...The film, “Hurricane on the Bayou,” presents the environmental impact of the wetlands in New Orleans, and events that contributed to the catastrophic effect of Hurricane Katrina. Moreover, the film describes the aftermath effects and possible considerations that may help prevent future catastrophes. The modernization and infrastructure of New Orleans weakened the surrounding ecosystem and removed any natural resilience against hurricanes. Wetlands act as a natural buffer that reduces the intensity of a hurricane. For every one mile of wetland, there is a reduction in hurricane height by one foot. Although minor, it mitigates a portion of the damage caused by hurricanes. Prior to any society, New Orleans had a wetland that spanned the size of Delaware. Through engineering design and urbanization, the wetlands slowly erode away over the course of several decades. For example, levies were installed to prevent the constant floods that the towns would undergo. Consequently, the installation of these levies caused the wetland grass to dry and soil to falter. Thus, it decreased the amount of wetlands available. After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and demolished anything in its path including the levies, the city started to rebuild itself. It is important for any engineer to consider the ecological impact implementing a system or design. New engineering designs and systems that consider the harmful effects on the environment not only help rebuild the city, but also start to...
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...With the onset of Hurricane Harvey, studies have explored the reasons for which people may refuse to evacuate, in spite of brutal and perilous weather conditions. Research points to various reasons that can make people hesitant to evacuation, from the inability to leave pets or their property behind, failure to acknowledge the gravity of the situation, disregard for voluntary orders, or disabling physical conditions. Although the general public may be predisposed to exemplify disdain for those who resist to leave, the article discusses the financial aspect that can manifest itself as a pivotal motive in one’s decision to evacuate. Others also approach such situations differently, feeling compelled to stay due to their commitment to care for...
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...A plethora of natural disasters have occurred in the past twenty years, but very few compare to the social and economic impact Hurricane Katrina had on the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina formed on August 23, 2005 over the Gulf of Mexico and strengthened to a category five hurricane. The places that were affected by this hurricane ranged from the Bahamas, Louisiana, Alabama, and other parts of the southeastern region of North America. The estimated count of fatalities was about 1,800 and more than seventy percent of the fatalities occurred in Louisiana. Prior to landfall, the hurricane had decreased to a category three hurricane, which caused some people to underestimate the strength and effect that the hurricane could inflict. More specifically, Hurricane Katrina reached high winds of up to 175 miles per hour and moved cars and boats from the coast about seven to ten miles inland. As most cities and states caught wind of the news from the National Weather Services, several mandatory evacuation protocols were placed into effect for the first time ever. Hurricane Katrina affected the United States politically, economically, and socially due to the ill advised decision making and faults within local...
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...When the Levees Broke, the lock holding back the truth about racism in America broke and left many questioning their status: human or animal. The four-part documentary captures the struggles of mostly black citizens in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina hit. One of the most noticeable differences between Katrina’s black and white victims is that the white citizens were able to escape or ended up better off than their black counterparts in general. For example, a white woman and a white boy with his family were filmed having a trailer given to them by Fema. None of the black citizens of New Orleans were shown to live in a trailer or have anything close to it. The main question that should be asked here is “Why did every black citizen questioned...
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...judgments. We also have to include appropriate probability concepts that will help limit uncertainty in certain decisions. This paper will disclose the decision to reside in the tri-state area with the probability of destructive hurricanes occurring. Next this paper will reveal concepts and the outcome from the statistical analysis that was used to determine the final decision and, the tradeoffs between accuracy and precision required by various probability concepts. As a final point, this paper will demonstrate the effects the decision had on the data provided and the decision that was ultimately made. Probability Concepts and Application Hurricane Sandy hit Atlantic City, New Jersey on October 29, 2012. A 900-mile wide storm, Sandy affected the entire northeastern United States with devastating winds, rain and floods. New Jersey and New York suffered the worst from the super storm leaving thousands of people without power for days. People living in this area were not prepared or expected the storm to devastate the area as it did leaving homes and personal belongings destroyed. So, what is the probability of New Jersey and New York becoming destroyed again by treacherous hurricanes such as Sandy? First we need to look at how often hurricanes of this nature occur in the tri-state area and the variables that contribute to them. According to "Think Progress" (2012), “A strong ridge of high pressure parked itself over Greenland beginning on October...
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...The initial Contraflow Plan was first tested during Hurricane Ivan in 2004; at the time, however, the system was largely considered to be a failure of communication and control (Kiefer and Montjoy 2006). Following that evacuation process, the Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, ordered the DOTD to form a new task force in an effort to revise the existing Contraflow Plan. Over the course of the next year, the state police force, the DOTD, the American Red Cross, and the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness developed a new traffic plan for the evacuation of New Orleans. This improved plan recommended a phased evacuation process that emphasized greater coordination between parishes, and additionally funded the creation of several new entrance ramps in order to assist the...
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...Jason Coleman 06-11-12 New Orleans Recommendation Paper The Case For, or Against, New Orleans Management Decision Models B6025 Dr. Usha Dasari We will look at many factors in our case for rebuilding or not rebuilding New Orleans. This recommendation will be reviewed by state and local governments for their decision. We will perform a Cost-Benefit Analysis which will represent the residents of New Orleans, the residents of the surrounding floods plains, the Mayor of New Orleans, and the federal government represented by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and the taxpayers. We will look at scenario models, risk management, and decision trees to support our decisions and analysis. This natural disaster took an enormous toll on the residents of New Orleans. Over 1200 lives were lost and countless injuries were suffered. The loss of revenue from the shutdown of businesses, loss of homes and possessions of residents caused much pain and human suffering. We will conclude with an executive summary which will summarize our decision for or against rebuilding of New Orleans. Prior to the hurricane New Orleans was a tourism magnet. The city offered many restaurants, festivals, and great weather. These positives made tourism a thriving market. Other boons for the economy of New Orleans were the mining, transportation, and warehousing along its waterways. More products came through this port than any other port in the world. There are many colleges in the area than add...
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...Atlantic Basin Statistical Analysis of the Number of Hurricanes from 1938-2013 Jeremy Erwin 6-25-2014 Word Count: 470 For this discussion I decided to research tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and determine how many hurricanes have developed from 1938 to 2013. According to the Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) article found here , there have been a total of 222 storms since 1938 that were strong enough to be categorized as hurricanes. From the population of hurricanes I chose a sample of 76 years to study. This does not represent the population of hurricanes that formed on the planet during those 76 years, only those that occurred in the Atlantic Basin. Also, many storms were missed prior to aircraft reconnaissance and satellite imagery. Therefore, the only reliable information of a complete population of hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin, exist from 1966-2013. The number of hurricanes counted is a discrete random variable because each storm is counted only once. There was some limitation with the random variable, but it was due to the inability to collect a complete data set. Table 1: Sorted Summary Statistics Mean-2σ 0.8 Minimum 2.0 Q1 4.0 Mode 4.0 Median 6.0 Mean () 6.1 Q3 8.0 Mean+2σ 11.3 Maximum 15.0 After analyzing the tropical cyclone data I determined the mean, mode, and median in order to identify the various measures of center. As shown in Table 1, the most frequent number of hurricanes per year was 4 and is defined...
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...gate, Janie’s hair, the mule, and the hurricane. In this analysis, I will be choosing the horizon and the hurricane that are the two most important symbols in the novel. Both of these symbols represent something that is more than the book itself and have a great connection with the reader’s thoughts. The horizon represents the possibility of what Janie’s life could be like in the future. The hurricane represents the power of nature and what it can cause in the character’s life. Overall, the hurricane and the horizon are two of the best symbols in Their Eyes Were Watching God over all of the other symbols. To begin with, the horizon is one of the first symbols that the readers are introduced to in the novel. Zora Neale Hurston...
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...The primary effects of hurricanes are that they are one of the most destructive natural hazards, both in terms of frequency and death toll. They pose a major threat to coastal areas, related to the storm surge threat. They are a multiple hazard, since loss of life and property can be a result of one of several factors; Heavy rain, High wind velocity, Storm surge, as a result of the above and low central pressure they also include secondary effects, Flooding, landslides, and related damage. Impacts are a function of when and where the hurricane hits. Storm Surges a storm surge is a large dome of water, 50-100miles wide, which sweeps across the coastline near where the hurricane makes landfall. It is water pushed towards the shore by the force of the winds swirling around the storm, and the drop in pressure (260mm sea level rise for a 30mb fall in pressure) The surge combines with the normal tide to create a storm tide, and wind waves are then superimposed upon this. It can be more than 15ft deep. Most of the US Atlantic and Gulf coasts lie less than 10ft above sea level; therefore at risk. The major danger is from flooding, particularly when coinciding with natural high tides. This causes great potential for loss of life. They not only damage structures, but the debris which they carry is dangerous too. External debris can become deadly missiles in the wind force. Damage to tall objects, esp. power lines, telephone cables can cause disruption. High rise buildings are at risk from...
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...Effect of hurricane katrina on insurance industry stock prices Abstract This study tests the efficient market theory by measuring the effects of Hurricane Katrina, one of the most deadly and destructive natural disasters to occur in the United States, on stock prices in insurance industry. It hypothesizes that insurance providers who offer services in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina should incur a loss in the market-price of their stock following the natural disaster. This event study analyzed fifteen publicly-traded major insurance providers and the risk-adjusted rate of return on their stock before and after the date of dissipation of the hurricane, observed as August 30th, 2005. Results show stock returns, although dropping slightly after Hurricane Katrina, not having any measurable negative effect as a result of the storm. These results support the efficient market theory, as the insurance industry did not have any adverse effect from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, allowing for no opportunity for abnormal return or avoidance of a loss. Appropriate statistical tests for significance conducted in this study show that Hurricane Katrina had no significant impact on the risk adjusted rate of return on selected insurance industry stock prices over the event study period. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Natural disasters have an opportunity to affect the stock market, but how soon subsequently to such events does the market react? Is it possible to avoid...
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...WTI-Brent Spread An Analysis of Factors That Influence Oil Price Differentials Yiming Huang Dongming Li Hanzheng Li Shihui Qian Fordham University Financial Econometrics I December 17, 2015 WTI-BRENT SPREAD 2 Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... 3 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 3 2 Factors ................................................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Dependent Variable ....................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Independent Variable .................................................................................................................... 5 2.2.1 Financial market variables ........................................................................................ 5 2.2.2 Economic Variables .................................................................................................. 7 2.2.3 Underlying Assets Variables..................................................................................... 7 2.2.4 Weather Variable .....................................................
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...As hurricane season begins this week, experts are still trying to count the number of deaths caused by last year’s devastating Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. The latest estimate: roughly 4,600, many of them from delayed medical care. Residents of Puerto Rico died at a significantly higher rate during the three months following the hurricane than they did in the previous year, according to the results of a new study by a group of independent researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and other institutions. The researchers say their estimate, published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, remains imprecise, with more definitive studies still to come. But the findings, which used methods that have not been previously...
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...Hurricanes, A Natural Disaster! COM/215 May 3, 2011 Hurricanes, A Natural Disaster! According to Dictionary.com (2011) a hurricane is “A storm with a violent wind, in particular a tropical cyclone…a wind of force 12 on the Beaufort scale (equal to or exceeding 64 knots or 74mph). As I read through the National Hurricane Center website by NOAA, our National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration it shares with us what a hurricane is, and how it reaches hurricane status. A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone, which is generic term for a low pressure system that generally forms in the tropics. The cyclone is accompanied by thunderstorms and, the Northern Hemisphere, a counterclockwise circulation of winds near the earth’s surface. Much like the trim levels of a vehicle, Hurricanes have a similar ranking. Starting off with a system of clouds, thunderstorms, and maximum wind speeds of 38 mph, the system becomes organized and categorized as a Tropical Depression. A step above that brings you into the category of a Tropical Storm where you will find: stronger winds speeds from 39 mph to a max of 73 mph, stronger thunderstorms, and a defined surface with an eye. Finally starting at 74 mph the storm becomes classified as a Category I Hurricane. Once the system reaches its Hurricane status, there are five categories. |Category |Wind Speeds (from xxx mph up to xxx mph) | ...
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...disaster actually happens (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012). The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate or highlights some key role the nurse may played in the emergency preparedness and response to hurricane disaster in within a community during or the before the actual disaster. THE ROLE OF THE NURSE' DURING HURRICANE DISASTER Hurricanes are a large tropical storms that comes with heavy rains. Hurricanes contains winds that may be in excess of 74 miles per hour and large areas of rainfall, creating flooding. In addition, hurricanes have the potential to create large and dangerous tornadoes (http://www.severeweather.com/hurricanes). The ocean-water temperature has to be above 79-degree for hurricane to developed. Therefore, hurricanes happened in late summer and early fall. Meteorologist used the term tropical storms when the winds are under 74 miles per hour and hurricanes when it rises above 74 miles hour. A hurricanes can last up to 2-weeks causes damages and in most causes it may be deadly. Florida and Texas rank the highest states in the United States and both states have seen more damages as the result of the hurricanes disaster. As a nurse living in the state of Texas and in the city of Houston, near the gulf coast, it very important to be knowledgeable about hurricanes and its effect on the community and the state as a whole (O'Boyle & Roberton, 2006). Who in Texas will...
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