Hurricanes and earthquakes are two of the most dangerous natural disasters in the United States. They can be very disastrous and deadly. In the United States, there have been 73 hurricanes since 1954. Earthquakes are harder to detect because they have to have at least a magnitude of 5 ("Earthquakes per year," 2009). The amount of earthquakes detected in the United States was 1656 in the past 10 years ("Earthquakes per year," 2009). The World Meteorological Organization is the organization that can choose the names of hurricanes. At the beginning of the year, the first hurricane always begins with an A name, and continue down the alphabet (NHC, 2003). The letters not used to name a hurric ...view middle of the document...
Friction occurs when two or more plates meet creating a fault. Tension constantly builds up on the fault when plates push together. Shock waves that create vibrations occur when two plates slip resulting in the ground around the fault line to move and shake. This occurrence is an Earthquake.Catastrophic Disasters Caused by HurricanesOn Monday, August 29, 2005, the United States experienced one of its most catastrophic disasters to date by Hurricane Katrina. In addition, Hurricane Katrina is predicted to be the most costly and catastrophic disasters the United States, where "…105 Billion was sought for repairs." (Discover Communications, 2009) However, Hurricane Katrina is not alone in its costs to the American taxpayers. According to RMS, "…hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne" (RMS, 2005) had claims totaling "…$13 billion" (RMS, 2005) that had yet to have been addressed when Hurricane Katrina had hit.Hurricanes, if not monitored closely may have catastrophic affects on any environment in its path and this was the case with the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The New Orleans levees could not hold the water and a breech occurred on the 17th Street Canals as well as two other canals. Due to the fast moving water people were either unable to escape and climbed up to their rooftops or trees, with some falling to their death. In the end the death toll of Hurricane Katrina was "…1800 people" (Discover Communications, 2009). In addition, there were affects on major economical areas such as for six months after the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, oil production had dwindled to "…24 percent of the annual production" (Discovery Communications, 2009). The damage continued with damage to 1.3 million acres of Mississippi's forests, at the cost of five billion (Discovery Communications, 2009). Residents affected by Hurricane Katrina lost their homes along with local businesses going out of business due to the hit areas slow redevelopment. This caused missed revenue from taxes that local residents paid in the amount of "…150 billion" (Discovery Communications, 2009)In all, as with Hurricanes Katrina, Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne it is apparent the mark that this act of nature can cause with areas or environments in its path. It can start at the top of the chain with the individual stories and trickle down through, environmental all the way to government.Catastrophic Disasters Caused by EarthquakesCatastrophic disaster can occur with little or no warning. They may cause significant personal or property loss, and there is a greater sense of danger and helplessness than in predictable disasters. Examples of catastrophic disasters are tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes. However, under certain conditions, normally predictable events may turn into unpredictable, catastrophic events. Earthquakes take place on planet Earth annually. The majority of earthquakes are so slight that they are not even noticed....
