Week 13: Costal Hazards
Like many others who have not taken a Geology course, I didn't know what a coastal hazard is. Lucky for you, my blog will help you understand this week's topic. Coastal hazards are typically natural events that threaten coastal areas. These events range from hurricanes, storm surges, rising sea levels, and coastal erosion. Due to Cuba's location, most of these events affect them; located in the Atlantic hurricane zone, hurricanes are the most lethal for my country. Climate change is also negatively impacting Cuba; making sea levels rise, decrease in precipitation, and an increase in temperature. If we do not take action to reduce climate change many areas such as Cuba could be negatively impacted in the future. The risk of flooding and erosion only becomes riskier if we take no action against climate change. Cuba has already gone through enough with hurricane season, beginning in June until December. A person living in Cuba states, "If a lot of buildings collapse with heavy rain, imagine what would happen if a hurricane hits. It would be a tragedy. When it rains here, the walls leak, and I fear the roof might collapse" This demonstrates how much of an impact natural hazards truly have on human life. People are left feeling unsafe in their own homes.
Despite these challenges, Cuban officials are doing an excellent job of addressing the environmental issues that their society is dealing with. By constructing evacuation shelters and raising awareness by conducting educational campaigns on preparing for future disasters. I think it is important for Cuban authorities to do this because it shows that they truly care for their people's safety. Hazard Mitigation can be implemented through education, planning, and practice just like Cuba is currently doing.
Sources Cited:
https://havanatimes.org/features/active-hurricane-season-highlights-cubas-vulnerabilities/
https://sevenseasmedia.org/cuba-under-immediate-threat-from-climate-change/
https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/cuba/vulnerability
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/12c36757012e4c30aae8db62c364ae2e
https://www.nj.gov/dep/cmp/coastal_hazard_manual.pdf
Great coastal reflection!-looking forward to more climate connections this week.
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