Introduction
Hurricane Katrina, which hit the country in August 2005, was perhaps the most terrifying and costly disaster in American history (Ahsan & Özbek, 2022). A Category 5 hurricane landed on the Gulf Coast, causing obliteration and flooding in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. The fiasco guaranteed nearly 1,800 lives and caused more than $125 billion in punitive fees. Hurricane Katrina is a significant contextual analysis of US calamity mitigation, readiness, and reaction efforts.
Natural Disasters
Natural disasters are wild and undeniable occasions that can cause critical harm to property and a high death toll. Recognizing Al Kazimi and Mackenzie (2016), the United States has encountered several natural disasters over the past twenty years, including Hurricane Katrina and Sandy. Because of these disasters, the federal government provided assets, including funding, to help with recovery and mitigation efforts. Moreover, groups impacted by these disasters met to help each other, creating a feeling of fortitude and strength. The reaction to Hurricane Katrina could have been more active and adequate. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was reprimanded for its absence of readiness and reaction efforts, which brought about a critical death toll and property damage. Notwithstanding, examples were gained from this catastrophe, and ensuing natural disasters have seen better readiness and reaction efforts. For instance, the reaction to Hurricane Sandy in 2012 was more coordinated and viable, with the organization of National Guard troops and critical funding distributed for recuperation efforts.
Man-Made Disasters
Man-made disasters, for example, fear-based oppressor assaults and industrial mishaps, can have devastating outcomes for individuals and the climate. In the past twenty years, the United States has encountered a few man-made disasters, including the September 11 assaults and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (Al Kazimi & Mackenzie, 2016). The reaction to the September 11 assaults was quick and thorough. The government established the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate efforts to forestall future assaults and respond to crises. Furthermore, huge assets were disbursed to help recuperation efforts and to give help to the groups of people in question. The assaults lastingly affected the US, leading to increased security measures and changes in foreign policy. Another massive man-made disaster was the Deepwater Horizon oil leak in 2010. The leak in the Gulf of Mexico delivered roughly two hundred million gallons of oil, significantly damaging aquatic life and the climate (Al Kazimi & Mackenzie, 2016). The reaction efforts were coordinated among federal and state organizations, and huge assets were designated to tidy up the spill and back up the impacted networks. Nonetheless, the drawn-out effects of the spill on the climate and nearby networks are still being felt today.
Hybrid Disasters
Hybrid disasters combine natural and artificial components, for example, a hurricane that causes a thermal energy station to fizzle (Fan et al., 2021). The United States has encountered several hybrid disasters over the past twenty years, including Hurricane Sandy and the 2011 Joplin tornado. Because of Hurricane Sandy, the federal government provided huge funding to help with recovery and mitigation efforts. Furthermore, the reaction efforts were coordinated among federal and state offices, and the National Guard was sent to help neighborhood networks. Nonetheless, the storm uncovered weaknesses in basic infrastructure, like power lattices and transportation frameworks.
Stimers et al. (2022) acknowledged that the 2011 Joplin tornado was another huge hybrid calamity. The tornado caused huge harm to infrastructure and property, resulting in 150 deaths. The reaction efforts were coordinated among federal and state offices, and huge assets were disbursed to help recuperation efforts. Nonetheless, the tornado likewise highlighted the significance of building codes and infrastructure plans, as many of the deaths were credited to the failure of designs to withstand the tempest.
Conclusion
The United States has encountered natural, artificial, and hybrid disasters in the past twenty years. While the reaction efforts have worked over the long run, there is still an opportunity to get better concerning readiness and mitigation efforts. The reaction to Hurricane Katrina featured the requirement for better readiness and coordination among federal and state organizations and the significance of local area strength. In any case, ensuing natural disasters, like Hurricane Sandy, showed that these examples had been learned and that reaction efforts were more coordinated and powerful. Man-made disasters, for example, the September 11 assaults and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, lastingly affect the US. The response efforts to these disasters were quick and exhaustive. However, they uncovered weaknesses in basic infrastructure and highlighted the significance of foreign policy and ecological guidelines.
Hybrid disasters, like Hurricane Sandy and the 2011 Joplin tornado, are especially challenging to answer, as they require a coordinated reaction to both natural and man-made components. The response efforts to these disasters were generally viable, yet they additionally featured the requirement for better infrastructure plans and building codes. The US has made critical advancements in misfortune mitigation efforts in the past twenty years. The federal government has given huge funding and assets to help recuperation and readiness efforts, and networks impacted by disasters have shown versatility and fortitude. There is still an opportunity to improve, especially regarding infrastructure plans and building codes. The US must remain watchful in its catastrophe readiness efforts to guarantee the well-being and security of its residents.
References
Ahsan, M. M., & Özbek, N. (2022). Policy considerations on hurricane-induced human displacement: Lessons from Cyclone Sidr and Hurricane Katrina. Tropical Cyclone Research and Review, 11(2), 120-130.
Al Kazimi, A., & Mackenzie, C. A. (2016, April). The economic costs of natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and other calamities: An analysis of economic models that quantify the losses caused by disruptions. In 2016 IEEE Systems and Information Engineering Design Symposium (SIEDS) (pp. 32-37). IEEE.
Fan, C., Zhang, C., Yahja, A., & Mostafavi, A. (2021). Disaster City Digital Twin: A Vision for integrating artificial and human intelligence for disaster management. International Journal of Information Management, 56, 102049.
Stimers, M., Lenagala, S., Haddock, B., Paul, B. K., & Mohler, R. (2022). Space-Time Clustering with the Space-Time Permutation Model in SaTScan™ Applied to Building Permit Data Following the 2011 Joplin, Missouri Tornado. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 1-12.
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