There was a heat wave in Kenya on March 25, relatable to Belmar New Jersey, which also experiences this same type of disaster. However, due our high level of vulnerability, my hometown would not be in risk whatsoever. In relation to vulnerability, we are lucky enough to have a high level of education. Since New Jersey tends to get extremely hot in the summer, heat waves are common. However, health classes in school systems  educate us on ways we can prevent any risk of dehydration, or even fatality. We live in a community with young adults, so unlike children and the elderly, they have the health and strength to go about this specific disaster. On social media and television news, our Governor Chris Christie informs us upon the arrival of a heat way, and ways our community can prepare for such a hazard. Additionally, our wealth is primarily one of the most significant reasons why our hometown is vulnerable to heat waves. If a heat wave ever approached, our communities are wealthy enough to afford a pool to keep our bodies at as healthy temperature, as well as using air conditioning at a rate where we do not worry about the bill at the end of the month because we can afford these high costs.

Though there was no scale information to Kenya’s heat wave, I can easily say that there is no relevance to how extreme Kenya’s is compared to Belmar’s. The rising heat waves in Kenya are due to rising atmospheric temperatures beyond human tolerance. A heat wave is a killer occurrence. Without the knowledge and abundance of water, people will become dehydrated very easily, and people will die. This compares to Kenya because the continent of Africa is increasingly rising in temperature. Without a proper education upon ways to stay safe and clean water, something Kenya struggles with, the degree of deaths and the scale of the event will keep rising. If the same scale were to occur in my hometown, the impact of the disaster change would obviously be at a higher number of affected people/humanities loss, but we will be able to tolerate this disaster. Because of our high education, awareness, governance policies, and healthy stability of the young adults, Belmar’s community would at first be in shock by this scale, but eventually be able to be vulnerable from it; due to our pre-event preparedness and emergency responses Chris Christie informs.

Different people in my hometown have different levels of vulnerability due to their age and wealth. For example, would you assume to expect an eighty year old elderly to be more vulnerable in a heat wave compared to a fit twenty five year old? Absolutely not. Because of declining physical strength, hearing, and vision, it is difficult for an elderly person to be able to cope well with a heat stroke, compared to a healthy twenty five year old who the physical strength and healthy heart to be able to survive in this type of disaster. During the summertime at the shore, we tend to have many females travel here from other states, so heat waves can be difficult for this specific gender. As mentioned in the module, women tend to to be less educated and take care of younger children during times of hazards, so they are more vulnerable during these situations. To reduce my town’s vulnerability in such a disaster, I highly believe that we need to increase awareness and education. In order for us to be individually prepared for a hot summer and hazards such as this specific one, television, mayors of the town, school districts, these are all such intelligent ways to spread awareness and knowledge in order to be fully prepared. As an assessment, I was taught appropriately at a very young age upon how to prepare for a heat wave. By hydrating constantly, staying indoors, as well as being close to air conditioning, these are the best ways to go about a hazard such as this one. For more information upon resources and useful tips, please use the citation provided!

“Heat Wave Safety Tips | American Red Cross.” American Red Cross. American Red Cross, n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2016. <http://www.redcross.org/prepare/disaster/heat-wave>.

In order to reduce vulnerability to natural hazards in my town, I simply believe we need to be introduced to both knowledge and awareness of what we can do as individuals. For example, in my elementary school health class, I was introduced to several hazards that could be a possibility in my hometown, such as a tropical storm or a tornado. We went over lessons, activities, and were given resources and tips on how to go about this type of situation if it ever occurred. This is best type of way to perform this preparation. Teachers, governors, significant people of the town that people listen to would be the best type of people to perform these actions. These of the type of people we look up to and are inspired by, especially myself when I was learning this education as such a young age. As an individual, the most I can do to reduce vulnerability is simply be smart and use the knowledge I was given. For example, during a tropical storm, I was taught to be food and water in advance, portable outlets for electricity, as well as stay in a safe shelter such as my basement. It is all about using what we learned and taking it into action.