Extreme Weather.

This week we are researching extreme weather conditions chosen in our countries which could range from blizzards, heatwaves, tornados, thunderstorms, droughts, sand storms and flooding to name a few. As for El Salvador, it has a tropical climate that allows it to enjoy wet and dry seasons throughout the year. The pacific lowlands are usually hotter and mountain areas are a little cooler. One example, is the fact that temperatures vary form 70 degrees F to 96 degrees F and their warm season usually last from January through May. This dry pattern effects crops around the country; making it necessary to have consistent irrigation systems in place to mitigate the damage. On the other hand the cold season starts form August to October and the temperatures actually sit around the same temperatures. Over the course of the year the country experiences three different types of precipitation which are: Thunderstorms, moderate rain and light rain. Snow is usually out of the question for El Salvador. Additionally, the humidity levels are very high for the country, especially around the February when the dry air can reach up to 100 percent humidity levels.  

Works Cited:

 https://weatherspark.com/averages/32651/San-Salvador-La-Paz-El-Salvador

http://countrystudies.us/el-salvador/19.htm

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/El-Salvador-CLIMATE.html

Mass Wasting.

This week we studied the effects that mass wasting has on the earths land as well as our chosen country. While it is true that landslides are caused by gravities ability to manipulate soil and rocks such as the slope of a specific area. That is typically true for El Salvador because it has 20 different volcanoes in the country that sit at high elevations and could very well be a hazard to multiple communities. I was able to find a couple of articles that covered Hurricane Ida in 2009. The Hurricane triggered debris from the San Vicente volcano to hit and destroy part of the city of Verapaz. The death toll of 16 residents and 47 reported missing was one of the largest mass wasting's that the country has ever seen. Furthermore, the most catastrophic landslide that the country has ever seen was in the city of Las Colinas in Santa Tecla, El Salvador. It was triggered by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake, that only lasted 30 seconds.  The reported death toll was close to 1,000 residents with almost the same missing. Here is an aerial picture of the debris that covered the neighborhood of Las Colinas.

 

Thankfully, the Salvadorian government has acknowledged that they are very susceptible to mass wasting in the region and have taken safety measures to prevent against future natural hazards. The country has implemented a Community-based disaster risk management program in place to be able to mitigate future events. Specifically, the project MARLAH is aimed at raising awareness, assessing the hazard at hand, installing early warning systems, creating vulnerability and hazard maps and developing emergency plans. Overall, I think that this is a great way to prevent future loss of life.

Works Cited:

 http://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2009/11/09/el-salvador-landslide-disaster/

http://landslides.usgs.gov/research/other/centralamerica.php

  http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2001/01/quak-j16.html

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/252139103_Community-Based_Disaster_Risk_Management_A_Case_Study_of_Landslide_Disaster_Preparedness_Preparation_and_Mitigation_in_Tacuba_El_Salvador

Volcanic Activity In El Salvador

El Salvador has 20 volcanoes in that have been active before but that are now mostly dormant. There are two volcanoes that have had recent activity and that are potentially dangerous. The two volcanoes are the Izalco (Strato volcano) and the San Miguel volcanoes which is also a strato volcano. These volcanoes belong to the circum-pacific ring of fire and are results of the oblique subduction of the oceanic Coco’s plate under the Caribbean tectonic plate. The Izalco volcano is the youngest of the 20 volcanoes found in the country and formed in 1770. This volcano is similar to the Stromboli volcano found in Italy because its frequent Strombolian eruptions that provide a natural night time beacon for ships. The last time that it erupted was in 1966 when it begun to spill lava from the south-east flank and it traveled about 1.2 kilometers in length. Equally, the San Miguel volcano is located in the eastern part of the country and is a symmetrical stratovolcano. It rises 7,000 ft. and 2130 meters above sea level and the volcanoes summit is deprived of any vegetation because of the frequent eruptions but the flanks are covered with coffee plantation. The most recent eruption occurred in 2002, when gas and steam emission with some ashes covering the sky were observed in the area, reaching a few 100 meters above the summit crater.

 

  

 

 

As far as El Salvador’s preparedness for any volcanic activity  goes they have actually implemented a National civil protection system and have an orange as well a yellow alert system for the department of San Miguel’s volcano and its surrounding communities in the past few years. The Salvadoran Red Cross has about 60 branches in the country that are trained in emergency and disaster preparedness relief. In addition they also have a stock of relief items to be able to provide immediate relief to the people that need it. Overall, my country’s government has taken safe measures to teach people about the importance of volcanic awareness and hopefully with all of these precautions they will be able to prevent future structural loss and more importantly human loss.    

Works Cited:

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/el-salvador.html

http://reliefweb.int/report/el-salvador/el-salvador-volcanic-eruption-emergency-plan-action-epoa-dref-operation-mdrsv006

 

Week Three: Earhtquakes.

The country I am researching is El Salvador. My country does not lay on one specific tectonic plate but it does have a complex system of plates overriding that are the main cause for it being close to one of the most seismic zones in the world (Article1). This is the reason that this country experiences so many earthquakes. The map below illustrates the impact that the seismic activity has on this country.





  As noted above the fact that the Caribbean plate is overriding the Coco's which both create subduction zones that produce numerous Earthquakes. The Caribbean plate creates Shallow intraplate earthquakes in the earth’s crust, when it is overriding the Cocos plate. On the other hand the Cocos plate produces intraplate earthquakes but at a deeper level in the earth when the plates is sub ducting under the Caribbean plate (Article2).  The largest earthquake in the country’s history sequence actually occurred in 2001 which was a 7.6 magnitude earthquake. Since then the country has recognized that they are in a vulnerable area and are susceptible to natural hazards and earthquakes. They have actually taken measures to make sure that the safety of their people are a top priority. For example, the implementation of disaster risk management development plan to make sure that they have the necessary funds available to render aid to the people effected. Another example is the implementation of public risk and mitigation to teach the people about safety against natural disasters (Article3). Furthermore, the increase in seismic, hydrological meteorological monitoring stations from 95 to 267. Ultimately, this will help them curve future human casualties and infrastructure loss as well as make them stronger as a whole.

Works Cited:

1.       http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Earthquake2001ElSalvador.html

2.      http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/2001/2001_02_13.php

3.      http://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2015/09/22/better-disaster-risk-management-for-el-salvador.print

Earth and plate tectonics.

Week Two: Earth and Plate Tectonics.

     In this week’s reading we learned how the minerals in the earth’s crust effect different tectonic plates that are ultimately responsible for some of the most devastating natural hazards. The country that I am researching is El Salvador. This week I was able to learn that it inside the Carribean Plate but it is actually closer to the Coco’s plate. El Salvador is in a transform boundary and that means that the plates move side by side and past each other (pg. 32 Keller). This does not destroy or create the earth’s crust but is the major reason for all of their earthquakes (pg.36 Keller). Furthermore, the fact that they are located in the ring of fire is also a main contributor to their natural hazards.

Works Cited: Keller, A. Edwards, Blodgett, H. Robert. Earths Process as Hazards, and Catastrophes. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Pearson, 2012. Print.

First Feed.

After reading the summary about natural hazards, disasters and catastrophes . I was able to understand that a natural hazard is cause by internal events in the earths core and that produce a life threatening situation for human life. Some examples of this are volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The major difference between a hazard and disaster or catastrophe, is the difference in the casualty ratio per event. This means that if there are no deaths a hazardous event can occur multiple times and stay as  just an event that could have been dangerous. A disaster is labeled as such when it: causes ten or more deaths, is a threat to 100 or more people or is declared a state of emergency. The final example is a catastrophe which is categorized as a massive disaster that requires large amounts of financial assistant to recover and spans over a length of multiple years. The country I chose is not very big but it has experienced multiple natural hazards. For example, they experienced a 6.6 magnitude earthquake in 2001 that killed 315 people and at least 3,399 other people were injured. Furthermore, the damage on the homes were reported to be about 45,000 in total.