AY Honors/Disaster Response - Advanced/Answer Key

1. Describe the underlying causes of each of these disaster scenarios and give a recent example of at least six and its impact on a community or country. Point to at least one in which ADRA responded.

Hurricane/Typhoon/Cyclone

A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones feed on heat released when moist air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor contained in the moist air. Tropical cyclones originate in the doldrums near the equator, about 10° away from it. Tropical cyclones are called either hurricanes or typhoons depending on where they originate.

Hurricane Dean

Fifteen countries felt the effects of Hurricane Dean as its path through the Caribbean Sea claimed 42 lives. The hurricane first brushed the Lesser Antilles on August 17, 2007, and as it passed through the interior of the Caribbean its outer rain bands swept over the Greater Antilles. It passed Jamaica as a Category 4 hurricane, and strengthened to a Category 5 storm as it made landfall on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula on August 21. A second landfall on August 22 was less devastating. ADRA responded to Hurricane Dean throughout the affected area, providing (among other things) food, blankets, bedding, clean-up supplies, boots, raincoats, and flashlights. ADRA was in charge of aid distribution and victim registration in Jamaica.

Typhoon Durian

Typhoon Durian first made landfall in the Philippine s in November 2006 packing strong winds and heavy rains that caused mudslides near Mayon Volcano. After causing massive damage in the Philippines, it exited into the South China Sea and weakened slightly, before managing to reorganise and restrengthen into a typhoon shortly before its second landfall, this time in Vietnam near Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, causing further damage of more than US$400 million. In all, Durian killed at least 1,497 people, and left hundreds more missing. Damages from the typhoon were estimated at over $13 billion (2006 USD). When Typhoon Durian tore through the eastern Philippines, ADRA responded immediately to the needs of the survivors, providing food and emergency aid to those affected by the devastating storm.

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall.

Hurricane Rita

Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005.

Hurricane Isabel

Hurricane Isabel was the costliest and deadliest hurricane in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Isabel moved northwestward, and within an environment of light wind shear and warm waters it steadily strengthened to reach peak winds of 165 mph (265 km/h) on September 11. After fluctuating in intensity for four days, Isabel gradually weakened and made landfall on the Outer Banks of North Carolina with winds of 105 mph (165 km/h) on September 18. It quickly weakened over land and became extratropical over western Pennsylvania the next day.

Typhoon Rusa

Typhoon Rusa was the 10th typhoon of the 2002 Pacific typhoon season. Rusa brought heavy rains and flooding to South Korea, amounting to 36 inches (910 mm) in some areas. 113 people were killed in the country, making it one of the deadliest typhoons to hit South Korea. Extensive crop and property damage amounted to $6 billion (2002 USD).

Typhoon Utor

Typhoon Utor (also called Seniang) was a deadly typhoon which struck the Philippines about two weeks after Typhoon Durian causing significant devastation in the country. Typhoon Utor killed 30 people and left another eight missing throughout the Philippines.[4] A total of 9,553 homes were destroyed and 33,943 were damaged, displacing 56,313 people. In all, 880,663 people were affected. Damages from the storm totaled to $15.8 million, of which $9.6 million was from agricultural damage. An additional 44 people were injured by the storm. In response, ADRA provided food and shelter assistance to 2,615 people in the three provinces. More than 500 families received food items, such as rice, noodles, meat loaf, cooking oil, iodized salt, sugar, mongo beans, and sardines.

Tornado

A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air which is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. Tornadoes come in many sizes but are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel, whose narrow end touches the earth and is often encircled by a cloud of debris and dust.

Tornadoes have been observed on every continent except Antarctica. However, the vast majority of tornadoes in the world occur in the Tornado Alley region of the United States, although they can occur nearly anywhere in North America They also occasionally occur in south-central and eastern Asia, the Philippines, east-central South America, Southern Africa, northwestern and southeast Europe, western and southeastern Australia, and New Zealand.

Because ADRA does not operate in North America, and because that's where most tornadoes occur, ADRA has not responded to many tornadoes.

Nkande Tornado

In 2006, Nkande, South Africa was struck by a tornado that affected 125 families. ADRA supplied 8 tons of food, blankets, and cooking sets to 800 individuals in the aftermath of this storm.

May 2003 Tornado Outbreak Sequence

The May 2003 Tornado Outbreak Sequence in the United States was a series of tornado outbreaks that occurred from May 3 to May 11, 2003. Tornadoes began occurring over the affected area on April 30, but the most prolific continuous period was the seven day period of May 4–10. There were 401 tornado reports in 19 states and 1 Canadian province, 1,587 reports of large hail, and 740 reports of wind damage.

Mid-May 2008 tornado outbreak sequence

The Mid-May 2008 tornado outbreak sequence is a series of tornado outbreaks that affected the Southern Plains, the southeastern and Middle Atlantic region of the United States. The storm has produced 147 confirmed tornadoes starting on May 7 and lasting until late on May 15. The outbreak sequence killed 28 people across several states (25 from tornadoes).

Late May 2008 tornado outbreak sequence

The Late May 2008 tornado outbreak sequence was a series of tornado outbreaks affecting the central plains of the United States since May 22, 2008. Over 250 tornadoes were reported across many states and two Canadian provinces from Wyoming to Ohio and from Manitoba to Texas, of which at least 235 were confirmed. One person was killed when a tornado struck portions of Weld County, Colorado, and two more deaths were reported in Pratt County, Kansas. One person was also killed near Hugo, Minnesota on May 25 and eight were killed from an EF5 tornado that destroyed most of Parkersburg, Iowa and some of New Hartford, Iowa (located near Waterloo, Iowa). Another death, caused by lightning related to the storms, took place in central Kansas.

April 2009 tornado outbreak sequence

The April 2009 tornado outbreak was a tornado outbreak that affected large portions of the Southern United States on April 9–11, 2009. At least 5 people were killed by tornadoes including three in Mena, Arkansas just south of Fort Smith and two in Murfreesboro, Tennessee just south of Nashville. A total of 83 tornadoes were confirmed over the two days. Three people were killed in Texas due to wildfires caused by strong winds stemming from the same storm system.

June 2008 tornado outbreak sequence

The June 2008 tornado outbreak sequence was a series of tornado outbreaks affecting most of central and eastern North America from June 3–11, 2008. 192 tornadoes were confirmed, along with widespread straight–line wind wind damage. Seven people were killed from a direct result of tornadoes; four in Iowa, two in Kansas, and one in Indiana. Eleven additional people were killed across five states by other weather events including lightning, flash flooding, and straight-line winds. Severe flooding was also reported in much of Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa as a result of the same thunderstorms, while high heat and humidity affected much of eastern North America; particularly along the eastern seaboard of the United States from New York City to the Carolinas.

2. The four stages of managing a disaster or emergency include: 1) Planning and Mitigation, 2) Preparedness, 3) Response, 4) Recovery. In your own words, describe to your instructor what each of these terms mean and why they are important.

Planning and Mitigation

Mitigation efforts attempt to prevent hazards from developing into disasters altogether, or to reduce the effects of disasters when they occur. The mitigation phase differs from the other phases because it focuses on long-term measures for reducing or eliminating risk. The implementation of mitigation strategies can be considered a part of the recovery process if applied after a disaster occurs. Mitigative measures can be structural or non-structural. Structural measures use technological solutions, like flood levees. Non-structural measures include legislation, land-use planning (e.g. the designation of nonessential land like parks to be used as flood zones), and insurance. Mitigation is the most cost-efficient method for reducing the impact of hazards, however it is not always suitable. Mitigation does include providing regulations regarding evacuation, sanctions against those who refuse to obey the regulations (such as mandatory evacuations), and communication of potential risks to the public.

Preparedness

In the preparedness phase, emergency managers develop plans of action for when the disaster strikes. Common preparedness measures include:

• communication plans with easily understandable terminology and methods.
• proper maintenance and training of emergency services, including mass human resources such as community emergency response teams.
• development and exercise of emergency population warning methods combined with emergency shelters and evacuation plans.
• stockpiling, inventory, and maintain disaster supplies and equipment
• develop organizations of trained volunteers among civilian populations. (Professional emergency workers are rapidly overwhelmed in mass emergencies so trained, organized, responsible volunteers are extremely valuable. Organizations like Community Emergency Response Teams, the Red Cross, and Adventist Community Services are ready sources of trained volunteers.

Response

The response phase includes the mobilization of the necessary emergency services and first responders in the disaster area. This is likely to include a first wave of core emergency services, such as firefighters, police and ambulance crews. When conducted as a military operation, it is termed Disaster Relief Operation (DRO) and can be a follow-up to a Non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO). They may be supported by a number of secondary emergency services, such as specialist rescue teams.

A well rehearsed emergency plan developed as part of the preparedness phase enables efficient coordination of rescue Where required, search and rescue efforts commence at an early stage. Depending on injuries sustained by the victim, outside temperature, and victim access to air and water, the vast majority of those affected by a disaster will die within 72 hours after impact.

Organizational response to any significant disaster - natural or terrorist-borne - is based on existing emergency management organizational systems and processes: the Federal Response Plan (FRP) and the Incident Command System (ICS). These systems are solidified through the principles of Unified Command (UC) and Mutual Aid (MA)

Recovery

The aim of the recovery phase is to restore the affected area to its previous state. It differs from the response phase in its focus; recovery efforts are concerned with issues and decisions that must be made after immediate needs are addressed. Recovery efforts are primarily concerned with actions that involve rebuilding destroyed property, re-employment, and the repair of other essential infrastructure. An important aspect of effective recovery efforts is taking advantage of a ‘window of opportunity’ for the implementation of mitigative measures that might otherwise be unpopular. Citizens of the affected area are more likely to accept more mitigative changes when a recent disaster is in fresh memory.