NATURAL AND MAN-MADE DISASTERS Group 5: Julia Richter, Abdulrahman Aljohani, Jun Teak Hwang, David Leedy, Eissa AlHammadi

Transcription

1 NATURAL AND MAN-MADE DISASTERS Group 5: Julia Richter, Abdulrahman Aljohani, Jun Teak Hwang, David Leedy, Eissa AlHammadi

2 NATURAL DISASTER: HURRICANE KATRINA Mitigation Since New Orleans lies an average of six feet below sea level, the Army Corps of Engineers built a system of levees and seawalls to stop the city from flooding

3 NATURAL DISASTER: HURRICANE KATRINA Disaster Preparedness Meteorologists predicted the storm to be very violent and dangerous, warning anyone who resided in the city to seek shelter elsewhere The mayor of New Orleans issued a mandatory evacuation order Sandbag walls were put in place for added protection

4 NATURAL DISASTER: HURRICANE KATRINA Disaster Response A state of emergency was declared in New Orleans Red Cross provided volunteers and supplies to those without homes The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) took several days to establish operations despite not having a sound plan The Coast Guard and National Guard helped in the disaster response rescuing some 34,000 people in New Orleans alone Temporary shelters were held in stadiums, hospitals, and other facilities. The Superdome sheltered some 25,000 people

5 NATURAL DISASTER: HURRICANE KATRINA Disaster Recovery A stunning 2,000 lives were lost over some 90,000 square miles The process of rebuilding New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Gulf Coast is still ongoing today, 9 years after the storm The area still struggles to rebuild not only the damaged buildings, but the damaged economy and spirits as well In other news, the Saints won the Superbowl that year

6 NATURAL DISASTER: HURRICANE KATRINA The Long Term Effects Hurricane Katrina left a tremendous economic and environmental impact on New Orleans and the state of Louisiana in its wake The estimated cost for reconstruction was about $105 billion The area experienced minimal growth with a decrease in population and a financial crisis Buildings were destroyed and flooded, leaving many people homeless and jobless The flood waters proved to be an issue because they contaminated food and water People are not only subject to physical sickness and disease, but mental disorders too

7 MAN MADE DISASTER: BP OIL SPILL Mitigation In this case, there was little to no mitigation because the disaster was not unpredictable However, the safety procedures and regulations of the oil rig could be considered forms of mitigation to prevent accidents like this

8 MAN MADE DISASTER: BP OIL SPILL Disaster Preparedness BP was not prepared because the explosion happened so suddenly, without prior warning

9 MAN MADE DISASTER: BP OIL SPILL Disaster Response The response to the oil rig explosion came as quickly as possible, yet was delayed due to the fact that it was so unexpected The oil continued to leak for 87 days without pause, totaling at about 4.9 million barrels of oil BP tried to weld the rig back together, yet this proved to be difficult with the underwater conditions BP also drilled relief wells to help alleviate the amount of oil being pumped to the rig Finally, BP ended the disaster by capping it with concrete

10 MAN MADE DISASTER: BP OIL SPILL Disaster Recovery In response to this disaster, there were great efforts to save the water and land around the area in the Gulf Coast Containment booms stretched for miles to protect the marshes and ecologically sensitive areas The three basic removal procedures were combustion, offshore filtration, and collection for later processing The environmental impact of the BP oil spill was tremendous, affecting many animals and ecosystems for miles along the coastline

11 MAN MADE DISASTER: BP OIL SPILL The Long Term Effects The fishing, shrimping, and oyster industries have been hit hard and are destroyed The wildlife and environment is also damaged due to the oil spill Tourism to the areas of the Gulf coast have decreased The Gulf Coast economy is dependent on the fishing industry as well as tourism, so therefore the economy is not flourishing