Yellowstone Fires of 1988

The Yellowstone Fires of 1988

Jeff Henry/National Park Service; Shows
the destructive impact of the 1988 fires

Yellowstone National Park is widely regarded as one of America’s most beautiful and unique national parks, as it is home to more hot springs and geysers than any other place on Earth. It is also America's oldest national park, being established in 1872 (4). In June of 1988, this important national landmark faced the most aggressive and destructive wildfires in the park’s history when lightning strikes ignited 18 separate fires across the park's estimated 2,221,766 acres (4) . At first, park officials and fire experts were unconcerned, as fires in the park were quite common in the summer months. They expected most of the fires to burn themselves out, and the worst of the fires to be put out by seasonal rain come July. But, rain did not come in July, and while many of the smallest fires did burn themselves out, the largest fires continued to rage on. It became evident that past fire management methods would be useless against such an unprecedented and aggressive wildfire, to let these fires burn themselves out would cause unimaginable devastation to Yellowstone. In late July, the superintendent of the park, Bob Barbee, gave orders to fight every fire. In the following months, an estimated 25,000 firefighters fought to save Yellowstone (3). At times, as many as 9,000 firefighters worked in the park at once. These firefighters fought for months, but the fires showed no signs of stopping. The fire raged on until snow came and snuffed the fires in mid September. By this time 1,200,000 acres of the park were affected by these fires, and more than $120,000,000 were spent fighting the fire (1). 

Italy is on Fire!

 ""le piste sono in fiamme!!""

Hazard: Wildfire

Date: July 11th, 2017 - July 13th, 2017

Economic cost: Moderate

Casualties: Moderate

   Where in Italy? 

 So when talking about wildfire I know we all think about California and Australia and that's for good reasons. But do you ever think about fires in Europe let alone even Italy? Well, it's true, they really do happen and the most recent one happened in 2017. In the mid-month of July, 11 some of the biggest fires in Italy's recent history broke out. This fire stretched from the regions including Naples, and Sicily, and Basilicata. (The states of Campania; Basilicata; and Sicily)(3). Firefighters in Italy intervened in more than 10,000 individual vegetation fires, These fires majority affected the southern parts of Italy including the previously mentioned regions. (1)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Map and satellite view of  southern Italy) (1)

What's the big deal?

    Officials have reported nearly 900 wildfires in Italy (5). With people having to evacuate from their homes, businesses, and livelihoods. These fires raged on for days and burned done fast territory of the Castelfusano pine forest near the coast of the south of Rome. Fires have also even started to ravage the national park on Vesuvius one of the most infamous volcanos in the world. These major fires are believed to have their origins in human activities. However, Italy has been suffering from extensive heat and lengthy drought. So even if humans are the cause it was intensive due to the effects of global warming. The economic damage is harder to find due to a lack of government support and funding. But there are some educators on how much these fires cost the country-  - And sadly there are reports of death as well, One instant was that of a 79-year-old woman who was found dead in a filed. close to her home in Sant'Omero, She was overcome by flames that engulfed two hectares of surrounding farmland (7) In June, Sicily saw 40 percent less rainfall and temperatures were up by 1.7 celsius compared to that of the average for the month. Paired with the strong winds and arid conditions helped fuel the fires to be able to rage for 3 days. (1)

(This is a fire on the side of Mount Vesuvius)(5)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Economic loss & mitigation

    The fires were able to take care of after only 3 days.(2) But this highlights the effects of climate change on this very economically strained region. Estimates on climate show a very significant change in magnitude and duration of extreme water conditions onward since the 1970s indicates a shift in the hydrological process (6). This article's main point was to talk about the effects of climate change and fishers, but we are able to use the date that was found and applied it to the increase of wildfires in the region.

One last major thing we need to take into consideration is the annual budget for Italy's national fire department. in 2017 they had a budget of over $2 billion which is a lot. This is very important it shows how Italy is able to defend itself from destructive fires. Likewise, California has a budget well beyond Italy, however, the effects of climate change on California are very significate with extremely dry rain seasons and dry vegetation. Italy is starting to show signs that they very much might become the next California or Australia if climate change isn't put at the front of the world's needs. These fires will only cost 

(this chart shows the budget for firefighting)(8) 

the country more and more, and very soon tourists will soon take noticed and will take their money elsewhere. In 2017 due to the fires over 700 tourists were evacuated from Sicily by boat (9). If more tourists decided to go elsewhere then the loss will bring the country into a massive economic spiral. Since 2007 the country has already gone into 3 different recessions. (10) So lastly what can be done to prevent another hazard like this in Italy? Well, Italy needs to focus more on keeping water reserves for the dryest of seasons. Especially since a 2017 season is more than likely to reoccur again. Most importantly need to invest in improving building infrastructure. If Italy is willing to improve in these sectors then the cost of protecting homes and people will fall and the risk of civilians will also fall and then the country will be on a better path, a path where no one will feel threatened by something as devastating as a wildfire. However, we need to not forget that this is a natural process, we can never be free from it, so we need to do the best we can to there mitigate or live with it Such as the native people in Australia who are now embracing the fire into there lives. 

(fire burning in Scilly) (6)

    

This video shows the effects on the local environment of Sicily caused by the fires. But it also shows what could become a more common phenomenon if climate change is not taken seriously by global powers. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Citations 

(1) Jenner, L. (2017, July 03). Fires on Sicily and Southern Italy. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2017/fires-in-sicily-and-southern-italy

(2) Southern Italy struck by wildfire. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-40591756

(3) Wildfires rage in southern Italy, Vesuvius slopes. (2017, July 11). Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://apnews.com/article/f1f1809c776e4cf7a2cf97c2dc8715eb

(4) By:, P. (2017, July 12). Wildfires Rage in Southern Italy. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://wildlandfirefighter.com/2017/07/12/wildfires-rage-in-southern-italy/

(5) -, S., By, -, Strange Soundshttps://strangesounds.orgFollow Strange Sounds to discover amazing, Strange Sounds, & Follow Strange Sounds to discover amazing. (2017, July 19). European Inferno: Large wildfires burn hundreds of hectares across France, Croatia, Italy, Portugal, Montenegro. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://strangesounds.org/2017/07/large-wildfires-burn-hundreds-of-hectares-across-france-croatia-italy-montenegro-european-inferno.html

(6) Nicola, G., Elvira, B., Jonsson, B., Ayllón, D., & Almodóvar, A. (2017, November 06). Local and global climatic drivers of Atlantic salmon decline in southern Europe. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165783617302874

(7) Staff, S. (2017, August 03). Italy heatwave and drought spark killer wildfires. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://phys.org/news/2017-08-italy-heatwave-drought-killer-wildfires.html

(8) N. (n.d.). Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/fireInfo_documents/SuppCosts.pdf

(9) Bottinelli, S. (2017, July 13). 600 Tourists rescued by boat as wildfires engulf Calampiso resort in Sicily. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.ybw.com/news-from-yachting-boating-world/600-tourists-rescued-by-boat-as-wildfires-engulf-town-of-calampiso-in-sicily-56400

(10) Why Italy's economy is about to collapse. (2016, June 20). Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/why-italy-s-economy-about-collapse-a7091221.html

                 1900 Galveston Hurricane

Figure 1. The aftermath of the hurricane that hit Galveston, Tx. A large portion of the buildings impacted by the storm were in residential areas of Galveston which, contributed to the overall death toll of the hurricane. (Source- https://www.census.gov/history/www/homepage_archive/2015/september_2015.html)

    Throughout the progression of time there have always been natural disasters. These disasters like hurricanes are impossible to prevent however, we can learn from them to help mitigate the impact of future disasters. One of the earliest major hurricanes that there is a written record of in America is the 1900 Galveston Texas hurricane (Figure 1.). On September 8th of 1900, Galveston Texas was ravaged by a stage 4 hurricane (Little 2017). The hurricane produced wind speeds between 130-156 miles per hour, which uplifted and destroyed over 3,000 buildings in the Galveston area (NOAA 2020). The estimated death toll of the hurricane was anywhere between 6,000 and 8,000 lives (Burnett 2017) . With about ⅓ of Galveston's buildings being destroyed, the overall monetary amount in damages was around 20 million dollars which is around 700 million today (Waxman 2017).

Figure 2. The path and intensity levels at different locations of the 1900 Galveston hurricane. Galveston received the most intensity, and damage out of all the areas the hurricane impacted. (Source- https://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/magazine/galv_hurricane/galveston_1900_map.html)

    Before the creation of massive satellites which could detect the early formation of hurricanes, the primary way for meteorologists to predict if a hurricane was going to occur was word of mouth. What this means is the ships that were out in the coast would electrically telegraph any weird or abnormal winds back to the meteorologist on shore, this allowed for the scientist to make predictions on when or if possible storms would occur (Waxman 2017). This system was very inaccurate and is part of the reason that this hurricane was so detrimental. When early storm reports were recorded close to Cuba (Figure 2.) from ships, the Weather Bureau released a storm warning on September 7th, 1900 (Waxman 2017). These warnings failed to inform people in Galveston because it was only classified as a storm not a hurricane.

Figure 3. A Seawall created around Galveston in 1904, in response to the hurricane which took place in 1900. (Source-https://texasalmanac.com/topics/history/galvestons-response-hurricane-1900) The lack of communication, and the majority of buildings before the hurricane not having any reinforcements contributed heavily into the vulnerability of Galveston and the intensity of the hurricane. However, Galveston did set to learn from the mistakes and lack of preparations in the chance that another hurricane could occur. With money donated from other states, Galveston was able to build a 3 mile seawall around the most vulnerable (TSHA 2018) (Figure 3.). There were also efforts to raise the city, by putting buildings higher up they were less likely to experience damage from flooding. With all of the physical reconstruction that Galveston experienced in the wake of the hurricane, there was also city government reconstruction. The reconstruction within the city government was due to the lack of warning that the citizens of Galveston experienced which led to many losing their lives. All of these changes were made so that what happened in 1900 would never happen again. They sought to learn from the past to mitigate future hurricanes.

VIDEO

A video of Galveston showing the destruction which occurred, and the unpreparedness of the citizens who lived there which led to many deaths. The video also discusses the rebuilding and fortifications which occurred after the hurricane.

Works Cited

Burnett, J. (2017, November 30). The Tempest At Galveston: 'We Knew There Was A Storm Coming, But We Had No Idea'. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.npr.org/2017/11/30/566950355/the-tempest-at-galveston-we-knew-there-was-a-storm-coming-but-we-had-no-idea

Little, B. (2017, August 29). How the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 Became the Deadliest U.S. Natural Disaster. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.history.com/news/how-the-galveston-hurricane-of-1900-became-the-deadliest-u-s-natural-disaster 

NOAA. (2020). Hurricane FAQ. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd-faq/ 

TSHA. (2018). GALVESTON'S RESPONSE TO THE HURRICANE OF 1900. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://texasalmanac.com/topics/history/galvestons-response-hurricane-1900 

Waxman, O. (2017, August 29). Hurricane Harvey and the Deadly Galveston Hurricane of 1900. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://time.com/4918607/texas-hurricane-harvey-galveston/ 

Williams, J. (2019, April 24). When storms were a surprise: A history of hurricane warnings. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/08/16/when-storms-were-a-surprise-a-history-of-hurricane-warnings/

 CAMP FIRE- 2018 CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES

1)      The Camp Fire Wildfire in Butte County, Northern California started on 8 November, 2018, and was 100 % contained seventeen days later on 25 November, 2018.(census.gov)

 

           Camp Fire is now deadliest in California history- CNN.com

 

2)      The Camp Fire in Butte County, California, was named for the area it started in which is Camp Creek Road. It is the most disastrous and lethal wildfire in California’s history. It is toward the top of the list for the world’s deadliest wildfires, and it ranks 6^th deadliest in United States history. This enormous fire was caused by electrical transmission lines owed by Pacific Gas and Electricity located in the area of Pulga(fire.ca.gov). CAL FIRE investigators thoroughly investigated the area of the fire’s origin to determine cause. The fire started early in the morning of the 8^th of November near the community of Pulga in the county of Butte. With Red Flag conditions in place, strong winds blowing, very dry vegetation and tinder, high temps, and low humidity stimulated the wildfire and caused it to spread exceptionally fast. The fire burned 153,336 acres, destroyed 18,804 structures, and it is responsible for the evacuation of 52,000 people, caused 85 civilian deaths, and injuries to several firefighters. It was determined that most of the damage occurred in the first four hours of the wildfire. As the first winter rains appeared, firefighters achieved 100 percent containment of the Camp Fire Wildfire seventeen days later on the 25^th of November.

 

The Atlantic

 

CAMP FIRE DESTROYS PARADISE, CALIFORNIA: PHOTOS-THE ATLANTIC

Creator: JOSH EDELSON | Credit: AFP/Getty Images

 

 

 

3)      The actions that could have mitigated the Camp Fire in California are many. Firstly, it was determined that Pacific Gas and Electricity has equipment that was sparking or malfunctioning. PG&E is a California state regulated electric company. Another possible mitigation is forest management.CAL FIRE, the main firefighting agency in the state, stated that decades of policy that discouraged controlled burns to reduce the fuel load. Some prescribed burns in the state have been hindered by the concerns for air quality and by environmental lawsuits(Forbes.com). Nearly half of California’s land is government owned and managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Before 1990, approximately 10-12 billion board-feet of timber was harvested from national forests. In 2013, due to environmental policies, only 2.5 billion board-feet was harvested. It is not difficult to see that there would be much larger underbrush and timber available to fuel bigger wildfires. Another contributing factor could be the rising prices of real estate in California’s cities. With high priced real estate, and even higher taxes many people are moving outside the city limits where they can afford a bigger house or acquire some land at a lesser price than in the city. This savings in property and taxes makes a commute into work well worth the time it takes to drive back and forth. With so many wildfires taking place in the summer months, when the rains come in the winter season, flooding is promoted by the lack of vegetation on the hillsides in California. One way to mitigate the damage is to build houses and other structures with fire resistant materials that can better withstand fires.

Understory burn as part of the Red Salmon Complex Fire, September 3, 2020.

United States Forest Service via Wikimedia Commons.

 

The link below shows a small part of the devastation of Camp Fire Wildfire 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2KACRDzG14

 

https://www.census.gov/topics/preparedness/events/wildfires/camp.html

https://www.fire.ca.gov/media/5121/campfire_cause.pdf

Devore, Chuck.https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckdevore/2018/11/16/californias-deadliest-fires-could-have-been-mitigated-by-prevention/?sh=7fafa97b341b

Eremita, Brianna; Komshian, Karin; and Leza, Sedona, "Fire-Resilient Housing for Paradise, California" (2019). Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses. 76.
https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/ceng_senior/76

Weil, Elizabeth.https://massivesci.com/articles/megafire-california-climate-change-wildfire-controlled-burns-fire-management/

2018 Carr Fire

Satellite imagery of the extent of the Carr Fire. Source.

The Carr Fire started on July 23rd, 2018 in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area near Redding, California, burning 229,651 acres of land and 1,564 structures around Whiskeytown lake, before being contained on August 30th of the same year (National Park Service (NPS), 2018; NPS, 2020; Schleuss et al, 2018). 3 firefights and 4 civilians were killed in the Carr Fire, and 60 people went missing but were later all found (NPS, 2018; Irfan, 2018). The blaze started off of California Highway 299 after a trailer tire blew out, exposing the rim to asphalt and generating sparks which lit the dry grass along the highway (Berke, 2018; Schleuss et al, 2018). Conditions were perfect for such a large fire to occur (Irfan, 2018; NPS, 2018). California had been experiencing extreme heat, wind, and dryness during a year with record-breaking global heat waves (Irfan, 2018; NPS, 2018).  The Carr Fire grew large and hot enough to generate its own weather system and pyrocumulus clouds (Irfan, 2018). On July 26th, the wildfire created two fire vortexes, one with wind speeds of 143 miles per hour (Lareau et al, 2018; NPS, 2020; KPIX CBS SF Bay Area, 2018). The larger fire vortex made it over the Sacramento River and entered Redding city limits, destroying many homes and National Park Service structures (NPS, 2020). In terms of buildings destroyed, the Carr Fire was the 6th most destructive wildfire in California's history (Schleuss et al, 2018).

Part of the Carr Fire, July 30th, 2018. Source.

There was some controversy surrounding the Carr Fire, as there is evidence that mitigation for such a natural disaster was lacking (Schneider, 2018). Interviews and records on the local, state, and federal levels show that the conditions that made the Carr Fire so large and the extent of its damage on the environment and humans had been forecasted years before, but little had been done to prevent such a fire from occurring (Schneider, 2018). Reportedly, Transportation officials managing upgrades for California Highway 299 had appealed to officials at the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area to clear the dry vegetation from the roadside, but nothing was done (Schneider, 2018). This was likely due to the reduced federal budget the National Park Service received prior to the Carr Fire, leaving Whiskeytown with less funds and staff to properly remove dry brush and create fire breaks (Schneider, 2018). Additionally, Redding residents and government officials had not implemented any regulations regarding development that would have better protected homes and businesses against a fire (Schneider, 2018). Because of the damage caused by the Carr Fire and its preventability, California lawmakers increased the state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection budget by $200 million annually for 2019 to 2024 (Schneider, 2018). The U.S. Forest Service and Department of the Interior also increased their preventative measures by setting prescribed burns to roughly 85,000 acres of land in California (Schneider, 2018).

Homes destroyed by the Carr Fire in Redding, California. Source.

This video contains KPIX CBS SF Bay Area news coverage of the Carr Fire on August 3rd, 2018. It includes images taken of the fire from space and a discussion with researchers on the fire vortex that pushed the fire into Redding city limits. 

Sources Cited (Hyperlinked)

The fire that caused widespread devastation in Northern California was started by a flat tire by Jeremy Berke on BusinessIndersider.com (2018)

Why the Carr Fire in Northern California is so severe by Umair Irfan on Vox.com (2018)

Meteorologists Amazed by Power of Carr Fire Cyclone by KPIX CBS SF Bay Area on YouTube.com (2018)

The Carr Fire Vortex: A Case of Pyrotornadogensis? by N. P. Lareau, N. J. Nauslar, and J. T. Abatzoglou (2018)

The Carr Fire at Whiskeytown by the National Park Service on nps.gov (2020)

Timeline of the Carr Fire by the National Park Service on nps.gov (2018)

California Knew the Carr Wildfire Could Happen. It Failed to Prevent it. by Keith Schneider on ProPublica.com (2018)

Here's where the Carr fire destroyed homes in Northern California by John Schleuss, Kyle Kim, and Priya Krishnakumar on LATimes.com (2018)

Note from the Author:

I was actually in Redding, CA for a couple weeks before the Carr Fire started, visiting a family member who lived in the city, and left a few days before the fire started. The image showing the Menlo Way street sign is about 1 block away from that family member's house, which was also destroyed in the fire. Doing research for this post was interesting, because I had never seen that image of my family member's neighbor burned down, and I had visited Whiskeytown lake while I was visiting. 

Hurricane Maria

Type of Disaster: Hurricane
Dates: September 16th-30th, 2017 (NOAA)
Locations of Landfall: Guadeloupe, Dominica; St. Croix (Islands located in the Caribbean Sea); near Yabucoa, Puerto Rico; Grand Turk Island (an island located inside of the Turks & Caicos Islands); near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

"A man rides his bicycle through a damaged road in Toa Alta, west of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 24." by Ricardo Arduengo (Segarra & Bubello)

This image portrays some of the damage caused when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017. We can see extensive damages to the road and some residual flooding.

Summary

  Hurricane Maria began as a tropical wave that left the African west coast in September of 2017. As the system moved through the Atlantic, it produced deep convection beneath the ocean’s surface. This convection quickly became less scattered and more organized. Upon moving into an area of mid-level pressure, this system grew to be a tropical storm. With the introduction of warm water to the system, it very rapidly morphed into a hurricane that also strengthened swiftly (Pasch, et al., 2017). This hurricane would wreak havoc throughout its path. One of the most significantly affected areas is Puerto Rico, where Hurricane Maria is known as “the worst storm to hit the island in nearly a century” (Rivera & Rolke, 2018). When Maria made contact with Puerto Rico windspeeds were approximately 155 miles per hour, and brought in over a foot of rainfall, resulting in massive flooding. Many residents were without power, fresh water, or means of communication. Rivera and Rolke (2018), identified the elderly as a population with increased vulnerability, in regards to Hurricane Maria. This is because many of them were effectively disconnected from lifesaving aid. Three months post-hurricane, Puerto Rico had only been able to restore approximately 68% of the power grid that had been available before the storm (Rivera & Rolke, 2018).  The exact death toll remains a topic of controversy. However, a published study from Harvard estimated that 4,645 deaths can be attributed to Hurricane Maria and the “immediate aftermath” it presented (Hernandez & McGinley, 2018).

"Trees are toppled in a parking lot at Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 20." by Hector Retamal (Segarra & Bubello)

This image provides insight as to what the actual conditions during the hurricane were like in Puerto Rico. We can see evidence of tremendous wind speeds and large amounts of rainfall.

Discussion

The hazards of the hurricane are flooding and dangerous wind speeds. Hurricanes are not completely preventable. They will happen when the necessary conditions are met. However, the effects that these storms have on the physical and human environment can be mitigated to reduce damages and loss of life. It is important to protect the structural integrity of the city, so that building damage is reduced. This can be done by implementing building codes on things such as roofing and window protections that can help. Making sure that buildings are elevated can protect them from flooding as the hurricane dumps massive amounts of rain on the area and storm surges, wind-driven ocean waves that pile water on a coastline. Restoring coastal marshes, maintaining a considerable distance from the beach, and maintaining dune height can also serve to protect the physical environment of the area. Constructing floodwalls and gates will also help weaken the effect of storm surges. When hurricanes are imminent, it is absolutely essential to have warning systems in place. This can give residents the best chance of being as prepared as possible when the storm makes landfall. It is also important to broadcast predicted conditions and the estimated time of landfall when available so that communities can make the decision to evacuate or not. Warning systems and preparedness of the community are some of the ways to prevent loss of life in hurricanes.

"Flooded streets are seen in San Juan, Puerto Rico after the passage of Hurricane Maria, on Sept. 21." by Hector Retamal (Segarra & Bubello)

In this image we can see a major effect of Hurricane Maria, flooding.

For more information, check out this video!

“Hurricane Maria slams Puerto Rico.” YouTube, uploaded by CBS This Morning, 20 Sept 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPueER8cKDE.

This video contains news coverage of Hurricane Maria making landfall in Puerto Rico. It discusses some of the hazards associated with hurricanes, such as power outages and massive flooding. This video also contains interviews with some of the people that are affected by this natural disaster.

Sources

Hernandez, Arelis R., and Laurie McGinley. “Harvard Study Estimates Thousands Died in Puerto Rico Because of Hurricane Maria.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 29 May 2018, 3:15 p.m., www.washingtonpost.com/national/harvard-study-estimates-thousands-died-in-puerto-rico-due-to-hurricane-maria/2018/05/29/1a82503a-6070-11e8-a4a4-c070ef53f315_story.html.

“Hurricane Maria.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/event/Hurricane-Maria.

Pasch, Richard J., et al. “Hurricane Maria.” National Hurricane Center Tropical Cyclone Report, Sept. 2017, www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL152017_Maria.pdf.

Rivera, Roberto, and Wolfgang Rolke. “Estimating the Death Toll of Hurricane Maria.” Royal Statistical Society, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 6 Feb. 2018, rss.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1740-9713.2018.01102.x.

Rodríguez-Díaz, Carlos E. "Maria in Puerto Rico: natural disaster in a colonial archipelago." (2018): 30-32.

Segarra, Lisa Marie, and Kim Bubello. “Scenes of the Destruction From Hurricane Maria.” Time, Time Magazine, time.com/hurricane-maria-destruction-photos/.

 

MT. ST. HELENS VOLCANIC ERUPTION MAY 1980

1)      A volcanic eruption occurred on Mt. St. Helens in Washington State’s Cascade mountain range on May 18, 1980.

 

2)      On the morning of 18 May, 1980, a 5+ earthquake initiated the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, which in turn caused the northern flank of the mountain to collapse. The largest landslide in recorded history buried 14 miles of the North Fork Toutle River with trees, rocks, and earth averaging 150 feet deep. Some places were recorded as deep as 600 feet of debris. The powerful blast blew down over 4 billion board-feet of timber, and spread volcanic debris over 230 square miles. On the southern half of the mountain, lahars(mudflows) flowed down through gullies and rivers. The blast, volcanic avalanche, and Lahars caused extensive damage to the human environment as well as the physical environment. All manmade structures within the locality of Spirit Lake were completely buried. Over 200 houses and cabins were destroyed along with recreational sites, roads, bridges, and trails. Fifeteen miles of railroad tracks, and approximately 185 miles of paved roads highways were damaged or completely destroyed.  Fifty seven people lost their lives from the volcanic eruption, mostly from asphyxiation from inhaling hot volcanic ash, and some of the victims died from thermal and other injuries according to autopsies. The Washington State Department of game estimated that 7,000 bear, elk, and deer perished in the immediate affected area, as well as all birds and a majority of smaller mammals. The Washington Department of Fisheries estimated that 12 salmon fingerlings were killed, which could have produced nearly 360,000 adult Chinook and Coho salmon.

Downwind from the volcano, many crops were destroyed such as alfalfa, wheat, potatoes, and apples.

 

 

Stand of timber in the "tree-down" zone north of Mount St. Helens devastated by the lateral blast. The downed trees were salvaged as quickly as possible before the wood began to rot. Note the two people (circled) in lower right (Photograph by Lyn Topinka).

3)      The importance of the Mt. St. Helens eruption cannot be understated by today’s volcanologists. That single eruption did more than any other volcanic eruption in history since it was the first large explosion to be studied by scientists. That in turn led to advances in volcano science. New and advanced monitoring systems were invented due to Mt. St. Helens being easily accessible and could be recorded and photographed from many angles. The open cone also has let scientists peak inside the volcano and understand more about the mountain than ever before. Scientists from all over the world joined together to study the eruption. Before Mt. St. Helens, most scientific fields in the study of volcanoes worked separately and there was little coordination. Now 40 years later it is typical for biologists, geologists, hydrologists, seismologists, geochemists, and geophysicists to coordinate and combine their studies of natural science processes into a unified research and communication. The science of volcanoes has gone from a few monitoring pieces of equipment at the source of the volcano, to using GIS, LIDAR, satellite images, and photogrammetry. These advances in technology can now detect inflation and deflation of volcanoes down to the centimeter in real time. Using these advanced systems, scientists are starting to develop advanced warning systems around the globe to detect future eruptions. With the technology in 1980, and few volcanoes being studied with modern equipment, most experts agree that little more could have been done to mitigate the impacts of the eruption at Mt. St. Helens. It is BECAUSE of the eruption at Mt. St. Helens that scientists know what they now know and can try to minimize the risk to the public for future volcanic eruptions around the globe.  

 

 

              Forty years after the blast: next generation continues Mt. St. Helens research

                                                            News.wsu.edu

 

The link to the video below depicts illustrations from today’s scientists, with modern technology, explaining the cause of devastation of the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens. Included in the 4 ½ minute video is actual footage of the eruption as it is taking place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYla6q3is6w

 

SOURCES

https://www.usgs.gov/news/mount-st-helens-1980-eruption-changed-future-volcanology

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/StHelens

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/Publications/FS036-00/framework.html

https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/msh/impact.html https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/26/us/mount-st-helens-fast-facts/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/26/us/mount-st-helens-fast-facts/index.html

https://www.fs.usda.gov/pnw/projects/mount-st-helens#:~:text=create%20new%20habitats.-,At%20Mount%20St.,insects%2C%20plankton%2C%20and%20plants.

https://www.history.com/topics/natural-disasters-and-environment/mount-st-helens

 

 

Hurricane Harvey

Figure 1. Hurricane Harvey rainfall. Source: National Weather Service

         Hurricane Harvey was a category 4 hurricane that made landfall in Texas on August 25, 2017 and lasted four days (Amadeo, 2020). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that the total damages from Hurricane Harvey were $125 billion, making it the second most damaging tropical storm in US history (Blake & Zelinsky, 2018). In addition, the direct effects of the storm caused at least 68 deaths, while the indirect effects of the storm, such as car accidents, killed another 35 people (Amadeo, 2020). One of the biggest reasons the storm was so serious was its rainfall (Figure 1). The storm produced total rainfall of more than 60 inches in some areas, shattering the previous rainfall record of 52 inches from a storm in Hawaii in 1950 (Blake and Zelinksy, 2018). Another major problem with Hurricane Harvey was its wind speed. At the time of landfall in Rockport, Texas, wind speeds were as high as 130 mph (Heft, 2018). These winds, along with precipitation, led to nearly 25% of housing structures such as porches, sunrooms, and pool cages being damaged by the storm (Figure 2) (Heft, 2018). Additional damages that occurred were on drinking water facilities. There were 61 drinking water facilities that were destroyed leading to 203 boil-water notices put into effect (Amadeo, 2020). Wastewater treatment facilities were also impacted, as 40 were inoperable after the storm (Amadeo, 2020). This issue led to there being 150 gallons of sewage overflow.

Figure 2. Flooded house during Hurricane Harvey. Source: Wall Street Journal

    

        With a serious storm like Hurricane Harvey, there are typically long-term impacts. One lasting impact of Hurricane Harvey was that of the people who were displaced from their home, 20% of them were still in temporary housing as of June 23, 2020 (University of Houston, 2020). In addition, of the people whose properties suffered damage from the storm, 69.2% of them did not receive a buyout offer from the government. Of the remaining 30.2%, 10.2% received an offer from the government but refused, and 20.7% received an offer and accepted it (University of Houston, 2020). This means that nearly 80% of people that suffered damage to their property were left to cover the expenses themselves. Another impact that Hurricane Harvey had was that it caused a surge in unemployment numbers (Figure 3). The number of people filing for unemployment in Texas immediately after Hurricane Harvey led to the highest unemployment numbers in the US in two years (Mutikani, 2017).

Figure 3. Initial unemployment claims for the Great Recession and
Hurricane Harvey. Source: Houston Chronicle

    

        An important mitigation effort for Hurricane Harvey would have been to combat climate change. Researchers conducted a study to analyze the effects that anthropogenic climate change had on the intensity of Hurricane Harvey (Oldenborgh et al., 2017). The study concluded that global warming ultimately made the precipitation about 15% more intense, a drastic increase for an already severe storm (Oldenborgh et al., 2017).

    

This video shows before and after pictures of various locations impacted by Hurricane Harvey. It is a good representation of the intense rainfall and the resulting flooding that occurred. Source: CNBC.

                                                                                                                                    

Works Cited

Amadeo, Kimberly. "Hurricane Harvey Shows How Climate Change Can Impact 

        the Economy." The Balance, 24 September, 2020, https://www.thebalance.com/hurricane-harvey-

        facts-damage-costs-4150087.

Blake, Eric S. & Zelinsky, David A. "Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Harvey." National Hurricane 

        Center, 9 May, 2018, https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL092017_Harvey.pdf.

Heft, Jayleen R. "The Untold Story of Hurricane Harvey Wind Damage: 12 Key Findings." Property 

        Casualty 360, 10 September, 2018, https://www.propertycasualty360.com/2018/09/10/the-untold-

        story-of-hurricane-harvey-wind-damage-1/?slreturn=20201110164211.

Mutikani, Lucia. "Hurricane Harvey Boosts U.S. Jobless Claims to More than Two-Year High."Reuters, 7 

        September, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy/hurricane-harvey-boosts-u-s-

        jobless-claims-to-more-than-two-year-high-idUSKCN1BI1MV.

Oldenborgh, Geert J. V., Karin V. D. Wiel, Antonia Sebastian, Roop Singh, Julie Arrighi, Friederike Otto, 

        Karsten Haustein, Sihan Li, Gabriel Vecchi & Heidi Cullen. "Attribution of Extreme Rainfall for 

        Hurricane Harvey, August 2017." Environmental Research Letters 12, no. 12, 13 December, 2017, 

        https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa9ef2?dom=AOL&src=syn.

"The Impact of Hurricane Harvey." University of Houston, 24 August, 2020, https://uh.edu/hobby/harvey/