Nationwide Disasters Help Ready Falls in case of Local Crisis

A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck Virginia Tuesday, August 23 2011 affecting most of the East Coast.  The disasters didn’t end there, Hurricane Irene hit last weekend.

The earthquake hit at around 1 p.m CDT and was felt all the way from Washington to New York. The Washington Monument is closed for the time being, after cracks were found near the top of the 555-foot building.

Before Hurricane Irene most of the monuments affected by the earthquake had reopened.

Many tourism landmarks are closed however due to water damages from the flooding.

Residents along the path of Hurricane Irene were urged to evacuate but many didn’t.

“I believe that material things are not as important, I would say let’s go.” Said House Two counselor of Clear Falls High School Margarita Reyes

A hurricane hasn’t hit the New England area in decades. Unfortunately the lack of preparation stranded some and left many without power.

Over 40 deaths were blamed on the storm.

Despite the damages, North Carolina businesses plan to reopen for the upcoming Labor Day weekend. Both natural disasters greatly affected tourism for the area, which relies heavily upon this industry for its economy.

The extreme flooding is still a big issue and has already caused major problems and some houses were destroyed.

The largest public transit in the world, the New York Subway system was closed down for the weekend along with most public transportation

This outcome shows how important it is to be prepared for natural disasters that seem to be springing up more often than usual.  Hurricane season is currently here, it will end November 30th.  In case of emergency, Clear Falls would listen to the guidelines that the district has set in place for emergencies such as a hurricane.

Clear Creek School District has a crisis response team that will help the community with the aftermath.

Reyes said “The Crisis Response Team is district wide and goes to specific campuses to help during a traumatic event. But each campus actually takes care of its own students that need extra care due to a hurricane or even a fire where great needs are documented. Counselors are the go-to staff in these type of cases. They have a list of resources or can find out where help is available for students and their families.”

While hopefully the future will be easier to prepare for, groups like The Crisis Response Team and The Red Cross are very reassuring in case communities around the world needs help.