A natural hazard is an unusual event that occurs naturally and causes harm.  Natural hazards identified on the Nathan map that my city of Williamsport faces include intense hailstorms and possible increase in heavy rain.  This map has both positives and negatives.  The scale of this map is large and thus allows the viewer to see the worldview of natural hazards but it fails to be a great source for local viewing.  For example, flooding may be a natural hazard in a local valley but the map fails to mention that.

On the EDIS map, what caught my eye was the biological hazard in Tuscany, Italy.  It states that four people have died and the biohazard level is high due to an outbreak of meningococcal meningitis C.  It is very possible that the city of Williamsport experience a biological hazard similar to this one in Italy.  Our vulnerability is higher than some because the city is poor and does not have an average high education rate.  Thankfully we are still in the United States so the size of a biological hazard can be limited versus biological hazards that occur in other parts of the United States due to the medicine and resources we have available.  The scale of the event is small.  While Tuscany, Italy is a larger area than Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the state of Pennsylvania is more populous than Tuscany, Italy.  There are only four people affected in Italy which is possible in Pennsylvania and should be about four times as much in Pennsylvania based on the population difference.    Some people in my hometown would be less vulnerable because of the distance to each other.  This disease spreads via human fluids, including spit, and most of our town is spread out.  Those that do use the public transit may be more vulnerable as well as those that live in apartment buildings in close proximity.  To reduce the vulnerability, one would educate the public on symptoms and on personal hygiene and in the case of an outbreak, close down schools in the area so that it can be contained and treated.

Viewing Lycoming County’s website shows that Williamsport is most likely to be affected by floods.  Many of the areas lie near the Susquehanna River and its’ off branches and are prone to flooding (Schnitzlein, n.d.).  This is the same experience I had in the area in the fall of 2012 when the river flooded and left me stranded in a retail location overnight.  While that was a large flood which is rather rare, regular flooding does occur quite often in the area and is the most common natural hazard to affect the area.

To help reduce the vulnerability, the area needs an even more organized flood preparation plan.  As of the fall of 2012, there were not enough resources to help people stranded in the area.  People in flood areas have to have a plan as to where to go and like the hurricane planning community engagement seen in Sarasota County, Florida, local neighborhoods should have annual meetings in which people learn how to react and what to do in such a situation.  The government should also keep regular tabulations on citizen movement so they know what parts of the city are busiest at what times of the day in case evacuation is needed.  Even more importantly, high risk areas should not be allowed to be developed like they were until a few days ago.  The government workers and emergency crews are the best people to handle it but I can help assist with community involvement.

Schnitzlein, Josh. N.d. “Hazard Mitigation.”  Lycoming County. http://www.lyco.org/Departments/PlanningandCommunityDevelopment/HazardMitigation.aspx