Case Studies
Location and Path of Cyclone Yasi
MEDC-
Cyclone Yasi hit Queensland, Australia on the 3rd of February 2011. It was a category five and caused immense damage to infrastructure, transport, environments and lives. As the cyclone reached the border of Queensland, it brought along strong winds and harsh rainfall that caused masses of damage to local towns and cities. The cyclone lasted a day or so but its effects lasted much longer. Crops, banana crops in particlar, were destroyed which made the increase in prices of products go up which resulted in no one buying the produce, because of this, many farmers went out of business. Also, hospitals, homes, sewerage systems, power lines, workplaces and transport were all damaged or destroyed and were expected to take a lot of time and money to fix. This made things really hard for victims but fortunately, $315 million dollars was handed by the government to the council to pay for the recovery. Because of that, rebuilding is well under way and though things aren’t quite back to normal, they are much better. Thankfully, no one died in the giant storm, unlike Cyclone Sidr.
Cyclone Yasi hit Queensland, Australia on the 3rd of February 2011. It was a category five and caused immense damage to infrastructure, transport, environments and lives. As the cyclone reached the border of Queensland, it brought along strong winds and harsh rainfall that caused masses of damage to local towns and cities. The cyclone lasted a day or so but its effects lasted much longer. Crops, banana crops in particlar, were destroyed which made the increase in prices of products go up which resulted in no one buying the produce, because of this, many farmers went out of business. Also, hospitals, homes, sewerage systems, power lines, workplaces and transport were all damaged or destroyed and were expected to take a lot of time and money to fix. This made things really hard for victims but fortunately, $315 million dollars was handed by the government to the council to pay for the recovery. Because of that, rebuilding is well under way and though things aren’t quite back to normal, they are much better. Thankfully, no one died in the giant storm, unlike Cyclone Sidr.
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LEDC-
Cyclone Sidr was a category 4-5 cyclone that hit Bangladesh on the 15th of November 2007. Cyclone Sidr left Bangladesh in ruins and caused many locals to have to pick up the pieces in its path of destruction. The effects Cyclone Sidr had was the almost irreparable damages to homes, crops, lives and buildings which impacted innocent lives much more than possibly imagined. The worst impact was the amount of lives lost. More than 15,000 people lost their lives due to flooding, famine and disease. The cyclone destroyed 500,000 homes which left people living on the streets. There were no hospitals or places they could go to heal the injured. This left the citizens vulnerable to diseases carried in by the standing water. Also, because all the crops were destroyed, people were left without food and that caused a huge famine that killed hundreds. Thankfully, volunteers working for Red Cross were able to help some residents, before and after the cyclone, evacuate and bring them safely to cyclone shelters. They also raised money to pay for food, shelter and other needs of the locals. A certain programme in Kuakata helped build homes for 952 families. This shows just how much organisations such as the Red Cross can help when a country’s government can’t. Also, other countries can help as well by donating money and other needs called ‘aid.’ Around $107 million was given to the Bangladesh government from places such as the UK, the US and Arabia.
Cyclone Sidr was a category 4-5 cyclone that hit Bangladesh on the 15th of November 2007. Cyclone Sidr left Bangladesh in ruins and caused many locals to have to pick up the pieces in its path of destruction. The effects Cyclone Sidr had was the almost irreparable damages to homes, crops, lives and buildings which impacted innocent lives much more than possibly imagined. The worst impact was the amount of lives lost. More than 15,000 people lost their lives due to flooding, famine and disease. The cyclone destroyed 500,000 homes which left people living on the streets. There were no hospitals or places they could go to heal the injured. This left the citizens vulnerable to diseases carried in by the standing water. Also, because all the crops were destroyed, people were left without food and that caused a huge famine that killed hundreds. Thankfully, volunteers working for Red Cross were able to help some residents, before and after the cyclone, evacuate and bring them safely to cyclone shelters. They also raised money to pay for food, shelter and other needs of the locals. A certain programme in Kuakata helped build homes for 952 families. This shows just how much organisations such as the Red Cross can help when a country’s government can’t. Also, other countries can help as well by donating money and other needs called ‘aid.’ Around $107 million was given to the Bangladesh government from places such as the UK, the US and Arabia.
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Costs of Damage: Sidr vs Yasi
Difference in Response-
Australia and Bangladesh were both hit by the same disaster but the outcomes and impacts were much more different. Australia has a HDI of 0.929 and a GDP of $1.37 trillion USD* which means that Australia is a very ‘well off’ country or an MEDC (more economically developed country) whereas Bangladesh has a HDI of 0.500 and GDP of $110.61 million USD* which makes it an LEDC (less equally developed country) or a not so ‘well off’ country. Because of this more people living in Bangladesh were likely to die, more homes were likely to be destroyed and it would likely take Bangladesh more time to recover. This is because Bangladesh is generally a poor country and their government can’t afford to pay money to the people affected by natural disasters for buildings, crops and medical care unlike the Australian Government who can pay for all of these things. More people were likely to die because it was harder to spread the news that the cyclone was going to hit and because the buildings in Bangladesh are flimsy and not waterproof leaving people extremely exposed to the harsh wind and rain. Other death was caused by diseases which were brought in by the floods and because there wasn’t anywhere people could go to get medical help, they would just die over time. As for government and organisations, Australia would be most benefited by the government because they have lots of money and are willing to help while the Bangladesh government are poor and can’t really help so Bangladesh were most benefited by aid and organisations such as Red Cross that would send over volunteers, doctors, money, food and shelter but only very scarce amounts. It is easy to see that in a natural disaster, MEDCs are much better off.
*I couldn’t find the AUSD GDP.
Australia and Bangladesh were both hit by the same disaster but the outcomes and impacts were much more different. Australia has a HDI of 0.929 and a GDP of $1.37 trillion USD* which means that Australia is a very ‘well off’ country or an MEDC (more economically developed country) whereas Bangladesh has a HDI of 0.500 and GDP of $110.61 million USD* which makes it an LEDC (less equally developed country) or a not so ‘well off’ country. Because of this more people living in Bangladesh were likely to die, more homes were likely to be destroyed and it would likely take Bangladesh more time to recover. This is because Bangladesh is generally a poor country and their government can’t afford to pay money to the people affected by natural disasters for buildings, crops and medical care unlike the Australian Government who can pay for all of these things. More people were likely to die because it was harder to spread the news that the cyclone was going to hit and because the buildings in Bangladesh are flimsy and not waterproof leaving people extremely exposed to the harsh wind and rain. Other death was caused by diseases which were brought in by the floods and because there wasn’t anywhere people could go to get medical help, they would just die over time. As for government and organisations, Australia would be most benefited by the government because they have lots of money and are willing to help while the Bangladesh government are poor and can’t really help so Bangladesh were most benefited by aid and organisations such as Red Cross that would send over volunteers, doctors, money, food and shelter but only very scarce amounts. It is easy to see that in a natural disaster, MEDCs are much better off.
*I couldn’t find the AUSD GDP.