Disaster Management Plan
Student’s Name
Institution
Disaster Management Plan
Natural hazards are vibrant disasters to the well-being of people and the growth and development of the society. To curb this proper strategy for managing the disasters are supposed to be put in action and adhered to in regards to the efforts to be taken. In relevance to the previous paper, Southern Iowa is one of the regions that significantly experience natural hazards such as drought being the major one and other geographical calamities such as earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions among many others. The research carried there before showed the various factors the cause drought in the Southern Iowa region and the effects that it impacts to the society. Regarding this, there is an importance of developing essential strategies for curbing the crisis or reducing the losses and other effect associated with natural hazards in the area. The primary focus of this paper is coming up with sound disaster management strategies that may be applicable in coming up with the situation, and they are discussed into a profound extent.
The natural hazards are a core and inevitable problem to deal with not only in Southern Iowa but also in many other nations in the world. People cannot live suffering the same problems for several generations and still do not come up with practical solutions. That is not logic, hence the primary purpose of this discussion which is related giving sound solutions to the natural disasters postulated in the previous research. The drought was stated as the primary challenge in the region which negatively affects the livelihood of Iowa’s region (Bentler, et.al 2016). It has resulted in not only economic degradation but also social and political back draw. Therefore, the residents and other living organisms have a high risk of starvation, and at sometimes it comes to a greater extent experiencing enormous death.
There are several approaches that the government and society in at large can put in consideration to reduce the degrading impacts caused by drought. It also calls personal dedication at the individual level as various efforts put together results in success. These techniques include planting trees, carrying out irrigation cultivation, government providing relief food to the affected areas, air pollution prevention, incorporating disaster management as a discipline in learning institutions and adopt new technology in the farming sector among others. All the mentioned above strategies are crucial and recommended for prevention, mitigation, and adaption in reducing the drought crisis in this particular area. It is not only the role of the government and other people in power to spread the information or develop ways to apply these strategies but everybody’s duty.
In Southern Iowa region, low average amount of rainfall experienced per year is the leading cause of drought. It is very disgusting to learn that several centuries down the line the drought case was different and instead of an improvement issue tends to become more severe and a national disaster. In the early years, the amount of rainfall experienced was a bit high and to some extent sufficient in practicing agricultural activates. Nowadays, even though there is rainfall throughout the season the patterns are not predictable, and it tends to get farmers unaware hence they are not capable of fully utilizing it (Connerly, 2017). The best approach to dealing with this is first coming up with solutions to the following questions. What leads to the reduction of rainfall experienced per annum? How can we solve this problem and what are the effects? What are the alternatives that can be used instead of entirely depending on natural weather patterns?
The causes of minimum rainfall in Iowa area as discussed in the previous paper are deforestation and air pollution among many others. Therefore, the opposite of these causes which includes afforestation and preventing air pollution will result in an increase of rainfall gotten per year. People have developed a culture of cutting down trees without thinking about the effects following the act. Trees play a significant role in bringing the rainfall bearing clouds and maintain the humidity level. Consequently, people in Iowa region has to take the step of planting trees and prevent cutting down on the existing ones. On the other hand, air pollution leads to significant effects which cause rainfall reduction in the area. Air pollution affects the ozone layer causing globalization which significantly leads overheating and rainfall reduction. It is caused by excessive application of agricultural chemicals and other aerosols. Minimizing their use or applying them in an appropriate way that will not affect the climatic conditions. Perfection in dealing with these two major causative factors will consequently lead to an increase in the average amount of rainfall expected in the area.
In consideration of the alternatives that can be invested to appropriately reducing the impacts of low rainfall level in the region includes practicing irrigation cultivation and developing water holding and storage techniques. Irrigation is the perfect strategy to curb the crisis. The government has to support the public by providing the required facilities to carry out the activity. Other reliable sources of water such as rivers and permanent lakes can be used to supply water to various farmyards making it easily accessible to the farmers. Hence, they will use it to carry out both extensive and intensive agriculture that is the primary source of living to the residents (Darling, et.al 2016).
Farming boosts the economy at large and enhances the well-being of the farmers. Adopting new technology especially in constructing water holding and storage facilities is crucial as the region will have adequate water to satisfy the residents during the drought period. The facilities should be made available to the citizens at affordable prices so that they everyone is in a position of acquiring some. Availability of food and water facilitates a healthy well-being, and people will be productive in their places of work. With adequate rainfall, there is also the availability of animal feed and water which is significant to enhance their production and better performances. Irrigation is a perfect option for subsidizing natural rainfall and it clear that with its use thing will change in Iowa region and people will be able to survive during the harsh conditions during drought.
Lack of food is a significant disaster experienced by the people of Iowa during the drought period. Therefore, there is an urge of the government offering support to ensure that the affected residents have food as it is a fundamental necessity. With this, the effects of drought will be reduced in the area as healthy and contented society is productive and have broad boundaries of diversification as they are capable of generating new ideas. The government has to back the bodies dealing with fighting in Iowa area and come up with practical strategies that will enhance self-satisfaction of the residents. Even if the country is not capable of satisfying the affected, it is recommendable to seek help from other nations and superpowers (Fardhosseini, et.al 2015). There is unity among the world’s nations, and there is an assurance that other countries will offer a helping hand on the matter.
Among other practical solution to the drought crisis in Iowa region is the adoption of advanced technology especially in the food industry and agricultural sector. With modern technology, there is a possibility of preserving food that can be good for human and animal consumption after some years. Therefore, the government has a challenge of acquiring the required facilities to carry out preservation role in the food industry. With this, the extra food produced during the high seasons can be stored and preserved appropriately to be used during such urgent instances or other seasons when production is relatively low. Adopting new techniques in the agricultural field such as the use of tissue culture and growing of genetically modified food can be a sound solution to drought calamity. It does not facilitate faster production of agricultural production but also quality and quantity manufacture. A Large quantity of produce will be produced at a small scale which the farmer is capable of managing during the drought seasons.
Furthermore, with modern technology will have the machinery not only use in crop production but also in the rearing of livestock. Livestock is the best option for a farmer to earn a living in the Iowa region during the drought seasons. Contradictory to crops which have high water requirements, animals only need the little considerable amount of water to survive, and the farmer can get it from the oasis or other wells drilled in the region. Some such as camels and small ruminants can stay a long time with water, and on the other hand, they can be a source of food and income to the farmers. Their products such as milk, meat, skin, and hides are worth, and with them, there will be a reliable source of food and revenue in the society. There, the effects impacted by the drought in the area will be minimized.
Also, among the mitigation strategies that can be employed in alleviating the issue include drilling wells and construction of windmills as an alternative source of water. Wells can be drilled in every homestead so that the family members can be using the water for domestic purposes, watering horticultural crops in smallholdings and for animal drinking. Windmills do not rely on rainfall and act well in dry and desert areas. Therefore, it is an excellent substitute as they can be used to pump water for irrigation and domestic use (Tate, et.al 2016). Among the state’s portions that have experienced extreme drought within few previous years include parts of Madison, Clarke, Warren, Lucas, Wayne, Decatur, Union and Warren Counties.
According to the discussion above, it is possible to reduce the impacts of drought effects to society. The application of the elaborated protection, adoption and mitigation strategies plays a significant role that facilitates positive outcomes. Disaster management strategies enhance excellent improvement in the curbing the enormous losses and deaths experienced during the drought seasons in Iowa region. The crisis to an extent affects every part of the society starting from the economic perspective to the environment, political and social lives. Therefore, the urge to reducing its effects is a significant step forward for the nation and people’s well-being.
References
Bentler, S., McInroy, B., Damiano, P., Heeren, T., & Momany, E. (2016). Non-Emergency Medical Transportation and the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan.
Connerly, C., Laurian, L., & Throgmorton, J. (2017). Planning for Floods at the University of Iowa: A Challenge for Resilience and Sustainability. Journal of Planning History, 16(1), 50-73.
Darling, B. G., Singhal, A., & Kanellis, M. J. (2016). Emergency department visits and revisits for nontraumatic dental conditions in Iowa. Journal of public health dentistry, 76(2), 122-128.
Fardhosseini, M. S., Esmaeili, B., & Wood, R. (2015). A strategic safety-risk management plan for recovery after disaster operations.
Tate, E., Strong, A., Kraus, T., & Xiong, H. (2016). Flood recovery and property acquisition in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Natural Hazards, 80(3), 2055-2079.
Zhang, Q., Han, L., Jia, J., Song, L., & Wang, J. (2016). Management of drought risk under global warming. Theoretical and applied climatology, 125(1-2), 187-196.