Drewneenan.files.wordpress.com



Drew NeenanEnglish 1020Dr. Howard11 March 2019Surviving Hurricanes“The power was gone but I had a flashlight so I went to look outside to see what was happening. As I went to look out of one of the windows that weren't?boarded up, I noticed the glass bowing and load noises like crashing and breaking. A bedroom window had blown out. Then I heard another loud noise and a crashing sound. The master bedroom window was now gone too.?All we could do was try and keep the door closed. We lit some candles, listened and waited for the storm to go over us. As I sat on the couch in the living room I heard what sounded like a machine gun firing rapping rounds of bullets at the plywood. The rat, tat, tat went on for a very long time. The bullet sound was river rocks from the landscaping from my neighbor’s yard. Then I looked out in the dark through the uncovered window and saw a rail road tie wood flying in the sky, also part of a neighbor’s landscaping. I saw the pieces of wood fence flying in the air.?The rain was blowing down horizontally.” That was an account of how Isabel Ramon Quinones described how she felt during Hurricane Andrew hit her home in South Dade County, Florida in 1992. (Hurricane Survivors)Hurricane Andrew was a category 5 hurricane that hit Florida in 1992 and was the most destructive recorded hurricane to hit the United States until Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Louisiana in 2005 according to the Insurance Information Institute or III. The impact of the Hurricane Andrew was massive. The III also states that Hurricane Andrew caused over 20 deaths and over a quarter of a million people homeless in the Dade County area alone. Hurricanes however effect more than just people homes but also affect people’s jobs and savings. According to the same III article nearly 20 insurance agencies went out of business because they could not afford to pay out the homeowners and hurricane insurance policies. (Isurance Information Institute)This goes to show that people and businesses must do a better job to prepare for hurricanes so that when a large hurricane hits people are better protected both physically and financially. The impact from hurricanes and the damage they can cause are hard to wrap your head around unless you witness the damage and destruction first hand. People need to be better educated and prepared for hurricanes so there aren’t disasters like what happened after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. According the National Ocean Service a hurricane is a type of storm called a?tropical cyclone, which forms over tropical or subtropical waters. Essentially it is just one giant storm. A hurricane however is not classified as a hurricane unless the wind speeds are greater than seventy four miles per hour. A major hurricane is a category 3 or above hurricane. There are on average 6 major hurricanes every decade to hit the United States. (National Hurricane Center) From there the level of the hurricane is measured on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale measures a hurricane on a scale and wind speeds of the storm and marks the hurricane as a category one (the lowest) to a five (the highest) rating. (National Ocean Service) Hurricanes also are formed in the Atlantic Basin. The Atlantic Basin is a large section of the globe that is made up of parts of the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and the eastern Pacific Ocean. Another important note about hurricanes is that they normally only form during what is known as hurricane season. Hurricane season starts in July and ends at the end of November. If you are wondering how hurricanes are named the World Meteorological Organization is charged has a list of names that they attach to every single tropical storm even before they become a hurricane. They start with the letter “A” and go until they get to letter “Z”. Once they hit “Z” they return back to letter “A” and update the list of upcoming names every few years.Hurricanes are a common occurrence every year it seems like another hurricane is coming to hit the United States. Most of these hurricanes all seem to hit the eastern seaboard of the United States. There have been only three category 5 hurricanes to hit the United States mainland. However any hurricane deemed a 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is deemed major hurricane. The National Hurricane Center helps to describe what defines each category of hurricane and the type of devastation and damage that can occur from such a storm no matter the preparation. For example, a category 5 hurricane has wind speeds of157mph or higher. The National Hurricane Center also says that catastrophic damage will occur with a category 5 hurricane. The description the National Hurricane Center gives for the type of catastrophic damage that will occur is “A high percentage of framed homes will be destroyed, with total roof failure and wall collapse. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last for weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.” (Hurricane Scale) The picture below shows some of the aftermath of Hurricane Maria which was a category 5 storm that hit Puerto Rico in 2017.Houses and building were destroyed and ripped apart, debris litters the streets, and left nearly 3,000 people dead. (Intelligencer)Today most people know some basic thing to do when preparing for a hurricane. Also often there is now ample warning that a hurricane is coming. People are normally given enough time to properly prepare for a storm as many news stations and experts are tracking every tropical storm before it becomes a hurricane as soon as it is formed. People board up the windows and put their cars in their garage, stay away from the windows, not to go outside during the hurricane, secure their pets, and evacuate if possible before the storm hits. Most people also know to have flashlights in case power goes out, but people always seem to forget some basic things that could cause a significant amount of damage to their homes or others if not done. Most people do not have a large amount of non-perishable food and water. I have thought of a plan that helps everyone be able to properly prepare for a significant hurricane on the way.I have come up with a better solution to help people prepare and deal with hurricanes before during and after a hurricane strikes. This solution is an affordable solution for everyone despite level of income. The first thing you people should do when they are living or staying in an area where hurricanes are known to hit especially during hurricane season should do is make sure that they have insurance and are covered in case of a hurricane. Most people might have hurricane insurance if the live near the coast of Florida but they may not have the correct insurance or all the right insurance necessary. If you live in an area where hurricanes occur regularly you need to make sure you have your home covered. According to Juan Castillo a writer for nerd wallet many insurance plans that cover hurricanes may not include flooding insurance or windstorm insurance. (Nerd Wallet) Both these types of insurances may not be provided in your home owners insurance so you should make sure to have all your bases covered especially if you live in an area where flooding could easily occur or does occur. Also even if you have the insurance make sure it is up to date. The next thing you should do to prepare for a hurricane is to have plywood to help with boarding up windows. Boarding up your windows will greatly help reduce the chance of your windows shattering and sending glass throughout your home or across the surrounding area. Boarding up your windows also helps to prevent rain from getting into your home and possibly causing water damage. If you have a chimney that is open make sure it is closed and sealed up to prevent water from coming in as well. Brian Acton a writer for USA Today says you should also make sure you protect vs power outages by installing surge protectors. Also you properly protect your other appliances such as an air conditioner. If your air conditioner is outside and not attached to your house you should make sure the unit is properly protected against possible flying debris. (USA Today) Finally you should before the hurricane arrives make sure you know exactly what you have in your possession. Compile a list of all your items in your possession so you can make sure you know if something goes missing during the hurricane. This helps to prevent theft from your home in case of looting after the storm hits. After you have your home prepared for the storm you need to make sure you and the people you live with are able to survive in a worst case scenario. For example, if a hurricane hits and there is massive flooding there is no guarantee that help will arrive within a few hours or days. You need to make sure you have food and water to be able to provide for yourselves in case no help comes. My solution to this is to have multiple cases of water. Water is the most important thing any person needs in order to survive. Another thing is to always make sure you have some non-perishable or canned goods with you. Also a good thing to remember is always have a can opener with you. It won’t matter at all if you have all the canned food in the world if you open and eat them. Having food that is non-perishable is necessary because you will need something to eat if left stranded waiting for help or rescue. Another thing to keep in mind is that you need to have all the cases of water and canned goods with you much earlier than the hurricane. You will need to already have canned goods and cases of water because they will sell out quickly and maybe not be available if a hurricane is on the way. Make sure you have more than just for yourself as well because there might be neighbors that don’t plan ahead and you may not know exactly how many people will be with you when a hurricane hits. Not everyone is prepared for a hurricane or even if they think they are they may not know how to properly prepare for a hurricane. This was the case in Texas with Hurricane Rita. Bradley Mayer wrote an article talking about the people of south Texas and how they prepared for Hurricane Rita and what the after effects were because of the preparedness or lack thereof. Sixty percent of businesses in southeast Texas said that they took only little to moderate preparations in advance of Hurricane Rita despite knowing it was likely a hurricane could hit. (Journal of Contingencies and Crises Management) This just goes to show you that even if people live in high hurricane risk areas they may not how to prepare for a hurricane properly. After a hurricane hits there is normally a loss of power, possible flooding, and cell towers are normally damaged or knocked down which makes it hard to communicate in the aftermath. Make sure you have flashlights with working batteries in them, preferably knew batteries, to help to signal for help at night and to provide a source of light at night. You can also use candles if you have matches or a lighter, but flashlights are much easier. Another thing to have is walkie-talkies. They are a great tool to be able to communicate with one another of possibly contact or call for help if separated. The reason walkie-talkies are ideal for post natural disasters communication is because they do not rely on cell towers or electric power. Walkie-talkies are hand held radios that use radio frequencies to be able to communicate. They are what search and rescue teams use to communicate with each other so they can always be in contact with each other no matter whether there is power or not. My plan is not perfect by any means, but I believe it covers the basics of what every person who lives in an area that has a threat of a hurricane so they are well prepared.There are other solutions out there that you may find to be more successful or better options. Some of these options are to just evacuate, self-built shelter/bunkers, and hurricane survival kits. Now evacuation is a fairly simple solution and will get you immediately out of harm’s way and provide you and your family with physical safety. However, can do all that I suggested before you evacuate to make sure you are also covered financially. There are also some people who will build a storm shelter to help protect themselves from any type of natural disaster. This is an option however that not everyone would be able to necessarily afford. This is also a solution that is going to take some time to build so if a hurricane is coming while it is not complete you need to have another plan in place. The last other solution you could look at it a hurricane survival kit. This portable hurricane kit by Frederick Matulin also doubles as tornado kit as well. He got his idea patented in 2015. The kit is meant to be built as essentially a pop up shelter and would protect you from flying debris and the storm. (Portable Modular Tornado and Hurricane Survival Shelter Kit) However, there isn’t really a lot of information as to whether it has been field tested in a hurricane and if it can survive those types of conditions. All I want to do is spread awareness that people aren’t taking the proper precautions and steps to make sure they are prepared for a hurricane.Not enough people are properly educated on how to protect their family and homes versus hurricane. People can sometimes panic and rush and forget to do and secure different things. We as a community need to make sure we are all prepared for any natural disaster that comes our way in order to avoid any more unnecessary tragedies due to hurricanes. Works CitedActon, Brian. “9 Affordable Ways to Prep Your Home for Hurricane Season.”?USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 15 July 2017, story/money/personalfinance/2017/07/15/9-affordable-ways-prep-your-home-hurricane-season/472268001/.Castillo, Juan. “Complete Guide to Hurricane Insurance.”?NerdWallet, NerdWallet, 28 Aug. 2017, blog/insurance/hurricane-insurance/.Hart, Benjamin.?Puerto Rico Raises Hurricane Maria Death Toll to Almost 3,000. Intelligencer, 28 Aug. 2018, intelligencer/2018/08/hurricane-maria-death-toll-2-975.html. “Hurricane Andrew Fact Sheet.”?III, Information Insurance Institute, article/hurricane-andrew-fact-sheet. “Hurricane Scale.”?Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, National Hurricane Center, nhc.aboutsshws.php.Matulin, Frederick.?Portable Modular Tornado and Hurricane Survival Shelter Kit. 5 May 2015.Mayer, Bradley, et al. “Disaster and Preparedness: Lessons from Hurricane Rita.”?Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, vol. 16, no. 1, 7 Feb. 2008, pp. 14–23., onlinelibrary.doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-5973.2008.00531.x.US Department of Commerce, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “What Is a Hurricane?”?NOAA's National Ocean Service, National Ocean Service, 28 June 2013, oceanservice.facts/hurricane.html.US Department of Commerce, and Noaa. “Stories from Hurricane Survivors.”?National Weather Service, NOAA's National Weather Service, 30 Aug. 2018, safety/hurricane-survivors.“U.S. Hurricane Strikes by Decade.”?Hurricane Preparedness - Hazards, National Hurricane Center, nhc.pastdec.shtml. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download