Hurricane Maria

Outline

1. The Introduction :

i. The name of the research topic is Hurricane Maria

ii. The weather event occurred in September 2017.

iii. The weather event occurred in Dominica, Puerto Rico, and Saint Croix, particularly the northeastern Caribbean.

iv. The people of the three Island nations were affected by the Hurricane. Around 200,000 Puerto Ricans were displaced, and 2975 people died.

v. Weather remains an essential matter of the 21st century as much of the socio-political debate today revolves around environmentalism and the effects of climate change upon humanity. And due to human activities, the climate is deteriorating quickly, resulting in events such as hurricanes, floods, rainstorms, etc.

2. The Body (Content Sections) :

a. Weather Event:

i. Hurricane Maria categorizes as a significant tropical cyclone with the intensity of the 5th category. The Hurricane resulted in landfall in Dominica and was classified as a category four hurricane in Puerto Rica with a wind travelling 100 mph (Keellings, 2019). Both Islands suffered from large-scale damage to property, infrastructure, and human lives because of the storm.

b. Causation:

Hurricane Maria had three key weather events triggering it taking place in the Caribbean:

i. First, the weather disturbance that started as a tropical wave

ii. The Warm Water recorded was at 26.5 degrees Celsius with a depth of 50 meters adding power to the storm

iii. Thunderstorms turned ocean heat into hurricane fuel (Rafael, 2021).

c. Societal Impacts

i. The short-term impacts of Hurricane Maria include damage to the sources of transportation, cut down of all communication lines, and destruction of electricity infrastructure across the Island, which further led to a shortage of hospital facilities (Rodríguez-Madera, 2021). Hence, there was no provision of light, water, transportation or health services because of the Hurricane.

ii. The Long-term effects of the Hurricane include the massive displacement of around 200,000 Puerto Ricans from their home. The destruction of people’s land and property. Moreover, it caused economic damages worth $94 Billion. Also, the Hurricane led to multiple health problems for people concerning eye diseases and liver problems (Waddell, 2021).

d. Weather Readiness:

i. To prevent such damages, one can chalk out emergency phone numbers to contact in case of an event.

ii. The Island nations can create shelters near people’s houses to seek temporary refuge. Moreover, creating routes to access the shelter is essential.

iii. Emergency preparedness plans for hospitals must become mandatory. Moreover, robust infrastructures that can stand such tests should be put together (Arzola, 2018).

iv. Lastly, people should adopt green practices for any climate disturbances that cause such catastrophes.

3. The Conclusion Section :

i. Hurricane Maria remains one of the deadliest climatic events of the 21st century. The event catalyzed by weather disturbance destroyed many lives and infrastructure.

ii. The event caused the death of around three thousand people affecting three different Islands. The event goes as one occurring due to climate change. To avoid such doom, it is advised that the Island nations take precautionary measures guaranteeing preparedness in case of another event such as the Hurricane.

iii. Lastly, it is essential to consider the root cause of these events and acknowledge that the climate is deteriorating each day because human activities should halt before more devastation occurs.

References Arzola, d. ( 2018). Emergency Preparedness and Hurricane Maria: The Experience of a Regional Academic Medical Center in Southwest Puerto Rico. J Grad Med Educ. J Grad Med Educ., 477-480. Keellings, D. &. (2019). Extreme rainfall associated with Hurricane Maria over Puerto Rico and its connections to climate variability and change. Geophysical Research Letters, 46, , 2964–2973. Rafael, M. ,.-C. (2021). Perceptions of Climate Change in Puerto Rico before and after Hurricane Maria. American Journal of Climate Change, 10, , 153-166. Rodríguez-Madera, S. V.-D. (2021). The impact of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico’s health system: post-disaster perceptions and experiences of health care providers and administrators. . Global Health Research and Policy 6, 44. Waddell SL, J. D. (2021 ). Perspectives on the Health Effects of Hurricanes: A Review and Challenges. . Int J Environ Res Public Health. 18(5).