1) My town of Colts Neck, New Jersey is located in the Northeastern region of the United States. According to the Nathan World Map of Natural Hazards, my region is prone to several different hazards. I live in close proximity to a tropical cyclone. The cyclone’s track direction goes upwards, which can cause heavy wind. The region that I am in has had increased heavy rainfall due to climate changes.  This is what has most likely caused the large amounts of hydrological and meteorological hazards in my area. My region has also been subject to hailstorms, several extratropical storms, as well as some tornado risks. According to the map, Northeast United States faces warmer weather and fewer storms during El Nino. During La Nina, my area is prone to more storms. The Nathan World Map is beneficial for showing global hazard risks, but it would probably be more helpful in my specific case if the maps were magnified to show the effects on only North America.

2) According to the Hungarian National Association of Radio Distress Signaling and Infocommunications’ EDIS, in the Tafawa Balewa region of Nigeria, Africa there biological hazard occurring. Something known as the Lassa Hemorrhagic Fever has affected the people of the State of Bauchi, a level 4 hazard. It could be possible for my hometown to experience a disaster like this, under certain circumstances. If the disease was contracted in another area and someone brought the disease to my area, it would be possible for others to catch the infectious disease. My hometown is not particularly vulnerable because we are not close to any port or airport and the United States takes many safety measures for protecting against infectious viruses. Additionally, I live in an area that is much wealthier than Nigeria, which makes us somewhat less vulnerable to this virus. The number of educated doctors and scientists within my country also are beneficial to my area. The number of people reported to have had the illness is around 180, with 101 deaths being reported as of August 2015. This region in Nigeria is much larger than my hometown. An outbreak like this would be devastating in my town, which has a population of just about 12,000 people. As far as scale goes, the fact that the virus has been constricted to this small county in Nigeria would probably be similar to the local scale of my own county. Some ways to reduce the vulnerability for my hometown to a biological hazard such as the Lassa Fever is to prepare for it before it comes. Having plans and educating ourselves on infectious diseases such as this would help us in being able to get rid of it if it were to affect us. If faced with a Triage, it would be important that we have an emergency response team set up and additionally a facility available to save as many lives as possible.

3) My town faces several natural hazard risks. In the past we have been subject to some devastating storms, specifically hurricanes. Being so close to the coast, my area has been prone to thing such as flooding and heavy winds during storms. According to TIME Magazine, my county (Monmouth County) is considered to be less safe from natural hazards than most places. We are subject to coastal flooding, excessive heat, flash flooding, heavy snow, high wind, lightning and tropical storms. My parents have told me about Hurricanes in the past that have caused damage, but none compare to Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, that hit during my lifetime. Hurricane Irene hit in August 2011 and brought heavy winds and damage to electrical wires, causing us to lose power for weeks. Worse than Hurricane Irene was Hurricane Sandy which hit in fall of 2012. The damage to my town was unprecedented, with trees falling through houses and people being out of power for almost 2 weeks. Our neighboring Ocean County faced more damage than ever before, costing millions of dollars for reconstruction.

http://time.com/safest-counties/#34025

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/08/hurricane_irene_flashback_the_forgotten_storm_of_2011.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/02/new-jersey-house-sandy-demolished-photos_n_3205036.html

4) There are many measures that can be taken to reduce the vulnerability of my town. The magnitude of damage caused by hurricane Sandy was mostly due to the fact that New Jersey was unprepared for such a storm. Protecting our beaches is something that we failed with tremendously in that case. Building higher dunes and evacuating coastal towns are just a few things that can be done to protect people and infrastructure. During times of natural hazards, it is so important to have prepared emergency response teams. For example in the State of Bauchi, Nigeria that I had mentioned above, the governor had a quick response to approve the building of an infectious disease center for those affected. Having a speedy response to natural hazards is very important when it comes to protecting people. The people who are most responsible for constructing these plans are the local government. They have the largest stake in our local wellbeing, and they have the power to facilitate action. It is also important that more fortunate community members volunteer to help their fellow people in times of need. In times of hazard, it is both mine and my community member’s responsibility to do whatever we can to help those around us.