Disasters are caused by single- or multiple-event natural hazards that, (for various reasons), cause extreme levels of mortality, morbidity, homelessness, joblessness, economic losses, or environmental impacts. The keys to resilience: 1) know the history of past disasters 2) be prepared 3) have a warning system 4) evacuate 5) learn from the experience

1. SNOW TSUNAMI SPARES NORTHEASTERN USA
(The People Did Their Part and Divine Providence Did all the Rest)
JANUARY 26- 27, 2015

2. NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED
DISASTERS IN NORTHEASTERN USA
FLOODS
HURRICANES
EARTHQUAKES
NOR’EASTERS
WINTER STORMS
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
LOW PROBABILITY OF
OCCURRENCE--HIGH
PROBABILITY OF A
DISASTER
AT RISK: MILLIONS OF
PEOPLE/COMMUNITIES

3. NOR’EASTER WINTER
STORM: JAN. 26, 2015

4. MONDAY:
THE EXPECTATION
All of the SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS
associated with a record storm with
heavy snow, intense winds, cold, and
coastal flooding

5. WHAT THE PEOPLE DID
• On Monday (Jan 26th), life abruptly
stopped across the Northeastern USA
region as state officials declared a state
of emergency and ordered workers to
go home early, banned travel, closed
bridges and tunnels, mass transit,
schools, and assembled their biggest
snow plowing crews.

6. WHAT THE PEOPLE DID
• Coastal residents braced for a powerful
storm surge and the possibility of
damaging flooding and beach erosion,
particularly on Cape Cod.

7. WHAT THE PEOPLE DID
• Power companies activated inter-state
agreements and prepared for the
possibility of widespread power
outages.

8. WHAT THE PEOPLE DID
• Airlines cancelled nearly 8,000 flights
and prepared contingency plans.

9. WHAT THE PEOPLE DID
• Schools and businesses let out early.
Government offices closed.
• Shoppers stocking up on food jammed
supermarkets and competing with one
another for what was left.
• Broadway stages went dark.

10. TUESDAY MORNING:
WHAT HAPPENED
The huge storm moved up the Atlantic
coast as predicted, but its impacts
were not as bad as anticipated,
except in Massachusetts

11. TUESDAY MORNING IN NEW
YORK
• The city had an almost eerie quietness
with almost no one on the streets and
only a few municipal trucks rumbling
down empty streets.
• No airplanes were in the sky.
• Wind was more of a problem than the
light snow that fell steadily early
Tuesday in midtown Manhattan.

12. NEW YORK
• Travel bans were lifted before
midmorning in New York.
• New York City buses, subways and
trains were expected to restart later in
the morning and a return to a full
schedule was expected Wednesday.

13. NEW YORK THRUWAY
• A 60-mile stretch of the New York
Thruway, located in sections of New
York that were forecast to see from 10
to 20 inches of snow, was reopened
after being shut down for about nine
hours.

14. NEW YORK WALL STREET
• On Wall Street, the New York Stock
Exchange said it would operate
normally Tuesday.

15. NEW YORK UTILITIES
• Through midmorning, utility companies
across the region reported minimal
power outages.

16. LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK
• Long Island was hit the hardest, with
snow falling 2 inches per hour creating
hazardous conditions.
• Islip had 14.7 inches of snow by early
Tuesday.

17. MASSACHUSETTS:
STILLEXPECTING RECORD SNOW
• Early Tuesday, Massachusetts was still
being pounded by snow and lashed by
strong winds after bands of heavy
snow left some towns including
Sandwich on Cape Cod and Oxford in
central Massachusetts reporting more
than 18 inches (45 cm) of snow.
• At least 60 cm of snow is still expected.

18. MASSACHUSETS: HIGH
WINDS
• The National Weather Service says a
wind gust of 130 kph (78 mph) was
reported on Nantucket, and a 120 kph
(72 mph) gust was reported in
Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard.

19. AT PRESENT, ONE DEATH
REPORTED

20. REMEMBERING A NOTABLE
NATURAL DISASTER IN THE
NORTHEASTERN USA IN 2012
SUPER STORM SANDY

21. SANDY
FROM AN ORDINARY TROPICAL
STORM TO A HISTORIC “SUPER
STORM” IN EIGHT DAYS

22. AT 8:00 PM ON OCTOBER 29, SANDY
BECAME THE MOST DEVASTATING CAT
1 HURRICANE TO HIT THE EASTERN
USA IN RECORDED HISTORY
(PRESSURE– 940 Mb)

23. CAT 1 HURRICANE SANDY MADE
LANDFALL AT 8:00 PM ON
MONDAY NIGHT, OCT. 29TH
Sandy made landfall south of Atlantic City,
New Jersey, merging with a winter storm
system to become a unique, once-in-a-
century, “Super Storm” caused by nature’s
natural cycles, NOT global warming

24. FIFTY DEATHS ALONG
EASTERN SEABOARD
(as of Oct. 30)
Preliminary Loss Estimate:
$50 Billion

25. AN ORDINARY TROPICAL
STORM ON OCTOBER 22

26. ENROUTE TO A SUPER STORM IN
NEW JERSEY: 8:00 PM, OCT. 29

27. SUPER STORM SANDY:
OCT. 29-30, 2012

28. FLOODING IN BROOKLYN

29. NY HOSPITALS IMPACTED
FLOODING, POWER OUTAGES,
AND AN EMERGENCY EVACUATION
LIMIT SERVICES

30. NEW YORK CITY ON LOCK
DOWN
ROADS CLOSED
TUNNELS CLOSED
SUBWAY, TRAINS, AND AIRPORTS CLOSED
WIDE-SPREAD POWER OUTAGES
HIGH VOLUME OF 911 CALLS THAT CAN’T BE
ANSWERED EFFICIENTLY
STOCK EXCHANGES CLOSED
SCHOOLS CLOSED

31. WATER AND FIRE
SIMULTANEOUSLY IN
QUEENS, NY
Fire fighters unable to cope
with flooding and fire as 80
houses burn to ground

32. OCT. 29: FLOODED STREETS
IN QUEENS

33. OCT. 29: FIRE IN QUEENS

34. NEW JERSEY: ATLANTIC
CITY UNDER WATER

35. NEW JERSEY: OCEAN
FRONT FLOODING

36. NEW JERSEY: STREET
FLOODING

37. LESSONS LEARNED

38. Disasters are caused by
single- or multiple-event
natural hazards that, (for
various reasons), cause
extreme levels of mortality,
morbidity, homelessness,
joblessness, economic losses,
or environmental impacts.

39. THE REASONS ARE . . .
• When it does happen, the
functions of the community’s
buildings and infrastructure will be
LOST because they are
UNPROTECTED with the
appropriate codes and standards.

40. THE REASONS ARE . . .
• The community is UN-
PREPARED for what will likely
happen, not to mention the
low-probability of occurrence—
high-probability of adverse
consequences event.

41. THE REASONS ARE . . .
• The community has NO DISASTER
PLANNING SCENARIO or
WARNING SYSTEM in place as a
strategic framework for early threat
identification and coordinated
local, national, regional, and
international countermeasures.

42. THE REASONS ARE . . .
• The community LACKS THE
CAPACITY TO RESPOND in a
timely and effective manner to
the full spectrum of expected
and unexpected emergency
situations.

43. THE REASONS ARE . . .
• The community is INEFFICIENT
during recovery and
reconstruction because it HAS
NOT LEARNED from either the
current experience or the
cumulative prior experiences.

44. THE KEYS TO RESILIENCE:
1) KNOW THE HISTORY OF PAST
DISASTERS
2) BE PREPARED
3) HAVE A WARNING SYSTEM
4) EVACUATE
5) LEARN FROM THE
EXPERIENCE