In some areas, disasters occur frequently, and worse, many kinds of hazards hit these zones. Arizona is rated the tenth state most at a risk to disasters in the US according to Huddleston (2014, June). The Yuma County and the City of Yuma are hit time to time by disasters. This area is cited as one the highest probability disaster areas in the state (FEMA, 2012). This disaster champion experiences all types of hazards as stated in FEMA (2012). Hazards categorization, the magnitude of disasters’ damage and the consequences, a case study of a Presidential Disaster Declaration and the lessons learned from all the processes, the generalization of some lessons learned from this community to other communities with similar demographics and hazards …show more content…
The most frequent meteorological hazards in the City of Yuma are hurricanes, tropical storms, windstorms, and drought. According to FEMA (2012) the most memorable hurricanes are Hurricane Kathleen in 1976 and Hurricane Nora in 1997 for the damages and the casualties they occasioned. Windstorms occur many times each year said FEMA (2012). Drought is also present each year in this area. The same source stated that other tropical storms are intermittent in the city and in the county.
1.2 Hydrological Hazards Hydrological hazards are caused by heavy rains and abnormal functioning of water systems. Flood is the most event of concern in the US (Lindell, Prater, and Perry, 2007). Flood is recorded as being the most recurrent hydrological hazard in the City of Yuma. It occurs most of the time with severe consequences for people and properties. Those which engendered some of the biggest casualties and damages are the flooding of Gila and Colorado Rivers respectively in 1983 and 1993 (FEMA, 2012). As it can be seen, flood is a serious calamity in the area.
1.3 Geophysical …show more content…
This disaster required the US President to declare a major disaster. Yuma was better prepared than other counties, and casualties and damages to properties were fewer than elsewhere in the state. The event warning, evacuation, and emergency notification were undertaken timely with the help of the American Red Cross, city officials, the LEMA, and many others (Doyle, 2014). The operations were well coordinated and it seemed that neither economic nor demographic factors have a role in response problems because no problem was apparent. It is also difficult to perceive myths.
4 Lessons Learned The important lesson learned from disaster management in Yuma is that the city became FEMA Project Impact Program’s member since 1999 for its successes in hazards mitigation actions (FEMA, 2012). This award recompenses communities which efforts are efficient and make them more resilient to disasters. Yuma is one of these few selected members. Disaster mitigation is a dynamic process which pays off if it is well planned and is revised continuously by integrating the lessons learned from past