Major floods in Swampscott, Salem and other areas of Massachusetts caused several problems for the residents in this area. I wanted to write about this story because my family lives in Swampscott, MA.
ENGINEERING APPROACH:
what are the physical causes for the magnitude and frequency of natural hazards at certain sites and how can protection be provided against the most damaging consequences?
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| Emma, in her street, Tuesday morning |
A local meteorologist reported that most of the rain occured in a mere 45 minutes! During this, he reported two fifteen minute periods each had nearly 1.1 inches of precipitation alone. He suspects that this rainfall and flooding could boast record setting rainfall in such a short span of time.
BEHAVIORAL APPROACH:
While reading on this story, it sounds as though Swampscott residents did not hardly receive any warning of the intensity or magnitude of the flooding. There was a lot of damage done to homes, cars and other personal items that residents did not prepare for. One women even reported that she felt like there was no where to go, and had no idea how to get out. I believe this story was the first of it's kind in several years in this area, and the meteorologists seem just as stumped as residents but I believe there should be more of a system put in place in the event that a flood of this magnitude should occur again. It sounds as though the floodgate system may have also been slightly neglected, because residents had not implemented it in several years.
Lastly, I think the residents in this area really need to be educated on the dangers of flooding and what could happen if you attempt to go to work, go outside, etc. Several people were forced to abandon their cars in the middle of flooded areas because they reported they were not able to gauge the depth of the water. I think these situations could be greatly reduced if residents were not allowed to drive in these conditions.
DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH:
The residents of Swampscott and other areas affected by this storm could have benefited from education on the dangers of flooding in this area, and what sorts of precautions they can take at home to better prepare them for potential/future flooding. This area was particularly vulnerable I believe because they have not received a flood of this magnitude in several years.
COMPLEXITY APPROACH:
The city of Swampscott (among others) was not prepared for this type of disaster to occur. Several of the articles quoted residents that were willing to admitt they had no idea where the storm came from, why it happened, or how to handle the situation. Many of the residents reported a lack of confidence in their floodgate/structual system, and received no advanced warning that the storm was going to occur. Although there are often cases where there is not much advanced notice for residents, the residents were still not educated on what preparations or precautions to take in the event that a flood of this magnitude should happen. Additionally, houses in this area were not built to withstand floods, causing a lot of dangerous situations. The community needs to pull together to discuss what residents can do in the event that this should happen again.
http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodesk/2011/10/swampscott-rising-waters-swamped-cars-and-turned-streets-into-rivers/Qvjy26nFgGKGqh7hzMGDyN/index.html
http://swampscott.patch.com/articles/record-setting-rainfall
nice post. was your family affected? i like your outline of the different approaches. your complexity approach was well done, tying everything together. i think you should also include the other side of the story too, pointing out what resources were available to those that wanted it, instead of placing all the blame on the lack of information.
ReplyDeletekeep up the good work!