From time to time, we are reminded that we are just a speck of sand in the universe. Last week was certainly one of those times for most of us. A storm named Sandy reacquainted us with the term “force of nature.”
Scientifically speaking there are four observed forces of nature. Gravity is what makes things fall to the ground, electromagnetic force is the attraction and repulsion between electric charges, strong force binds parts of atoms, and weak force is observed in radioactive decay.
There is also another more recently coined use for the phrase. NOAA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and FEMA, Federal Emergency Management Agency, teamed up in April 2012 to launch their “Be a Force of Nature” campaign.
Designed as an initiative to educate all citizens about national disasters and how to prepare for them, the program emphasizes the need to build a weather and disaster ready nation. Three areas of preparedness are required.
The first step involves knowing your risk and what types of hazardous weather might affect where you live and work. The second includes developing a plan for your family, creating an emergency kit, and obtaining a NOAA weather radio or downloading NOAA’s weather app. The third step requires you to become a force of nature yourself by committing to help educate your friends and family, and to communicate with people about impending disaster and set an example.
Emergency preparedness begins long before an event and should become a mindset for every individual. There is no doubt that in our ever changing world the need for individual responsibility in many areas of living is increasing.
Before Hurricane Sandy, the year 2011 held the record for the greatest number of multi-billion dollar weather disasters in our nation’s history. There were 1,000 deaths and 8,000 injuries related to severe weather. Extreme snowfalls, low and high temperatures, drought, flooding, tornadoes, and hurricanes join to make-up those numbers. The Weather Ready Nation effort includes expanding the research and discussion about why our nation is experiencing such extreme weather patterns. Updating radar and satellite technologies will enable forecasters to communicate more clearly and enable responders to make wiser decisions.
One significant upgrade is dual polarization radar which will replace the 1988 Doplar radar systems at 160 sites across the country by mid-2013. The system will give better information about heavy rainfall, hail in thunderstorms, and the severity of a tornado.
Trends like high concentrations of population on our coastal areas, infrastructure decline, and population sprawl into rural areas increase the likelihood that weather events will have a more devastating effect because more lives will be touched.
Researchers point to factors like global warming as possible causes of the change in weather patterns that seem to be producing the unusual event of the past decade. Whatever the causes, we can only control our reaction to the events. Check out the NOAA website for more information you can use to become more proactive.
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