Aadvika’s articles

Author: Aadvika Yatagiri

It was a dark and stormy night in Kansas, for a poor girl Dorothy and her small dog, Toto. A horrible hurricane was happening outside, when the farmhouse got swept away into the hurricane ending up in Oz. Oz was definitely a magical place, and when Dorothy ended up there, she met a few people along the way. First, the scarecrow who has no brain  second, a tin man who’s yes, made of metal and has no heart , and finally, the cowardly lion and the good witch who can ding! And many other talking animals and objects along the way to defeat the wicked witch. Now let’s hop into reality and when you take a look at this. THIS IS A NIGHTMARE. Who wants to be destined to death and get swallowed away! Talking metal and a talking scarecrow? My heart would flatline. And cmon, a tornado?  Sounds like a natural disaster. Which brings us into today’s speech about… natural disasters. A non-human driven disaster that was caused by a natural hazard impacting many people’s lives. Reported by the UNFCCC,  The UN chief said that natural disasters have quadrupled since 1970. It’s crucial that we do something right now to prepare for a future full of them. In our  world, natural disasters have come to be a dangerous threat to our society,  So let’s ask the good witch for some help to learn about some natural disasters.

First, *ding* we go to the past to take a look at famous diasters. Second, we let a tornado hurl us into the present to examine tools for disaster detection. Finally we will watch what the ‘Wizard of Oz’ in our world has to help our people in the future. 

*ding* We land in Indonesia. Indonesia has many natural disasters, over 5,400 natural disasters up to 2023. On December 26th 2004, on the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake was unexpected that measured a 9.1 magnitude on the Richter scale which caused the Banda Aceh tsunami that was named the worst tsunami in modern history. It was a horrible disaster that spread to 18 countries around the Indian Ocean, killing 230,000 people to die in that disaster.

Landing onto our next country we are onto… Italy, the home of pizza and gelato, but we are gonna take it wayyy back.Back to when Pompeii became ashes. Pompeii was a wonderful Roman city, till Volcano Vesuvius located in Pompeii erupted which brought volcanic rubble, hot gasses, and ash that blanketed over the poor city. Even though it was believed that it was a volcanic eruption that made this happen, according to recent research, something else that was hidden… happened. According to amnh, “In A.D. 62, a major earthquake shook Mount Vesuvius. Earthquakes continued for years as the magma chamber inside Vesuvius inflated. Finally, in August of A.D. 79, eruptions began.“ And till this day, Mount Vesuvius is still named… Active.

Last but not least, we land in Cameroon where On August 21st 1986, 1700 people and over 3500 livestock near Lake Nyos in Cameroon, suddenly, all just died. The culprit? The rarest natural disaster… A limnic eruption. So how does it work? Well, first off, Lake Nyos was actually a crater lake, so volcanic gasses from the earth’s magma rose up to the lake, which made a carbon dioxide layer erupt, suffocating many lives and making the river…. Red, Woah looks like Carmen Sandiego entered the scene.

Now, let’s ask the good witch for a last wish to come back to the present.

The time has come for the tornado to- uh oh here it comes, brace for impact! Wait… we’re back into our reality. Wait… My reality is bad. But to allow our reality to be even less miserable, let’s  go through 3 different tools we can use to save our people! Made by Filippo Cecchi in 1875 is the… seismograph! The seismograph is an instrument that records seismic waves or measures vibrations of the earth during an earthquake and also an avalanche! It helps convert these seismic waves into electric waves that can be put on a computer so we can see how big earthquakes or these avalanches can be. 

Next, in development in 1995, but used in 2000, the DART system. Not darts as in the game… but ones that help us realize that Moana ‘make waves, make waves’ song went a bit too aggressive. The Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis device is not as small as a dart, but it helps us in a way. According to noaa.gov, “DART systems measure passing tsunamis by sensing pressure changes at the bottom of the ocean (as water depth increases, pressure increases).” 

And last but not least, a tool that is literally out of this world are… satellite telecommunications! Yes, satellites, a big object that looks like a water bear with wings on it, but instead helps give information about the earth. Satellites orbit around the earth and detect natural disasters so we can respond to them 

Time to  sit back and relax as we watch the solutions be presented.

Climate change is definitely something in our world.When it was a minor issue some one said one day it’ll be popular, you’re gonna be popular. But what better way than starting off solutions that include global collaboration to help prevent and prepare from these disasters. On December 12th 2015, the Paris Agreement was made to limit greenhouse gas emissions, making the max 34.7 degrees Fahrenheit which would significantly reduce risks and allowed it to provide money to countries when adapting to the impacts. Over 195 parties have joined together to help the world. But, once again, how does it work? Every 5 years, countries send a national climate action plan (NDC) to make sure it follows the Paris Agreement’s goals. 

Something that helps with the Paris Agreement, is the Sendai Framework. Instead of focusing on climate change, they focus on being prepared for disasters. Their first priority is to understand disaster risk. By understanding, they want to look at how they can help people who can be harmed, and how it impacts the environment. Their 2nd priority is to strengthen the governance to manage risk by looking at global levels. Their 3rd priority being by reduction for resilience, by investing to build structures and also by helping the country prepare. And finally the last one, which helps with recovery or to ‘build back better’ for stronger rehabilitation and reconstruction.

And what’s the bridge between this all? The IUCN. The IUCN helps with both of these policies. Except, these are natural solutions. The IUCN presents solutions like conserving forests, wetlands, and coral reefs. they act like natural barriers against floods, waves and even tsunamis. But, what are some ideas that we can think of for countries who have specific types of disasters? Don’t worry, I’ve made a whole plan. With countries with more hurricanes or tornadoes, we should build underground shelters. For people with wildfires, we should all unite to stop them, and for people with floods or tsunamis, we should work on better early warning systems unlike the one from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. 

But as judges, competitors, and spectators, are we ready? According to FEMA.org, “Results from the 2023 survey indicate that slightly more than half (51%) of Americans believe they are prepared for a disaster and 57% took three or more actions to prepare for a disaster within the last year.” So how can we prepare?

Well let’s say this is me, and I’m pretty clueless on what to do.  

Let’s start by following the 5 p’s of preparedness. First, prioritize your planning. Make sure you know what you’re doing and what to do. Start by knowing where to hide indoors, like staying away from the window. Number 2, procure your supplies, have supplies to help you like a safety kit or an emergency kit with all essentials. Number 3, prepare your environment, be ready for natural disasters and have a place to hide like a closet, Number 4, practice and train. Practice will help you with what to do in a real situation and finally number 5, have a peace of mind. Being under pressure will help you get to safety faster.  Let’s all be  prepared for a future with floods, hurricanes and wildfires, and let’s make sure we know how to survive. 
So today, we talked about famous natural disasters in the past, tools that help us monitor these natural disasters and if as a country, we are ready. So many people around the world are scared of such disasters that can kill people. And as I grew up, from loving natural disasters, I still think I love them, because what better way to spend quality time with your family, while locked in a closet, trying to to protect yourself, from a natural disaster.

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