1.6 Preperation And Response Flashcards
What is preparation?
This is what can be done before the event to minimise the disruption to people and enviroment.
What is the response?
The events afterwards that are put in place to help the recovery and to get life back to normal.
What are the 3 kinds of preparation?
Forecast/tracking
Warning/evacuation
Building design
For preparation explain what forecast / tracking does and how it reduces the impacts of tropical cyclones.
Scientists can use GIS (geographical information system) to track the eye of the storm and the size of it. It’s windspeed will show the magnitude of the cyclone. This helps reduce the impacts of a tropical cyclone because people can be warned when the tropical cyclone is approaching allowing people to evacuate.
For preparation explain what warning / evacuation does and how it reduces the impacts of tropical cyclones.
Emergency services, warning strategies and evacuation routes to alert people. This reduces the impacts on people as they know in advance and are able to prepare. Successful evacuations can reduce the number of deaths and injures.
For preparation explain what building design does and how it reduces the impacts of tropical cyclones.
Defences like sea walls are used to prevent storm surges along the coast. Buildings can be designed to withstand storm surges. Good building designs lowers deaths and decreases poverty as less people will lose their homes and less would have to live in emergency shelters.
What are the 2 kinds of response?
Rescue
Rebuild
For response give examples of rescue and explain how this reduces the impacts of a tropical cyclone.
Rescue workers search for trapped people to help and save them. This is also providing food water, medical care and emergency shelters. This reduces impacts of the tropical cyclones because the speed of these teams will allow them to save more people, providing food and water decreases the amount of people who are malnourished and providing emergency shelter give people a place to stay until they rebuild their home
For response give examples of rebuild and explain how this reduces the impacts of a tropical cyclone.
Roads being cleared, restoration of power and clean drinking water. People having electricity allows hospitals to work and help people with medical needs. Freshwater means there is no chance of disease spreading through water. Clear rose allows emergency services to travel faster and easier.
What were the environmental impacts of hurricane Katrina?
- Coastal habitats were damaged.
- Some coastal conservation areas were destroyed - e.g around half of Breton National Wildlife.
- Flooding damaged oil refineries causing massive oil spills.
What were the environmental impacts of cyclone Nargis?
- The Irrawaddy delta was hit the hardest because it is only just above sea level.
- 14,000 km squared of land was flooded.
- 38,000 hectares of mangrove forests were destroyed.
What were the impacts on people because of hurricane Katrina?
- More than 1800 people were killed.
- 3 million people were left without electricity.
- Roads were damaged and some buildings collapsed.
What were the impacts on people because of cyclone Nargis?
- More than 140,000 people were killed.
- 450,000 houses were destroyed and 350,000 were damaged
- Around 65% of the rice paddies in the Irrawaddy Delta were damaged, which led to a loss of livelihoods.
What was the forecasting of hurricane Katrina?
There is a National Hurricane Centre in Florida tracking the weather.
What was the forecasting of cyclone Nargis?
Myanmar does not have a does not have a dedicated monitoring centre.
What was the warning and evacuation for hurricane Katrina?
The NHC issued a hurricane warning. They tracked the hurricane and regularly updated the government. 20% of people did not evacuate leaving them stranded.
What was the warning and evacuation for cyclone Nargis?
Myanmar had a warning from India, but it reacher them at a very late time.
What were the defences for hurricane Katrina?
Embankments were set up to protect from flooding, but they failed causing 80% of New Orleans to be underwater.
What were the defences for cyclone Nargis?
Mangrove forests protect coasts from flooding, but as a lot of them had been chopped down this reduced the amount of natural protection.
