NATURAL DISASTERS IMPACT AND HOW WE COPE WITH THEM IN THE USA Greg Blackert Cre-101 Summer II Gregoryalanblackert.weebly.com

Intro A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard. ▫Flood, tornado, hurricane, landslide, or earthquake. Natural disasters lead to: ▫Financial, environmental, or human loss. This is an analysis of the impact of natural disasters in the United States, as well as a look into how we cope with them. By the end of this PowerPoint you will take a look into the cost of disasters in detail, the United States vulnerability to disasters, ways to cope, and statistics on direct impact to the market after disaster occurs.

The United States Government: Assumes continuous responsibility for disaster aid. Considered the “insurer” when it comes to natural disaster. Covers near 90% of damage from disaster’s through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Costs for natural disasters are continually climbing in terms of federal budget and GDP. Is without doubt, the most important force for help when it comes to natural disaster, as there is no other power that can financially respond in the manner that they can.

What Kind of Cost’s Are We Talking? **FEMA spends on average about $8,400,000 per year on Disaster relief assistance which is 4% of their budget. FEMA considers 2 different cost-frequency trends. ▫High-cost, low-frequency  Earthquakes  Hurricanes ▫Low-cost, high-frequency  Tornadoes  Floods *Note: cost’s range greatly depending on what disaster’s occur on that given year.

I decided to post this small graph to give an idea of how the United States market is effected and how it recovers after a natural disaster. *Natural disasters are difficult for people to deal with because of their unpredictability. Fear and uncertainty leads investors to selling investments, putting downward effects on prices. Natural disasters directly cause these dips and recoveries in the market while also causing investors to sell and hesitate when to get back into the market. Not only are the victims of the disasters drastically effected, but investors all over the United State feel the pain too.

Why Is the United States Becoming More Vulnerable to Natural Disaster? Changes in population ▫Population of the United States continues to grow  Projected increase of 50% population from is estimated. ▫Area’s prone for natural disaster are rapidly growing  For example: before Katrina, a serious hurricane hadn’t hit the southeast region in ages, therefore the southeast region rapidly grew in population making it more vulnerable for a larger disaster. Wealth density and societal influence on concentrated areas ▫Developing infrastructure resilient to common events  Routine seasonal weather in beautiful beach areas like Florida, or in the Gulf of Mexico. People fall in love with the area’s and they grow. “The timescale of human experience is short compared the recurrence interval of many natural phenomena.” -students of Geoscience 499 at Princeton University

Post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD) PTSD in adults following a disaster is an issue in itself, effecting people who are forced to relocate their families. A study of 78 women and 77 men in two communities effected by disaster were measured on psychosocial adjustment at 4 months and 16 months after disaster. Major findings occurred regarding PTSD. (See right 1-4) 1.Levels of short term stress symptoms and diagnosable PTSD were substantial in both communities. 2.Significant decrements in these levels occurred by 16- months post disaster. 3.Substantial gender differences (greater in women) were apparent in both short and long term PTSD response rates. 4.Patterns and levels of PTSD were different in both communities.

Victims Coping After Natural Disaster Hits Relocation ▫Social, environmental, and psychological stress experienced by disaster survivors. Parents reactions and family support ▫Parent’s adjustment is important in how children adjust. ▫Family support regarding separation of children from parents. Emotion reaction ▫Children and adult emotional mindset ▫PTSD risks Coping Style ▫Examining the style of coping children go through, positive and informational versus negative and blame oriented(anger) Long term coping style’s may need to be initiated for some people, depending on the natural disasters damage. It is very important to identify children who show emotional lapse from disaster, to insure they receive the correct coping technique.

Concluding This presentation was a look into natural disasters and the impact of what they do to our society. Like I explained in the beginning, you should be able to take information from this regarding how people cope with disaster, why the United States is vulnerable to disaster, what effects disaster can cause on our market, and the price that our government pay’s in the recovery process. The greatest thing I hope you took out of this presentation is a better understanding of natural disasters and a new viewpoint perhaps, on the governments position when disaster hits us. I am glad to have the opportunity to study a subject as important as natural disasters, as well as work with the American Red Cross, an organization that responds immediately when disaster strikes.

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