I live in Hatfield PA, which is an hour north of Philadelphia. I found that my town is at medium risk for tropic cyclones, low risk for hailstorms, and medium risk for winter storms. I think these are all very accurate representations of my county. As for Tornados, we are in Zone 2 and I have never witnessed a tornado in my area. I think Zone 1 would be more appropriate because we have had some warnings for Tornados in the past but none have formed. The same goes for wildfires as the map shows Hatfield as Zone 1, but I have never witnessed one before that has caused damage. One good indication that this map is accurate is that Hatfield is in the area of warmer temperatures during El Nino and that is very apparent this past summer. I think this is a very good map to look at the global patterns of natural hazards but it can be very difficult to narrow it down by state or county.

On March 31^st 3:34 UTC, a wildfire broke out in the Province of Ontario, Canada. Nine people were killed and there was high damage to the area. Based on Nathan’s World Map, it shows that Hatfield is at very low risk for wildfires. In fact, I have never heard of a wildfire breaking out anywhere in my area. The reason being is because it is an urban area with very low amounts of forest, as well as wildfires most often break out in dry areas. Therefore, my hometown is not vulnerable for such hazard. The scale of the disaster is similar to my hometown. The fire broke out in Pikangikum First Nation, which has a population of 2,100 people compared to 3,000 in my hometown. The reason that scale is so important is because that will determine how many people are impacted. If a wildfire broke out in a major city (which is unlikely), there would be more fatalities then a small county. Lastly, the level of vulnerability changes in retrospect to location, age, etc. A person that lives directly next to a large forest has a higher vulnerability than someone who lives in the middle of town with no forest around them. Age is also a factor because younger generations could possibly escape faster than an elder if they had to run to save their life. Although it is not necessary in my town, to reduce the vulnerability of wildfires, a town could cut down the number of trees. This will cause other environmental issues but it will lessen the possibility of a lightning bolt striking a tree and inducing a fire. They could also inform the people about the proper precautions if a wildfire were to break out and how they could escape.

Hatfield has had 14 major disasters declared. Most notably, 5 floods, 4 storms, and 3 hurricanes top the list. The disaster that I remember most vividly was Hurricane Sandy. We were out of school for four days, the power in my house was out for a week, and my basement flooded. Since, hurricanes are very rare in this area, we only had one sump pump, but it did not work once the power went out. In the south, they would be prepared for these large storms so depending on the level of vulnerability, most often times there is a different level of preparation. Another hazard that I remember is an earthquake that occurred six years ago. I was at a waterpark with my family and we were waiting in line and the ground began to shake. Since we are not used to it, we thought nothing of it until later that evening when the news declared it was in fact a small earthquake.

“Hatfield, Pennsylvania.” (PA 19440) Profile: Population, Maps, Real Estate, Averages, Homes, Statistics, Relocation, Travel, Jobs, Hospitals, Schools, Crime, Moving, Houses, News, Sex Offenders. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.

The most important strategy to protect ourselves against natural hazards is to be aware. In my town, they are not very likely so they can easily catch the people off guard. As long as everyone is informed about proper precautions, everyone should be in good shape. We now live in a world that is dominated by technology so if there is a flash flood warning, tornado warning, etc. we often get a notification to our cell phones to get inside and stay safe. One group that is very beneficial and has a strong impact is elementary schools. They are required to do a certain amount of drills throughout the school year to inform the kids what they should do if a natural hazard were to occur. For example, we would have tornado drills and all the kids would go into the hallways where there were no windows and cover our heads. This will protect from flying debris that can cause serious damage. Town officials can also give warnings days in advance if a possible hurricane is on the way to evacuate the town or any necessary precaution to keep the people safe.