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Showing posts from October, 2022

Extreme Weather

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Mexico has a wide range of topography between two oceans and with that it brings a wide range of extreme weather. One type of extreme weather Mexico experiences is heavy rainfall with warm temperatures leading to high humidity with the average annual humidity at 70%. Mexico receives approximately 40 inches of rainfall each year.   The typical alert system of predicted extreme weather is through the media accessible to the people, primarily through radio stations. “Its social and economic conditions increase the population’s vulnerability as they lack proper preparation to face the impacts of extreme weather events.” The people that live in areas of extreme rainfall in their location begin to prepare with resources at hand such as with sandbags and clearing/creating any path for water to run smoothly through to avoid major damage to their communities as soon as they are alerted of the possibility of extreme weather. Below you will find an image showing the variety of ranges the...

Mass Wasting

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Along with earthquakes, rainfall, and volcanic activity, landslides are also a major hazard for Mexico. “ However, in comparison with other hazards such as volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes and floods, landslides have not captured yet the full attention of civil protection authorities or even of a large group of academicians (ResearchGate.Net). ” One famous mass-wasting landslide was the Juan de Grijalva landslide in 2007 where 55 million cubic meters of land sled down to the Grijalva River after five days of rainfall, causing 20 deaths in a village of about 600 people. It’s one of the largest landslides ever recorded. How does a mass landslide this size cause a lower number of deaths? Interestingly enough, the farm animals sensed it! The animals ran off and moved to higher ground and their owners ran after them saving the lives of those who moved to higher elevations chasing after their animals.  Following the landslide, an artificial channel had to be created to drain the accum...