Category: Hurricane

Report on How Hurricanes Work

In this report I will be writing about hurricanes. I will be writing about how hurricanes work, how big some are, how much damage they caused, and high were the wind speeds.

First I will be talking about how hurricanes form. These storms form over the ocean, often beginning as a tropical wave, a low pressure area that moves through the moisture rich tropics, possibly enhancing shower and thunderstorm activity, warm ocean air rises into the storm, forming an area of low pressure underneath. This causes more air to rush in. The air then rises and cools, forming clouds and thunderstorms.

There are two names for hurricanes. When you hear a hurricane it means that the hurricane is in the Atlantic ocean. If it is called a typhoon that’s when it is in the pacific ocean and they usually hit the phillipians, Japan, and the countries around there. They are basically the exact same thing though.

The biggest typhoon or hurricane ever was typhoon Tip. It was formed on October 4, 1978. It was almost half as big as the mainland United States. It stretched 1,380 miles long. The wind speeds were 190 miles per hour and it caused 99 fatalaties. It was a category 5.

The next hurricane is one of the most deadly hurricanes to hit the United States. That is hurricane Katrina. The hurricane and its aftermath claimed more than 1,800 lives, and it ranked as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. It touched down on August 23, 2005. It had wind speeds over 175 miles per hour. It was a category 4. The reason it was so deadly is because the city of New Orleans is built under sea level. So it was basically like a bowl of cereal.

The next hurricane I will be writing about is hurricane Sandy. Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest hurricane of 2012 and one of the most destructive hurricanes in history to hit the United States. It caused $70.2 billion worth of damage, left 8.5 million people without power, 650,000 homes, and was responsible for the deaths of at least 72 Americans.

The next hurricane is hurricane harvey. When Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas Aug. 25, 2017, as a Category 4 hurricane, it became the country’s first major — Category 3 or higher — hurricane since Wilma hit Florida in October 2005 and the first major hurricane to strike southern Texas since Celia in 1970. Causing about $125 billion in damage, Harvey ranks as the second-most costly hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since 1900. Harvey killed 68 people.

My next hurricane i will be writing about is hurrican Irma. Hurricane Irma was a category 5 hurricane and it had wind speeds of 185 miles per hour for 37 hours. 6.5 million people were ordered to evacute. It caused 50 billion dollars worth of damage. It made landfall on september 6, 2017.

Hurricane Sandy is the last hurricane i’ll write about. Hurricane Sandy affected 24 states and all of the eastern seaboard. Causing an estimated $70.2 billion in damages, it was the fourth-costliest US storm behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and hurricanes Harvey and Maria in 2017. It had wind speeds of 115 miles per hour.

Organizational Behavior and Motivation in Hurricane Response

Introduction

Organizational behavior is majorly a study of the way people act in their workplace. Public administrators and managers usually learn organizational behavior to help them understand employee motivation from different perspectives, such as engaging the staff members, managing bosses, and working with the public behind the scenes. Many theories of motivation have been formulated by theorists to create mechanisms for regulating the behavior of people working in organizations. Some major theorists studying this issue include Shafritz, Luddites, Hugo Münsterberg, and Frederick Taylor. This paper mainly addresses the methods each of these theorists would use to manage the consequences of the Katrina disaster and whether their approaches could be implemented or not.

Theories applicable to those affected by Hurricane Katrina

Most public administrator’s organizations are mainly created to serve human needs, hence the government should ensure that those who were affected by Hurricane Katrina are taken care of (Shafritz, Ott & Jang 2011). Those who needed more funds to rebuild their Louisiana homes should be given the remaining funds by the government through public administration to improve their lifestyle. According to Shafritz, both the organizations and the people are interconnected, whereby every organization needs new talents, ideas, and energy, while people need work opportunities, salaries, and careers.

Ruberts’ family which lives in Covington, Louisiana, after being affected by the Katrina disaster, complains of a lack of jobs; especially, this concerns Michael Ruberts who has not been able to get a steady job since the disaster occurred. The families had lost their homes and were displaced by the Katrina disaster and that is why they no longer had their jobs. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that such kinds of people get stable jobs to enable them to support their families (Vakola 2010).

Michael Ruberts and Angie Ruberts are talented people, but they will not be able to fully reveal all their talent in organizations if they are undermined when it comes to payment. According to Hugo Münsterberg, people should be properly appreciated in the organizations, and I agree with him as this can help such people as Ruberts family.

Shafritz explained that a poor relationship between an organization and individuals may impact negatively both parties. Either the individual may decide to exploit the company, or the company may exploit its employee (Shafritz & Borick 2010). In the case of Michael Ruberts, the gas company is actually exploiting him. He is expected to pay more each day yet he does not earn enough. The gas company failed to communicate with the people and consider their financial status, so when the bills for the gas were brought, they appeared to be extremely high to be paid at once as the organization expected.

Good communication between the organization and individuals is usually a benefit for both, thus the people will be able to see the meaning of their work and feel confident and satisfied with what they are doing, especially if they are treated well by the managers and receive good payments (Shafritz & Borick 2010). On the other hand, the organization will be able to get new ideas and the needed talents to achieve success. According to Sigmund Freud, it is the mandate of an organization to motivate employees, especially those who seek work because they are in need of security; these are, for example, Roberts’ family (Katherine 2012).

Conclusion

This paper has mainly addressed in what ways each of these theorists would approach the Katrina disaster. Most of the approaches stated by the theorists are acceptable. However, one of the biggest questions one can ask is whether the government will be able to apply the theories or not to help those affected by the Katrina disaster?

My Hurricane Experience Essay

Have you ever been through something so traumatizing and devastating that it gave you nightmares? One of my worst experiences was of hurricane Katrina. Everything was unexpected from the time we were informed, during the storm, and even the aftermath. One thing I can say is that it was one unforgettable experience. One beautiful morning I was sitting in the living room eating breakfast before school, as usual, when something caught my attention. The news anchor was informing us of a tropical storm forming in the Bahamas. Predictions said it would be in route for Louisiana. It really didn’t bother me because we rode out every other storm so this one here was just going to be a breeze. Later on I would find out I was totally wrong. They issued a mandatory evacuation of the entire city. By us living on the outsurts we still were thinking ‘How bad could it really be?’ With our minds still made up we started preparation.

I remember the day Hurricane Ike struck Texas and Louisiana back in 2008. It was Friday night, September 12, 2008, in Houston Texas. I was 11 at the time and my mom and dad were sitting in front of the TV watching as Ike crept closer towards Texas. My dad went to Walmart and got some dry food, flashlights and batteries for the storm. I was really nervous because of the size of Ike (it was 450 miles wide!) and the damage it might cause overnight. I was walking around thinking the worse and even taking a long last look at my apartment complex with my neighbor’s friend!

It started getting windy around 6 pm (winds around 40 mph) and we got scared and ran home. Twigs from the 100 foot pine trees started to break off and leaves were flying everywhere. My mom and I were walking to Pops Supermarket to get some last minute things and the checkout line was long. When we were finally done, the winds blew open the door and everybody went silent.

We went home quickly. Dad was in the bedroom with his hardhat on playing with the flashlight as he watched the news. There was a phone bank with citizens asking questions to Dr. Neil on Channel 11 about what kind of damage they could expect. I ran outside at 10 pm and the winds were still at 40mph but they started to gust past 50 and I was on my porch watching the palm tree near me sway in the wind. The tall pine trees were bending slightly as I heard them rustle in the wind. More leaves and trash were airborne now.

I couldn’t stand against wind as I tried to go downstairs and the wind kept pushing me back. I gave up and went back upstairs once my folks told me it’s no longer safe to be wandering. The wind was howling at the back window. My dad managed to use an old bed to cover the window and it was reinforced with the couch in his bedroom. I tried to fall asleep but the wind was howling constantly and gusts started to become a little more frequent. At around 11:30 pm, it was getting blustery outside and my dad tried to microwave a burrito (worst time for a snack!) and the lights started to flicker. We ran to the closet but we started to fuss when my mom didn’t want to get in. She was terrified and we tried to calm her down but another loud gust blew in and the carport downstairs started rumbling.

The wind was starting to make squealing and screeching noises. We were silent for a couple minutes staring at the back window. I could see an outline of the trees whipping in the wind from the street light. Dad and I went inside and mom slept in the living room. For another 30 minutes the lights would flicker as we listened to Paul and Tom on the radio. I lay down on the floor and dad sat on his big tool box playing with the flashlight. Around 12:30 am, we lost power and he winds got louder. It sounded like a train one minute and a wolf howling the next second. The winds were probably between 70 and 80 by that time. My dad went out to get my mom but I remember my mom opening the door to look outside to get a peek. It was terrifying. In the sea of darkness the palm tree was bending back and forth violently. Water was falling from the roofs like Niagara Falls. The giant pine trees were bending at 45 degree angles with branches snapping off.

Mom closed the door and finally took refuge in the closet. She was crying at one point and we told her we were going to make it out. At 1:30 am the back window shattered and glass and rain started to come in. I flashed a light to help dad see and he had to get some trash bags to cover the TV and computer in his room and push the couch to push the beds that were covering the broken window back up but the wind kept pushing them down.

Around 2:00 am, the radio said Ike made landfall at Galveston and Houston and the surrounding area was being battered by high winds and heavy surge flooding. Dad took note of the sky looking orange when we opened the closet door to let some cool air in since it was hot inside the closet! I heard debris hitting the building and the wind was deafening. The winds were above 75mph around that time. All night the wind was screaming. We spent 10 to 12 hours in the closet until noon Saturday.

It was a mess outside. Shingles littered the floor and tree branches and twigs were everywhere. My dad’s old pair of shoes were still next to the door! The courtyard was even worse. Pine trees were snapped in half and entire trees were down on the ground. I helped our neighbors clean up the debris and clear the pathways. Dad went to get more food and water. We ate what we could and had to walk around to find some food and hot water. Mom and dad were upset but glad we made it out unscathed. We walked around the neighborhood seeing the damage. A lot of tree damage and some leaning power lines. I couldn’t sleep that Saturday night with all the humidity. My mom and I were listening to updates from the mayor and city officials.

We were both scared out of wits and I cried but my mom reassured me that we made it and we are OK. By Sunday afternoon the power was restored and we started to learn about the true devastation Ike did to the state. I was thankful that we didn’t lost our home or lives for that manner. Some areas along the coast were wrecked or wiped out from the storm surge. I remember the reporter on 13 trying to get a grip on his emotions as he went through the damage and ruins at Bolivar Peninsula. Watching the wreckage, it ran a chill down my spine but but it showed me the true power of these cyclones. Ike would cause me to take preparations more seriously and now I stock more supplies to prepare for every season. I know it’s not much of a story but tropical cyclones are nothing to mess with.

Hurricane Barry Essay

Hurricane Barry took place July 11th-19th, 2019 primarily in Marsh Island, Louisiana and in Intracoastal City, Louisiana. These cities lie near a Latitude of 29.3 North and Longitude of 91.9 West (AccuWeather 2019). Although Hurricane Barry is mostly known for its large impact on the central coast of Louisiana, other states such as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Mississippi, also suffered many minor damages due to the strong winds and rain of Hurricane Barry. Before Barry was officially considered a hurricane, a hurricane had not developed in the Gulf of Mexico since Hurricane Cindy in 2017 (AccuWeather 2019). Barry has been traced back to having began as a mesovortices over the midwestern United States, specifically Kansas, on July 4th, 2019 (Nhc.noaa.gov 2019). The system gradually was able to make its way over to the Gulf of Mexico on July 10th by passing through Tennessee, Georgia, and the eastern Florida Panhandle. When the system finally reached the Gulf of Mexico, it was almost immediately classified as a tropical cyclone, named Tropical Cyclone Barry. (Nhc.noaa.gov 2019).

Some of the beginning signs of Hurricane Barry consisted of tropical storms, and a widespread abundance of rainfall and thunderstorms along the southeastern coast of the United States. As Barry was forming a large ridge, or elongated area of high atmospheric pressure, was over the central and western United States (Wpc.ncep.noaa.gov 2019). Because of this large ridge, it caused Tropical Cyclone Barry to be pushed out more towards the southern portion of the United States, which is why Hurricane Barry took place primarily off the coast of Louisiana.

Barry became the second named storm of the 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season, and when it reached its maximum wind speed of 75mph and low pressure of 991mbar on July 13th, it became the first official hurricane of the season (AccuWeather 2019). When it had reached its hurricane status, Barry touched land both in Marsh Island and Intracoastal City, Louisiana, and proceeded to progress further on land for about a 24 hour period. In preparation for Hurricane Barry to hit, Louisiana’s governor, John Bel Edwards, declared a state of emergency on July 12th, 2019, and on the same day, he requested a federal disaster declaration for the entire state, which was approved later that evening. When the storm weakened on July 15th, Barry was classified back down to a tropical storm status and degenerated over Arkansas. As Hurricane Barry was nearing its end, it slowly weakened and simultaneously moved eastward. Finally on the morning of July 19th, 2019, the remains of Barry were drawn up by another frontal system, or low pressure area off the coast of New Jersey, and the atmospheric pressure along the southeastern coast was able to return back to normal (The Weather Channel 2019).

Although Hurricane Barry only ever reached a category 1 rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, the scale in which classifies hurricanes, there were still multiple minor damages and a few major damages that can be attributed to Hurricane Barry. Among the many rescue calls by distressed swimmers in Panama City Beach, Florida, there was one older man who was unable to make it out of the waters in which unfortunately resulted in his passing. This is the only death that is attributed to Hurricane Barry (Rocha 2019). However, there were many people in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi who were rescued because of fast moving waters. Because of Hurricane Barry’s strong winds, a tornado blew through New Orleans, Louisiana in which causing the complete damage of two homes. Fortunately, not many homes were damaged, but many people in Louisiana did experience multiple day power outages and on the banks of the Atchafalaya River in Morgan City, Louisiana, there was heavy flooding in which caused some damage to the homes, streets, roads, and other features of the city making it difficult to get places (The Weather Channel 2019).

Although hurricane Barry was only responsible for one death, there were many different places along the coast of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and even in southern Ontario that were significantly impacted by Hurricane Barry, and had to bare the expenses of fixing their state’s damages. For example, in Mobile, Alabama, there were over 80,000 gallons of water flooding into the streets resulting in the closing of highly attended beaches such as Gulf Shores and Orange Beach (AccuWeather 2019). Hurricane Barry made state history in Arkansas by being the state’s wettest tropical cyclone. The state of Arkansas experienced a total of 16.59 inches of rainfall near the city of Dierks (AccuWeather 2019). Louisiana was even experiencing damages before Hurricane Barry was even declared a true hurricane. Flooding occurred in New Orleans on July 10th due to the amount of rain in Barry’s developing stages. Barry also caused damages in southern Ontario on July 17th in which flash flooding occurred on the highway leading to multiple cars immersed in water. Toronto had not seen this much rainfall in the month of July since 2013 (AccuWeather 2019). Since Hurricane Barry was not as dramatic as other hurricanes we have seen in the last five years, not many people think of it as having impacted the United States very much, but even for a lesser hurricane we still see expenses quickly add up. Ultimately, the damages caused by Hurricane Barry added up quickly amongst all the areas it impacted, and to repair all of the destruction ended up costing $600-650 million (Nhc.noaa.gov 2019).

Fortunately for the people living on the southeastern coast of the United States, Hurricane Barry was short lived. It was a quick forming hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico that meteorologists were able to quickly predict because of its early forming mesoscale convective vortex in the midwestern United States about a week and a half before it was declared a category 1 hurricane. It fluctuated from tropical storm to cyclone to hurricane and then back to tropical storm, but it is still an interesting natural disaster to study because of its mild severity compared to what is normally thought of when one hears the term hurricane. Hurricanes do not always have to be massive, destructive, and long-lasting to be classified as one, rather, they come in all different types of intensities to be measured.

Hurricane Ida Essay

Hurricane Ida was a deadly and destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane that became the second-most damaging and intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana on record, behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In terms of maximum sustained winds at landfall (150 mph (240 km/h)), Ida tied 2020’s Hurricane Laura and the 1856 Last Island hurricane as the strongest on record to hit the state.[1] The remnants of the storm also caused a tornado outbreak and catastrophic flooding across the Northeastern United States. The ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, Ida originated from a tropical wave in the Caribbean Sea on August 23. On August 26, the wave developed into a tropical depression, which organized further and became Tropical Storm Ida later that day, near Grand Cayman. Amid favorable conditions, Ida intensified into a hurricane on August 27, just before moving over western Cuba. A day later, the hurricane underwent rapid intensification over the Gulf of Mexico, and reached its peak intensity as a strong Category 4 hurricane while approaching the northern Gulf Coast, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 929 millibars (27.4 inHg). On August 29, the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making landfall, Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, devastating the town of Grand Isle. Ida weakened steadily over land, becoming a tropical depression on August 30, as it turned northeastward. On September 1, Ida transitioned into a post-tropical cyclone as it accelerated through the Northeastern United States, breaking multiple rainfall records in various locations before moving out into the Atlantic on the next day. Afterward, Ida’s remnant moved into the Gulf of St. Lawrence and stalled there for a couple of days, before being absorbed into another developing low-pressure area early on September 5.

The precursor to Ida caused catastrophic and deadly flash flooding in Venezuela. Ida knocked down palm trees and destroyed many homes in Cuba during its brief passage over the country. Throughout its path of destruction in Louisiana, more than a million people in total had no electrical power. Widespread heavy infrastructural damage occurred throughout the southeastern portion of the state, as well as extremely heavy flooding in coastal areas. New Orleans’ levees survived (unlike during Katrina), though power line damage was extensive throughout the whole city. There was also substantial plant destruction in the state. Numerous tornadoes were spawned by Ida as it moved over the Eastern United States. The remnants of the storm produced unexpectedly severe damage in the Northeastern United States on September 1–2. Several intense tornadoes and catastrophic flash flooding swept through the entire region, which had already been impacted by several tropical cyclones, Elsa, Fred, and Henri during July and August. The flooding in New York City prompted the shutdown of much of the transportation system.

Ida is the fifth-costliest tropical cyclone on record, and the fourth-costliest Atlantic hurricane in the United States, having caused at least $75.25 billion (2021 USD) in damages. Of this total, at least $18 billion was in insured losses in Louisiana, $250 million was in Cuba, and $584 million was from agriculture damage in the U.S., surpassing Hurricane Ike of 2008. CoreLogic estimated that Ida caused an estimated $16 to 24 billion in flooding damage in the Northeastern United States, making it the costliest storm to hit the region since Hurricane Sandy in 2012, with an estimated $44 billion in Insured loss.

A total of 107 deaths were attributed to Ida, including 87 in the United States and 20 in Venezuela. In the United States, 30 deaths were in Louisiana, 29 in New Jersey, 17 in New York, 5 in Pennsylvania, 2 in Mississippi, 2 in Alabama, 1 in Maryland, and 1 in Connecticut. There was also a remarkable number of hospitalizations and deaths in the Greater New Orleans Area as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning while using portable gas generators with inadequate ventilation, including three in a family of four in Marrero, Louisiana on September 1, 2021.

Adding Value to House Aesthetics with Hurricane Glass Candle Holders

Hurricane glass candle holders are some of the ancient tools that are still valued highly today. You may have come across them during the festive season shopping sprees. These beautiful antiques at the store are quite catchy to the eye. Nonetheless, how to intermarry them with house aesthetics remains a mystery to most.

The adorable hurricane glass candle holders come in different designs suited for different functions and events. Getting the trick right is key. Furthermore, they still come in handy when the lights bail out on you. In this case, they not only come as a quick fix but also serve to give a cool and peaceful ambiance. Buying the right type is key. You may, therefore, need the following helpful tips during your next trip to the store.

Consider the event

Hurricane glass candle holders come in various works of art which suit different purposes. For instance, if planning for a dinner party, the variety to choose from is wide. The big metal and glass candle holders are one alternative. They come with tall chimneys that can fit a three-inch candle, while at the same time, keeping the breeze at bay. Contemporary hurricane glass candle holders adorned with metal facets come in handy for a big party. They are characterized by diamond-shaped metal facets towering over the hurricane glass candle holder at the center. They are best suited in high places that are out of reach during the thronged event.

Sections of the house

While many might only think of the dining room, hurricane glass candle holders can be used in several other spots within your house. Think of the patio! That’s why it is called a hurricane glass candle holder; to keep the strong breeze away from your precious flame! The ceramic and glass hurricane candle holder is perfectly suited for such a spot. Its ceramic base keeps it from toppling over.

In case the lights go out while you are in the living room, the wood and glass hurricane lamp is the best companion. Adorned with a wide, curved base made of wood, it can accommodate a large five-inch candle. With this, you can consider the night sorted for a long read or for a nice long chat.

The mood

This is where you get to set the atmosphere you want for different days. Be it the time for the reflective nights or the romantic dinners, you are definitely spoilt for choice. The Chauncey hurricane glass candle holder is specially designed for classic quiet evenings by yourself. The soft candle flame dancing in the reflection of the gold honeycomb-shaped metal will blow your mind away. Better still, the list is endless when it comes to romantic dinner evenings. One such option is the nautical hurricane candle lamp with a flared top. The best thing about it is its adaptability with many add-ons such as burlap runners.

The wonder is all in your mind

The grand secret in using a hurricane glass candle holder is in the flexibility of your own imagination. You can even dare get out of the box and replace the candle with simple but catchy items. Talk of sea glass, beads, pine cones, glass tiles, ball ornaments, holiday candy, etc. So long as they reflect the lighting and blend in, your creativity cannot be caged.

Isaac Cline and Galveston Hurricane

The essay talks of the 1900 Hurricane that rocked the city of Galveston on September 8. The City of Galveston on the U.S map is located on the Western part of the South-Central part of the United States. The speed of the wind had estimates of 135 miles per hour (217 km/h) on its landfall placing its mark as a category 4 storm as defined by measurements on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The effects that accompanied the storm were severe causing a situation where an estimated 6,000 – 12,000 people succumbed to death and left many families homeless. This storm was considered as one of the deadliest to ever hit the Atlantic after the Great Hurricane of 1780 and Hurricane Mitch which hit the United States in 1998.

U.S Army Signal Corps Weather Bureau Relationship with Cuban forecasters

The U.S Army Signal Corps Weather Bureau and Cuban forecasters had one main aim of monitoring the weather patterns so as to guide sailors while at sea and also to ensure that any activities that could be perilous in nature are prepared for and help device methods to handle the activities. At the start of signs that a storm was to strike, signals were not prompt enough for the preparation to be established. Communication between the two weather centers was not clear of what was going on as the U.S weather Bureau was not sure of the situation and had reported of a storm which was of moderate intensity. Though they did not know to which the direction the storm was heading to. The U.S bureau believed the storm would take a curve and was later reported to be traveling towards Galveston days after it had been reported over Cuba and Florida. This issue created controversy with the Cuban forecasters which led to disagreement. The Cuban forecasters reiterated that the hurricane would head west which meant that there would be continuity of course. On the contrary, one of the Cuban forecasters made a predicament that the hurricane would follow its original course and head into Central Texas close to San Antonio. Communication between the weather centers was hindered by the gust winds of the hurricane and before long, it had already struck the city of Galveston – claiming lives and causing massive destruction. Due to this misunderstanding, the unremarkable weather at the time caused confusion as few of the residents of Galveston were attentive to the warnings issued. In this respect, the few persons were forced to evacuate across to the mainland over Galveston Bridges. This meant that the majority of the residents who ignored the warnings were in danger as the clouds bearing rain had already rolled in by the middle part of the morning.

Forecasting Errors made by Isaac Cline that resulted in Thousands of Deaths

Isaac Cline, who by then was the director of the Galveston Weather Bureau, placed his arguments which were based on the statements saying that the city of Galveston did not require a seawall which would protect the city from future hurricanes. He also reiterated that, there were no more chances of intense hurricanes which would strike the island. In this regard, the seawall was not erected thus increasing vulnerability. In the area This information made by Cline were seen as misleading as the area was a target for hurricanes and storms hence needed much attention for the protection of residents of Galveston. This needed much attention thus the city of Galveston had to be prepared at all times and monitoring systems placed on alert as the Area was prone to thunderstorms and hurricanes and was likely to be hit unexpectedly.

On the afternoon of September 8, 1900Cline took the responsibility of traveling along the beach including other areas that were of low altitude and sent out warnings to the people of Galveston indicating the arrival of an oncoming hurricane. This idea was executed without the permission from the Weather Bureaus’ office. This undertaking took twists as his responsibility in the occurrence of the disaster sparked controversy with author Erik Larson indicating in the book Isaac’s storm that prior to the hurricane’s occurrence, Cline never warned any of the residents of Galveston about a the hurricane that would soon cause havoc.

Conclusion

Preparation and the management of natural disasters is a key and important factor for consideration for the security of a Nation. This is evident as due to ignorance, many of the people who lived in Galveston in 1900 perished. Disaster management needs fast reactions as soon as an alert is sounded so as to avoid loss of lives even though damage can be experienced. For this to happen there must be proper communication through weather departments and the people so as to ensure security. This can only be achieved through teamwork as processions to work on a solo basis are a recipe for a disaster. In this sense, Cline was faulted for alerting people though having no permission granted from the Weather Bureau.

Essay on Hurricane Irma

On August 30th, 2017 just off the West African Coast, Hurricane Irma started off as a weak wave that was followed by showers and thunderstorms. At this time there were favorable conditions for a tropical cyclone to form, in the Atlantic. As it moved through the Atlantic, it became a tropical storm on August 30th, near the Cape Verde Islands. The hurricane continued to intensify, while it moved over warm water and moist air. On September 6th, Irma finally made its first landfall as a Category 5 Hurricane right on the Northern coast of Barbuda. It had wind speeds of 185 miles per hour, which made Hurricane Irma one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic. Although Category 5 hurricanes don’t usually happen for long periods of time, they lasted for about 3 days. On September 8th, Irma finally weakened down to a Category 4 hurricane, where it moved through the Bahamas with winds of 155 MPH. But it became a Category 5 Hurricane once again when it moved through the Northern coast of Cuba. The hurricane made landfall in Southwest Florida as a Category 3 storm on September 10th. The Florida keys received winds of up to 115 MPH, and averaged about 10 to 15 inches of rain, along with a 10-foot storm surge.

Hurricane Irma was one of the most powerful hurricanes, and its effects of it were severe. The worst places that got hit were the Northerneastern part of the Caribbean and Florida. Irma had a death toll of about 129 people and it caused over $50 billion worth of damage. A majority of those deaths occurred in Florida. There were about eleven deaths directly related to the hurricane, 3 deaths possibly related, while the remaining 115 were indirectly related. The indirect deaths were caused by existing medical conditions, heat-related, or due to lack of power. In Florida, many power lines were down due to wind damage, and storm surges caused flooding. Fort Pierce, Florida received 15.9 inches of rain, which was the most in the state. In the Florida Keys, it was “estimated that about 25% of homes were destroyed and 65% of others suffered extensive damage.” Much of the building codes had high wind standards because they improved after Hurricane Andrew. But many of the buildings stood no chance against the speed of the winds. They also revamped building codes for homes after Hurricane Charley, which helped 80% of the homes in Irma’s path be more resilient. The storm left about 60% of homes without power and threatened $1.2 billion worth of crops. Florida is America’s second-largest grower of many different types of vegetables, so prices for orange juice and sugar increased prior to the storm. The Caribbean Island of Barbuda was hit just as badly as Florida, “Irma damaged 90% of the buildings on Barbuda. It destroyed almost all communication and left 60% of the population homeless. The government evacuated 1,800 citizens to Antigua.” Many people who were forced to evacuate, left their homes and sought shelters to ride out the storm, or they went to visit family that was out of the path of the hurricane. “Barley habitable” was how the Prime Minister of Barbuda described it during the event of the storm.

Many different agencies were brought into Florida for the federal response to Hurricane Irma. The following information is from a FEMA report when the Hurricane was occurring, “…in Florida, FEMA US&R saved 1,006 lives. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has rescued 326 people and saved 53 pets. The U.S. Coast Guard has also answered more than 1,750 emergency phone calls at their headquarters facility.” With FEMA and the USCG working together, even though they are two different agencies they are able to work toward the same goal. 10,000 federal workers are helping with the different mission areas including the response. Out of those workers, about 3,200 of them are FEMA staff, and about 13,000 of them are from the National Guard and are airmen. These workers originated from 22 different states, and are helping with operations like evacuation, rescue, support, and security. FEMA is also in charge of transferring food, water, and generators during this crisis. The Department of Energy also helped with communications, providing situational awareness, and restoring power. About 60,000 personnel, for this department, was activated from 250 different companies. They were able to restore about 70 percent of the area that was affected. I only highlighted a few federal agencies, but there are still a lot more that helped during Hurricane Irma.

For the Florida Keys’ state response, Monroe County Emergency Management led planning and preparation. Their responders helped with clearing debris off airport runways and repairing roads. They also inspected and maintained bridges, and cleared off roads in order to “make the Keys’ only main road safe for search and rescue crews, other emergency responders, and utility workers.” This aided many of the search and rescue efforts, they were able to search through 15,000 homes in only 6 days. Not only did Monroe county do this, but Fire Rescue and others also helped with this effort. Monroe County Fire Rescue also assisted with search and rescue, responded to calls, put the fires out, and cleared debris during the first few days. Monroe County Sheriff also got assistance from law enforcement from all around the country, which made them able to respond to calls and prevent looting. They were also able to coordinate aid from non-governmental agencies like the Red Cross, in order to set up food, water, and medical tents throughout the county. In order for the state agencies to coordinate this it took a lot of money. “State agencies spent $680.2 million after Hurricane Irma, with county government costs exceeding $1 billion, according to a draft of a report by the House Select Committee on Hurricane Response and Preparedness.” This shows how much devastating the Hurricane was not only physically, but financially as well. There are more agencies that were involved in the State response, but I wanted to focus on the ones that I felt were the most important

Nongovernmental agencies and volunteer organizations also helped in response to Florida during Hurricane Irma. One of these volunteer organizations included Habitat for Humanity. “In storm-battered Florida communities, the Red Cross and other nonprofit organizations are joining with the 26 Long Term Recovery Groups that have formed across the state to help Irma survivors connect with those resources” The Red Cross had a group of about 7,000 workers that were able to provide financial assistance to households that were damaged, which was about $37 million total. They were also able to provide 1.6 million meals and provide shelter for a total of 555,300 overnight stays. For long-term recovery, they were given around $15 million in grants, in order to help the most impacted parts of the community.

Hurricane Irma caused more than $50 billion dollars worth of total damage. The people who are responsible for paying for all this are the government, the state, the private sector, and insurance companies. “Nearly $3 billion in FEMA disaster assistance, low-interest U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loans, and National Flood Insurance Program payments have flowed to Florida for recovery and rebuilding” Flooding usually isn’t covered under standard home insurance unless the homeowners use the National Flood Insurance Program. Over $1.02 billion in grants were funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Public Assistance program. These grants were given to state and local governments and were also given to some non-profit organizations that were involved. These grants were used to help remove debris, repair roads and bridges, respond, and manage costs. For long-term recovery, Monroe County is doing the majority of the work. “The Monroe County Long Term Recovery Group has invited World Renew Disaster Response Services, also known as “The Green Shirts,” into the Keys to meet with people who still are recovering from Hurricane Irma and need financial, emotional, and/or household help.” The World Renew Green Shirts are volunteers, whose tasks are to go to individuals affected by the disaster, where they gather information and prioritize them. Monroe County is getting this money from federal, state, local, and non-profit, in order to repair and make Florida more resilient. 5,854 of a projected 7,959 total projects – nearly 74 percent – have been funded

In the research I conducted, I learned a lot of lessons that were created from Hurricane Irma. FEMA published an after-action report called, “2017 Hurricane Season FEMA After-Action Report.” Three main lessons learned would help the agency and the emergency management community. The first lesson was that they must build a national culture of preparedness. Doing this it would make sure that everyone at the individual, community, federal, state, and local levels is prepared for the worst types of disasters. They also want citizens to mitigate these possible disasters, and buy insurance to ensure that whatever happens there will still be hope. FEMA’s second lesson learned was that they must get the Nation ready for catastrophic disasters. “The response to the hurricanes demonstrated the need for emergency managers at all levels to improve collaboration with the critical infrastructure sectors.” Even though there are developed plans with good information, emergency managers must be ready to adapt. For revising this coordination across the different sectors, FEMA wants to revise the National Response Framework and the Response Federal Interagency Operational Plan. For the third lesson, FEMA’s agency needs to become more efficient, and not as complicated. FEMA wants to simplify its strategies and make them more simple with new technology and approaches. By being able to communicate better, they want to be able to serve the survivors better before, during, and after the event. FEMA states that there is “no easy or one-size-fits-all solution to housing tens of thousands of displaced survivors. FEMA needs to simplify the process of applying for assistance to make our programs easier.” If they work together, they will be able to execute better methods for housing displaced survivors. Most of these methods are able to be executed by the federal state, and local levels working together.

There are many resources that I found useful for research, but I will be focusing on the three main ones. The first one comes from the National Weather Service website, which it has a detailed summary of Hurricane Irma. I used this mainly in the first paragraph, where it talked about the path of the Hurricane, and when the hurricane was either a Category 3, 4, or 5 hurricane. It also talked about the speed of the winds in each area, along with the dates on which the events took place. For the second resource that I found most valuable, I used “Hurricane Irma: The Immediate Response” from the Monroe County, FL, Emergency management website. This helped me gain more knowledge on the state and local response, and how they were running most of the operations. It also gave me a good insight into how they were working with non-governmental agencies like the Red Cross. For the third resource, I used FEMA’s “2017 Hurricane Season After-Action Report,” which was made on July 12th, 2018. This source was able to provide me with a great in-depth overview of the entire disaster itself. I mainly used this source in the paragraphs where I talked about the response aspect. It also provided a lot of the logistics, like how much the damage and costs were, and who was going to pay for them. This source also touched on the different lessons that were learned from the event, where they also provided recommendations that could fix the problems that they faced.

Report on Hurricane

On August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 tropical storm near Rockport, Texas. Harvey’s outrageous breezes and tempest flood caused annihilation along the Texas coast. As Harvey moved gradually inland, meteorologists anticipated that Harvey would drop between 900 – 1000 mm (35-40 in) of rain during the following week in coastal Texas (Risser). In certain regions, these expectations were surpassed, especially in the greater Houston region. As a result, unprecedented flooding occurred over an area the size of the Netherlands. Houston, the fourth biggest city in the U.S., was particularly hard hit, inciting a huge crisis reaction running from nearby grass-attaches endeavors to formal disaster management. Initial reports place the harm from Hurricane Harvey among the top five historical weather events in the United States (Van).

More than 20,000 individuals had to look for emergency temporary shelter during the disaster and an estimated 120,000 structures have been impacted by flooding. Extreme flood events like Harvey are tragic but also very rare to occur frequently. The families who were exposed to the floods had to be rescued (by emergency workers/responders), escape (by themselves or with help from other citizens), or wait until the water levels had decreased. In multiple areas, the water level declined so quickly that people did not have to escape or be rescued (Van). Nonetheless, there were some places where evacuation was necessary.

Following the disaster declaration for the state of Texas by President Trump, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) began to go about as the government planning body for crisis reaction. My role as part of the FEMA is to initiate a few different systems at both the national level (National Response Coordination Center in Washington D.C.) and in the impacted locale (Regional Response Coordination Center in Denton). These planning components upheld individual states in actualizing a range of crisis readiness measures. The measures included data to the populace through weather alerts, data on evacuation temporary shelters, and safety tips in numerous dialects (“Historic Disaster Response”). FEMA not only helped at the government level but also at the citizen level.

FEMA allotted 28 Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) groups from the country over to send to Texas to help state and neighborhood organizations with the lifesaving strategy. The groups saved 6,453 individuals and 237 animals, utilizing boats and high-water trucks. Search and rescue endeavors included the USAR, National Parks Service, U.S. Fish, and Natural life Service, Customs and Border Patrol, and the Department of Defense. FEMA provided “3 million meals, 3 million liters of water, 9,900 covers, 8,840 bunks, 10,300 hygiene packs to the state to distribute to survivors. FEMA rapidly gave $186 million in Public Assistance subsidizing to repay neighborhood and state organizations for the expense of emergency protective measures and debris removal.” FEMA conveyed groups of authorities to neighborhoods and calamity recuperation focus to help Texans with enrollment and inquiries concerning calamity help. FEMA composed National Business Emergency Operations Center calls among 150 private segment accomplices chipping away at catastrophe reaction, worked with social media companies to share catastrophe data, and helped cell administration organizations in giving charging stations to catastrophe survivors (“Historic Disaster Response”).

Aside from communicating with people in general, FEMA moreover prepositioned groups and assets, including Incident Management Assistance Teams (IMAT) the crisis activities focuses. Through the reaction to Hurricane Harvey, more than 15 other government (federal or state) organizations have been included. In addition to these formal, governmental organizations, the American Red Cross and another 300 voluntary associations were assembled (Flowers). The sum and size of these associations, each with their commands, mastery, assets, methods, and structures added to the multifaceted nature of the reaction and difficulties in coordination. All the different organizations involved with different roles resulted in keeping the citizens safe

The American Red Cross (ARC) gave $45 million to more than 100,000 disaster survivors to support them with prompt needs. The Red Cross deployed more than “3,000 staff and volunteers, 171 emergency reaction vehicles, served 965,000 meals and 1 million snacks and worked shelters” throughout the affected districts (Flowers). These organizations mutually sorted out the emergency response for the influenced territories. This reaction included operational exercises, for example, search and rescue, evacuation, and medicinal consideration. Besides, the response likewise secured the provisioning of help things to the influenced populace, for example, nourishment and water, emergency shelter equipment, and monetary remuneration.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) role in an emergency crisis is to upgrade the well-being and prosperity of all citizens, by accommodating successful well-being and human administrations and by encouraging sound, supporting advances in science’s fundamental medication, general well-being, and social administrations. The HHC in Hurricane Harvey sent in more than a “1,110 workforce with medicinal gear and supplies. The workforce gave medical consideration to 5,359 patients and conducted 60 shelter assessments evaluations.” The department established a medical shelter and helped move Port Arthur residents who had been living in flood-water-polluted houses and apartments to temporary housing at the Bob Bowers Civic Center (Hines). The HHS also gave a helping hand even after the water level had decreased to make sure all the citizens impacted had good well-being.

It very well may be noticed that more than 300 volunteer associations supported crisis tasks. These non-administrative associations contributed a huge bit of the assets, both labor and things, in the outcome of Hurricane Harvey. Not just their assets added to the crisis reaction; their local presence, commonality with the area, and access likewise guaranteed a progressively viable activity for the administration-commanded associations. The coordination jointly effectively delivers aid and emergency response key factors in guaranteeing these associations mutually adequately convey help. The non-governmental organizations helped a lot in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, due to the high amount of damage.

Joined together, various factors made Hurricane Harvey a huge tempest. In the first place, the storm framed rapidly and heightened to a Category 4 in every brief time frame, giving individuals deficient time to get ready for it by emptying. Second, since Harvey was moderately moving, the flooding and tornadoes proceeded for quite a long time after Harvey made landfall. At last, Harvey’s area added to its demolition; it affected the fourth most-populated metropolitan region in the nation. Without the physical and financial help of the non-governmental organization, Hurricane Harvey would’ve taken longer to recover.