1. My name is William Graf and I am from Pompano Beach, Florida. This is a town in Southeast Florida, just North of Miami. The biggest threats that we face in this area include hurricanes and sea level rises. There is also a slight risk in the area of a tornado. The Nathan Map is well suited for this task because it does an excellent job of separating the different hazards. The first map is the only one with more than one natural hazard listed. This is because hurricanes are marked in the water regions, and earthquakes are marked in the land regions.  All of the other maps include only one map that is clearly marked for the corresponding natural hazard.

2. For this section I chose to research the biological disaster that is occurring in the states of Wisconsin and Michigan. There is an outbreak of a virus that has caused 17 deaths in the area and there have been 44 people infected. This area is a much larger scale than my hometown, however I think the virus would spread much quicker in the area that I am from. This is because I live in a population dense area where many people constantly interact. There are also plenty of beaches in Florida that seem to serve well to help the spread of biological disasters and various viruses. I think the children in the area would be most vulnerable to this disaster. They are constantly in contact at school and germs are constantly being spread throughout children. They also have lower immune systems and would not be able to fight the outbreak as easily.

3. I have lived in South Florida for over 18 years. The biggest threat of a natural hazard that we face is the threat of a hurricane. I have been through several hurricanes, and my house sustained plenty of damage during Hurricane Wilma. However, after every hurricane passes through the area it seems that the area becomes less vulnerable to the threat of these hurricanes. Wilma destroyed several windows in my house and this event led us to replace all of the windows in our house with hurricane proof windows, doors, and garage doors. The building codes in the area have been revamped to deal with the threat of hurricanes. Houses have better design codes to deal with the threat of water damage, and the potential threats of wind damage [1]. There has also been a major argument over burying powerlines in Florida to prevent the damage to them during Hurricanes. This remains an argument because it could cost tens of thousands of dollars to convert these powerlines to underground lines. [2]

[1]

“Current and Emerging Technologies of Hurricane Protection.” Hurricanes: Science and Society. Accessed March 27, 2016. http://www.hurricanescience.org/society/risk/currentandemergingtech/

[2]

Patel, Julie. “Are You Willing to Pay Thousands to Keep the Power on after a Storm?” Sun Sentinel, June 25, 2011. Accessed March 27, 2016. http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-06-25/business/fl-fpl-underground-lines-20110624_1_power-lines-utility-lines-tamara-tennant.

4. The best way to reduce vulnerability in my hometown is to just keep doing what people have started to do. As mentioned earlier the building codes are constantly changing to further protect buildings from hurricanes. Technology for tracking hurricanes and predicting where a hurricane will hit is constantly improving. I think my hometown has always done well of evacuating areas when there is a severe threat for a hurricane. As long as people continue to follow these codes and remain cautious of the threat of hurricanes and flooding I think the area will continue to become less and less vulnerable to the natural hazard. These actions require everyone in the area to do their part.