Saturday, May 23, 2020

The 1993 Storm of the Century

The blizzard of March 12 to 14, 1993 remains one of the worst U.S. snowstorms since the Great Blizzard of 1888, and its no surprise, considering that the storm stretched from Cuba to Nova Scotia, Canada, affected 100 million people across 26 states, and caused $6.65 billion in damage. By the storms end, 310 fatalities had been reported, more than three times the number of lives lost during Hurricanes Andrew and Hugo combined. Storm Origin and Track On the morning of March 11, a strong ridge of high pressure sat just offshore the U.S. west coast. Its position oriented the jet stream so that it plunged south out of the Arctic, allowing unseasonably cold air to flow into the U.S. east of the Rocky Mountains. Meanwhile, a low-pressure system was developing near Brownsville, TX. Fed by a number of upper air disturbances, energy from jet stream winds, and moisture from the north-central Gulf of Mexico, the low began to rapidly strengthen. The storms center traveled near Tallahassee, FL, in the pre-dawn hours of March 13. It continued north-northeastward, centering over southern Georgia near mid-day and over New England that evening. Near midnight, the storm deepened to a central pressure of 960 mb while over the Chesapeake Bay area. Thats the equivalent pressure of a Category 3 hurricane! Storm Impacts As a result of heavy snow and high winds, most cities across the Eastern Seaboard shut down or were completely inaccessible for days. Because of such societal impacts, this storm has been assigned the highest rank of extreme on the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale (NESIS). Along the Gulf of Mexico: The Florida panhandle received up to 4 inches (10.2 cm) of snowA squall line out ahead of the cold front caused a powerful derecho (straight-line windstorm) with gusts in excess of 100 mph (160 km/h) felt down to Havana, CubaA Supercell spawned 11 tornadoes across the Sunshine State, ranging from F0 to F2 in intensityA 12-foot (3.7 m) storm surge caused flooding along the coasts of western Florida and northern Cuba In the South: Accumulations ranged from 3-5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m)Snow drifts of up to 15 feet (4.6 m) were reported at Mount Mitchell, NCRare convective elements such as lightning, thundersnow, and snowfall rates of 2 to 4 inches (5.1 to 10.2 cm) per hour were experiencedHundreds of thousands of residents were left without electricity for up to a week In the Northeast Canada: Accumulations ranged from 15 to 45 inches (38.1 cm to 1.1m)Syracuse, NY, broke five of its snowfall records, including 24-hr snowfall, maximum daily snowfalls for March 13 and 14, snowiest March, and snowiest seasonWith the storms passage, New Brunswick, Canada, reported a 45 F (7 C) temperature drop within 18 hours Forecasting Success National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists first noticed signs that a fierce winter storm was brewing during the preceding week. Due to recent advances in computer forecast models (including the use of ensemble forecasts), they were able to accurately forecast and issue storm warnings two days in advance of the storms arrival. This was the first time the NWS forecasted a storm of this magnitude and did so with several days lead time. But despite warnings that a big one was on the way, public response was one of disbelief. The weather preceding the blizzard was unseasonably mild and didnt support the news that a winter storm of historic proportions was imminent. Record Numbers The Blizzard of 1993 broke dozens of records of its time, including over 60 record lows. The top fives for U.S. snowfall, temperature, and wind gusts are listed here: Snow Totals: 56 inches (142.2 cm) on Mount LeConte, TN50 inches (127 cm) on Mount Mitchell, NC44 inches (111.8 cm) at Snowshoe, WV43 inches (109.2 cm) at Syracuse, NY36 inches (91.4 cm) at Latrobe, PA Minimum Temperatures: -12 F (-24.4 Â °C) in Burlington, VT and Caribou, ME-11 F (-23.9 Â °C) in Syracuse, NY-10 F (-23.3 Â °C) on Mount LeConte, TN-5 F (-20.6 Â °C) in Elkins, WV-4 F (-20 Â °C) in Waynesville, NC and Rochester, NY Wind Gusts: 144 mph (231.7 km/h) on Mount Washington, NH109 mph (175.4 km/h) at Dry Tortugas, FL (Key West)101 mph (162.5 km/h) on Flattop Mountain, NC98 mph (157.7 km/h) at South Timbalier, LA92 mph (148.1 km/h) on South Marsh Island, LA

Sunday, May 10, 2020

Urban Shield A Preparedness Training For Prevention,...

Urban Shield has grown into a preparedness training for prevention, protection, response and recovery in a high-threat and busy urban area. Many people are becoming more and more against the urban shield program, however I think it’s a necessary training program to implement within local law enforcement agencies. It trains law enforcement and the sheriff’s office to prepare for terrorist threats, and how they can respond to threats or attacks without use of the military force. With the numerous events going on in today’s world with alleged attacks from terrorist groups like ISIS to not only the US but to other countries in the world, Urban Shield highly prepares law enforcement to respond to threats. Nobody expected those sudden attacks in†¦show more content†¦Urban Shield is ready for attacks of all kinds, especially situations such as active shooters or terrorism on our own soil. It’s unfortunate we have to worry about attacks like this, but eve r since 9/11 America has been changed. Our security for air travel and border control is far stricter, but nobody seemed to be against that. It was all in response to prevention of another terrorist attack, so by having Urban Shield I believe this kind of training is perfectly justifiable. Which is why it’s important to prepare for any situation that could happen. This kind of training points out week points and things to improve on. It improves communication and teamwork between other agencies. We can’t have a police officer or member of the National Guard to watch over every single school in the United States, so deploying rapid response law enforcement teams is a great alternative. With labs like the Lawrence Livermore lab and huge technological companies that we have in the Silicon Valley, or tapping into the tap water source for schools or homes, these could be targets for terrorism or active shooter situations that are vital and need to be protected. The next attack could happen at any moment, just as we saw two weeks ago in the San Bernardino shooting in Southern California. These kind of things are never expected, which is why giving law enforcement on a local level is a smart thing to do. I believe it’s always

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Pantawid Pamilya Report Free Essays

PANTAWID PAMILYANG PILIPINO PROGRAM (Conditional Cash Transfer in the Philippines) HISTORY Pantawid Program started in 2008 is one of the responses of the Philippine Government to the challenge of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The program works to attain 5 out of the 8 MDGs namely: Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women Goal 4: Reduce child mortality Goal 5: Improve maternal health This version of the government of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) was patterned after the successful poverty reduction and social development measures of some Latin and Caribbean countries: |Country |Name of Program |Year Started | |Brazil |Bolsa Familia |1995 | |Mexico |Progresa/Oportunidades |1997 | |Colombia |Familias en Accion |2000 | |Honduras |Programa de Asignacion Familiar |2000 | |Nicaragua |Red de Protection Social |2000 | |Jamaica |Program for Advancement through Health and Education |2001 | |Chile |Chile Solidario |2002 | Poverty in the Philippines affects 27. 9 million Filipinos. We will write a custom essay sample on Pantawid Pamilya Report or any similar topic only for you Order Now This translates to 4. 7 million families that are poverty-stricken. 30% of the total population is unable to meet their basic food and non-food requirements and they do not avail of the basic health services. 1. 9 million families are unable to get the food needed for nutritional health and well-being of their members, especially young children. With these data, the Philippine government came up with its own version of the conditional cash transfer program. OBJECTIVES Short Term Objective †¢ Social Assistance gt; Provide assistance to the poor to alleviate their immediate needs. Long Term Objective †¢ Social Development Break the intergenerational cycle of poverty through investment in human capital i. e. , education, health and nutrition. BENEFICIARIES/TARGET POPULATION Eligible beneficiaries include the following: 1. Residents of the poorest municipalities based on 2003 Small Area Estimates (SAE) of NSCB; 2. Households whose economic condition is equal to or below the pr ovincial poverty threshold. 3. Households that have children 0-14 years old and/or have a pregnant woman at the time of assessment; 4. Households that agree to meet conditions specified in the program. REGION |NO. OF PROVINCES |NO. OF CITIES/ |NO. OF HOUSEHOLDS | | | |MUNICIPALITIES | | |REGION I |4 |35 |35,330 | |REGION II |4 |23 |25,574 | |REGION III |7 |41 |31,183 |REGION IV-A |5 |70 |105,981 | |REGION IV-B |5 |61 |141,266 | |REGION V |6 |93 |262,291 | |REGION VI |7 |86 |187,813 | |REGION VII |4 |61 |145,349 | |REGION VIII |5 |95 |179,692 | |REGION IX |3 |67 |209,593 | |REGION X |5 |82 |214,060 | |REGION XI |4 |34 |130,521 | |REGION XII |4 |34 |163,149 | |CARAGA |5 |70 |148,520 | |ARMM |5 |99 |258,738 | |CAR |6 |42 |26,274 | |NCR |0 |17 |73,727 | |TOTAL |79 |1,010 |2,339,060 | **as of 3rd quarter of 2011(set 1-4) PROGRAM STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES The program provides conditional cash grants to beneficiaries, through Landbank cash card, to wit: ? Health and Nutrition ? P6,000 per year or P500 per month per household ? Education ? P3,000 per year or P300 per month per child for 10 months a year, to a maximum of 3 children per household Program Conditionalities (Co-responsibility of the Household) HEALTH AND NUTRITION †¢ Pregnant Household Member ? Visit their local health center to avail of pre- and post-natal care. Avail of appropriate delivery services by a skilled health professional. ? Avail at least one post-natal care within 6 weeks after childbirth. †¢ Children 0-5 Years Old ? Visit the health center to avail immunization. ? Have monthly weight monitoring and nutrition counseling for children aged 0-2 years old. ? Have quarterly weight monitoring for 25 to 73 weeks old. ? Have management of childhood diseases for sick children. †¢ Children 6-14 Years Old ? Must receive deworming pills twice a year. EDUCATION †¢ Children 3-5 years old ? enrolled in day care or pre-school program and maintain a class attendance rate of at least 85% p er month. †¢ Children 6-14 years old enrolled in elementary and secondary school and maintain a class attendance rate of at least 85% per month. ISSUES AND CONCERNS Dole-out ? No, it is a social contract between the beneficiary and the government and it is a development program that invests in human capital. It is a conditional payment and the beneficiaries must meet specific conditions before they can get the cash assistance. It encourages them to invest in the future, their own, and those of their children. Inclusion Error ? Ineligible households were asked to voluntarily waive from the program. This includes households who have a regular income like teachers and other professionals. How to cite Pantawid Pamilya Report, Papers