Challneges of specific hazards

What makes a tropical storm really hard to deal with?

Spatial extent of it

Huge area affected

Need a variety of response over many locations

Example of spatial extent making a TRS response hard

Katrina destroyed upwards of 150 miles along the coastline

Another specific challenge of TRS

Duration of continued impacts

Hurricane Katrina duration

Hurricane continued over the 150 mile stretch for 4 days!

Specific risk of wildfires

Respiratory risk

People cannot breathe = kills really fast

People cannot see through smoke or ash to drive so can’t evacuate

Paradise wildfire vs smoke and ash

13 ‘burnovers’ burnt out cars that blocked paths out of paradise

Specific challenge of wildfire

Speed of onset

Fire can travel at 60 football fields a minute

Speed of onset in paradise

95% of town lost in 2 hours

Specific challenge of Earthquake

They cannot be predicted

They catch people by surprise

People are unaware of when it will happen

Time that EQ hit in Japan?

2:46 pm local time

People commuting / leaving schools

Would have been worse if people in bed = building collapse

Second specific challenge of EQs

Aftershocks

Can be up to the same magnitude of the initial events

Usually hours to days after

Aftershocks in Haiti

Haiti experience 32 magnitude aftershock in first 9 hours

Risk further collapse and damage and inhibited emergency response

8 days after = magnitude 6 aftershock