Natural disasters Persuasive Essay
December 28th 1908 barely three days after Christmas, the Messing earthquake would rock and forever change Italy. The earthquake registered a 7. 2 on the Richter scale. This by far has been one of the deadliest earthquakes In Europe, and for obvious reasons Is recorded as one of the most destructive. Given Italy’s history of earthquakes, it’s said to be one of the most prone areas In Europe. During that last 2,000 years, more than 400 destructive earthquakes have been documented in Italy and seismic activity varies considerably across the country due o the complex tectonics of the & Lead’s). The fact that Italy sits on top of the plate boundary off the African Continental plate, leaves those to believe this was a true cause of the devastating earthquake. The plate Italy is sitting on is actually to this day continuing to push against the ocean floor and causing vertical displacement, in return causing earthquakes.
The current population of Messing is somewhere around 242,000. At the time of the devastating earthquake the population was around 180,000. The earthquake claimed the lives of over 123,000 people that day and left over 59,000 homeless. A estimation of population for 2050 would be In the area of 279,000. The fact that after the earthquake hit and last for a duration of about seconds, a 12 meter tsunami struck the nearby coastlines which added to the destruction already experienced by Messing. The amount of debris and rubble left behind almost totally engulfed the area.
There was no power or running water which as a result required evacuation processes to start. The fact that much of the city was unable to survive in these conditions lead to relief efforts from other countries. Russian sailors stepped in and ultimately some cost their lives due to the aftershocks which buried them amongst the rubble. The British sent two battleships and five cruisers along with a destroyer to the site. The US also was able to step In an support humanitarian efforts by bring in food off the Navy ships, and by making make shift hospitals for the Injured.
Many residents at this point didn’t have to means or funds to pay for all the major repairs needed, so they turned to the government to help. The ending result for Messing was that the ability to bounce back from such a terrible tragedy was not easy when the economy along with uninsured properties were at risk. As a consequence, very few homes and businesses had sufficient enough funds to cover the loss from the earthquake. This definitely but a strain on the rebuilding process for Messing. It was an estimated 60 million Euro for repair cost and rebuilding of Messing, however the true amount is still unknown.
With little funding to be had, it was only possible at the time for the government to rebuild a much smaller city. The city as we know it today has fully recovered, but will forever be tragically impacted by the lasting effects. In the aftermath, and In the following year to come, Messing took recitation to reconstruction and built architecture that would withstand earthquakes of various magnitudes. During this lengthy process of rebuilding, many of the survivors were taken to various parts of Italy until the building process was cargo ship Florida, which were brought into the New York Harbor to start a new life.
In the year of 1887 a disastrous flood of the Yellow River in China became one of the world most devastating natural disasters. “Originating at the Banyan Hard Mountains in Western China, the famous Yellow River runs through several provinces before pouring into the Boohoo Sea”(The). The Yellow River is very prone to flooding based on the fact the river itself is elevated and runs between dyke’s above the broad plains around it. The flooding that occurred in September of 1887 was so demoralizing and killed more than an estimated 900,000 people. Thus making it one of the world’s most recorded deadliest natural disasters to date.
Much of the flooding that occurred in the 1887 floods, was said to be record spring rains and the melting of snow that allowed the river to topple of the 60 foot levees that had been set in place to help this type of disaster from happening. The heavy water flowing eventually eroded the levees and allowed for the mile wide river to then pour out in the floodplain areas. This barrage is what resulted in over 900,000 deaths. It was also said that the in ability for crops to grow due to flooding also played a huge role to many of these deaths as well. Since there is no international unit which to measure a flood’s strength it is usually classified by the extent of the damage done, depth of water left and number of casualties”(Worlds Worst Disaster). The city hardest hit by the flood was said to be the Squeezing in Henna province. Due to the waters of the Yellow River potentially breaking through the dyke’s in Handouts which flowed into Squeezing, the flood water spread very quickly throughout Northern China at an estimated 50,000 square mile area.
Much of this area was said to be that of swamping agricultural settlements and commercial centers. The population in 1887 was estimated to be a little over 3 million. Today’s population is that of 8 million. The projected population for 2050 is said to be around 11 million. With the flood claiming so many lives it is also to be known that there causes were contributing factors as well. Pandemics and lack of basic needs for survival was also a major factor to the death toll. China has since taken measure to secure the river in hopes that the floods never happen again.
By this the government have built three damns that control the river and in return is also a source of hydroelectricity for the cities. On the afternoon of November 13th, 1985 the Volcano Nevada del Uric erupted in the city of Rammer, Columbia. The Volcanic eruption itself caused a massive mudflow that would practically whippet the entire city. When the Volcano became active and molten lava began to melt the snow and ice a chain reaction started to take place. This formed showers of ash in the air.
This specific volcano is located some 5,389 meters above sea level, which puts it to be one of the tallest in Columbia. “All of these mountains are ice-capped extraneousness and are vulnerable to seismic activity due to lying at the intersection of four fault lines”(Suite). There were several precursors noticed before the eruption in 1985. Pumice fragments were seen at the beginning of the onset of eruption along with the ash. By several hours later the town had started an evacuation and the first signs of the molten rock had begun.
When the Lars finally hit the city that dreadful night, the whole town was asleep. This resulted in over 23,000 deaths. The mudflow was rushing down at speeds of 30 help predict their eruptions. Special tools and equipment used are that of seismographs, tilt meters, and geometers and correlation spectrometers. All these tools are able to help find small earthquakes and possible swelling of volcanoes. The population of Rammer during this time was 27,300 which meant that less than one- .NET of the population survived. The population today is zero, as the town never rebuilt.
The town today is considered a cemetery for all the people buried among the mud. As the town of Rammer never rebuilt, the efforts taken at the time of the disaster by the government and by the United Nations were of great help. Many people and family of the deceased were extremely upset at the government as the evacuation was not taken seriously. As relief efforts took place a great deal was to be held off till daylight in order to look for the live under buried rubble and mud. Relief efforts eased for well over three months lingering into February of 1986.
Much of the deaths were blamed on the government for the cancellation of the evacuation, poor planning, human error and simple a lack of experience. ” In fact, $1 billion of the Colombian Gross National Product was used for the recovery”. Though the city of Rammer was a good 74 kilometers away from the volcano Nevada del Uric, it only took a mere two and half hours before the city was completely covered. Since this deadly eruption , the volcano has had very little volcanic activity, however, the lasting effects f Nevada del Uric can still be seen today.
