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Hurricane Preparedness
By Peter O’Neil
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Table of contents

Table of Contents
Table of contents 2
Abstract 3
Being Prepared 4-5
Hurricane Katrina 6
Building better safeguards 7
Conclusion8
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Abstract

Abstract

Hurricanes are an extremely dangerous natural disaster that can cause millions in destruction and

kill hundreds of people. Hurricanes and other severe storms are one of the most common natural

disasters according to samsha.org. But even though they are so common most major cities in the

U.S. are too underprepared for these storms or their previously set up protection from these

storms fail because of their lack of maintenance and upkeep. Being ill prepared for these storms

can have major consequences for these cities if they don’t change the way they decide to look at

them. Storms can cause several natural dangers like flooding that can spill through streets

washing away cars people and buildings these floods also carry small debris that can hurt or kill

anything that gets into contact with them from physical damage to causing severe infections after

exposure. Tornados are also very dangerous natural occurrences that stem directly from storms

like hurricanes, but they can even be spawned by small storms around the U.S. Tornados are

vortexes of wind that is spinning so fast it can destroy houses and pick up debris while it spins.

These two side effects can come from small storms which can give insight to the possible

destruction they can cause when spawned from a hurricane.

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Being Prepared

Being prepared

Being unprepared in a hurricane or severe storm situation can easily turn into a catastrophic

disaster Hurricane sandy and Katrina both I will be going more in depth with later, but both had

huge amounts of casualties because they were not prepared for category three storms now

imagine the possible damage of a cat 4 or 5. There is a lack of preparedness in the United states

right now because people simply disregard these storms and don’t pay attention to them until it is

too late. Hurricane preparedness has many steps one being prepared on the civil level which is

more the citizens responsibility but can definitely be helped along by the government. Everyday

people being prepared for hurricanes have two major parts to it, one protecting their home from

flying debris and the other having enough food and water to last if your cities get shut down for a

few weeks, which is very common during these storms. Protecting the home can be simple but

costly some of the cheaper ways to do so could be boarding up windows its cheap but can protect

your homes most vulnerable points during storms but boarding up windows can lose

effectiveness when it comes to stronger storms which is where the more costly options come into

play. Things like hurricane shutters and hurricane glass windows will protect your home from

debris that may hit your house during these dangerous storms but can be too expensive for those

in lower class areas. Another aspect of protecting your home is having basements. Basements are

the only real way to protect yourself from tornadoes which can be common during hurricanes

basements are very important to have in the household but in places like Florida you cannot have
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Being Prepared
basements so this would only be a possible protection in certain states. The next aspect of a

civilian being prepared is by reinforcing their food supply having adequate resources to feed you

and your family is of upmost importance in a severe storm situation because these storms can

destroy roads knock out electricity and level buildings, so it is better to be prepared for those

situations in advance then to be left in the dark when it happens. Having enough food is

something that everyone needs during storms but when it comes to stores, they usually don’t

have enough food to meet demand so city governments should start programs to bring food to all

its citizens when a storm is on its way. Lastly the city itself needs to be protected from these

storms most importantly from flooding there is not much you can do to your house to protect

from flooding but the city you live in can build countermeasures like levees which are large

building that are made to control flood waters. These buildings can protect your city from floods

but like what happened to New Orleans during Katrina these protections can fail resulting in

disastrous consequences. Many city’s don’t have these storm counter measures which can result

in a catastrophe when the storms appear. City’s in the united states are unprepared for these

storms which will cause disasters in the future.

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Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina was one of the most damaging hurricanes that hit the United States in modern

times. The storm itself was category three when it made landfall in New Orleans, and it was

category one when it went through Florida. According to (Brittania) When it hit New Orleans, it

caused the most damage killing 1856 people causing 160 billion in damage. The main reason this

hurricane was so devastating was the flood levees in New Orleans failed and flood waters swept

through the city destroying whatever was in its path. Katrina was a perfect example of what

happens when a city is not ready for a major storm and the outcome was devastating. Avertin

disasters like this are of upmost importance and should be the main focus of cities especially

during hurricane season.

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Building better safeguards

Building better safeguards

Building safeguards from hurricanes can be costly but in the end its investment can protect cities

and their citizens. According to (Thomson engineering) Hurricane Katrina cost 160 billion in

damages when 14-billion-dollar levees could drastically drop that number and possibly stop so

many people from dying. Other safeguards city’s employ are radar towers that can predict and

detect hurricanes. These buildings give early warnings for these storms and can help people get

prepared for disaster. Building safeguards like this are the only solution for protecting people

from these storms. When a hurricane forms there is no way to just get rid of it the only thing you

can do is hunker down and wait it out which is why these countermeasures are the perfect

solution for protecting citizens from these storms.

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Conclusion

Conclusion

cities and citizens need to be better prepared for hurricanes these major storms are very

dangerous they cause death and destruction wherever they go. The better prepared these cities are

the less death and destruction these hurricanes could cause. Protections like levees can protect

from flooding and radar towers can help civil preparedness and can keep the citizens safe.
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References

References

Types of Disasters - Natural and Human-Caused Disasters | SAMHSA

Too Few U.S. Cities Have Good Hurricane Evacuation Plans (healthday.com)

Levee (nationalgeographic.org)

Tornado facts and information (nationalgeographic.com)

Too Few U.S. Cities Have Good Hurricane Evacuation Plans (healthday.com)

Hurricane Katrina - August 2005 (weather.gov)

Hurricane Katrina | Deaths, Damage, & Facts | Britannica

New Orleans Levee Improvement - Thompson Engineering