My hometown of Harrisburg, PA was difficult to locate on the maps. What I did find was that because of climate change, we get an increase in heavy rainfall. We don’t experience many hailstorms or extratropical storms. We do, however, experience a low-moderate intensity of tornados. If there is a tornado near Harrisburg, we usually experience high wind speeds and rain. My house specifically doesn’t experience a lot of intense weather during tornados because I live at the foot of a mountain, which breaks up the wind. Lastly, we are in a low zone for wildfires. In terms of El Nino and La Nina effects, we don’t seem to have any major changes to our normal weather patterns. The Nathan map was difficult to read because I couldn’t locate the exact location of Harrisburg, PA. Therefore, what I observed with the naked eye may not be entirely accurate.
On March 28th, at 4:18 pm, an earthquake hit Pakistan. Most people indoors could feel movement. Objects that were hanging may have swung and windows and doors rattled. A few people outside may have felt it also. My hometown typically does not experience earthquakes of large intensity. However, in 2011, we felt a 5.8 earthquake. Some risks of this type of disaster can be property damage and even death. This may happen because of the earth’s tectonic plates moving underground. When this happens, we feel a shake and movement. This may cause buildings to fall and other damages. These risks are not likely in Harrisburg though because we do not experience many earthquakes. We have felt 19 total since 1931. When we do get hit with an earthquake, they typically are not large enough to cause much damage.The earthquake that took place in Pakistan was a magnitude 4.7. This is lower than the one felt in my hometown. Therefore, I expect that there were very minimal effects of this earthquake. If this were to take place in Harrisburg, we would likely not experience anything other than rattling doors and windows. In PA, specifically Huntingdon, state departments are monitoring how our drilling is affecting the earth. So far, there is not evidence of human-caused earthquakes in the area, but officials continue to observe and record how we are affecting the ground. In order to reduce my towns vulnerability to this disaster, we would have to spot drilling completely. This would then decrease any possible risk there once was that we could create an earthquake.
Other natural hazards my town experiences are tornados. These tornados do not have significant effects but they do have the potential to cause some damage. For example, in the summer of 2014, my town was hit with some effects of a tornado nearby. We had to go down into our basement because of high wind speeds. We remained there for a few hours until the storm died down. When we came back upstairs, some trees were knocked over and our outside furniture had blown around. This tornado caused minimal damage to our property. I believe its effects were not that bad because of the location of my house. We are seated at the foot of a mountain, which means the winds cannot reach dangerous speeds before being broken up. Therefore, I live in a very low risk area for natural hazards other than the ones previously discussed.
In order to reduce vulnerability in my hometown, meteorologists can work on predicting storms days before they occur, using new technology. Then, the people who live in Harrisburg can stockpile any food and water they may need in preparation. This will also help people who need to retreat to basements or other shelters if necessary. To reduce vulnerability, I can become more educated and informed of natural hazards so that I am properly prepared when they occur. Lastly, we can work on our emergency response, in the event a disaster hits and causes more damage than usual. We can do this by volunteering for Red Cross Associations and other relief organizations. In doing this, people will become educated in how to properly respond, attend to injuries, and distribute food and water.
2 thoughts on “Alyssa Massaro Module 8”
Hi Alyssa
I’m Eunice Lee majoring in Early Childhood Education. I thought your blog entry was interesting because your hometown is not far away from State College where I’m currently living. I did notice the climate change but I didn’t know there could be an increase of heavy rainfall! I think I should be preparing for that! Also, I was really absorbed by the Pakistan post for question 2 because I have a best friend who currently lives in Pakistan and I did not know they had earthquakes. What is more, I think you idea of reducing vulnerability was accurate as meteorologists could really make a whole lot of difference!
Overall I thought your blog entry was well organized and was fascinating to hear about new information!
Thank you for sharing and this is my blog entry :http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/29/natural-hazard/
Hi Alyssa,
I read your post and I found that our resolutions for our towns issues were very similar. I talked about heavy rains and winds that cause trees to fall in my town, and then trip power lines. Similar to your case, I think a more accurate meteorological reading would help both of us. If we had enough time to prepare for the incoming issue, far fewer issues would occur. I also liked how you addressed the specific vulnerability of your house against the others around you.
Hi Alyssa
I’m Eunice Lee majoring in Early Childhood Education. I thought your blog entry was interesting because your hometown is not far away from State College where I’m currently living. I did notice the climate change but I didn’t know there could be an increase of heavy rainfall! I think I should be preparing for that! Also, I was really absorbed by the Pakistan post for question 2 because I have a best friend who currently lives in Pakistan and I did not know they had earthquakes. What is more, I think you idea of reducing vulnerability was accurate as meteorologists could really make a whole lot of difference!
Overall I thought your blog entry was well organized and was fascinating to hear about new information!
Thank you for sharing and this is my blog entry :http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/29/natural-hazard/
Hi Alyssa,
I read your post and I found that our resolutions for our towns issues were very similar. I talked about heavy rains and winds that cause trees to fall in my town, and then trip power lines. Similar to your case, I think a more accurate meteorological reading would help both of us. If we had enough time to prepare for the incoming issue, far fewer issues would occur. I also liked how you addressed the specific vulnerability of your house against the others around you.
You can read my blog and see what I said below.
http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/29/module-8-westfield-vs-disaster/