Part 2: Resources Instructions (10%)
Create a Word document that contains the following elements about your assigned disaster/emergency:
Your name and the assigned disaster/emergency
Descriptions of ten (10) information resources related to your assigned disaster/emergency. Each entry should include:
URL
Content covered
Target audience
A typical question you create that can be answered by the resource
The location where the answer was found (URL)
Descriptions of a minimum of five (5) organizations that could be involved in your assigned disaster/emergency (i.e. Red Cross, FBI). Each entry should include:
URL
Social media presence
Mobile website/application
Describe current technology (including alert and surveillance systems) available for your assigned disaster/emergency including the delivery channel (e.g. radio, television, sirens, social media) and availability of alert (e.g. everywhere, only large towns).
Course project Overview
Waterspouts
What is a waterspout?
• A waterspout refers to a rapidly spinning
cloud-filled wind that occurs over a body
of water (National Weather Service).
• The two types of waterspouts include the
fair weather waterspouts and the tornadic
waterspouts.
• A fair weather waterspout occurs during
relatively calm weather (descends from
clouds that are not fast moving).
• A tornadic waterspout, a more dangerous
type, is likened to a tornado on land.
• A tornadic waterspout could either start as
a land tornado that moved towards the
body of water or started over the water
from severe thunderstorms.
Statistical Information
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Throughout the world, the places that
are considered to be the most
vulnerable to waterspout formation
include the Florida Keys, the islands of
Greece, and off the east coast of
Australia.
The Florida Keys have the most
frequent waterspout sightings, about
50 to 500 waterspouts a year (National
Weather Service).
Typically, most waterspouts that move
inland break up upon reaching the
shore.
Thus, although waterspouts are
frequent in the specified prone areas,
waterspouts have only resulted in a few
cases of injuries, deaths, and losses
since waterspouts have to move inland
to cause major destruction – statistical
information is limited.
Waterspout frequency in the Great Lakes in 2003
(Source: Mariners Weather Log, NOAA)
Waterspout Disaster in Cuba
• On January 27, 2019, an EF-4 tornado
(waterspout) affected the homes and residents in
some municipalities of Havana, Cuba which
included Cerro, 10th October, Guanabacoa, San
Miguel del Padron, and Regla (The Watchers,
2019).
• The waterspout moved ashore and became a major
tornado that was on the ground for 16 minutes.
• The waterspout turned tornado increased its width
from 500 m to 1000 m while destroying homes,
buildings, and other infrastructures.
• To tally, 123 homes were totally destroyed from the
1238 homes that were affected (The Watchers,
2019).
• There were 4 deaths and 195 residents were
injured (The Watchers, 2019).
A knocked over home from the incident
(Source: @HatzelVelaWPLG)
Victims & Responders
• The victims of the said incident were
mainly residents of different family
households (REUTERS, 2019).
• Thus, the victims also consist of
vulnerable groups such as children and
adults.
• Others that were left alone in their
respective houses consider the incident
to be “dark and horrific”.
• Since the incident occurred too fast,
the first responders were the residents
themselves.
• According to some residents, their first
response was to move in the opposite
direction where the tornado was
moving towards.
• Rescue teams showed up directly after
the incident occurred.
The affected residents of the waterspout/tornado incident
Source: @Emirates247
Victims: Information Needs
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Basically, destructive waterspouts are those that become regular tornadoes.
Information regarding waterspout awareness and preparedness is comparable to that of
tornadoes (CDC).
Things to remember: (1) be prepared, (2) stay aware, and (3) know where to shelter.
Be prepared with fully charged devices for information (with fresh batteries), an emergency plan,
an emergency container for food and medications, and a list of important telephone/mobile
numbers (CDC).
Be aware of the weather conditions by staying tuned in to local radio, television, and/or internetbased devices (Ryan, 2018).
During the incident, knowing a safer location for shelter increases the probability of being safe.
It is important to understand that most injuries/deaths caused by tornadoes, in general, are from
falling and flying debris (CDC).
Thus, one can shelter inside a room with no windows. One can go under something that is sturdy
for added protection. It is preferable to go to a nearby building with a basement if one stayed
outside or is in a mobile home during the incident. If inside a car, outrunning a tornado is not a
good idea – find the nearest building instead and take shelter (CDC).
Responders: Information Needs
• The emergency responders require proper and correct information to
establish the necessary measures for preventing, controlling, and
mitigating the further possible hazards of the incident (Oktari et al.,
2020).
• It is the responsibility of the responders to be safe first as they can
become victims of the incident too.
• Thus, the establishment of an emergency system is required before
responders are able to carry out their responsibilities:
• Training regarding particular hazard(s)
• Knowledge assessment pertaining to personal protective equipment
• Understanding the guidelines and mechanisms required during the
emergency response
References
CDC. Staying Safe in a Tornado. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/features/tornadosafety/index.html
National Weather Service. Science – waterspouts. https://www.weather.gov/apx/waterspout
NOAA. Mariners Weather Log: The Great Waterspout Outbreak of 2003.
https://www.vos.noaa.gov/MWL/dec_04/waterspout.shtml
Oktari, R. S., Munadi, K., Idroes, R., & Sofyan, H. (2020). Knowledge management practices
in
disaster management: Systematic review. International Journal of Disaster Risk
Reduction, 51, 101881. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101881
REUTERS. Marsh, S., & Frank, M. (2019). Cuba’s strongest tornado in nearly 80 years kills at
least four.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-havana-tornado-idUSKCN1PM10J
Ryan, B. (2018). A model to explain information seeking behaviour by individuals in the response phase of a
disaster. Library & Information Science Research, 40(2), 73–85.
The Watchers. (2019). EF-4 tornado, Havana: 1238 affected homes, 4
people killed and injured, Cuba. https://watchers.news/2019/01/30/ef-4-tornadohavana-1238-affected-homes-4-people-killed-and-195-injured-cuba/