week 20- overall hazard in cuba

Cuba's most serious hazard and prevention


If I was contracted to build a Home in Cuba and was responsible to fix natural hazard problems that the country faces immediately I would consider the problems of Hurricanes and flash floods. Water vapor is the fuel for the hurricanes because it releases the latent heat of condensation when it condenses to form clouds and rain, warming the surrounding air.The heat released in this way in tropical thunderstorms is carried away by wind shear, which blows to the top off the thunderstorms;when there is little wind shear, this heat can build up, causing low pressure to form. The low pressure causes wind to begin to spiral inward toward the center of the low. 

The effects of hurricanes can be grouped into two: weather and economic. A natural phenomenon like hurricanes, floods and fires, there is extensive damage to property. Homes and other infrastructures are wiped away and may take many years to get things together again. In many cases, there are fatalities and entire communities are severely affected. Hurricanes bring about storm surges and flash floods. The powerful spiral wind action carries water a couple of feet high and lashes it ashore. This can destroy structures and items very close to the shore. I'm addressing Hurricanes and flash floods as the main priorities as there are over 82 documented documented since the 40's and is not reoccurring in one isolated are but effects all of Cuba's country as it hits north,south ,east and, west of Cuba.

Preparedness and prevention are strong qualities that help this small country face severe natural hazards that have been in place since Fidel's regime. They're evident in the Caribbean island's medical sector, educational system, and environmental policies. The Cuban government gives seven days warning, during which local communities are given ample opportunity to prepare for the worst. I would continue the Cuban disaster warning processes based on constant drilling,” which takes place under the rubric of “risk-reduction” in every province, city, town and village. Cuba has these constant drills that are coupled with an integrated response from local fire departments, health, transportation and other vital public services. 

I would include free shelter in safer locations,and make sure police go door to door to help spread awareness and help aid those in need. Above all, I would tremendously emphasis on educating the population, as Cuba already does to keep communities and families, particularly the most vulnerable, safe. Personally, I would build my home in Pico Turquino as it is the highest point in Cuba, and  It is located in the southeast part of the island. By having my home around the highest point, my home would not be as damaged as it would be closer to a shore or in a valley.Hopefully this will help bring you insight on my country and the great way it educates their people.

work cited:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pico_Turquino

http://tcdc2.undp.org/GSSDAcademy/SIE/Docs/Vol12/2Cuba.pdf

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

Extreme weather- country of our choice

In this week of Online Geology class, we are allowed to explore any country in the world's extreme weather. The country I Chose to explore is Australia. To explore the country, we first need to discuss what is extreme weather. Extreme weather is when a weather event is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern. This may take place over one day or a period of time.Examples of extreme weather are: Drought - caused by a lack of rain, flash floods - caused by too much rain in a short period of time, strong winds and storms, an extreme cold spell, and extreme heat wave. A factor causing extreme weather is human created climate change of global warming.Changes in extreme weather and climate events, such as heat waves and droughts, are the primary way that most people experience climate change. Human-induced climate change has already increased the number and strength of some of these extreme events. Australia has had all manner of extreme weather events in 2017. Severe heat at both the start and end of the year. Both Sydney and Brisbane experienced their hottest summers on record, while parts of inland New South Wales and Queensland endured extended periods of very high temperatures.An interesting result i found from extreme weather and extreme heat in Australia: 99% of baby green sea turtles, a species whose sex is determined by temperature, were found to be female. Another result of extreme heat is warming up the climate system is also being felt in several ways. The bushfires season starts earlier than it used to, and Australia has already experienced wild blazes this season. Australia's winter in 2017 - which runs from June to August - was the hottest ever recorded with the Bureau of Meteorology attributing it to a "long-term warming trend" mostly caused by climate change.Also, Rainfall is down for both the south-east and south-west of the country in the cooler months months between April and October. which are also their agriculture months, so food quantity has also been a factor hit by the extreme weather from climate change. Whether has been so bad that Australia had to warn people to stay indoors as a dangerous heatwaves hit, with temperatures so high that the asphalt on some roads has been melting.
As the understanding of links between climate change and its impacts becomes stronger, the pressure from civil society on governments and institutions to act is needed, as the only way we can survive extreme weather is to change .
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citations:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/weather_climate/extreme_weather_rev1.shtml
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jan/05/record-breaking-extreme-weather-in-australia-in-2016-devastates-ecosystems

WEEK 8- MASS WASTING IN CUBA

 

Hello to all!

This week in my Geology post I will be sharing on how Mass wasting effects Cuba. To begin, Mass wasting, also known as slope movement,, also known as slope movement or mass movement, is the geomorphic process by which soil, sand, and rock move down slope typically as a mass, largely under the force of gravity, but frequently affected by water and water content as in submarine environments and mud flows. Four examples of Mass wasting are: falls (rock fall and rock avalanche),
slides (rock slide and slump), and flows (rock avalanche, debris flow, earth flow, and creep).  I found  factors that influence mass wasting are; slope: gravity provides the energy to move the materials,
Water: rainwater acts as a lubricant to weathered materials, Rock structure: joints dipping downslope usually assists landslides, rockfalls, rockslide, rock creep,etc. Vegetation:lack of vegetation cover to hold the loose particle and Vibrations. Through online research I found that Cuba experiences Landslides due to exposure of water( rain/hurricanes). Landslides cause a considerable amount of damage in the mountainous regions of Cuba, which cover about 25% of the territory. Until now, only a limited amount of research has been carried out in the field of landslide risk assessment in the country. I didn't find specific results on what Cuba does to prevent Mass wasting, however, I did find that Cuba has a "developed an integrated, countrywide civil defense system that has succeeded in preventing widespread loss of life from natural disasters." A prevention system that involves the entire country, "from the highest spheres of government to the most isolated rural community, makes Cuba one of the best-prepared countries in the world when it comes to preventing deaths and mitigating risks in case of disasters." Two-day community drills begin to be carried out a few weeks before the start of the Jun. 1-Nov. 30 Atlantic hurricane season, under the name Meteoro. The activities included rehearsals by people living in high-risk areas, joint exercises by the first responder and disaster recovery agencies, and actions aimed at reducing the vulnerabilities identified in each area."Studies carried out in Cuba in the early 2000s found that over two million of the country’s 11.2 million people are vulnerable to disasters such as flooding, the rupture or overflow of dams, collapsed housing, or landslides"'. This information is systematically updated by the risk reduction management centers, which evaluate risks of disasters at a national level. At the same time, the early warning system monitors the natural and technological variables that can turn into risks for the population and the economy. For being such a small country that is labeled "under developed", Cuba seems advanced and empathetic in protecting the lives of their people.

http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/05/community-drills-part-of-cubas-top-notch-disaster-response-system/
Cuba National Landslide Risk Map (PDF Download Available). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311457066_Cuba_National_Landslide_Risk_Map [accessed Mar 16 2018].

https://reliefweb.int/report/cuba/prevention-and-community-engagement-keys-disaster-management-cash-strapped-cuba

WEEK FIVE- VOLCANIC ACTIVITY IN NEAR BY COUNTRY

This week in our geology class, we learned and are discussing how volcanic activity effects our country. My chosen country of Cuba has been hard to find if it has a volcano or not. I have run into confusion with many sites posting that Sierra Maestra is the tallest point when I search for volcanoes but it hasn't been clear if that if it is a volcano or mountain, so, I will be sharing information on a near by country of Costa rica and how volcanoes play a hazard to that country.Costa Rica has many volcanoes. Costa Rica's tallest volcano is Volcano Irazu however, Volcano Poas remains one of  the most active although the last eruption was back a century ago. Still today, people can see gesyers exploding into the air. Due to Costa Rica having several volcanoes and experiencing volcanic eruption, this has led to Costa Rica to heavily prepare and alert it's citizens through: sending out alerts through cell phone and televisions. They have also created jobs for scientists to monitor the countries volcanic activity. 


citations: https://www.arenal.net/volcanoes-costa-rica

Week 3-11:20pm

Earthquakes

This week in geology class we had to research how our country has been effected by earthquakes,how it happens, and information on how to be prepared.In order for us to talk about earthquake history it's important to share how earthquakes form. As stated in our textbook, Earthquakes occur along the plate where the earths outer layer crust known as the fault. A fault is a semi-planar fracture system where rocks have been moved to the other side (Keller 55). 

The earth's movement of tectonic plates results in the formation and destruction of ocean basins and uplifts mountains, and the process is active along the boundaries of the phosphoric plates where faulting occurs (Keller 54). As stated,"a fault rupture occurs such as rocks breaking apart suddenly and violently. It releases a stored elastic strain energy in the form of seismic waves which produces a strong motion that passes through the ground under our feet that we perceive as a earthquake which cracks the ground and damages buildings and others structures." (Keller 59). As stated by the U.S. Geological Survey,  "seismicity refers to the geographic and historical distribution of earthquakes."  Cuba is located in an area with several active fault systems which produce on average about 2000 seismic events each year.Although Cuba has many seismic events most go unnoticed.Although most are small events, Cuba has experienced destructive and life-threatening earthquakes that have had a magnitude of 7.0 or above. Seismic activity in Cuba emanates from the Oriente fault zone, located in the Bartlett-Cayman fault system which runs along the south-eastern coast of Cuba and marks the tectonic boundary between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate.In Cuba, there are over 10 active faults and much Data that predicts in the near future that Cuba will experience a 7.0 magnitude earthquake.For the people of Cuba, as they have dealt with many earthquakes before they have learned the best way to face a challenge is to be prepared and within the last decade have intensified Earthquake education, population awareness through radio, and improved infrastructure to withstand such magnitudes. 

 
work cited:
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/glossary/?term=seismicity)
KELLER, EDWARD A.. DEVECCHIO, DUANE E. NATURAL HAZARDS: earths processes as hazards, disasters, and catastrophes (fourth edition). ROUTLEDGE, 2016
ww.radiorebelde.cu/english/news/cuba-intensifies-people-s-education-on-earthquakes-20100325/

https://earthquaketrack.com/p/cuba/recent

Week 2 Blog- Earth Catastrophes: PLATES

In Geology class, This week we explored in depth of Plates and how they effect our environment. Plate tectonics are responsible for disasters like earthquakes and volcanoes. Tectonics are known for geological processes/natural hazards that cause havoc for the outer part of the earth, known as the Lithosphere. The lithospheric plates/tectonic plates move due to the bottom layer (Asthenosphere) being extremely hot and it's liquid consistency allows for the plates to move.
In Cuba, The Mao below shows how Cuba resides in the North American Plate and is close to the Caribbean Plate.

Cuba is lucky enough to not have any volcanoes however, Earthquake activity is the potential harm if you live in Cuba. As stated in our class week 2 summary there is a correlation between plate boundaries and earthquakes /volcanoes. From looking at the NOAA Map, you can infer that Cuba is close but far enough to a boundary that it doesn't have volcanoes only Earthquakes and that is what has saved Cuba from witnessing a volcanic eruption natural disaster. 



Citations: https://www.britannica.com/science/asthenosphere 

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/lithosphere?s=t

Geo 9- First blog post!

Disasters vs Catastrophes 

This semester, I will be doing research on the Geology of Cuba, but before I do research it's important to talk about three natural hazards that can effect everyone. To begin, A Hazard is an event that is a threat to human life and property. A Disaster is a hazard event that occurs over a limited time. A catastrophe is a massive disaster that takes a lot of money and time to recover.