Natural Disasters - What I Learned

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (2011) - Quinn

Date: March 11th, 2011

Local Effects: Created about $360 billion in economic damage. The natural disaster destroyed the nuclear industry in Japan. It also raised the national debt which raised prices for most goods in the country.

Infrastructure: 138,000 buildings were destroyed during the natural disasters

Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake - Santi

Date: December 26, 2004

Local Effects: Killed 230,000 people. Affected over 14 countries including India, and Sri Lanka

Infrastructure: $15 Billion in Damaged. Affected local crops and businesses. Caused a downfall in domestic business

Haiti Earthquake

The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 M_w earthquake, with an epicenter near the town of Léogâne , approximately 25 kilometers (16 mi) west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital.The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time  on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had been recorded.An estimated three million people were affected by the quake. Death toll estimates range from 100,000 to about 160,000..One out of four civil servants living in the capital were killed. There has been a history of national debt, prejudicial trade policies by other countries, and foreign intervention into national affairs that contributed to the pre-existing poverty and poor housing conditions that exacerbated the death toll. 

The earthquake struck just as Haiti’s economy was just starting to grow again. The U.S. Congress had just approved a hugely beneficial trade agreement. The Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act was signed in 2006. The agreement boosted Haiti's apparel industry by allowing duty-free exports to the United States. By 2009, Haiti was the 17th-largest apparel supplier to the United States. Exports had reached $424 million, according to the American Apparel and Footwear Association. Apparel made up more than 90% of Haiti's exports to America.  By 2014, GDP was $18.3 billion in 2014, and grew just 2.3%. That's better than the $12 billion produced in 2008.

The government of Haiti estimated that 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged.The earthquake created between $7.8 billion to $8.5 billion in damage.It damaged the main airport, most of the ports, and nearly all the paved roads. It destroyed 106,000 homes and damaged another 188,383 houses. Sixty percent of the city's government buildings, and 80% of its schools were destroyed or damaged. Haiti was already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Eighty percent of the population were under the poverty line and 54% lived in abject poverty. Nearly two-fifths of all Haitians are subsistence farmers. Haiti is especially vulnerable to damage from natural disasters because of deforestation.


Sources:

• http://christianals.com/haiti-earthquake/
• http://haitiearthquake.web.unc.edu/economic-impact-of-the-earthquake/
• https://www.britannica.com/event/Haiti-earthquake-of-2010
• https://www.thebalance.com/haiti-earthquake-facts-damage-effects-on-economy-3305660

Mini Research #1

There are many TV shows that come from across the globe that we may not even realize aren't from the US. After reading the article '32 New TV Shows From Other Countries You Should Be Watching Right Now' from the Huffington Post posted on November 15th, 2015 I realized that many of my favorite shows come from other countries. Overseas television gives us plenty to discover, whether through Netflix, Amazon Instant Video or even YouTube. Among the lengthy list posted in the article you will find shows such as The Returned, Sherlock, The Fall, Prisoners of War, and The Missing. The shows origins range from countries such as the United Kingdom and Denmark all the way to Israel and Canada. 

One of my favorite shows is Downton Abbey . This British drama series follows the lives of the Crawley family and its servants in the family's classic Georgian country house. The series begins with the 1912 sinking of the Titanic, which leaves Downton Abbey's future in jeopardy, since the presumptive heirs of Robert, Earl of Grantham -- his cousin James, and James' son, Patrick -- die in the catastrophe, leaving the family without a male offspring to take over Downton when the current lord dies. The point is important since Lord Grantham's children are daughters -- Ladies Mary, Edith and Sybil, but the facets of their lives and of those of the below-stairs staff -- also a highly regimented world -- have fascinating story lines. The show has recently ended after their sixth season but the legacy of the Grantham's lives on. This is a show my family and I all enjoy watching together.