Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy hit the New Jersey coast Monday evening, bringing high winds and large amounts of water with it.  Residents of the area cannot believe what they were seeing.  There was standing water in places that they never thought could be flooded.  In an area not used to hurricane weather, many people were unprepared for this event.  The first confirmed death occurred when a falling tree landed on a man, crushing him.  It is estimated that Hurricane Sandy will cause $10 billion in damage.

The lower the pressure of a storm, the stronger it usually is.  Hurricane Sandy has a minimum pressure of 943 millibars, where as the "Long Island Express" Hurricane of 1938 had a low pressure reading of 946. The somewhat good news is that Sandy was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm.  This downgrade means less punishing winds.

Flood map of the New York City area from Hurricane Sandy

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/29/us/tropical-weather-sandy/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Volcano Erupts in Northeast Indonesia

Last Sunday, Mount Lokon, near Manado, erupted and threw ash into the atmosphere.  The volcano became active the previous Friday but was declared idle until Sunday when the eruptions occurred   Besides the initial eruption, there were countless more that followed.  There was so much ash in the air from previous eruptions that following eruptions could not be monitored because the ash obstructed the view of the volcano.  Those living near the volcano were warned of the volcanic ash in the air and were advised to limit outdoor activity.  Mount Lokon is located on the Ring of Fire which surrounds the Pacific plate.  Residents in the area are aware of such hazards in their area.  For example, in July 2011, the surrounding area of 4,000 people was promptly evacuated.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/07/world/asia/indonesia-volcano/index.html?hpt=wo_bn4

Islamic Relief levies with UN

The latest aid group called Islamic Relief, is trying to convince the UN to create a disaster fund that will be used in natural disaster prevention.  Money used beforehand to prevent a natural disaster would save money in developing countries by not reducing the need to rebuild after a natural disaster.  The Islamic Relief group makes a good point by showing that $640 could be used to protect a house for five years by raising homes above the flood level. This $640 spend in prevention is currently being used to rebuild homes after a disaster hits, which supports the family of the household for only a month.  Currently, only a small percentage is being spent on disaster prevention, about 15%. Putting the time and money in now for disaster prevention is not only cost effective in the long run but also raises hazard awareness and improves moral within the country by not having the citizens lose everything and have to rebuild.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/oct/01/call-for-global-fund-disaster-prevention