- The location I am most familiar with is Scranton, Pennsylvania. According to the Nathan World map of Natural Hazards, Scranton is supposedly susceptible to tornadoes (Zone 3) and hailstorms (Zone 2) as our highest natural hazards. We are also classified to be in Zone 1 for both extra-tropical storms and wildfires. The only part that I would disagree with is the Zone 2 and 3 classifications for hailstorms and tornadoes. I disagree with the classification for hailstorms because it is really a rare occurrence that we have hailstorms. Although, we do get the occasionally it is at most maybe once or twice a year. I disagree with the tornado classification because of of the area around Scranton, or NEPA in general is “protected” by mountain ranges. These mountain ranges dissipates winds that would be strong enough to form tornadoes (from what I remember being taught).
- The current disaster I’ve chosen was the earthquake that happened around Singu, Wakayama in Japan. I chose this because of how I already mentioned about earthquakes are an (almost) nonexistent possibility in Scranton, PA. I also chose this because of my familiarity with countries in Asia. Being present for an earthquake that happened in Taiwan before, I can say they are truly terrifying. Although it wasn’t a huge one, it still caused damage to both my grandfathers home and the neighborhoods. However, this fearful disaster happening in Scranton is close to 0%. According to studies and recordings of where earthquakes have happened in PA, almost none have hit Scranton.
According to the web side the earthquake is rated as a magnitude of 6.2. This could strong affect Scranton if it was to occur hear. Mostly because of how we are located above a mine. Major damage would be caused to Scranton as a lot of our buildings and structures are pretty old. Although renovations and reconstruction has helped a lot of locations, most of the structures are still pretty old. The earthquake that happened in Japan was also located at sea. Damage to the mainland was minor and mostly shaking was felt. However if we placed the epicenter in the middle of Scranton, we would not get away with just shaking and furniture breaking.
The severity of the disaster on the human population of Scranton is varied. This is because of all the different people from different locations that have gathered here. To elaborate, I have many friends who have experienced earthquakes and are always prepared and know what to do if the situation arise. However, I also have friends who would probable panic if an earthquake would happen in Scranton, as well as most of the population. The biggest factor that would affect the population would be knowledge, in my opinion. Knowing what to do and what not to do would be the biggest factor in deciding one’s safety. Another factor would most likely be experience. However, this factor is hard to obtain since we rarely get earthquakes, if any at all.
- From my experience, the biggest disaster that could happen would be flooding. I say this because flooding is mostly the biggest problems I have heard about in my life in Scranton. This is mostly because of how much rain we get in NEPA. Like the sayin, “when it rains, it pours” I believe that really is the case here. When I was in High School I’ve seen many house have floods, sewer drains were over flowing, and water damage happening all of the neighborhoods. Many of my friends were victims to floods due to where they lived and a couple local businesses also suffered from this.
- I think the best action to take for the flooding problem in Scranton has already mostly been solved. For instance, when I was in High School the city began installing the flood canals around the city. These channels were extremely helpful since flooding of homes and businesses weren’t happening as much anymore. This project was put into place by Scranton officials. The most the people of Scranton can do is to report damages to these tunnels or if they notice anything abnormal.
3 thoughts on “Module 8: Steven Feng”
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Hi Steven. My name is Tyler.
I found what you said about Scranton’s water channels helping out flooding really interesting. I wish Pottstown could have something similar, or at least build up the river banks some. Flooding is one of the biggest natural disaster problems that we deal with back home. Whenever we have a major storm or nor’easter, the Schuylkill river starts to rise.
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Hi Steven. My name is Ben and I found your article to be interesting because I have heard that Scranton has flood problems from one of my friends that lives there. Adding flooding canals is a very smart approach. My hometown of Greenwich, CT has some issues with flooding as well and I wish that they would install those, seeing that it worked out for you guys. Here is the link to my post if you are interested. http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/04/02/natural-disasters-in-greenwich-ct-ben-ceci/
Hello Steven! I agree with you about the flooding in northeastern Pennsylvania. I have the same concern for my hometown of Williamsport. I am surprised, however, that you do not see hailstorms as a problem. I think I see hail several times each year and I have known it to cause some damage. I do some traveling to Scranton and do not remember hail there but being so close in proximity, I wonder what changes the hail frequency. That is clearly a problem with the map – it is hard to determine local trends from it. Thanks for your post.