Hazards

Severe summer weather and its sequelae are the single greatest cause of human death in natural disasters in the United States. The greatest damage is the result of thunderstorms, flooding, lightning, wind, hail, and tornadoes. Although the effect of thunderstorms is invariably localized, the storms occur so frequently that the total deaths, injuries, and damages exceed all other disasters together. Each year approximately 100,000 thunderstorms develop in the United States. Of these, approximately 10% (10,000) are severe and about 3% (3000) produce tornadoes.

• Thunderstorms
• Lightning
• Wind
• Tornadoes
• Hail

Hurricanes are the largest, most destructive, and costliest disasters that affect the United States. Every year 40 to 70 million people are at risk of damage from hurricanes. The entire weather system of a hurricane is usually greater than 1000 miles in diameter. Within that system gale-force winds cover over 400 miles and hurricane-force winds over 100 miles. On the average, six Atlantic hurricanes occur each year. Most occur in August, September, and October, but the entire 6-month period from June 1 to November 30 is considered the Atlantic hurricane season. Throughout history damage and death from hurricanes have been vast.

• Terminology of Tropical Storms
• Monitoring and Forecasting Hurricanes
• Damage Resulting from Hurricanes
• Animals and Hurricanes
• Protecting Yourself and Your Animals in a Hurricane

Droughts and Heat

Droughts are probably the single most expensive disaster to the animal care industries in the United States. This is because vast areas of the United States can be affected by drought, and much of the livestock industry is affected.

• Animals and Extreme Heat
• What are Droughts
• Extreme Heat

Cold winter weather may be responsible for more deaths of animals than any other type of disaster. Every part of the United States has experienced snowfall at some time in recorded history. Depending on the degree of preparedness, even small amounts of snow or unexpectedly low temperatures and wind can have devastating effects on animal health and survival, animal care businesses, and personal life.

• What are Winter Storms
• Snow
• Animals in Winter

Floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States and are responsible for approximately 75% of all federal disaster declarations. Causes of flooding include dam and levee failures. Dam failures may follow excessive rainfall or melted snow. Earthquakes can weaken or cause dams to collapse.

No area in the United States is completely free from the threat of floods. Floodplains cover 7% (94 million acres) of the United States and 15% of all urban areas. Over 10 million residential and commercial buildings and 80% of the nation’s wetlands are located in floodplains. Each year, on the average, floods drive more than 300,000 people from their homes, 200 flood-related fatalities occur, and $4 billion in total flood damage is sustained. Severe floods are associated with the highest suicide rates when compared with the rates of all disasters. Many domestic animals, livestock, and wildlife are affected by floods.

• What are Floods
• Emergency Management and Floods
• Animal Health in Floods
• Livestock and Farms in Floods
• What to do if affected by a flood

Every year nearly 2 million fires in the United States threaten human and animal life. Fires cause over 5000 human deaths and $8 billion in damages in the United States every year.

Fires are considered catastrophic when five or more people die in a residential fire or three or more people die in a nonresidential fire. It is likely that many animals also die in fires, but their numbers are not recorded officially. Therefore, most of our knowledge of animal injuries and death from fires comes from reports in the media.

• Types of Fires
• The Danger of Fires
• How Animals are Affected by Fires
• After a Fire
• Recommendations for horse barn escape plans in fire

Major earthquakes have occurred in relatively recent history throughout most of the United States. It has been estimated that 109 million people and 4.3 million businesses in 39 states are at risk of earthquakes.

• What are Earthquakes
• Predicting and Mapping Earthquakes
• Animal Health in Earthquakes
• What to do if affected by an earthquake

Hazardous material (HAZMAT) spills are perhaps the single most common type of disaster that occurs in the United States. Hazmat incidents can occur in the home or workplace, where they may be limited in scope, but they also occur in public places, such as in transportation accidents and oil spills at sea. This is not surprising given the facts that every year approximately 1.6 million carloads of hazardous materials are transported on U.S. railways and many more tons are transported on U.S. roads.

• Hazmat Commonly Affect Animals
• HAZMAT and the Law
• Agency Roles in Response to HAZMAT
• Damage Assessment after a HAZMAT Spill
• Responding to HAZMAT
• Wildlife and HAZMAT