Module 8

  • Being from South Bend, I have only experienced thunderstorms and winter storms. I have never experienced an earthquake but according to the Nathan World Map of Natural Hazards my city (South Bend, IN) has an earthquake zone of 0. It has a hailstorm intensity at zone 4, winter storms at zone 1, and a tornado frequency at zone 2, and a hazard of wildfires of zone 1. Thankfully, my city is not affected by El Nino or La Nina. I think that the Nathan World Map is fairly effective for the task of looking at hazards my city faces, except it was difficult to pinpoint exactly where my city was using the map. I think this map accurately shows the types of weather experienced in my area, especially when it comes to hailstorms and winter storms because my city is located on Lake Michigan, thus giving us lake effect snow/weather.
  • Currently, April 1st, in Jurm, Afghanistan there is an earthquake of 4.3 magnitude on the Richter scale and a 3 in the Mercalli scale. My hometown is not located on a fault line and has an earthquake zone of 0 so we do not experience earthquakes at all. A magnitude of 4.3 earthquakes are not very severe. It is felt but causes minor damage. However, if something like this happened in my area, I’m sure it would be very unexpected and cause a lot of talk. However, an earthquake of this magnitude is not very dangerous and would not affect people in my area since it would only slightly shake the ground. My town would be prepared for an earthquake of this size because it does not cause any terrible impact. If it were an earthquake of any other higher magnitude, my city’s structure would not be able to withstand the effects because we do not steel reinforce our buildings.
  • Living in South Bend my entire life, the biggest threat of natural disasters faced are blizzards. Due to the lake effect weather we receive, blizzards are often brutal in my area where we have to close off streets and close businesses early in order to prevent people from driving outside. These blizzards can be considered very harmful due to the risks it causes while driving. There have been instances of injury from car accidents and even death due to poor weather. This has affected many people in the area since it causes businesses to profit less and people to miss work due to the inability to get there.
  • To reduce natural hazards in my city, especially when it comes to winter storms causing blizzards, I believe that we could look forward to newer technology. Recently, I have learned about solar roadways, which melt snow as it falls, decreasing the need for plowing and road salt. The best people to create this would be engineers who could work on this technology so it could be implemented sooner. Though this is in the future, what I can do is spread awareness and have people support this technology, which in the long run saves costs and prevents disaster. Realistically, I could be a more careful driver during dangerous situations to prevent hurting others.

One thought on “Module 8

Leave a Reply