Waterford, Pennsylvania is located in the northwest corner of the state. Because of its geographical location, it is not very susceptible to natural hazards compared to other locations in the country. Using the Nathan World Map of Natural Hazards, it showed that the region which my hometown is located is likely to experience hailstorms with increased intensity. Also, it has a relatively low susceptibility of experiencing tornados. The Nathan World Map does a good job of showing how different regions have different frequencies of the various natural hazards that can occur. My hometown just happens to be located in a region with very low susceptibility to these events.

From the Hungarian National Association of RSOE and EDIS map, I chose a biological natural hazard that is currently taking place in the State of Bauchi, Nigeria. Right now, a biohazard level 4 outbreak is occurring, already having infected 10 people. The disease that is spreading is Lassa Hemorrhagic Fever (LHF). My hometown would not be able to handle such a hazard without outside assistance. There is just not the resources to deal with any sort of outbreak in our small, country town. Even though the scale of the disaster is small right now, I feel it would affect my hometown in the same way. My hometown is so small, it probably has a similar population size to the area where this is occurring. The severity of the disaster would most likely depend on wealth in my hometown. If you are poorer, you’re more likely to live on a farm or in the country away from town, making you less likely to get sick. On the other hand, the more wealthy live in town and would be more likely to get sick. The best way to reduce the severity in my town would be through education and quarantining. If you limit the interaction of people and educate them on how to stay healthy, then the spread of the infection can be limited.

My hometown mostly deals with natural hazards such as severe winter storms or blizzards. Because of how the town in situated, relative to Lake Erie, the town falls in what is known as the Snow Belt around the lake. This causes the surrounding areas south of the lake to be blanketed with many feet of snow every consecutive winter. (1) To live in these annual conditions, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) allocated around 4.6 million dollars to my county every year for snow removal. This includes anti-icing trucks, plow trucks, and blowers. (2)

1. personal experience- Joshua Wilkins (me)
2. “Winter Services Guide.” (n.d.): n. pag. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Web. 30 Mar. 2016. <http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Penndot/Districts/district11.nsf/0/16b8cf1035f1b13a8525798b0057ddc9/$FILE/PUB%20628%20(9-10)%20Final%20.pdf>.

The best way to reduce vulnerability to natural hazards in my hometown would be to equip more people with ways to remove snow, provide PennDOT with more employees or trucks to remove snow more quickly, or educate citizens on safer driving practices to reduce vehicular accidents during snow storms. Everyone needs to put forth helping hand in these situations. The storm will affect everyone, so everyone needs to do their part to keep themselves and each other safe. The best thing I can do is make sure the people around me are acting accordingly so that they, and everyone around them, are safe during a natural hazard.