disaster 5th 1108_5th ed 2011 - Homeland Security and Emergency ...

DISASTER FACTS & FIGURES
Both natural and man-made disasters are becoming more common all
around the world. El Niño and La Niña events impact billions of people
since these climate extremes disrupt jet streams and regions of high and low
pressure. These disruptions can potentially increase or decrease
weather-related disasters such as extreme heat and cold, floods, hurricanes
and thunderstorms.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s
Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory Tropical Atmosphere Ocean
project, El Niño happens when tropical Pacific Ocean trade winds die out
and ocean temperatures become unusually warm. La Niña occurs when the
trade winds blow unusually hard and sea temperatures become colder than
normal. These warm and cold phases are referred to as El Niño/Southern
Oscillation, or ENSO, which has a period of roughly 3-7 years. Although
ENSO originates in the tropical Pacific system, it has effects on patterns of
weather all over the world. 1
El Niño (warm episodes) occur about every 4-5 years and can last up to 12
to 18 months. 2 La Niña (cold episodes) conditions recur every few years
and typically last 9 to 12 months but can persist for as long as 2 years. 3
There are also periods where the system is neither warm nor cold (called
neutral conditions).
Even though there is still much to learn about these systems and their
impacts on the global community, ENSO forecasts can help individuals,
businesses, and governments prepare for these events.
To learn more about NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
Tropical Atmosphere Ocean project visit www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/
In addition to the climate extremes mentioned above, some key elements in
the increasing numbers of worldwide disasters include:
• Global warming / cooling, volcanic activity, sunspots, etc.
• Larger cities are sprawling into high-risk zones
• World population is over 6 billion and growing causing
global water consumption to increase
• Humans damaging our natural resources (e.g. pollution,
destroying rain forests, coral reefs, wetlands, etc.)
As the warming and cooling debate rages on, keep in mind there’s a lot of
scientific data supporting and refuting both sides and many unknowns. But
one thing is for certain ~ disasters happen daily no matter what.
www.itsadisaster.net or call 1-888-999-4325