1. By looking at the Nathan World map of natural disasters, I was bale to tell that my hometown of Wyckoff NJ has a medium-low risk of winter storms, which makes sense because there are some winters where my hometown gets a great amount of snow. The map also says that my town has a low risk of wildfires and a medium risk of tornadoes. I think the map is better suited to tell what areas of the world face which natural disasters rather then seeing individual towns. The map was to large scale and the colors were to close together to be able to see the different natural disasters that are specific to each small town or area.

2. The hazard that I decided to find out more about was the biological hazard that is taking place in Nigeria. In the state of Lagos, there is an unknown disease that has started killing children very fast. Some children are only sick for two days before they die. My hometown could experience this kind of disaster, but we are not very vulnerable to this happening. My area is a pretty wealthy area, and if someone got sock from an unknown disease they would be able to get the proper medical care. The scale of the disaster in Nigeria is much bigger because it is affecting a whole state of about 25 million people, whereas my town has around 17,000 people. Also, some people believe that the disease is caused by the number of fisherman that live in the area, so my town would not have that problem. If this disaster happened on a scale of my hometown it would be disastrous because many children in a small area would be killed and it would cripple the community. The number of deaths would lower the population of my hometown, but the disease would not spread as quickly. Perhaps the people who live closer to the nearest hospital would be less vulnerable then people who live farther away. However everyone in my town has access to a hospital, so this disaster would not be as large as it is right now in Nigeria where they don’t have access to a hospital. To reduce the risk of a disaster in my town I would make sure that everyone knows as soon as a child or anyone gets sick they should receive medical help so the disease does not have time to spread.

3. Since I have lived in Wyckoff my whole life I know a lot about the common disasters that could occur such as flooding and blizzards. Because of this I decided to do some research on less common disasters like earthquakes and tornadoes. I would’ve thought that Wyckoff New Jersey has a zero chance of having an earthquake but that is not the case. The earthquake index average for the US is 1.81, and for Wyckoff it is 1.02 (usa.com). So the chance of an earthquake is less then average, but I was surprised that the number is that high. I have first hand experienced a few small tornadoes in Wyckoff. When these happen we are usually well prepared and stay inside to remain safe. By doing these things we limit the damage caused by the tornado.

Resources

http://www.usa.com/wyckoff-nj-natural-disasters-extremes.htm

4. Natural disasters will always be around and we will most likely never find a way to stop them, so the only thing we can do is better prepare ourselves for when they happen. Wyckoff can have severe snow and rainstorms, which at times can cripple the town. To reduce the effects of these disasters we can make sure that all of the trees are not hanging over power lines and that if a tree is dead or weakened it is removed. The department of public works would be the best people for this as they are in charge of these issues and keeping the streets clean and safe. As for me I can listen to local authorities and watch the news to be well prepared for natural disasters. Also, I can inform all of my friends and neighbors to do the same, so they will be less vulnerable as well.