DISASTER! - Homeland Security and Emergency Management ...

More than 90% of declared disasters include flooding.Flash floods can cause walls of water reaching heights of 20 feet (6 m).HailstormsOn May 22, 1986 an unusual killer hailstorm in China’s Sichuan Provinceleft 9,000 people injured and 100 dead.The largest known hailstone ever measured in the U.S. was found inAurora, Nebraska on June 22, 2003 with a record 7-inch (17.78 cm)diameter and a circumference of 18.75 inches (over 47 cm).Hazardous MaterialsAs many as 500,000 products pose physical or health hazards and can bedefined as “hazardous materials” and over 1,000 new synthetic chemicalsare introduced each year.Each year about 400 million metric tons of hazardous wastes aregenerated worldwide.According to FEMA, varying quantities of hazardous materials are manufactured,used, or stored at an estimated 4.5 million facilities in the U.S.Hurricanes, Cyclones & TyphoonsThe 2005 U.S. season broke records with 27 named storms (previous recordwas 21 in 1933) and 15 hurricanes (previous record was 12 in 1969). TheNational Hurricane Center states this cycle could last 10-20 more yearssimilar to the above-average activity from the 1940s through the 1960s.Nine out of 10 hurricane deaths are due to storm surge (a rise in the sealevel caused by strong winds). Storm surges can get up to 20 feet (6 m) highand 50 miles (80 km) wide!One of the worst cyclone disasters in recorded history struck Bangladeshand India killing between 500,000 and 1 million people back in 1970.Nuclear Power PlantsThe most immediate danger from an accident at a nuclear power plant isexposure to high levels of radiation.The April 1986 explosion at Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plantburned for 10 days releasing about 5% of the radioactive reactor core intothe atmosphere exposing millions of people to varying doses of radiation.4 www.itsadisaster.net or call 1-888-999-4325