Catastrophic Events

1. Catastrophic Events Examples of each kind

2. Mount St. Helens 1980 Volcano • Mt. St. Helens erupted in the year 1980 and it was caused by an ever increasing pressure that had been accumulating within the mountain for years. • The smoke column reached about 80,000 feet in less than 15 minutes. • Virtually no trees remained of what was once dense forest. Just beyond this area, all standing trees were blown to the ground, and at the blast's outer limit, the remaining trees were thoroughly seared. • The landslide eroded the north side of Mount St. Helens • Ash covered a lot of cities and all the are around the mountain. • The eruption killed 57 people, in the lateral blast, ashfall. • 250 square miles of land was damaged • There was extreme evacuation but some people refused to leave their homes at the base of the mountain • Some people refused to leave when they were told to and that caused more death. • Also some people tried to tape the eruption also causing more death

3. Effects on Buildings: 8.0 on richter scale!!!!! destroyed nearly 500 city blocks. Worst Natural Disaster in U.S HISTORY! San Francisco Earthquake 1906 No preparation! Unexpected disaster!!!! Effects on People: The earthquake and fires killed an estimated 3,000 people and left half of the city's 400,000 residents homeless. Effects on Enviroment: Though the quake lasted less than a minute, its immediate impact was disastrous.

4. Indonesian Tsunami 2004 Cause: A massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean. The tsunami left a severe impact on both the people and the land. Deadliest tsunami in recorded history. No Warning or evacuation took place. 155,000 fatalities, 500,000 injuries, and $10 billion in damages. Nobody saw the disaster coming. Worst Natural disaster to ever strike Thailand.

5. Wellington Avalanche This is one of the worst train disasters in U.S. history and the worst natural disaster Before This disaster occurred on March 1, 1910 in Willington, Washington. A huge mass of snow fell from the Cascade Mountains and went down on Wellington hitting the railroad station area. The entire station along with carriages, rails, three locomotives and other debris were taken away and buried 150 feet underneath the gorge. Leaving behind 150 dead and dozens injured and severely wounded. 96 people were killed in this avalanche. After There were 23 survivors. The avalanche wrecked the Great Northern Railway, and the Willington Depot The people made the natural hazard better by rebuilding the buildings they have lost. Avalanches are formed when snow starts sliding from a mountain face, the momentum can create an avalanche. Victims of this natural disaster rarely outrun the danger, as the slabs of snow can travel up to 80 miles an hour. There was no preparation for the avalanche, because it was unexpected The cause of the avalanche was the rain and thunder. But, conditions had been set by the cutting of timber and by forest fires caused by steam locomotive sparks, which opened up the slopes above the tracks and created an environment for slides to occur.

6. High winds from hurricanes erodes many things away a lot faster than it would have naturally A well-defined band of storm clouds wrap around the north side of the storm's circulation center. With winds of about 40 mph (65 kph), the storm is named Tropical Storm Katrina. Intense flooding causes lots of weathering In addition to the over 1,300 fatalities caused by Katrina over the Southeast, there were thousands of people, and as many animals, who rode out Katrina and were left without clean water, food and shelter Hurricane Katrina At least 1,500 people were killed and around $300 billion worth of damage was caused when Hurricane Katrina hit the south-eastern part of the USA. Arriving in late August 2005 with winds of up to 127 mph, the storm caused widespread flooding. Perhaps the longest-lasting impact of Hurricane Katrina was its environmental damage that, in real terms, has mainly to do with public health. Significant amounts of industrial waste and raw sewage spilled directly into New Orleans neighborhoods. And oil spills from offshore rigs, coastal refineries, and even corner gas stations have also made their way into residential areas and business districts throughout the region Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest hurricanes ever to hit the United States. An estimated 1,836 people died in the hurricane and the flooding that followed in late August 2005, and millions of others were left homeless along the Gulf Coast and in New Orleans, which experienced the highest death toll. The one lesson everyone should learn from Katrina is that it is essential to prepare in advance for hurricanes and other natural disasters. Hurricanes are an inevitable part of nature and will definitely happen again.

7. Texas Drought 2011 The drought and extreme heat are taking a toll, causing cracks in buildings! The drought brought immense hardship to farmers, ranchers, and caused many wildfires! Effects on people: Health problems related to low water flows and poor water quality Health problems related to dust Loss of human life Threat to public safety from an increased number of forest and range fires People may have to move from farms into cities, or from one city to another Effects on environment: The drought destroyed 1,691 homes and caused $325 million in damages! Cause: Lack of food and drinking water for wild animals Increased on endangered species or even extinction Lower water levels in reservoirs, lakes, and ponds Loss of wetlands Wind and water erosion of soils Poor soil quality A weather pattern where the surface temperatures are cooler in the Pacific, This turn created drier, warmer weather in the southern U.S! How to make the hazard better: Conserve water!

8. Details about event and effects on environment and land Causes • The Great Flood of 1993 In 1993 as normal this happened - the soil was still saturated from spring rains. Normally this is followed by dry weather &has done so for the last 20 years In 1993 Atmospheric conditions conspired to bring further torrential rains to the Mississippi Basin The size and impact of the Great Flood of 1993 was unprecedented and has been considered the most costly and devastating flood to ravage the U.S. in modern history. The number of record river levels, the aerial extent, the number of persons displaced, amount of crop and property damage and its duration surpassed all earlier U.S. floods in modern times. Human Causes Preparation for safety Urbanisation of the Flood Plain - reducing infiltration rates etc. Poorly built non-federal levees. The development of unsuitable sites for development. The channelisation of the river - especially at St Louis. Involving laying sand bags. A.A Jet stream swung South bringing Cool dry air B. Warm air moved North causing Thunderstorms C. Two high pressure systems developed blocking any movement of the thunderstorms. D.Therains continued throughout May, June and July. Some days, they’d work in the hot sun building a wall in anticipation of rising waters. Other days, they’d work in pounding rain, seeing which would rise faster — the river or our wall of sandbags. Effects on Transportation Effects on people Damages totaled $15 billion, 50 people died, hundreds of levees failed, and thousands of people were evacuated, some for months. Transportation and industry along the Mississippi was disrupted for months. Damages to surface and river transportation in the region were the worst ever incurred in the United States.

9. When a tornado touches down in an area, it destroys many things. Buildings around the tornado may explode because of the difference of air pressure. If the tornado runs over the building it will rip apart the building. Southeastern Tornadoes-2011 When tornadoes are created they tear up everything around them. Depending on how strong the wind is, tornadoes can carry almost anything. Tornadoes impact the environment by ripping apart everything and destroying many things. The major tornadoes that touched down tour through the cities and towns killing hundreds of people. 2011 had an unusually high number of large, destructive tornado outbreaks; 1,691 tornadoes touched down. Humans impact tornadoes by creating shelters that repel tornadoes, making it destroy things and redirecting the tornado. Humans have made cars, and objects that can be carried by strong winds and harm and brake humans and buildings. Preparation for a tornado: You can go into a tornado shelter or go underground away from the tornado. A tornado can erode things by carrying for example dirt and moving it around. The wind tornadoes output can also erode things.

10. 14 separate fires • California 2003 • Burned through San Diego county • Burned down 273,246 acres Cedar fire-2003 Firestorm-2003 • Caused by lightning strikes • A lost hiker ignited a small fire to alert rescuers • Erosion and sedimentation increased when the fire damaged the watersheds • People immediately got away from the area of the fire and contacted the fire department • 12 civilians and 20 firefighters died • Greatly impacted some of San Diego's largest watersheds • Some houses were burned down • They moved firefighters and equipment away from communities that were soon in the fire's path.