1.) Using the Nathan World Map of Natural Hazards, I determined that PA is most at risk for hailstorms and tornadoes. The vulnerability of my state is low for pretty much every other natural hazard there is, including earthquakes and tropical cyclones. This fact was mentioned in the module, as PA has one of the lowest vulnerabilities in the United States. I think this map gives a good global sense of hazards, but it fails to effectively communicate risks specific to an area. The risks associated with regions such as the Gulf of Mexico and Tornado Alley (the High Plains) are communicated well, but the risks of individual states or countries around the world are not easily deciphered. Breaking each map into continents might help elaborate on the risks and better warn the people of that region.

2.) The event I took a look at was a biological hazard in the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. An outbreak of Elizabethkingia meningoseptica (meningitis) has infected 44 people and killed 17. Though not a particularly large scale event, I believe my community is at a higher risk than the areas affected now. Being born and raised in a college town, and still living there, the risk for infection of a disease is increased greatly being on a campus with 45,000 other students. Though the outbreak currently happening is occuring across two states, I believe that if it makes it way into a college town, or a largely populated area such as a city, the outbreak could be amplified significantly. College students tend to not be the most sanitary people, and due to the fact that they come in close contact with several people (in University Park’s case, several thousand people) a day, the vulnerability is much higher here than in up state Minnesota and Wisconsin. The university has taken measures to prevent the spread and outbreak of various diseases, such as increased hand sanitizer availability, UHS, encouraging cleanliness and washing your hands, etc.. State college, being a good mix of young, middle aged, and elderly people, has taken several steps to preventing the outbreak of such a disease, including expanding the medical services available to the town.

3.) Having lived in State College for 19/22 years of my life, I have come to know many of the hazards that face State College. In terms of weather, hail, heavy rain, wind, and snow/ice events are our biggest hazards that we face. The two most pertinent threats are snow/ice and wind. Multiple times during the winter, my family, along with our entire neighborhood (occasionally most of the town), has lost electricity. This, coupled with high winds, has caused several trees to fall into houses (a branch fell into my bedroom window when I was 10) and power lines to come down. Most of the floodplains in State College has remained uninhabited, which mitigates the effects of flooding. Biologically speaking, State College is at a medium risk for a disease outbreak. When I was in 10th grade, I came down with “Swine Flu,” and was one of many K-12 students who fell ill with it. That being said, the damage to the community was minimal.

All information presented above was taken from my experiences living in State College.

4.) To further mitigate the effects of natural hazards in my hometown, steps must be taken by the leaders of our community, such as the mayor, and the leaders of the university to increase our resilience as a community. Public officials should maintain an open discourse with members of the community, so that any potential weak links in our infrastructure can be strengthened beforehand. Snow/ice is our primary threat due to nature, so the response system, when extreme winter weather events hit our region, must be coordinated and efficient. Potential outbreak threats must be effectively communicated to all aspects of our community, not just the university and schools, but the elderly and private sector as well.