Learning Activity: Vulnerability Reduction

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  1. I live in Little Silver, NJ, which is about west of the central New Jersey coast. As seen in the first map, my area is very susceptible to flooding. The combination of low-level wetlands and a close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean  contributes to the frequent flooding in the area. Moving on, my area also appears to be in the higher frequency for hailstorms, although I personally do not recall experiencing many growing up. Further, Little Silver appears to be in “Zone 0” regarding extratropical storms. My area does appear to be in the zone 2 or 3  for tornados, and finally in zone 1 regarding wildfires.
  2. The disaster I choose is a power outage in Loudoun County, Virginia. This is an event that does in fact happen in my home town every now and then. My whole town would be vulnerable, save for those with backup generators. Most importantly, emergency establishments would need to be prepared for a power outage such as this one. The report says that 15000 people were affected by the outage. This is a much larger scale compared to my town, which features a population around 2,000. While I am not familiar with this part of Virginia, I do know that an outage on this scale would impact multiple schools, hospitals, and other public institutions.If it occurred at the same scale of my home town the results probably would have been less severe, as the population is lower.
  3. One of the major environmental issues that faces my town is local flooding, which is something I have noticed first hand. Because my town is at sea level and contains multiple rivers and estuaries that lead directly to the Atlantic Ocean, coastal flooding is common when there are torrential rains or nor’easter’s. Other than the occasional flooding, there is little environmental concern in my hometown. According to www.tornadohistoryproject.com, there have been 146 tornadoes in New Jersey since the 1951. However, they were all low category tornadoes and have resulted in only one fatality total. Further, by using earchquaketrack.com as a source, almost every single recorded quake feel under 2.0 magnitude.
  4. Considering the major vulnerability in my area is flooding, residents should take steps to avoid damage caused by such hazards. Many residents have made great strides to avoid flood damage post hurricane Sandy, which occurred in 2012. Residents and buildings within a certain distance to the ocean were required to be raised a number of feet, at a great cost to local insurance companies. In the case of severe flooding, preventative effectors should be taken all the way from the choice of construction material and building design to taking geographic limitations into consideration. Policy makers and public leaders should work towards making the Monmouth County less prone to flooding, as there is only so much individual citizens can contribute. The public can, however, raise awareness to public officials about these issues.

2 thoughts on “Learning Activity: Vulnerability Reduction”

  1. Hi, my name is Cassie and this is the link to my blog post: http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/03/28/natural-hazards-cassie-hess/. Your post caught my attention because I live very close to Little Silver, so I experience very similar climate conditions. The power outage that you looked up in Virginia is interesting. My town specifically is very susceptible to power outages. During hurricanes Sandy and Irene we lost power for weeks. Flooding is not something that my town faces as much as those closer to the coast, but it has definitely been an issue. I think that hurricane Sandy was a very good learning experience for our state and hopefully it will help us prepare for hazards in the future.

  2. Hi there! My name is Tawnya and I am from a small northeastern town called Montoursville, Pa. We often experience flooding in my hometown, as well. We have a few creeks that flow through my hometown and they lead to the bordering Susquehanna river. Although I have experienced some moderate flooding, similarly to your town, the environmental hazard concern in my hometown is low. I am glad residents are taking steps to avoid future hydrological hazards in your area. It’s too bad it took an extreme event like hurricane Sandy to make the community aware of their vulnerability. I’m hoping a collective action will help reduce the severity of potential hazards in the future. Does your town have an emergency management organization? If interested, you can check our my post here: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/29/viii-hazard-vulnerability/
    Great work!
    Sincerely,
    Tawnya

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