Natural processes and occurrences of the earth cause natural disasters that have adverse effects. Examples of such occurrences are floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. Natural disasters result in significant losses of property and life of animals and people of the areas affected. The extent of damage caused depends on various factor and conditions such as the preparedness of people to such disasters or effects that enhance them. The essay below focuses on flood in the Mississippi basin and the factor that plays a part in mitigating or enhances the damage caused over the history. The city of Riparia, Louisiana is found in the Mississippi Delta, and it has been vulnerable to floods since the early times.
Flooding is a situation where the river water exceeds it average size and overflows to the surrounding regions. The region bordering Mississippi river was endowed with fertile soil and therefore farming was the primary economic activity in the 1800s. Due to its ability to support productive farming activities, people engaged in increased reckless farming methods that led to erosion and increased exposure of the area to flooding. Increased human activity in the area continued to expose the part to flooding, natural vegetation cover was reduced as people sought for increased plantations (Kusky 34). The society in the region was torn by social stratification with the poor people being oppressed by the wealthy landowners. The wealthy people as a mark of class lived in the highlands of the area while the poor people live at the riverbanks. In 1857, the area was hit by it first flood disaster with devastating and shocking effects. The poor people were the most affected since they lived at the riverbanks; their houses were swept away by the floods and many lives were lost in the disaster. Besides the human factor that played a part in the flooding, was the increased rainfall. This caused an increase in runoff water and subsequently the river water volume leading to floods. History has it that the people increased runoff water from the farming activities into the river, dumped waste, and as urbanization grew in the area there was increased runoff.
After this flood had hit the area, there were control measure that was instituted such as the building of levees and people moving away from the river. Nonetheless, in 1907, the area was struck again by floods that resulted in more damage and loss of lives than the previous one (The Weather Doctor Almanac 2000). Land use had changed since the first flooding from the vast plantations owned by few wealthy persons to one that harbored more buildings, and ownership of land had increased. Unlike the first flooding caused by increased rainfall and unregulated human activities, the flooding was heavily influenced by nature. The floods were caused by high winds and rain (Barry 219). History shows that the winds blew at 100 miles/hour and water level rose steadily around the shore. Although there were storm warning many sailors did not heed to the warning same as the people living at the shores of Galveston. The state of the flooding had changed significantly, in that this was stronger and more destructive. It claimed around 6000 lives and destroyed millions worth of property (Cline 2). The meteorologist of the time although developed than earlier did little to save the people from the floods, they did not give a strict warning or early warning that would have saved the people (The Weather Doctor Almanac 2004).
Later in 2000, the Riparian area (Galveston) was again flooded. The region had been rebuilt, and more measure put in place to avert any floods or at least reduce their destruction. The land usage for farming had now been completely replaced by industries, levees erected, more effort put in studying the floods, and more awareness of their effects by the people. What remained across the three floods among the society was its stratification; the poor were still more vulnerable in case of flooding. The meteorology department warned people soon enough for evacuation, and much mitigation measure was set in place. During a disaster, there was racial discrimination as the black associated with poverty received more attention than the whites did equally unfortunate did, but still the blacks were demeaned (McKinney 11). Although the Hurricane Katrina, as the storm was referred was as fatal as the previous ones, it caused the most dislocations of people. The destruction by Katrina is associated to human errors that would have mitigated its destruction.
Works Cited
"The Weather Doctor Almanac 2000." Home - Web Hosting, Web Design, Programming: Islandnet.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
"Weather Events: The 1900 Galveston Hurricane." Home - Web Hosting, Web Design, Programming: Islandnet.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
“The Weather Doctor Almanac 2004." Home - Web Hosting, Web Design, Programming: Islandnet.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
Barry, John M. Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. Print.
Cline, Isaac, M. "NOAA History - Stories and Tales of the Weather Service/StormTales/Galveston Storm of 1900." NOAA History - Main Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
Kusky, Timothy M. Tsunamis: Giant Waves from the Sea. New York: Facts On File, 2008. Print.
McKinney, Cynthia A. Supplementary Report to the Findings of the Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina. N.P., 2006. Print.
