Chapter 5: Global Disasters PDF

Chapter Five: Global Disasters e pl m Sa se lip About the Chapter Floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, wars and random incidents of violence, hunger, and pov...

Chapter Five: Global Disasters e pl m Sa se lip About the Chapter Floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, wars and random incidents of violence, hunger, and poverty are among the global challenges Ec that our world faces today. This chapter focuses on two main disasters that significantly affect humans. The first one is floods and the second one is hunger. Chapter 5 e Global Disasters pl m Lesson 1: Introduction to Floods Sa Lesson 2: Examples of Major Floods Lesson 3: Examples of Flood Prevention Innovations se Lesson 4: Global Hunger lip Lesson 5: Hunger Causes and Solutions Lesson 6: The Irish Great Famine of 1845: A Historic Ec Case Study Lesson 1 Chapter 5: Global Disasters Introduction to Floods Flooding is an overflowing of water onto land that is normally dry. Flooded areas of land usually start off as very dry land. Floods occur most commonly from heavy rainfall when natural watercourses do not have the capacity to convey excess water. However, floods are not always caused by heavy rainfall as explained in this lesson. e pl The damages that floods cause vary widely from year to year and are dependent on a number of factors such as the severity of a flood and its location. Flooding may happen with only a few m inches of water, or it may cover a house to the rooftop. The most dangerous flood event is the flash flood which happens quickly with little or no warning; other flooding events occur over a long Sa period and may last days, weeks, or longer. Floods can have both positive and negative impacts. They can bring welcome relief for people and lands suffering from prolonged se drought. For example, when floods occur on uncultivated land and leave fertile agricultural land, this is a positive effect. Floods also can be the most costly natural disaster. For example, floods are lip estimated to be the most costly natural disaster in Australia. Types of Floods Ec In broader terms, floods are of two types; Natural Floods and Catastrophic Floods as follow: 1- Natural floods are the floods that are caused naturally by the overflow of a huge volume of water, from rivers, lakes, oceans, 131 Lesson 1 Chapter 5: Global Disasters or by heavy rains or downpours, hurricanes, cyclones, or tsunamis. Read the example below: Example: Coastal Flooding Naturally, wind and other events cause ocean water to sometimes overflow. When this happens, flooding on the shores occurs. Ocean e storms can dump lots of water on a coast, raising the sea level in that area and causing coastal flooding. In the winter of 1978, the pl northeastern United States coast saw severe flooding that resulted from high winds and high tidal waves. m Coastal flooding can also be caused by long, low sea waves caused by volcanoes, landslides, earthquakes, or explosions. These waves Sa are tsunamis. Tsunamis waves are extremely dangerous because of their high speeds. Some tsunamis can be 50 to 100 feet high when they hit shore. With typical wind waves, water flows in circles, but with a tsunami, se water flows straight. This is why tsunamis cause so much damage. (See figure 5.1 and 5.2) lip Ec 132 Lesson 1 Chapter 5: Global Disasters e pl m Sa Figure 5.1: Wind waves se lip Ec Figure 5.2: Tsunami waves 133 Lesson 1 Chapter 5: Global Disasters 2- Catastrophic Floods are the floods that are caused by some significant and unexpected events as dam breakages. For example, floods are caused due to poor dams that cannot hold great volumes of water and they break causing floods in adjoining areas. Read the example below. Example: Dam Breakages e The Shadi Kor Dam (also called “Shakidor”) in Pasni, in the southwest pl of Pakistan, broke in 2005 after one-week of violent rainfalls. At least 250 or 300 people were killed thereby; approximately 1,500 people are still missing according to data of the province government. m Many smaller villages on the way there were flooded. The authorities sent thousands of soldiers for rescue actions into the area. Pasni Sa Airport became closed. The generators in the power station of Pasni were damaged. From this example we can summarize the impacts of floods as follow: se 1- Damage to human lives. In fact, floods have historically killed more people than any other form of natural disaster. lip 2- Damage to property (including houses and cars) through direct contact with floodwater, which may be contaminated. Ec 3- Disruption to transport routes. 4- Disruption to business - if transport routes are disrupted, there will be fewer shoppers. 5- Cost of deploying emergency services, Environment Agency and local authority staff. 134 Lesson 2 Chapter 5: Global Disasters Examples of Major Floods A- Flood Legends Some floods are purely mythological. Legends of a flood can be found in e the folklore of diverse places like the Middle East, India, China, Australia, pl southern Asia, and the Americas. The best-known flood legend had m its origins among the peoples of ancient Mesopotamia in the Tigris-Euphrates river valley. Sa The Mesopotamian flood legend appeared in the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’, one of the first human literatures, which relates the adventures of a se hero-king of Sumer. lip Ec Figure 5.3: Gilgamesh In Greek mythology the flood was first mentioned by the poet Pindar in the fifth century B.C. In the sixth century B.C., India the story of Manu, meaning “man,” is another example. In this legend Manu is warned by a fish about a coming flood. In the legend Manu builds a boat and saves himself. 135 Lesson 2 Chapter 5: Global Disasters An example of a China flood legend is a savior-hero named Yu the Great, the Tamer of the Flood, who successfully dredged the land to provide outlets to the sea for the water. e pl m Sa Figure 5.4: Yu the Great, the Tamer of the Flood se B-The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was one of the most lip powerful natural disasters of the 1900s. Following several months of unusually heavy rain during late 1926 and early 1927, the Mississippi River flooded. During the height of the flood, the river was over 80 miles wide at some locations. Ec The flood began when heavy rains pounded the central basin of the Mississippi. The flooding river flowed with the force of Niagara Falls. Ten feet of water covered towns up to 60 miles away from the river. The Mississippi Flood of 1927 affected an area of 27,000 square miles. Over 130,000 homes were lost and 700,000 people were displaced. The flood killed 246 people in seven states. Property damage was estimated at 350 million dollars, equivalent to approximately 5 billion dollars today. 136 Lesson 2 Chapter 5: Global Disasters C- North Sea Flood of 1953 During the night of January 31, the North Sea Storm and a high North Sea tide struck the east coast of England and the southwest coast of the Netherlands which caused the worst flood in northern Europe over the past two centuries. e Over 600 square kilometers of land were flooded and 307 lives lost in the U.K., while in the Netherlands over 1,800 people were pl drowned. Thousands of cattle, horses, sheep and poultry were lost and 21,000 people were homeless. The resulting damage in m both countries remains the worst seen since the Second World War. Sa se lip Ec Figure 5.5: Extent of flooding in the Netherlands 137 Lesson 2 Chapter 5: Global Disasters D-The Big Thompson Canyon Flood of 1976 The Big Thompson Canyon is a popular camping area in Colorado, USA. In 1976 during the height of tourist season, several thousand people enjoyed hiking, fishing and relaxing at their campsites. Eight inches of rain fell in one hour. The water in the river quickly rose over its banks. The weight of the charging water was so strong that e it sent huge boulders hurtling with it downstream. pl Residents and campers did not know that tragedy would strike in just a few short hours and that they were in the path of raging m flood waters. The Big Thompson Canyon Flood created over $30 million of Sa property damage and killed at least 139 people. Flood Safety Tips: 95 percent of those killed in the flash flood tried to outrun the waters along their path rather than climbing se rocks or going uphill to higher grounds. What is the safety tip that you learn from the above mentioned fact? lip Ec 138 Lesson 2 Chapter 5: Global Disasters E- Hurricane Katrina of 2005 Hurricane Katrina was one of the strongest storms to impact the coast of the United States during the last 100 years. In August 2005, the hurricane hit New Orleans and destroyed levees and floodwalls in the Mississippi/Louisiana River area, causing 80 percent of New Orleans to be flooded. The official death toll from e the flood was set on 1,577. A major economic impact for the Americans was the disruption to the oil industry from Katrina. pl Over 1.7 million people lost power for several weeks as a result of the storm. m Sa se lip Ec Figure 5.5: Katrina New Orleans Flood 139 Lesson 3 Chapter 5: Global Disasters Examples of Flood Prevention Innovations Engineers and politicians have tried to use new technology and integrated systems of flood prevention. In this lesson you will be introduced to some methods that different countries applied to control floods. e A-Historical Flood Protection pl In 715 AD, the Egyptians built a Nilometer as a structure of measuring the River Nile’s water level during the annual flood season. Some m temples that were located close to the Nile were built with Nilometers, to measure and record the water level. The best known example of this kind can be seen on the island of Elephantine in Aswan. Sa se lip Ec Figure 5.6: Nilometer on the island of Elephantine in Aswan. 140 Lesson 3 Chapter 5: Global Disasters B-The Thames Flood Barrier London is a city quite susceptible to flooding. This is caused by the continual rise in the water level of the River Thames throughout the years. To control River Thames flooding, a flood barrier over the River Thames was built. e The direct cause of the Thames Flood Barrier construction was the flood of 1953. Thames Flood Barrier is now the largest flood barrier in pl the world. It closes off part of the River Thames from the sea, and when opened ships can pass through it. Some additional tidal defenses were m built to secure the flood barrier protective capacity. Sa se lip Ec Figure 5.7: Thames Flood Barrier 141 Lesson 3 Chapter 5: Global Disasters C-The Delta Works In the past 2,000 years, the Netherlands has known many flood disasters. The main cause is that more than half of the Netherlands lies below sea level. The Dutch government decided to build structures that would prevent major flood disasters, such as the 1953 flood, from happening again, called the Delta Works. Finding solutions to expected e consequences of climate change, particularly flooding is a major challenge that faces the Delta Works, because in the future the rise pl of the sea level would demand the structures to be built higher. m Sa se lip Ec Figure 5.8: Delta Works 142 Lesson 3 Chapter 5: Global Disasters Levees on the Mississippi River Levees on the Mississippi River along much of its length are much higher than the river level and are constructed to prevent flooding from high discharges on the River. The Mississippi levee system represents one of the largest such systems found anywhere in the world. e pl m Sa se lip Figure 5.9: Levees on the Mississippi River Ec 143 Lesson 4 Chapter 5: Global Disasters Global Hunger Class Discussion Questions: 1- What is hunger? e 2- How do you feel when you are hungry? pl 3- Do you think that hunger is a global issue? Give evidence. 4- Is there a food shortage in the world? m Among the Millennium Development Goals which the United Nations Sa has set for the twenty-first century, reducing the proportion of hungry people in the world is top of the list. Whereas good progress was made in reducing chronic hunger in the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s, hunger has been slowly but steadily rising for the past decade. Today, the world is facing a hunger crisis unlike anything it has seen in se more than 50 years. 925 million people are hungry. That means one in seven people do not get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life. Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related lip causes. That’s one child every five seconds. In this lesson you will learn about this global issue. Ec A-Hunger and Nutrition Class Discussion Questions: 1- What is healthy food? 2- Why do people take vitamins or mineral supplements? 3- Is healthy food measured by quality or quantity, or both? 144 Lesson 4 Chapter 5: Global Disasters You feel hungry when there is a lack of food in your stomach. The sensation of hunger is universal. But there are different levels and terms of hunger which are each measured in different ways. Below are the terms that the United Nations uses to measure global hunger. 1- According to the United Nations, Under-nourishment is e a term used to describe the status of people whose food intake does not include enough calories (energy) to meet minimum pl physiological needs for an active life. Learn: The energy and protein that people need vary according m to age, sex, body size, physical activity, and climate. Extra energy is needed during pregnancy and lactation. On average, the body Sa needs more than 2,100 kilocalories per day per person to allow a normal, healthy life. 2- Malnutrition is the condition that develops when the body does not get the right amount of vitamins, minerals, and other se nutrients it needs to maintain healthy tissues and organ function. Starved of the right nutrition, people will die from common infections lip like measles or diarrhea. Malnutrition is measured not by how much food is eaten but by physical measurements of the body - weight or height - and age. Ec A malnourished person finds that their body has difficulty doing normal things such as growing and resisting disease. Physical work becomes problematic and even learning abilities can be diminished. For women, pregnancy becomes risky and they cannot be sure of producing nourishing breast milk. 145 Lesson 4 Chapter 5: Global Disasters B-The Danube River e pl m Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are afflicting nearly two billion Sa people worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, deficiencies of iron, vitamin A, and zinc rank among the top ten leading causes of death through disease in developing countries. Around 50 per cent of pregnant women in developing countries are se iron deficient (source: UNICEF). In 2008, nearly 9 million children died before they reached their fifth birthday. One third of these deaths were due directly or indirectly to hunger and malnutrition. lip According to the previous terms, what is meant by “Chronic Hunger”? Ec Islamic Morals: Through fasting, a Muslim experiences hunger and thirst, and sympathizes with those in the world who have little to eat every day. Explain. 146 Lesson 4 Chapter 5: Global Disasters B-The Geography of Hunger How many geographical areas are shown in the diagram below? What are they? e pl m Sa se lip Ec Figure 5.10: The countries of the 925 million hungry people in the world Most of the world’s hungry people live in developing countries. According to the latest Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) statistics, there are 925 million hungry people in the world and 98 percent of them are in developing countries. They are distributed as follows: 147 Lesson 4 Chapter 5: Global Disasters 578 million in Asia and the Pacific 239 million in Sub-Saharan Africa 53 million in Latin America and the Caribbean 37 million in the Near East and North Africa e 19 million in developed countries pl Statistics from the United Nations tell us that seventy-five percent of the poor and hungry people in the world live in rural areas, m mainly in the villages of Asia and Africa, and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Over dependent on agriculture for their food, Sa these people have no alternative source of income or employment. As a result, they are vulnerable to crises. se lip Ec 148 Lesson 5 Chapter 5: Global Disasters Hunger Causes and Solutions According to the World Health Organization, hunger and malnutrition are in fact the number one risk to the health worldwide — greater than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Among the key causes of hunger are poverty, natural disasters, e war conflict, poor agricultural infrastructure and over-exploitation pl of the environment. Recently, financial and economic crises have pushed more people into hunger. In this lesson you will learn about two of these causes. 1- Hunger and Poverty m Sa Class Discussion Questions: 1- What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘poverty’? se 2- How would the world be different if there was no poverty? 3- What are the causes of poverty? lip 4- Is poverty different in rich countries than in poor ones? 5- Do poor people have the resources such as land, tools or money Ec needed to grow or buy food on a consistent basis? 6- What kind of problems do poor people have? The main cause of hunger in the world is rooted in poverty. Millions of people earning low wages struggle to put healthy food on their tables. Parents earning low wages struggle to feed their children and meet their health needs. The regions across the world that are subjected to extreme poverty conditions are at more risk to have hunger crisis. According to the 149 Lesson 5 Chapter 5: Global Disasters World Bank 2010 Report, in the developing world, more than 1.4 billion people currently live below the international poverty line, earning less than $1.25 per day. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), among this group of poor people, many have problems obtaining adequate and nutritious food for themselves and their families. As a result, 1.02 billion people in the developing world are undernourished. They consume less e than the minimum amount of calories essential for sound health and growth. pl Read and Answer: m The Pinch of poverty 1891 is a famous painting by Thomas Benjamin Kensington. It is a famous oil painting which shows a small girl selling Sa flowers along with her mother and two siblings at a street corner in London. It depicts a small courageous girl who is hopeful to support her family. se lip Ec Figure 5.11: The Pinch of poverty 150 Lesson 5 Chapter 5: Global Disasters 1- Is poverty a recent issue? 2- Poverty keeps children out of school. Explain. 3- Why are women and children particularly affected by poverty? Class Discussion Questions: e 1- According to Islam, what should Muslims do to help reduce pl poverty? 2- How does Zakah help reduce poverty? m 3- Do you think governments should expand access to affordable Sa health care and child care? 4- How can people build a stable career and support their families? 5- When children receive the nutrition they need, they are more se likely to move out of poverty as adults. How effective are the Government Child Nutrition Programs such as school lunches and breakfasts and summer feeding programs? lip 2- Hunger and Armed Conflict Ec Class Discussion Questions: 1- Do you think governments should spend more on arms than on social programs? 2- What is the result, if the governments invest more money in war missions than in welfare? 3- Do you think there would be no wars if there was no poverty? Acts of siege warfare include seizing or destroying food stocks, 151 Lesson 5 Chapter 5: Global Disasters livestock, and cutting off marketed supplies of food. Farming population are also reduced by direct attacks and terror. As farming population flee, decline, or stop farming out of fear, food production falls. In some countries both government and oppo- sition forces have used famine as a weapon to control territories and population. e International Acts: pl To manage food shortages and prevent famine deaths, the international community has maintained geographic m information/famine early warning systems and food reserves since the 1970s. These information systems identify impending Sa or actual acute food shortages. The United Nations, the World Food Program (WFP), and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), ordinarily move food and other emergency care into affected zones to prevent starvation and suffering. Transporting and guarding emergency food supplies in conflict situations also se becomes a chief source of livelihood. lip Ec Figure 5.12: Somalis from southern Somalia receive food at a camp in Mogadishu 152 Lesson 6 Chapter 5: Global Disasters The Irish Great Famine of 1845: A Historic Case Study The Irish Great Famine of 1845, also called Potato Famine, was part of the wider food crisis facing Northern Europe caused by potato blight during the mid-1840s. This famine marked a significant era in Irish history, not only for politics but for culture, religion, e demographics, agriculture and industry. Because of these effects the famine is still studied in depth over 150 years after it took place. pl A-Before the Famine m The British Act of Union made Ireland a part of the United Kingdom. The Act abolished the 500-year-old independent Irish Parliament in Sa Dublin and placed the country under the jurisdiction of Britain’s Imperial Parliament. Under British rule, Irish Catholics were prohibited from entering the professions. The Gaelic language was banned. Export trade was forbidden as Irish commerce and industry were deliberately destroyed. se lip Ec Figure 5.13: Poor Irish children illustration In 1600, the British landowners had owned just 10 percent of Ireland’s land. By 1778, they owned 95 percent of the land. When an Irish landowner died, the estate was divide up equally among all of his sons. Many Irish farmers rented small plots of land from British Protestant landlords. They depended on potatoes as a main crop because the farmer could grow triple the amount of potatoes as grain on the same plot of land. 153 Lesson 6 Chapter 5: Global Disasters B-Main Cause of the Famine Ireland’s rural population had rapidly grown in the nineteenth century; this meant that large families needed large amounts of food. The land suitable for agriculture in Ireland was not enough to support families in this respect. e Critical Thinking: What is the effect of population growth on food resources? pl Potatoes were the staple diet of the rural population of Ireland. m The potato was the only crop that would provide enough food from such land areas. Each family grew what they needed for a year and few had any to keep for times of trouble. Sa se lip Ec Figure 5.14: Blighted potato In September 1845 a strange disease, which became known as ‘potato blight’, struck the potatoes grown in fields across Ireland. Between one-third and half of the potato crop was found to have turned into a slimy, decaying, blackish “mass of rottenness.” It is thought that the disease traveled to Europe on trade ships and spread to England and finally to Ireland. It was not possible to eat the blighted potatoes. The picture above shows what a blighted potato looks like. 154 Lesson 6 Chapter 5: Global Disasters C-The Great Hunger The rest of 1845 was a period of hardship, although not starvation, for those who depended on it. The price of potatoes more than doubled over the winter. The following spring, the farmers planted even more potatoes. They thought that the blight was a one-off and that they would not have to suffer the same hardship in the e next winter. Read what an Irish writer wrote about what happened in 1846. pl m Sa se lip Figure 5.15: Starving Irish children illustration Ec “As to the potatoes they are all gone - clean gone. If traveling by night, you would know when a potato field was near by the smell. The fields present a space of withered black stalks.” The crop of 1846 was all but a total failure and there was a very poor harvest in 1847. Three disastrous years in succession presented Ireland with huge problems. Critical Thinking: What is the role of the scientists in a situation of crop failure resulting from a specific disease? 155 Lesson 6 Chapter 5: Global Disasters D-The Result of the Famine The political, economical, and social impacts of the famine in Ireland were very great. Read the impacts of the famine below: 1- Demographic Impacts e Revision: pl 1- What is demography? 2- What is mortality rate? m 3- What are the three demographic processes responsible for population change? Sa A- Famine, fever, cholera, typhus, and infestations of lice-soon spread through the Irish countryside. se B- One of the most obvious effects of the famine was emigration. Emigration caused the population to drop by a further 3 million. These migrants largely ended up in North America, with some in Australia and in Britain. Within five years, the Irish population was lip reduced by a quarter. The picture below shows emigrants leaving their land sadly. Ec Figure 5.16: Irish emigrants leaving their land sadly. 156 Lesson 6 Chapter 5: Global Disasters 2- The Economical Impacts A- Many young Irish families saw their futures in America and not Ireland. This affected Ireland as those who were most active and who could contribute the most to Ireland, left the country. B- Before the famine, it was fairly common for farmers to sub-divide e their lands between their sons. Many historians believed that these subdivisions expanded the famine by leaving families very pl dependent on very small fields. In the post famine period farmers had learned the lesson, and this system of land inheritance largely disappeared. In general, parents passed the farm, intact, to a single son m while giving educational or financial assistance to siblings, sometimes to settle elsewhere or to emigrate. Sa Critical Thinking: What are the effects of dividing an area of land in to tiny fields? About You: Do you prefer to own a piece of land and be a farmer, se or to continue your education? Why? 3-The Cultural Impacts lip Class Discussion Questions: Ec 1-What is the importance of a native language? 2-What causes a native language to decline? 157 Lesson 6 Chapter 5: Global Disasters Irish culture and language were severely hit by the famine. The sharp decline in the speaking of Gaelic has been specifically linked to the late 1840s. The areas (west of Ireland) hit the hardest by the famine was the area where the Irish language had survived the longest. Those who died or emigrated in the famine were the speakers of the fluent Irish language. In 1861, e the number of Irish speakers had fallen to 24 percent. This decline continued for some years, reaching a low of 18 percent (figure pl for Republic of Ireland only). m Sa se lip Ec 158 Lesson 6 Chapter 5: Global Disasters Critical Thinking: What is the role of the educational policy in increasing native language proficiency? e pl m Sa se lip Ec Figure 5.17: Irish Gaelic Writing System 159  TERMS AND VOCABULARY Epic of Gilgamesh: A long Babylonian epic written in cuneiform in the Sumerian language on clay tablets. Gaelic: Related to languages of the Celts in Ireland and Scotland. Infrastructure: The basic structure or features of a system or organization. e Jurisdiction: The legal power, right, or authority of a particular pl court to hear and determine causes. m Legend: Any wonderful story coming down from the past, but not verifiable by historical record; a myth; a fable. [1913 Webster] Sa Levee: An embankment that is built in order to prevent a river from overflowing. Niagara Falls: A large waterfall on the Niagara River near Buffalo remarkable for the volume and constancy of the water flowing over se it.The part of the waterfall in Canada is the Horseshoe Falls; the U.S portion is called the American Falls. lip Ec Niagara Falls