The Nathan World Map of Natural Hazards helped me identify the natural hazards that my town in northeastern Pennsylvania can face. According to the maps, my area is at risk from tropical cyclones, an increase in heavy rain, hailstorms (up to zone 3), extratropical storms (up to zone 0), tornados (up to zone 3), and wildfires (up to zone 1). The maps in the Nathan map document show a general risk for a specific area and a specific threat. In some of the maps it is hard to identify what category a specific area is in. I do agree with the metrics provided for my area. Living in this area, we can experience crazy weather sometimes. I was actually born during the blizzard of 1993, there was a tornado a few miles away that destroyed car shop a few years back, number of floods, strong storms with damaging winds and hail, and a few small brush fires that lasted a day or two.

The current disaster from the RSOE EDIS is a 90-foot wide sinkhole in Tarpon Springs, Florida. My hometown can experience this same type of disaster. The risk for this type of disaster is higher than other parts of the country. My area is vulnerable the acid in our groundwater being able to dissolve the porous rocks. My area is not as vulnerable as Florida, but they seem to be more common. The scale of this disaster relative to the size of my hometown would be the same. This happened in a mobile home park and displaced about twenty people. My town also has a mobile home park about the same size that is described. The sinkhole opened in an area where there is a higher density of people living and that is why the impact was higher. If it happened in front of my house, the impact would be far less. The severity of this type of disaster on the human population in my hometown depends on where it happens. The population is mixed with older and younger people. If this would happen near a senior living complex, the severity would be high because of the assistance need when trying to evacuate quickly. These type of disasters do not have advance warning and give little time to leave the affected area. Reducing my town’s vulnerability to such a disaster would begin with the inspection of areas looking at water runoff, underground pipes, the types of soil and rocks. Another way to reduce the vulnerability is to have a proper waste water disposal system.

I was able to find a site that compiled natural disasters and weather extremes from 1950 to 2010 and calculated the likelihood of an event. The data says that the chance of an earthquake in Lackawanna County is about the same as the Pennsylvania average and is far lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Lackawanna County is lower than Pennsylvania average and is also lower than the national average. The site also has a chart that shows the number of events that happened. The top three were thunderstorm winds, floods, and hail. I would agree that these events occur the most often and sometimes they can be destructive. Flooding is usually the most impactful because I live in a valley, and effects a widespread of people.  

Lackawanna County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes. Retrieved April 01, 2016, from http://www.usa.com/lackawanna-county-pa-natural-disasters-extremes.htm

There are many actions that can be done to reduce vulnerability to natural hazards in my town. The first action would be make sure my town and its people are prepared for multiple different types of natural hazards. This can be done by practicing response times, rescue training, making sure people know where to go, and have emergency items before something happens. Emergency responders also need to know what to do when a natural hazard occurs and how to handle it. After the event the area impacted needs to have a concrete plan in place to recover and rebuild in the shortest time possible. I personally can stay alert and know what may happen and know where emergency supplies are. I can also help in a time in need by helping neighbors, family, and other people that may need assistance to safety.