Blog 7 MAK Production
- Hurricane Ike was a category 2 hurricane that struck the United States on the 13th of September in 2008 along almost the entire southern coast, from Florida to Texas. Ike’s produced damaging and destructive storm surge across the upper Texas and Louisiana Coasts; its likely to be the third most costly disaster after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Andrew in the United States (Weather). Many in-land states were hit with power-loss and wind damage; In Ohio, the power was knocked out for 2.6 million people. The storm surge produced by Ike was comparable to a Category 5 hurricane. This storm took the lives of 112 people and the cost of the damage was over $35.7 billion.
- Not only humans were affected, but places like zoos were affected too. There is a story about a tiger and lion getting loose due to wind damage to an exotic animal zoo. After this incident was published, there had been a lot of push back from the community about there not being any sort of animal evacuation plan. The incident put more people in danger than just the hurricane, so people were very adamant new evacuation methods for animals that could be dangerous if let out. More than 4,000 cattle were lost in this storm and 11,000 individuals were unemployed due to lost businesses (Balance). The impacts of this storm were not only deadly to people, but deadly to the economy and the way of life that people once knew. Homes were destroyed, and within a matter of minutes, thousands of people were homeless. The New York Times has a specific section dedicated to hurricanes, and within this section are all articles relating to Ike. The communication of this disaster through this website followed the response and recovery aspects of the hurricane, but did not cover anything about mitigating the disaster for the next time or being prepared for it.
3.Hurricane Ike hit in Texas with massive power, and coastal areas are more vulnerable to this type of disaster. The small island town that was hit hardest by Hurricane Ike was Galveston Bay. This area would have been more difficult to flee in emergencies because of it being an island and only having two routes of exit onto the mainland of Texas. If individuals did not take evacuation seriously, there was a huge likelihood that their lives would be put in danger. Galveston is only about 5-15 feet above sea level, and that makes the island very vulnerable to the large waves and destructive winds that the hurricane created. Lack of planning is one of the greatest sources of vulnerability. The city was hit in 1900 by a devastating hurricane, and the Galveston Plan was created to expedite recovery of this area. This plan probably worked in the area’s favor with continued development and communication about disaster procedures.
4. Disasters can always be planned for and damage can always be mitigated with this prior planning. City planners and others in the field should be dedicated to the continual improvement of infrastructure to mitigate the damage from weather related incidents. This can be done in many ways. One way would be to educate people on the value of disaster preparedness. This means promoting insurance for tornados, floods, hurricanes, and other disasters that would be prone to the area. This education would also promote just having a plan and course of action for when disaster strikes. Having a population who is ready to retreat from danger at all times and who is insured for any physical damage that may occur will lessen the amount of lives and money lost.
Another way to mitigate disasters would be to reserve flood plains for excess water only and to push all infrastructure in that path out. This shift would decrease the amount of physical damage and loss in critical infrastructure. This was done in the Netherlands where flooding is common, but almost never causes damage. The government bought land and buildings that were located in the natural and manmade floodplains so that there would be no physical infrastructure lost when flooding occurs naturally. This can be implemented in the United States as well.
One last way to mitigate damage from disasters would be to rebuild what has already been damaged with better, sturdier foundations and construction materials. This would imply that we learn what made the building susceptible to damage and changing it to better handle inclimate weather.
5.Implementing these processes would have to occur in stages, especially the acquisition of land in flood prone areas. It would not only be expensive to buy the land, but it would not be easy to remove people from their homes and heritages and relocate them. There would need to be a shift in mindset for those affected individuals because there would have to be an agreement between the civilian and the government in order for the government to not pay more than what was absolutely necessary for the land and for the citizen to not give up their entire livelihood. It would be a tough process, however, through zoning, it would be possible to rezone the area and not allow any critical physical infrastructure to be built (or rebuilt after damage) in areas where flood and hurricanes are prone to cause mass damage.
Implementing new designs and construction materials may be difficult due to the ties a community may have with a building. A historic wood building with a tall steeple may be a staple to the community, but if it keeps being ripped apart by disaster and rebuilt, it may not be the most sustainable option to keep rebuilding it the same way. The focus would be shifted from the ties the community may have with a piece of infrastructure toward an ideology that new buildings can and should be built that are more resilient and sturdy.
Educating the population would not be nearly as difficult to implement. This could be done through government programs, student programs, or even non-profit programs. Money used towards promoting plan-making procedures, disaster supply kits, and evacuation tips have the ability to save more money and lives overall. Also, promoting education on how to communicate in a storm or weather emergency could save money and time in searching for people, so it may be easier for funding to get passed on this education.
Bibliography
https://www.weather.gov/hgx/projects_ike08
https://www.thebalance.com/how-hurricane-ike-impacted-the-u-s-economy-3306022