Disaster Management in
the Caribbean
E. J. Peters 2014
Planners
Surveyors
To broaden knowledge
To get the credits
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Natural Hazards
What are they?
Where do they occur?
Why to do they occur?
Consequences of their occurrence?
E. J. Peters 2014
Natural hazards
ATMOSPHERIC
GEOLOGIC/HYDROLOGIC
Hailstorms
Hurricanes
Lightning
Tornadoes
Tropical storms
Debris avalanches
Expansive soils
Landslides
Rock falls
Submarine slides
Subsidence
SEISMIC
HYDROLOGIC
Fault ruptures
Ground shaking
Lateral spreading
Liquefaction
Tsunamis
Seiches
Coastal flooding
Desertification
Salinization
Drought
Erosion and sedimentation
River flooding
Storm surges
E. J. Peters 2014
Natural hazards
ATMOSPHERIC VOLCANIC
Hailstorms
Hurricanes
Lightning
Tornadoes
Tropical storms
SEISMIC
Fault ruptures
Ground shaking
Lateral spreading
Liquefaction
Tsunamis
Seiches
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Why should we be
concerned about hazards?
In every persons lifetime, at least one
natural hazard will likely have some
impact on their life.
Hurricane David, Gilbert, Ivan, Tomas
Mount Soufriere
Numerous earth quakes in Jamaica, Trinidad
Trapped by severe flooding for multiple days
in Guyana
Landslides destroying life and property in
Venezuela
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St Vincent 2013
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What constraints to
development do we face in
the Caribbean?
High unemployment
Poverty (30%)
Limited resources
Shifting from agriculture to tourism
High food prices
Poor and shortage of housing
Poor infrastructure
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Impacts
In addition to direct impacts of natural
hazards, such as floodwaters destroying
a house, there are usually many indirect
impacts, such as
people getting depressed
Increase in unemployment
Mass migration
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Indirect Impacts
Often times the indirect impacts are more costly
and can add years on to the recovery time from
a disaster.
As people who live in communities that have been
destroyed by a natural hazard will often say
there is no such thing as a complete
recovery, disasters will forever change our
way of life.
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Scientific Perspective
Scientists working to predict hazards
many view these processes differently
than the larger society.
Scientists often view these events as
natural processes that play an
important role in shaping and
maintaining ecosystems and
landforms.
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Where do natural
hazards occur?
Everywhere at least one type of
natural hazard affects every location
on Earth.
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Class discussion
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What is a hypothesis?
A hypothesis is a tentative statement that
proposes a possible explanation to some
phenomenon or event.
The key word here is testable and not
simply a prediction.
From this statement a scientist can
perform a test of how two variables
might be related.
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An Example
Step 1: Observation
The 2005 hurricane season was the most expensive on record (~$118 billion damage).
It was also associated with very high sea surface temperatures, believed to be
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associated with global warming.
How2014
are these two factors related?
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Reading
Primer on Natural Hazard Management
in Integrated Regional Development
Planning
http://oas.org/dsd/publications/Unit/oea
66e/begin.htm#Contents
Natural Hazards and Economic
Development: Policy Considerations
Organization of American States
General Secretariat
Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment
http://www.oas.org/cdmp/document/econpoly
.htm
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