Pinto Pm2 Tif Ch07

A New York Times article, penned during the height of the 1888 storm captures the sense of surprise felt by east coast urbanites: “When the people began to stir to go about their daily tasks and vocations they found that a blizzard, just like those they have been accustomed to read about as occurring in the far West, had struck the city and its environs and had laid an embargo on the travel and traffic of the greatest city on the continent” (1888, web). The Times’ piece registered disbelief at the notion that something that typically was only reputed to occur in the west had struck the east coast.

Many a time the hazards that loom on the horizon present a striking and beautiful view. As humans, people cannot live their lives in fear of things they have no control over. Local communities plus the federal government, and global nations can prepare for disasters, create emergency supply kits and organize family emergency plans. Regional parks near volcanoes can keep lake and reservoir water levels low to mitigate mudslides and avalanches. But no matter what one may do to prepare for disasters, they will happen, and nothing can keep one from occurring. The residents of the area surrounding Mt. St. Helens must understand that the volcano still poses a threat and it could erupt at any

The purpose of this analysis is to compare and contrast two projects in terms of Project Management, Quantitative Analysis and Economics while illustrating the

Since the 1950’s, high-water floodings have resulted in more than $37 million in property damages resulting in a push for change from citizens. The routine flooding push people from their homes damaged businesses and shut down two bridges. The severity of Roseville flood was the result of conditions created by population growth, outdated flood maps, and climate change. In contrast, Berkeley has been experiencing earthquakes and wildfires since the early 1900’s. The devastation and loss of life that rocked the Bay Area in October 1989 and the Tunnel Fire in 1991, killing people and severely disrupting services led to Berkeley’s strong mitigation efforts and plan implementations. Both communities did not fail to see what was possible of future environmental threats and took aggressive action to prevent future losses due to

The Association for Project Managment (APM) defines a project risk management in the following statement: “All projects, programmes and portfolios are inherently risky because they are unique, constrained,

The Cascade mountain air scented of fresh pine in the mild 55 degree weather as we made the short walk from our cars to the trailhead. We had worked for months previous to this, hiking our local trails every Tuesday and Thursday with an expansive hikes every Saturday. We knew that all the training had led up to the moments would soon follow, this was it . We checked and double checked our overly packed gear as we were Boy Scouts and began on our long trek ahead. The initial portion of the hike included large groves of pine and spruce trees along with small boulders and rock patches spotting the landscape. This went on for approximately one and a half miles until we reached the true base of the glorious peak we were about to summit, Mt. St.

The term risk has been defined in so many ways by many scholars. The term ‘risk’ itself is very broad to interpret. However, risk is often defined as a threat and it usually brings negative impacts to a person or an organisation. Hansson (2005) claims that many attempts have been made to define risk in a single meaning and eliminate other definitions which are futile and a form of ‘linguistic imperialism’. Since there is no exact meaning of risk, people describe risk based on their own perceptions and purposes. Perminova et al. (2008) and the Association of Project Management (APM) define risk as an uncertain event and exclusively negative (APM, 2006). Ward and Chapman (2003) recommend that project risk management (PRM) is categorized as project uncertainty management. Nonetheless, the term ‘uncertainty’ again brings confusion as there is no single meaning that can successfully define it (Perminova et al., 2008). On the contrary, Kaplan and Garrick (1981) define risk according to public’s risk perception. There are three criteria suggested by the authors such as the failure of that particular event, its tendency as well as the impact of the failure. Although there have been countless struggles to picture risk in a proper way, it is best that the focus should be diverted to a more important issue which is how to manage risk instead of defining it as time may not be on our side.

However, by undertaking these preparations whenever there’s a chance of a natural disaster, a government may find itself in a predicament if the disaster never occurs. In the Mount Pinatubo scenario, geoscientists were afraid of raising their warning to level 2 or level 3, because an evacuation would require time, labor, and money, regardless of whether the volcano actually erupted. People might panic, leading to unnecessary casualties. Moreover, such a severe warning could scare away tourists and potential residents for years to come (In the Path of a Killer Volcano). For example, the town of Mammoth Lakes’ antipathy toward the USGS has been growing for years, as federal announcements and media reports about potential volcanic eruptions may have weakened the local real estate market (Monastersky 376).

The most significant – and common – hazards from Alaska volcanoes are those created by ash clouds and ashfall. Alaska’s volcanoes are distributed under Pacific great circle aircraft routes (traversed by more than 50,000 people per day), and can erupt ash clouds into commercial and recreational airspace. Ash and aircraft do not mix, as volcanic ash is abrasive, melts at jet engine temperatures, and can cause engine failure. Alaska communities downwind of an erupting volcano often encounter ash fallout, which is both a problem for infrastructure (mechanical systems, power generation and transmission, water systems, transportation, communication systems) and a respiratory hazard.

As new scientific information becomes readily available to those tasked with insuring the safety of infrastructure, economy, and social wellbeing, state agencies assess and produce the most reasonable course of action that best represents the concerned parties. The function of the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries embodies this statement as it provides regional-specific information on the resource potential and vitality of the state’s ecosystems. Within there focus lays the identification and assessment of natural hazards. This ongoing scientific assessment of state concerns that center on the potential of a geologic and/or climate variant event occurring in the near future. From this perspective, Oregon Seismic Policy

On the island in Iceland where the volcano erupted, a lot of people didn’t go back, either, but many did. McPhee does a good job of getting the points of view of the people who choose the risk. Some people have no choice—they were born in a threatened place and don’t have the means to move, but others build or buy expensive homes on the slopes of unstable mountains. He finds experts on the geology of the San Gabriels who consciously live right in the path of potential debris flows, as well as real estate agents who blithely talk their way around the risk, reassuring potential buyers more than they ought to be reassured. McPhee’s interest in the human beings involved as well as the earth makes him a great story-teller. A little distractible, a little inclined to collect as many anecdotes as possible, but never dull. He can make alarming and complex scientific material readable without making it any less alarming. The issues are not old. I did a little research before writing this review. People studying the Old River Control structure where the Atchafalaya is being—for now—prevented from capturing the Mississippi still say McPhee’s article that was the basis for this book is the best thing ever written on the topic. Debris flows are still endangering California towns. People still live where nature could cover them up with water, lava or rocks on short notice, and they

The inspector's smile faded as he cleared his throat for the fourteenth time. Bernard had counted. “There's quite a lot of evidence of rodent infestation, Mr. Frisk. Have you seen any rats or mice?” He asked as he glanced down at his clipboard again. Bernard felt his face grow warm. “Yeah, ah, I've seen a couple here and there. No roaches though.” Barry nodded as he scribbled something down. “And that outlet there... Did something catch fire?”

Another discipline that widely displays the paradox of finding success through failure is science. In science there have been many great success stories, where scientists have achieved their success through failure. An example of this is Thomas Edison, who experienced many setbacks in life but did not let that stop him from reaching his goals. “Thomas Edison was one of the most productive inventors in American history. With 1,093 U.S. patents and more in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, no other inventor has come close to Edison's output” (Edison, 2007). His resiliency is what led to him finally getting it right. On his failed attempts, Edison said,

Risk Reduction – Explains the plans and strategies to minimize risks and management them according to the possibility of risk.

This paper investigates the properties of projects conducted in rapidly changing environments. These projects are challenged by the