricanes are formed with fresh water.

There are different animals who respond in different ways to natural disasters. They either stay and try to cope with the new situation or they migrate. (Welch 2006, 4.1) The latter is usually the choice, especially if the disturbance of their environment is intense. The other choice, that animals make, is to adjust and try to change their habits and diet. This is a choice they make when the first one is not possible. A third alternative, which is used during severe natural disasters, is creating places to hide, bigger nests, hiding in trees, etc. This usually applies to smaller animals. During a natural disaster, there is usually a loss of food and supplies, which usually leads to competition amongst the animals.

The environmental damage that hurricanes can do is transfer water that contains chemicals. For example, after the explosion in Chornobyl, a lot of particles were transferred and it made much bigger damage than the explosion alone did. (Horkovich & Nevius 2017) “A variety of toxic chemicals also may come from contaminants washed from flooded subways, roads, parking lots, and tunnels. These liquids can contaminate both surface and groundwater, especially where large amounts of debris pile up or where heavy rains or storm surges cause flash flooding, fouling local waterways (Horkovich & Nevius 2017).” Even in not that big of a storm, a lot of chemicals or anything else can leak and pollute water supplies. There are a lot of containers and subjects filled with chemicals or contained liquid, which can vary in size and can be spread on roads or houses. Hurricanes pollute not only the water but also the air. This affects nature, animals, and people.

Recent hurricanes:

The last hurricanes that occurred were in 2017 and there were 3 of them. The first one was Harvey, which appeared on the Texas Coast. This hurricane was rated a 4 out of 5, where 1 is the smallest and weakest kind of a storm and 5 is a “monster.” There were 50 inches of rain and over 80 deaths. (Fromby 2018) Another example is hurricane Maria which occurred on the Caribbean island. This hurricane was graded a 4 and in some articles a 5. Over 16 000 people were left without electricity, there were 27 deaths and over 50 missings. (The Guardian 2017) The third one is Irma, again on the Caribbean island. It was rated a 4 out of 5. The results were 600 000 without electricity and over 50 000 without water. (The Guardian 2017) Probably one positive thing about these hurricanes is that people after that have the opportunity to build something more eco-friendly and healthier, which may change the environment. For example in the past a lot of American people had low-quality homes, however, now they may build something that can protect them from natural disasters.

How hurricanes affect people:

We should always think about the best way to recover. Hurricanes have big effects on people and their homes. (MMedci & Samet & Johnatan 2018, p33/34) For example, heavy rains can cause big floods and destruction because of winds. Hurricanes have the power to make people helpless for months. It can lead to a lack of clean water, which may also lead to sickness or sometimes death. Hurricanes can destroy lives in other ways too. Some businesses may be destroyed, and agriculture maybe everything that a person or a family has. This in a way destroys their whole future. (“Terrestrial Impacts” 2010 – 2015, Impacts of Agriculture)

How is global warming affecting hurricanes?:

Even though hurricanes are a natural part of the world, it seems like they are getting stronger and more intense. And the reason for this is global warming. (Schwartz 2018) It is not clear whether the storms are more in quantity, however, they are much more severe now than they were in the past. We are causing ice to melt, sea levels to rise, create more flooding, and heat the water and planet. And as I mentioned earlier, warm waters have bigger moisture and which leads to the creation of tropical storms, which leads to hurricanes. Scientists estimate that: “the storm’s heaviest rainfall would be 50 percent greater, and the size of the storm some 50 miles wider, because of the human interference in the climate system (Schwartz 2018).” Despite these numbers, people, and politics mainly, are not moved by the damage, in their opinion, the effects are temporary and they just need to repair what is left and do not consider what are actually the reasons for the creation, or for example, relocating people from places whit high quantities of hurricane damages. Restoring the damages, made by humanity will takes years. But we still need to do it in a way that such dangerous hurricanes will not happen anymore. However, people are not thought to think about the long-term. (“Hurricanes and Climate Change” 2008-2019)

The positive side of hurricanes:

Despite all these tragedies that hurricanes bring, there are, however, some positive outcomes. (Belles 2017) They in a way help the environment in some cases. For example, hurricanes help the spread of seeds of plants that are in places that have fewer winds. Secondly, these hurricanes are a great source of moisture for the dryer part of the world. This can be very helpful for countries like Japan and Southeast Asia. A hurricane can spread 6 inches up to one foot of water around it. However, there is a thin line between enough and too much water. Sometimes, the rains lead to flooding. Additionally, hurricanes are formed with warm water. This is a way for the earth to cool down from the warm weather and maintain the global heat balance. Another example is that some ecosystems are not growing in their best possible way, and by destroying them with hurricanes, the ecosystem grows out better and stronger. Also, even though hurricanes may be dangerous for marine life, one positive thing is that hurricanes move around the minerals from the bottom of the sea.

Future research:

What does the future hold for us? (“Hurricanes and Climate Change” 2008-2019) Hurricanes are going to get bigger and stronger. The intensity and frequency will raise and most of the storms will be graded either a 4 or a 5. By the end of the century, the sea level is predicted to rise 1 to 4 feet, which will give more access to the land to hurricanes and their destructions. Taking into consideration the deaths and damages the hurricanes have made, we should seriously think about global warming and what can we do to prevent these tragedies from happening again. A question that scientists are trying to answer is how strong and severe hurricanes are going to get because of global warming. (Milman 2019)There are observations and analyses which show that in fact, hurricanes are getting worse. Scientists are trying to predict future hurricanes. There are actually 13 storms, some of which are considered to develop into a hurricane.

What we need to do to decrease destructive hurricanes:

There are some ways in which humanity can help nature and animals go back to their old ways of living or just help them survive. (Harveston 2019) The first way, which might help to lower the chances of a destructive hurricane is by reducing greenhouse emissions. Also, we can try to protect the dunes and rivers so that they can absorb the water. Furthermore, we can check and secure old buildings, which might save future lives. However, when it comes to animals, the best thing humanity can do is let them go through this on their own. The only thing we can do for them is not to heat the planet this much and lower the hurricane strength.

Conclusion:

Despite having some positive effects, hurricanes still bring great damage to the environment. They destroy whole ecosystems and natural habitats, they can destroy marine life. Furthermore, it affects people by destroying their homes and businesses. However, humanity is actually responsible for the severance of hurricanes. What we do and how we damage the planet has its effects. If we continue using the planet only for food, electricity, or a way of getting money, the planet will soon fight back which may cause even bigger natural disasters.

Weather can be devastating in many ways, it can affect humans due to weather in terms of temperature, but can also lead to more extreme cases like hurricanes and tornadoes. On the lower end of the “destructive scale”, weather events like rain, fog, heat, and wind, can affect our everyday lives, but not cause severe damage. However, on the other end of the scale, weather events like hurricanes, tornadoes, and blizzards can cause damage on a much larger magnitude. They have the capability to destroy infrastructure and cause fatalities, but due to new mitigation techniques, humans have been able to decrease the destructive capabilities of these severe weather events.

The aftermath of a weather event can vary in destruction depending on the magnitude of the event. Common weather events like rain, wind, fog, and temperature can cause little damage, but on rare occasions can be dangerous and can cause destruction. Rain has the possibility to cause floods, while the temperature can cause severe weather conditions like extreme heat or cold. However, these daily weather events can lead to more extreme weather events like hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, etc. These events cause exceedingly more damage than a common weather event. The devastation of the weather also depends on the location of the event. If it occurs in an underdeveloped area or an area with a substantially larger population, the event will cause more devastation than compared to a more developed area, with up-to-date, effective mitigation techniques. However, weather can still be devastating in a number of other ways. It can cause a variety of events from drought, to thunderstorms, to tornadoes, and cause very minimal damage, or can cause immense damage. It all depends on what weather event occurred, and also the location of the event.

Although the weather has the potential to cause severe damage to a city, there are many mitigation techniques. There are different techniques for every weather storm. For example to mitigate against tornadoes countries mainly depend on early warning and evacuation protocols in order to minimize fatalities. Another way to mitigate weather events is to prevent them from ever happening. For example to prevent floods cities clear up drains and create flood plains to prevent the river from overflowing into the city. The most common mitigation technique for most cities is early warning. It gives time for civilians to prepare as well as give time for civilians to evacuate on occasion. For daily weather events occurrences like snow and rain, there is little to no potential danger so there is no need for mitigation. However, there is always the occasional ice or snow day in order to prevent chances of accidents as well as severe heat policies that do not allow outdoor activities due to weather.

Introduction

A hurricane’s ability to cause immense damage to everything it comes across leaves people all over the world in awe, even those who do not expect to have to go through the effects of such a storm ever in their lives. Reports of Hurricane Katrina and the devastation it caused in New Orleans, the coast of Louisiana, parts of Mississippi and Alabama, in 2005, reflected just how much destruction both people and land could face in a hurricane (Leatherman & Williams 56).

This was because they lacked some form of caution and preparation in handling an attack of a storm having been given warning of its coming. This hurricane showed everyone just how powerful hurricanes usually are. Hurricanes might not really be the main storms on the earth, but their mixture of size and strength make them fatal and the most disparaging storms on earth.

Eye of the Hurricane

‘The eye of the hurricane’ is a round area, which has lighter winds in the middle of tropical cyclone. This is at the axis, where precipitation is often lower as compared to the surroundings. It has less surface pressure with warmer temperatures as compared to the surroundings. They differ in size although they allegedly have a diameter of thirty to sixty kilometers. It is outlined by an ‘eye wall, ‘which has intense convection while the sunken air results to compression and warming in the eye.

The eye occurs in the midst of wild tropical storm and is characterized by clear sky, calm air and warmer breeze. As hurricane gains its strength, the winds swirl wildly and an eye is created, which is circular and radiate like a chimney amid the storm. Several legends have been associated with the eye such as they only affect coastal areas but it is not true since they have been known to be affected by hurricanes, thus the eye of the hurricane may also occur there.

Others maintain that within the eye, one is safe from any damages and can therefore move outside freely. This is however not accurate since eye of the hurricane is not permanent and may change anytime. Therefore, it is advisable to keep indoors even when one is within the e eye of the hurricane.

It was traditionally perceived as being spiritual and often regarded as a save haven, which meant blessings for the individuals within the eye. In some places, it was regarded as an eye of God, able to see all places. Today, these perceptions have changed due to ample scientific knowledge in place. The eye of the hurricane is now perceived as just a natural occurrence, which can be explained scientifically.

Statistics

In a typical year, the Atlantic Ocean can usually come up with at least six hurricanes. At the beginning of the year 2010, the predictions made were that the Atlantic would produce at least seven or eight hurricanes. Researchers were very pessimistic about the conditions being observed during the year and that is why they likened the hurricane season of 2010 to the one experienced in 2005, when hurricane Katrina occurred.

Hurricanes have baffled researchers over the years as no one has yet to discover a way of preventing them from happening. Studying about hurricanes can be very beneficial as one gets to learn just how interesting, though dangerous some of the world’s phenomenon can be. Hurricanes are at times compared to tornadoes, which are storms that occur on land because of heavy thunderstorms. They both compare in the way they form in a whirlwind sort of way.

Causes of hurricanes

A number of atmospheric conditions have to occur simultaneously to form a hurricane. There must be a disturbance that has been there for a period of time, warm water in the ocean, unsteady levels of pressure in the atmosphere, which are low enough forces known as Coriolis forces , moist mid atmosphere and varying upper atmosphere levels.

The major means that contributes to the growth of a hurricane is known as the “monsoon trough”. It comes out of the Inter-Tropical Zone (ITCZ), where a swirl known as the cyclonic spin has already formed. This zone is a depression of low force caused by the coming together of the northeast and southeast trade winds (Christopherson 235).

Another cause of hurricanes can be observed as per what happens in the north Atlantic side. Here, waves known as easterly waves that have low forces usually form over North Africa then move towards the Atlantic. This can also happen with a wave from the eastern side. These waves are of extreme strength and the force that pushes them towards the coastline forms them into storms that later occur as hurricanes.

A façade that occurs in the ocean can also bring about the formation of a hurricane. When the winds that form above the water are favorable with not so much strength and little movement, rains and storms increase and this may bring about the formation of a hurricane. Finally, a structured collection of storms can move off the land and flow into the warm waters of the ocean. These storms contain a small whirlpool, which causes very favorable conditions for the formation of hurricanes.

Effects of hurricanes

The occurrence of hurricanes can bring both positive and negative impacts on people and the environment as research has shown. When the storm is forming in the water body, mostly the ocean, the air is cleaned up and due to the force of the storm; it is then distributed all around making the air around void of pollution. The occurrence of a hurricane also helps to bring people together during evacuation efforts and rebuilding of the area that has been destroyed. This helps to foster togetherness.

The negative impacts of a hurricane however, outweigh the positive ones. This is due to the trail of destruction that hurricanes leave in their wake. From the environment, to the human beings, nothing is left unharmed wherever a hurricane occurs. Population along the coastlines is always affected in the event of a hurricane.

Loss of lives and property is usually observed here. Most of these areas near the coastline have a large population and this at times proves it difficult for rescuers to clear out everybody in time, as people have to be moved to higher ground to escape the effects of the rising waters.

Storms are usually a source of great rainfall. However, this kind of rain is considered destructive because it causes flooding. Once the hurricane has destroyed the coastline, the storms usually move towards land and this is where the floods occur. These floods are a cause of many deaths and destruction to the environment.

Water sources are also polluted such that the residents do not have access to enough clean water for their consumption during and after the floods. The road and rail network as well as communication cables are also destroyed when hurricanes occur.

Some secondary effects are felt mostly by the economy in that the country ends up spending a lot of taxpayer’s money in rebuilding the destroyed areas and reimbursing the affected people who incur losses caused by the hurricanes (Pielke 5). Diseases, such as typhoid and cholera also befall this population affected by hurricanes. This is usually due to the lack of clean water for drinking, and the stagnant water left behind after the flooding.

Conclusion

Researchers have been trying to come up with means of reducing the intensity of the hurricanes that are experienced nowadays. Climate change being a natural occurrence cannot really be avoided it therefore remains that humans reduce the activities that interferes with the natural phenomenon such as hurricanes through climate mitigation.

If such efforts are invested, then there will be a decrease in the strength of hurricanes expected to happen in times to come (Keim & Muller 188). Americans are also being encouraged to adhere to warnings given about the coming of a hurricane to reduce the damage caused in future. When people are put on alert about an incoming hurricane, they should move to higher ground that is far from the coastline. This would all go into at least reducing the number of casualties recorded due to a hurricane attack.

Introduction

Natural disasters are very critical events that affect people’s lives adversely because of the devastations they cause. Such things as hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods can result in property damage and also kill people. Realizing how crucial the effects of natural disasters are, governments develop specific emergency management plans that reveal how professionals should act to minimalize adverse effects and save as many lives as possible. Urban revitalization is vital in this framework because it ensures that cities and their populations can return to normal conditions. However, it does not mean the restoration of destroyed buildings only. The fact is that the cultivation and promotion of socio-cultural relations is another crucial aspect of any urban revitalization project. Thus, the two papers selected for this work also emphasize the unique importance of social repair as the key factor that will promote the further development of communities and its efficient functioning regarding a natural disaster.

Exploring two different perspectives (small-size projects and social repair that inhibit future post-disaster recovery), the articles suggest similar ideas on the way communities should face this challenge and create the basis for their evolution. This very project will focus on revitalization associated with one of the latest hurricanes that took place in the USA. Harvey affected Houston, Texas, in the middle of the previous year and caused more than a hundred billion damage in addition to the number of lethal outcomes. Taking into consideration the fact that the state has already had a similar experience with Katrina, it is expected that it will not be lost because of this event but will respond to it effectively and efficiently. Moreover, it has an opportunity to use appropriate information taken from trustworthy sources. Focusing on two scholarly articles, this paper will discuss possibilities for a revitalization of Houston after Harvey. Additionally, it will demonstrate that social repair and cultivation of trustful relations between members of communities is a crucial aspect of urban revitalization that might determine its success and outcomes.

Synopsis of the Articles

Götz, Cooper, and Paskaleva-Shapira (2015) developed an article in which they described several cases of urban regeneration that took place in Eastern Germany. The authors believe that this information is beneficial for other countries because they can use it to enhance the condition of their cities if they face urban decay or increased immigration. In such a way, they encourage governments to pay attention to the segregation of the population because it leads to conflicts that make people change their place of living and affects the urban economy. Cities can avoid devastation only if their leaders facilitate tolerance and cultural acceptance.

Thus, governments should initiate the creation of additional places for neighbors to spend time together (playgrounds, museums, theaters, etc.). Governmental agencies should ensure that the city is full of places for education, employment, and healthcare because it is the best chance to make individuals live in a particular district. If they have good access to all vital resources, they face no necessity to look for other locations. The city image should become attractive in order to become a desired place for living. Building blocks of flats, governments can provide citizens who lost their homes with an opportunity to receive unexpansive residence. It is also beneficial because this type of building requires fewer resources in comparison to a house. Nevertheless, it is not possible to deny the fact that the stabilization of the housing market is the main point of the urban revitalization project.

Omer (2015) also expresses ideas about urban regeneration, claiming that populations experience the process of disaster recovery in different ways because of structural inequities. That is why the author encourages professionals to pay more attention to the importance of social repair in the framework of urban revitalization. Extreme poverty and injustice do not allow some people to benefit from post-disaster reconstruction processes because they return to their “normal” life that lacks modern conveniences and proper sanitation, etc. Thus, it is significant to ensure that recovery projects include initiatives aimed at the reduction of such vulnerabilities.

The social system should not enhance the situation after a natural disaster but rebuild it to reach an appropriate level of functioning and structure. It is critical to creating shelters, educational facilities, and hospitals. However, it is also significant to pay even more attention to the enhancement of access to them. That is why it is vital to focus on a social intervention that targets vulnerable communities. This approach will also cultivate the ability to cope with future disasters. Social repair allows more people to benefit from recovery projects and unites them for the future action. It ensures reduction of violence and other conflicts, giving a chance to presuppose that people will help each other in the future, following disaster management plans. Communities lead the revitalization process, so it is critical to ensure that they are united. Using post-flood Pakistan as a sample, Omer (2015) proves that people can reconstruct their homes and businesses if they work together.

Scholarly Conversation

Both articles urge their readers to focus on people involved in urban revitalization instead of thinking about the reconstruction of buildings. For instance, Götz et al. (2015) reveal the unique importance of small-size projects and their positive impact on the mood of people who might suffer from numerous problems in their communities. The constant engagement in social projects affects individuals positively. In other words, both these articles emphasize the necessity of measures aimed at the creation of trustful relations between victims of the natural disaster as it is the key to their survival and efficient cooperation in future. Of course, it is extremely important to restore the infrastructure and housing fund for people to have a place to live in; however, these revitalization activities should be accompanied by social repair as the central activity that helps to prevent the emergence of anarchy, chaos, wrong or hostile behaviors, etc.

Focusing on affected populations, the authors of both articles agree that they should be united and equal in order to reach the best possible outcomes of revitalization. According to the selected papers, social exclusion and segregation can lead to urban decay similar to the effects of natural disaster. Moreover, it can lead to the unequal distribution of resources needed to overcome a hurricane. Additionally, disregard of existing tension between the representatives of different layers of society might trigger an outbreak of aggression which will have a devastating impact on the area. People who had a stable economic condition before a disaster and belonged to an active part of the society should not be opposed to those who lived in poverty as it will result in discrimination. However, while Omer (2015) speaks about social repair as one of the purposes of disaster recovery, Götz et al. (2015) believe that it is critical to introduce a chain of small-size projects to engage people in them and guarantee their cooperative functioning.

Personal Perspective

Personally, I agree with the authors of the selected articles and believe that the combination of their ideas can provide an opportunity to reach the best possible outcomes of urban revitalization. Those people who suffered from Harvey should have equal access to the most vital resources such as housing and nutrition. Regardless of their social and financial condition, these individuals should receive a decent place of residence. They may have flats in building blocks or rooms in shelters as a temporary home. As a part of the reconstruction, governments should ensure that citizens have access to education, employment, and healthcare.

In this framework, they should also guarantee the construction of the associated establishments. Moreover, it is vital to create places where neighbors can spend free time together as it is critical for social repair and cultivation of positive relations between all members of the community which is vital for its successful restoration. In this way, the government will be able to facilitate social repair. Professionals can develop plans for community emergency management. Helping each other, people can practice disaster recovery effectively. Even in the framework of urban revitalization, many individuals can find a job in one of those spheres that are greatly needed (for instance, they can participate in building homes or taking care for injured people).

Conclusion

Thus, it is possible to conclude that in order to implement the urban revitalization project in Houston after it was affected by Harvey, governmental agencies can resort to experiences of other countries, such as Germany and Pakistan. Even though those ideas expressed by them do not focus on the same issue, provided resolutions are effective for disaster recovery practice associated with this hurricane. They should pay much attention not only to the reconstruction of housing, education, employment, and healthcare facilities but also to social repair. Avoiding inequity and injustice, professionals can benefit affected populations, ensuring that they can start living normal lives again.

Introduction

A natural disaster is defined by the UN as: “the consequences of events triggered by natural hazards that overwhelm local response capacity and seriously affect the social and economic development of a region” (Elizabeth F,2006). Natural disasters, for example, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, and windstorms, affect many people in the world yearly. It is essential that the impacts of these natural disasters are assessed and preventive measures taken to reduce their impacts.

Natural Disasters

Natural disasters, technological catastrophes, and acts of terrorism result in similar psychological consequences, such as symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and physical ailments (Rubonis and Bickman, 1991; Green and Solomon, 1995; Salzer and Bickman, 1999; Norris et al., 2002)

Hurricane Sandy

Hurricanes sandy is a hurricane that occurred in October 2012 and affected the Caribbean, Eastern Canada, and the United States. Hurricane Sandy became the largest Atlantic hurricane on record. Many losses resulted from the storm, and over 190 people lost their lives.

The hurricane developed on 22 October 2012 as a tropical wave in the Caribbean Sea and eventually intensified. Two days later, the tropical wave had become a hurricane. According to the Washington Post, Associated Press, October 2012, in about three days, the total losses had amounted to $53.4 billion and massive deaths along the Caribbean region.

Upon the occurrence of a natural disaster, people in society suffer shock, psychological problems as well as physical problems. It is during the recovery from these shocks that people come together. Victims help in rebuilding the houses, food distribution as well as donations. From the research done on hurricane Sandy, I was able to identify that most of the rebuilding help came from the citizens from the unaffected parts.

Politics come to a standstill as politicians become involved in the humanitarian process. Hence political temperatures in the country will always cool down upon happening of a natural disaster. After the occurrence of Hurricane Sandy, political temperatures cooled down in the United States as it happened during the election campaigns.

Natural disasters have a great psychological and emotional impact on the victims. Many social workers are recruited to help the victims deal with psychological problems. Some people even volunteer, and they spend a lot of time with the victims with the aim of helping them recover.

The government sector always joins the private sector during this period in the provision of services to the victims. Many businesses will give out donations, trucks to deliver food supplies as well as housing for the victims. The government also deploys the armed forces to deliver supplies to the victims as well as saving people from inaccessible regions.

Conclusion

If I were to carry out research on this topic, I would first develop an overview of the topic, which would help me gather more information on the topic, develop a general bibliography as well as enabling my work from the general to specific objectives.

I would then review the literature. This involves understanding the topic more. This would include doing a thorough study of encyclopedias, books, and other publications to see what other authors have done.

Clarification of the problem would be the next stage. This involves narrowing the scope of the study and coming up with the purpose of doing the research.

Terms and concepts will be clearly defined. By defining the concepts and terms used in the research paper, the contents are made easier to understand to the final reader.

The next stage would define the population. Since my study would be based on Hurricane Sandy, my main population would be the persons affected by the hurricane or the persons living around the Caribbean region.

I would develop an instrumentation plan. This helps in assisting the data collectors and other persons who will be involved in the research on how to collect data and the contents required.

Data collection and analysis would then be carried out. This involves collecting either primary or secondary data through verbal or nonverbal communication.

After the analysis, I would present my research findings to society.