Natural Disasters

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Natural Disasters

• Tuesday 2005 Aug 30
• Lecture 3

2
Quiz

• Identify a demographic group that is moving to
  coastal communities.
• Name one line of evidence (set of observations)
  that geologists interpret as supporting the
  theory of plate tectonics.

3
Answers

• Demographic groups moving to coastal communities
  include the Baby Boomers, high-tech workers, and
  service support workers. The Baby Boomers are
  driving the trend.
• a) Matched terrestrial fossils on continents
  separated by oceans b) patterns of glacial
  motion as shown by striations (grooves) c)
  sea-floor radiometric ages and magnetic striping
  d) apparent polar wander e) visual apparent fit
  of continents

4
Todays Disasters

• Follow-up
• European freak weather fires floods kill 34, 25
  in Romania, others in Austria, Bulgaria,
  Switzerland
• Indonesia Polio Epidemic
• 225 children infected since March, 2005
• polio resurfaced in Nigeria in 2003

5
Todays Disasters

• Katrina as of 500 am CDT, 2005 Aug 30
• 55 reported dead along Gulf coast, including 30
  in one beach-side apartment in Biloxi, MS
• 11 dead from Florida landfall
• More than 1,000,000 without power at least 2
  weeks before fully restored
• Lake Pontchartrain levee topped, flooding New
  Orleans neighborhoods

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Todays Disasters

• Katrina continued
• New Orleans water main break boil order
• Oil rig hits bridge
• Gulf of Mexico oil production cut by 3.1 million
  bbl per day
• US Highway 90 essentially destroyed near
  Biloxi, Gulfport MS
• 40,000 homes reported flooded in St. Bernard
  Parish, alone

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Todays Disasters

• Katrina continued
• Mississippi losing 500,000/day tax revenue from
  closed casinos alone
• Gulf coast oil production cut by 92 (the Gulf
  coast provides 27 of US oil production)
• Crude oil prices peak at 70.80 bbl
• Nine oil refineries closed, may take weeks to
  restart (they blow up if operators are not
  careful)

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Todays Disasters

• Katrina continued
• AT 4 AM CDT...0900Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL
  STORM KATRINA WAS LOCATED ABOUT 35 MILES
  NORTHEAST OF TUPELO MISSISSIPPI.
• KATRINA IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHEAST NEAR
  18 MPH. THIS MOTION SHOULD BRING THE CENTER OF
  KATRINA THROUGH THE TENNESSEE VALLEY TODAY.
• MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE DECREASED TO NEAR
  50 MPH...WITH HIGHER GUSTS.
• TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO
  105 MILES ...165 KM FROM THE CENTER. WIND GUSTS
  OF 60 TO 65 MPH HAVE BEEN REPORTED FROM PORTIONS
  OF NORTHERN ALABAMA.
• COASTAL STORM SURGE FLOODING ALONG THE NORTHERN
  AND NORTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO WILL SLOWLY
  SUBSIDE TODAY.
• ADDITIONAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 4
  INCHES...WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 6
  INCHES...WILL ACCOMPANY KATRINA ACROSS THE
  TENNESSEE AND OHIO VALLEYS...THE LOWER GREAT
  LAKES...AND INTO NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND.
• TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE TODAY OVER WESTERN SOUTH
  CAROLINA...NORTH CAROLINA...AND VIRGINIA.

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KatrinaSunday 2005 Aug 28, 415pm CDT
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Individual Human Impacts

• Direct Consequences (during the hurricane)
• drowning
• injury/death from building collapse flying
  debris
• injury/death from evacuation accidents
• stress induced conditions, e.g., heart attack,
  stroke

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Individual Human Impacts

• Indirect Consequences (after the hurricane)
• stress induced conditions, e.g. heart attack
• exhaustion, dehydration, malnutrition
• contagious disease, especially, e.g., cholera
• depression

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Collective Direct Impacts Economic

• Property damage/losses
• homes
• cars
• clothes
• tools
• food
• mementos
• electronics
• appliances
• etc., etc., etc.

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Collective Direct Impacts Economic

• Property damage/losses
• Real Estate, oceanfront property

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Collective Direct Impacts Economic

• Property damage/losses
• business
• buildings,
• capital equipment,
• inventory, and
• records
• billing/accounts receivable
• contracts
• payroll
• tax

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Collective Direct Impacts Economic

• Property damage/losses
• government infrastructure
• roads, especially bridges
• equipment, especially heavy machinery
• inventory
• barricades
• road material (asphalt, aggregate gravel
• records
• tax bills
• municipal assistance

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Collective Direct Impacts Economic

• Property damage/losses
• other collective, especially utilities
• electric natural gas transmission
  distribution systems
• water supply
• waste water treatment
• wired and cell phone service
• motor fuel (gasoline) distribution
• food distribution

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Indirect Impacts

• Loss of productivity
• decline in tax revenue
• cleanup expenses
• loss of crops

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Todays Disasters

• Katrina, continued
• Insured loss estimates range from 9 to 26
  billion

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Who pays for the damage?
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Secondary Indirect Impacts

• Economic boom!
• After Ivan Charlie in Florida
• rebuild or restore 30,000 homes
• replace flooded cars
• replace furniture