- My hometown is Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania located on the east coast of the United States about 30 minutes from Philadelphia and 20 minutes from King of Prussia. I am in zone 0 for earthquakes, no threat of volcanoes, zone 1 or 2 for hailstorms, zone 1 for wildfires, and zone 1 for winter storms. The only significant threat that Plymouth Meeting faces would be close to the coast which is zone 4 tropical cyclones. It is hard to tell on the map to pinpoint my exact location, but it seems I could be in zone 2 for tornadoes. This being said, I have never heard of that necessarily being an issue in my area.
- After just watching a video earlier today of a massive volcano eruption I was interested in finding a volcano on the RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service. Earth this morning, March 31st 2016 at 6:37am Popocatépetl Volcano erupted in Puebla, Mexico. After doing a little bit of research I learned that Popocatépetl is 43 miiles southest of Mexico City and had two volcanic tectonic activity events on Wednesday, along with four low-intensity eruptions, 30 minutes of tremors, and 179 volcanic plumes. The tallest plume was incredibly two miles high (Some information can be found here). My hometown is not at risk of this disaster because the east coast is free of volcanoes. So far there has been no damage done in Puebla. I would assume they have taken precaution to keep people safe in the event of eruption. Ash tends to be the bigger issue than the actual magma in many situations. While this event would cause panic, it seems like it is not causing harm, I don’t believe my town would be affected differently.
- While not a traditional natural hazard, I would argue that potholes created by erosion from weather and wear and tear result in many dangerous situations resulting in damage to vehicles causing injuries and even death in some cases. Pennsylvania is very well known for having roads in horrible condition due to these potholes. In certain parts near my area there are roads that are practically not accessible because of the horrible condition of the roads. Flooding and heavy snow can often cause a lot of damage. Often the damages of heavy snow are more the effect is has on businesses. When towns experience excessive amounts of snow it slows everything down as most people can’t make it to work and have to stay in their homes for possibly multiple days.
- While there will always be natural disasters around the world, there are things that can be done to help protect against them. That being said, they will never be completely preventable. Often the salt on the roads to prevent snow buildup is what causes the pothole issue so fixing one issue may often cause another so that’s when you need to decide as a community which is the more important issue. I think State or Local government action is the only way to prevent these issues as a privatized prevention agency would likely not gain the funding needed. Other than these steps, the best thing you can do is to be aware of any upcoming events and be prepared for anything. I myself can inform friends, family, and others in my community when there is a reason to be concerned and take action.
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Potholes are a unique danger. It is not something that generally comes to mind when thinking of natural disasters but is a definate cause of inclement weather. I lived in California for a few years in the Mojave desert. Although it was very dry, flashflooding occurred during the monsoon season of early summer. These events eroded the roadways creating massive potholes. I frequently traveled through the Mojave Nature preserve between Joshua Tree and Las Vegas, NV. This road was quite possibly the worst stretch of highway I have ever driven. If you were not careful, you could easily damage your vehicle or get a flat tire because of the rough road. It was also a dead zone for cell reception. In the summer months, this is not a place you would want to be stranded with an incapacitated vehicle.