Hazards - Hurricane Maria - Puerto Rico Flashcards
When did Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico
20th September 2017
What was the category on the Saffir Simpson Scale
Category 4 on Saffir Simpson
What was the storm surge experienced
1.8-2.7m
What was the rainfall in the storm
96.5cm - less significant at causing damage than wind
Where is Puerto Rico located
northeast carribean sea, and is an island that is territory of the United States
What is the percentage of residents that lived below the poverty line
What is the unemployment rate in relation to the national level
50%
Unemployment was double the national level
How deep were flood waters
What category was the hurricane
What were the maximum wind speeds reached
30 inches - waist high
strong category 4
175 mph - was the main damage causer in Maria
what is an exacerbating factor Marina
Hurricane Irma - a category 5 storm - had hit just 2 weeks before Marina - emergency supplies were already low
What was the death toll directly from the hurricane?
What was the indirect death toll?
How many public school students were disrupted from school for weeks?
65
3000
350 000
ALL SOCIAL IMPACTS
What was the total cost of damages from marina
What was the cost of loss in agriculture
What was the impact on local businesses
£70 billion
£600 million
Local economy was destroyed due to damages
ALL ECONOMIC IMPACTS
What was the percentage of trees in Puerto Rico that had been destroyed
What does this mean to local ecosystems
How does increased nitrate in soils create a problem
30% - lost due to wind
the main trees lost were hardwood, while palm trees survived. The forest can be over run with palm trees and this can cause the ecosystem to collapse - in addition to a significant carbon sink being destroyed
increased nitrate can lead to algal blooms - causes coastal dead zones
ALL ENVIRONMENTAL
Was FEMA - Federal Emergency Management Agency - equipped for Maria
Was the severity of Maria known before hitting
FEMA were unprepared for the magnitude of Maria - the amount of food and water that would be needed was vastly underestimated.
FEMA’s emergency warehouse was emptied by the response to Irma two weeks before
The NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association - monitored the storm as it developed and where it was moving.
PREPERATION
What was the general story about the relief to this hazard
What is the tarp statistic
Relief was not enough for what was needed
4x less tarps than needed
RELIEF
When residents applied for housing assistance from FEMA, what was the percentage of people unsuccessful
50%
REHABILITATION
What was the percentage of residents with no power and residents with no water 2 months after the storm
60% - no power
20% - no water
Repairs where slow and inadequate - mainly temporary fixes and blue trap roofs for months
RECONSTRUCTION
