Arizona is the sixth largest state in the United States of America. Arizona is also the 14th most populous state with its capital city being Phoenix. It neighbors Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and California. The state is known for its desert basin and range region. The climate is scorching summers and mild winters. About a quarter of the state is under forest despite being arid. The location of the Grand Canyon in its territory gives the state a high tourist influx (Pound & Barnes, 2016, p. 89)
Arizona is among the states that have a high affinity for natural disasters. Due to its arid climate, Arizona has had many incidents of wildfires. Each year the state has around 1-3 severe wildfires during the summer months. The foliage is dry, and the wind speeds make the fire to grow fast. The ignition of the fire can be caused by lightning strikes, camping sites and lit cigarettes from passersby (Balch et al., 2017, p. 2946). These fires have proven to be deadly; in 2013 about 20 firefighters lost their lives after the wildfire they were fighting changed direction and cut off their escape route. This catastrophe was the highest single loss of firefighters in the United States of America since the 2001 terrorist attack. In 2018 a fire was started by an explosion during a gender reveal party. It took over 800 firefighters and over 8 million dollars to extinguish (Balch et al., 2017, p. 2948).
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Several hurricanes have hit Arizona in the last decade. Hurricanes are tropical cyclones that are found in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans (Balch et al., 2017, p. 2949). They are low-pressure areas that form over warm ocean waters during the summer and early fall. It takes the water vapor from the ocean’s surface and grows in size. It releases energy in the form of clouds and rain. The Hurricane can have wind speeds of between 74 MPH-155MPH (Balch et al., 2017, p. 2950). The storm surge can cause flooding destroying power poles and destroying the lower floors of buildings. In 2018 Hurricane Bud hit Arizona with winds of 140MPH and a minimum barometric pressure of 943MBAR. The destruction caused in the surrounding states was substantial. There were huge flash floods and mudslides reported. Major roads were cut off and some communities isolated. Riptides and swells created by the storm also threatened to pull people and buildings to the sea.
Tornadoes occur when two air masses (one cool and dry the other warm and moist) collide and create instability in the atmosphere. A strong column of air extending from the thunderstorm to the ground is formed. In 2010 there was a tornado outbreak. About nine tornadoes were confirmed in Arizona. The tornadoes terrorized the residents of this state for nearly 12 hours. The damage caused by the tornadoes totaled to about $1.6 billion. While there were no fatalities, 11 people were injured, and many people lost their homes (Akter & Wamba, 2017, p. 7).
The people of Arizona have formulated some disaster response plans. This is to prevent the loss of life as well as minimize the amount of damage to the property. For wildfires, residents are urged by authorities to prepare an emergency kit. This kit should contain at least a first aid kit and some food and water provisions to last a few days just in case one is not able to move to designated point or aid is not able to reach them in time (Akter & Wamba, 2017, p. 11). Authorities have also formulated evacuation centers and have put in place a disaster management team made up firefighters, medical personnel, National Guard troops, and law enforcement. The cooperation between these branches is essential to ensure that evacuation runs smoothly. Communication between the emergency services is maintained by radio. Radio stations broadcast information regarding the evacuation plans and safety points to the members of the public. This information keeps them in the loop if there are any changes in the situation (Rezaei-Malek, Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, Cheikhrouhou, & Taheri-Moghaddam, 2016, p. 490)
Fire hazards in and around the home should be disposed of. Most authorities work in conjunction with neighborhoods to remove dried out branches, leaves, and debris. Fire safety techniques are taught at schools by the fire departments. This creates awareness and reduces the chances of accidental fires. Families are encouraged to conduct fire drills regularly to increase readiness. Firefighting techniques are also taught by fire departments to help in the prevention of the spread of fire. The state has formulated some legislation to encourage building safety. The installation of smoke detectors on every floor in a building is mandatory (Akter & Wamba, 2017, p. 19). The local fire departments are to be consulted about making any new homes fire resistant. For Hurricane and tornadoes, early warning systems have been set up to alert the authorities on oncoming weather changes. This prevents them from getting off-guard. In the coastal areas, dikes and canals have been built to reduce the chances of flooding. Shelters have been created to shelter those living in at-risk zones. For tornadoes, the movement of people is restricted as there is a lot of flying debris that can cause injury and death. Shelters have been located near large urban centers to provide housing to the residents (Lindell et al., 2006, p. 309).
The authorities have carried adequate preparation to ensure that casualties are minimized. The state of Arizona has organized itself into a single command structure to prevent overlapping of duties and reduction in effectiveness. The reduction in the casualty levels shows the competency of the system that they have put in place (He & Zhuang, 2016, p. 249). The preparedness plan made the state of Arizona is sufficient enough for any catastrophe.
References
Akter, S., & Wamba, S. F. (2017). Big data and disaster management: a systematic review and agenda for future research. Annals of Operations Research , 1-21. doi:10.1007/s10479-017-2584-2
Balch, J. K., Bradley, B. A., Abatzoglou, J. T., Nagy, R. C., Fusco, E. J., & Mahood, A. L. (2017). Human-started wildfires expand the fire niche across the United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 114 (11), 2946-2951. doi:10.1073/pnas.1617394114
He, F., & Zhuang, J. (2016). Balancing pre-disaster preparedness and post-disaster relief. European Journal of Operational Research , 252 (1), 246-256. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2015.12.048
Lindell, M. K., Perry, R. W., Prater, C., Nicholson, W. C., United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency, & United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. (2006). Fundamentals of Emergency Management .
Pound, L., & Barnes, W. C. (2016). Arizona Place-Names. American Literature , 7 (4), 489. doi:10.2307/2920112
Rezaei-Malek, M., Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, R., Cheikhrouhou, N., & Taheri-Moghaddam, A. (2016). An approximation approach to a trade-off among efficiency, efficacy, and balance for relief pre-positioning in disaster management. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review , 93 , 485-509. doi:10.1016/j.tre.2016.07.003
