- North central PA has experienced some natural disasters in the past, but not in recent history. Nathan’s map of natural hazards help demonstrates some possible events that may occur. The main map of the world’s natural hazards demonstrates the possibility of heavy rain events in the Pennsylvania area. Furthermore, there are small risks of hail storms and stronger risks of winter storms in my home area of north central PA. Tornadoes pose a moderate threat to my home area, but wildfires are a smaller threat. Nathan’s map is a great tool for analyzing the various natural hazard risks in the world. Also, Nathan’s map can help determine where natural hazards can easily turn into natural disasters.
- The Pavlof Volcano in Alaska started erupting on March 28th, 2016. There were plumes of ash 20,000 feet into the air. Pavlof Volcano is on the Atlantic Peninsula about 600 miles away from Anchorage, Alaska. The USGS stated that the volcano is on the highest level of warning due to the hazards in the air and on the ground with ash and lava. This kind of disaster is highly unlikely in my home area because it is far from any tectonic plate boundaries or any active volcanoes. The Adirondack Mountain range goes through north central PA, but none of those mountains are active volcanoes. Barring a science fiction style event, a natural hazard of a volcano would never affect my home area. If there was a volcano near my home town an eruption would most likely cripple my town and hurt hundreds of people. A lot of people in my home town are elderly or poor so it would be difficult to just leave the area in the event of a natural disaster without help from the government. Those that are younger and can afford vehicles and other transportation would flood the rural roads and sparse highway roads with traffic that would still make it difficult to leave the area. Even if the volcano was a few miles out of town, the effects of ash fallout form the volcano would kill people and cause travelling to be very difficult. This doesn’t include the severe environmental destruction that would hurt my area ruining farms and water supplies.
- In the past 100 years examples of natural hazards have turned into natural disasters on a small scale in my home area. In the 1970’s there were three major floods.(tiogacountypa.us) The first occurred in 1972 when Hurricane Agnes came through north central PA. This natural hazards still exists today as flash flooding from slow moving heavy rain storms still occur today. A dam was built along the Cowanesque river in Tioga County, PA. This dam was built as a defense measure against natural flooding. Dikes along the river were also built to help prevent flooding. However, other flooding events still happen when there is simply too much rain to contain. Another natural hazard that has affected Tioga County is tornadoes. In a town a few minutes from my home town a tornado damaged various houses and knocked down trees over 100 years old. (ireport.cnn.com) This natural disaster occurred in 2011 and was the fifth tornado to hit the area in recent memory. (tornadohistoryproject.com)
- Many of the natural disasters in my home town cause serious damage, but this damage can be kept to a minimum with action. The high schools in the area only complete an occasional tornado drill, but with the recent tornado in 2011 they should be sure to teach tornado safety beyond that of a drill. There should be town meetins and drills to ensure that everyone is prepared in the event of a tornado. Preventing a tornado is not possible, but preparing for one is. Flooding is a problem that will also never go away for my home town, but they can try to alleviate it more. First of all, flood safety should be taught to the community so that everyone knows what to do in the event of a flood. Furthermoe, house designs, town projects, and other building projects should be prepared for the possibility of a flood so that properity can be protected. Myhome town’s council and mayor should be in charge of presenting this safety information to the public as they are the elected officials of the town to promote safety. By participating in these information sessions and practicing for possible natural disasters I can help show others how important the issue is and help spread awareness for these events.
- Sources: http://www.tiogacountypa.us/Departments/Emergency_Services/Documents/TiogaCountyHMPUApprovedPendingAdoption.pdf
http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/tornado/Pennsylvania/Tioga
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-616439
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I live in North Central Texas and we experience tornadoes quite frequently. My town has been lucky in that they have not touched down within our city limits. Last year we experienced a few severe thunderstorms that created tornadoes within 10 miles of my home. They touched down in pasture land and nobody was hurt. We are lucky in that most of the homes here have tornado shelters and the town has been proactive in providing general areas of assembly where people can gather in the event of inclement weather. Growing up in Texas, our school tornado drills consisted of moving everyone to the auditorium or gym. Our school gym was rated and constructed as a storm shelter. We performed these drills at least once per month. The best thing to prepare for something like that is to practice and have a plan of action.