Spencer Baxter

04/23/17
Natural Disasters (Geog-1700)

Several natural disasters occurred over the spring semester. Two that stood out to me

were the flood in Lima, Peru that hit in March of 2017, and the eruption of the Poas volcano in

Costa Rica in early April of 2017. I will be discussing different points about both disasters and

how the U.S. and Utah could benefit from these happening. The most interesting thing about the

Poas volcano was that it has erupted seven out of the past eight years, so it is a very active

stratovolcano. Unfortunately there were reports of over 67 people that died from the initial

flooding in Peru. Fortunately no casualties were reported from the eruption at Poas. I will cover

geological attributes, level of preparedness, how humans could make the disaster worse, and how

these disasters can be linked to others in the area.

First I will discuss the events of the flood in Peru. The geological attributes of Lima, Peru

include the center of the city only being 512 ft. above sea level. This makes it very prone to

flooding, because the Lima region of Peru is right on the west coastline of South America with

little protection. The region also has a lot of rivers that can overflow, and did during the worst

flood they have seen in decades. Being close to the ocean along with higher temperatures cause

more rain in the region. Perus level of preparedness is low, like most of South Americas

countries, due to poverty levels, and government funding. When a high level of the population is

facing poverty, they tend to have weaker buildings in that area and the number of deaths can be

catastrophic. If Peru could build a better infrastructure and create stronger buildings, and more

efficient roads we could expect a better level of preparedness. The flood can be linked to any

other extreme weather that happens on the pacific along South America. Some scientists believe
that due to global warming the sea levels rise, creating more floods and landslides. I dont

believe the flood became any worse by any human error. The only way a human could make the

event worse is if they didnt help others in need that were in the water, or trapped.

If the Lima area could build reservoirs in their mountains this could be more of a blessing

than a curse when it rains. They could trench out new water ways and man made rivers to

account for flooding. If they could get enough donations from the flood relief they could build up

their shoreline defense if increased ocean levels create problems.

Now I will cover the events of the eruption of the Poas volcano. The geological region of

Puerto Rico is surrounded by two oceans and along the ring of fire, making it prone to more

earthquakes and volcanic activity. Costa Rica is prepared for volcanic eruptions. They have

tectonic plates creating earthquakes and volcanoes for a long time. If there were any villages

close by to the Poas volcano they would be affected, but the eruptions in April werent enough to

cause any significant damage. The Poas volcano could be related to earthquakes in the region

setting them off. Costa Rica has several volcanic ranges linking this one eruption to many close

by. Volcanoes couldnt be any worse because of human error, unless there is a situation such as

failure to get people out of the way of hot magma, or getting too close to the volcano, no one

should get hurt. The region that the Poas volcano is located at is a national park, so there isnt

any immediate danger to houses, just tourists and nearby villagers. It would be the park rangers

job to minimize foul play by the volcano; especially if it was active.

 The United States could learn a lot from these two natural disasters in regards to disaster

mitigation. From the floods in Peru we can learn that in the event of a major flood we need to

have surrounding areas equipped with supplies and people ready to help victims. We can also

create a better draining system if the rivers were to overflow. I feel the national guard and other

military groups have helped when our country needs it, and that makes me feel safe to live here.

The U.S. is a lot more prepared than South America due to our resources. Even Utah could

benefit by using some of the events that happened after and use historical data for natural

disasters that could happen here and shorten response times.

Following these two disasters helped me appreciate the world news, and made me more

aware of disaster relief organizations. It is unfortunate that both disasters happened, but they

were interesting to learn about. Before taking this class I did not realize how many natural

disasters happen within a short period of time. We can all do our part to help out disasters around

the world and close to home. I know that if the Utah earthquake were to happen our community

would help rebuild and recover, I hope that the people of Peru are able to recover and grow for a

brighter future.