Earthquakes, Thunderstorms and Flooding Vulnerabilities

The Nathan maps showed that my hometown, Sugarloaf, PA, is situated in an area of low risk in terms of likeliness of being directly affected by natural hazards.  My area had an increase in mean temperature and precipitation between 1978-2007, and based on the maps, hailstorms and tornadoes are some of our largest threats.  This document is not a good tool, because it does not update itself, and it could be outdated by now (since it was published in 2011).  The maps are too small to accurately identify which categories my town fit into.  Additionally, the climate impacts features on the large map does not show what areas the impacts are reaching.  Instead, the map simply places a small symbol at various places.

Shingu, Japan experienced a strong, 6.0-magnitude earthquake this morning.  People very likely felt the quake, with objects falling off of shelves.  While my hometown could certainly experience earthquakes, it is unlikely we will ever see one this strong.  Japan is more likely to have frequent seismic activity because it is located on the border of tectonic plates.  The earthquake originated from a point 35 miles off of the coast, so it traveled quite some distance.  At that same scale, my entire town of 22 square miles, plus neighboring towns would be heavily affected.  My town would have heavy damage primarily because of the poor structural integrity of many buildings in the area.  We don’t have a lot of extreme disasters occur in the area, so the buildings are not as equipped to deal with earthquakes than Shingu is.  Taking steps such as reinforcing buildings and requiring more sturdy foundations could be steps we could take to reduce our vulnerability.

In Sugarloaf, thunderstorms and flash floods are quite common, especially in the summertime.  In most houses in my neighborhood, a French drain and a sump pump is utilized in the basements.  This does a fairly good job of avoiding water damage, however it does not fully protect us.  My own basement flooded twice even with these protective measures.  According to Pennsylvania Ready natural hazard services, flash floods kill more than 140 people annually.  Thunderstorms also cause issues when lightening is close.  I personally have had a couple trees fall down after being struck by lightning.  The trees have resulted in damage to our house, our neighbor’s house, and our fence.  Source:  https://www.ready.gov/pennsylvania

My town could reduce vulnerability to natural hazards, such as thunderstorms and flooding, in several ways.  An important step to take is to install sump pumps with back-up generators in homes that do not already have them.  I believe my town also needs more areas for runoff to flow to.  In my neighborhood, we get a lot of flooding in the streets where there is too much concrete.  By allowing more space for soil to absorb the runoff, there will be safer driving conditions.  The local construction workers and plumbers can take care of most of these steps, but it is equally homeowners’ responsibility to take action.  One way I will take action is to remind my parents to get frequent inspections on our drainage system to ensure it still works properly.  These easy steps can save people money in the long run, and may even save someone’s life.

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