Environmental Health Impacts: The Basics
Upon exposure, I can become a threat to people, sometimes resulting in a disaster. Specifics of me are characterized by its location, intensity, magnitude, frequency, and probability.
What is a hazard?
When an incident overwhelms local capacities and is deemed a disaster, the local government may need to call upon the state for additional resources. If it is big enough, the state may need to request federal assistance from FEMA and POTUS. I am the policy designed to make this process orderly and systematic in order to provide disaster assistance.
What is the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (aka The Stafford Act)?
I represent the dates of the Atlantic Hurricane Season?
What is June 1 – November 30?
The City of New Orleans’ mass evacuation plan - the City Assisted Evacuation - serves to ensure all residents are evacuated and safe from a hurricane’s impact. Following the timeline is critical to ensure as smooth of an operation as possible. I represent a mechanism which helps improve roadway congestion and is controlled by the State Police. Once I am enacted, all lanes of traffic will flow in one direction.
What is contraflow?
Easy one - I represent the total rainfall - an alarming amount - that fell over Texas and Houston during the 2017 Hurricane Harvey disaster.
What is 50-60"?
I can be calculated by multiplying the threat (hazard) by vulnerability and consequences.
What is risk?
Engaged partnership, one of the main themes of the National Response Framework, created these, which are described as functional areas of the homeland security enterprise. They form organizational structures to enhance the response’s capacity to provide support,resources, and services that are needed for response and recovery such as saving human lives and restoring critical infrastructure.
What are Emergency Support Functions or ESFs??
I help categorize hurricanes based on the hurricane’s max sustained wind speed and can help estimate potential property damage. My categories extend from Category 1 to 5 ratings that do not take into account hazards such as storm surge, rainfall flooding, or tornadoes.
What is the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale?
I represent the size of the storm - generally speaking - which would force New Orleans to consider a mandatory evacuation if my Cone of Uncertainty included the Nola area.
What are Category 3 hurricanes?
I represent the total pumping capacity for New Orleans rainfall events. Being mindful of me can help prioritize other mitigation strategies.
What is 1" of rain for the first hour of rainfall; 0.5" of rain for each subsequent hour of rainfall.
I am a situation or event, which overwhelms local capacity, necessitating a request to national or international level for external assistance.
What is a disaster?
The National Preparedness Goal, written under Presidential Policy Directive 8, established these five core mission areas against threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk, such as severe weather events, infectious disease outbreaks, and acts of terrorism. Now, each core mission area has their own framework (e.g. National Response Framework).
What are prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery?
I am part of the output from a model that shows the potential trajectory of the eye of an incoming hurricane. Advances in technology and modeling have enhanced the accuracy of my forecasts by 40%.
What is the Cone of Uncertainty?
As discussed in class and on several videos, I am a designated, well-equipped physical location, which is home to major activities during incidents or planned events to create a "common operating picture" (e.g., maintain situational awareness of an incident or planned event by gathering, collating, analyzing/synthesizing, and disseminating information).
What is an Emergency Operations Center?
By pumping out all of the rainfall, the City cannot replenish the ground soil and reenergize it to the levels it should (or the soil needs). As a result, in the climate conditions we face here, I tend to create a problem. Pumping water out prevents excessive flooding, but unfortunately causes me.
What is "subsidence?"
The environmental effects of / impacts to me are causing record rainfall in some areas, drought conditions, rapid intensification of hurricanes, rising sea levels, and stronger winds.
What is climate change?
Hurricane Katrina was a major disaster that highlighted many problems in disaster response, such as failures with interoperable communication systems, mass evacuation plans, and support for incident management. I am the policy enacted after this disaster focusing on improving all of these challenges.
What is the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act?
In simple terms, I help create a hostile environment for developing intense tropical storms. I am mostly helpful for the Gulf during hurricane season, but treacherous for the Pacific
What is the El Niño Effect?
I am a forecasting model used to estimate hurricane storm surge heights. I utilize past and hypothetical hurricanes and a variety of atmospheric and weather indicators. I have been divided across the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coastlines into 32 regions.
What is the Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH) model? (SLOSH basins)
I represent areas contaminated by hazardous waste, which pose a significant risk to human health, and have been placed on the National Priorities List for clean-up. There are 327 of these in areas vulnerable to the rise of sea levels and flooding, increasingly dangerous during hurricane seasons.
What are Superfund sites?
As early as 24 hours after a hurricane with major flooding, I begin to pose a serious health threat to humans. When handling me, it is essential to wear proper PPE around me, control moisture indoors, and clean hard surfaces with effective products (e.g., bleach solution). I really enjoy feeding on many things homes are made of.
What is black mold?
As written in quotes, I represent the concept underlying attempts to become: “A secure and resilient nation with the capabilities required across the whole community to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from the threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk."
What is the National Preparedness Goal?
I am a phenomenon that occurs when a hurricane increases wind speed at least 35mph in 24 hours
What is rapid intensification?
Hurricane Katrina showed critical shortcomings across an array of emergency planning and preparedness. One of the shortcomings included a lack of situational awareness for the residents in the city who have medical and functional needs and thus may require additional aid (but not a hospital) when evacuating for a hurricane or other hazard. I represent the list created by the City of New Orleans to account for these individuals and is updated annually to inform hurricane evacuation preparedness. Anyone can register for me using 311.
What is the Special Needs Registry?
Double Jeopardy - BONUS -
When we are issued a Boil Water Advisory, I am the primary reason for doing so and causing the potential problems. Hint - I am not a power loss, but I do happen because of one.
What is a drop in PSI - typically down to 15-20psi in the post-purification distribution system?