Read the case study below and answer questions that follows:   Impact of Natural Disasters on Coastal Countries Hurricanes are monitored globally by a number of weather satellites operated by the United States of America

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Read the case study below and answer questions that follows:

 

Impact of Natural Disasters on Coastal Countries

Hurricanes are monitored globally by a number of weather satellites operated by the United

States of America. Military aircraft are flown around the storms (Hurricane Hunters) which

are probed with sensors that transmit data to computers at the US National Hurricane Centre

in Miami, which in turn provide forecasting and prediction of their intended paths, strengths,

loads and the likely effects of their impact upon any country or region. Thus, on September

18th 2017, the powerful Hurricane Maria devastated Dominica.

 

Early warning systems from

the National Hurricane center monitored the hurricane before it intercepted the island.

On September 20th 2017, the powerful Hurricane Maria also devastated the island of Puerto

Rico. Early warning systems from the National Hurricane center monitored the hurricane

after it made landfall on Dominica and prior to it intercepting the island of Puerto Rico.

Early warning systems

 

These are some of the early warning systems used in the Caribbean:

Rain and river gauges with electromechanical transducers providing signaling that are

automatically transmitted to a central computer where processing is done and the appropriate

response is initiated. This type of telemetry is widely used to provide early warning for

flooding from river overflow and rain inundation.

 

Satellite tracking of weather systems which is globally transmitted in real time on weather

channels and which is then rebroadcast by local television and cable service providers for

early consumption and evasive action by threatened populations. This early warning system

has undoubtedly saved millions of lives over the past decade or so, as death tolls from

weather systems were considerably higher before its development.

The Tsunami Warning System is perhaps the most safety critical of all warning networks, as

it must rapidly report any occurrence of undersea activity likely to produce tsunami at any

point throughout the world in to allow sufficient time for evasive action. This utilizes state of

the art digital communication technology in order to fulfill its mandate.

Satellite imagery is used to detect forest fires and unusual migration of population in some 

 

countries where this is a potential hazard. These pictures also give indications of performance

of crops, which provide warning of impending famine and its associated epidemic

implications. Bridge failure and Sea wall breaches are sometimes predicted or pre-empted by

the use of electromechanical transducers, which use telemetry to signal creep. This warning

system saves untold lives as buses and trucks with large numbers of people cross hundreds of

times per day.

 

Human reporting of unusual or potentially dangerous situation is however the most widely

used and effective early warning systems. This is so because it is driven by personal interest,

understanding and prioritization of the potential dangers, where technological means may

sometimes appear foreign to some cultures. This type of warning system is both formal and

informal. Simple reporting to the authorities by members of the community is done daily,

while Health Ministries, social and humanitarian workers, scientific projects, and other

government agencies have monitoring and reporting systems, which provide the most basic

and reliable type of warnings. This class of warning usually utilizes the most basic

communications technology.

Question 1

Discuss Five Benefits of Early warning systems (25marks)