Week16: Main Hazards, Argentina

The main natural hazards that are the most dangerous in Argentina that I will be addressing are extreme weather specifically droughts, and floods. Argentina is experiencing one of the worst droughts in the past two decades, driven by a third consecutive year of La Niña. The dry conditions threaten to set back the planting of the country’s corn and soybean crops and damage the upcoming harvest of winter wheat. In the country, Argentina, after looking on the floodlit website I saw that Argentina has had several floods in the past few years alone, including one earlier this year. In a report from June 8th, 2022, Richard Davies addressed several instances that had occurred that caused bodily or home damage caused by recent flooding. Heavy rain has affected areas of southern Chile and southern Argentina since 06 June 2022. Flooding in Chile has damaged roads and homes, prompting evacuations. Meanwhile, one person died, and serval was injured after the rain triggered a mudslide in the province of Río Negro, Argentina. I chose these as my country's main hazards because of how they are affecting the citizens, damaging property, causing evacuations as well as interrupting the crop production of the country.

Drought is caused by a lack of rainfall, causing serious water shortages. It can be fatal. Unlike other extreme weather events that are more sudden, like earthquakes or hurricanes, droughts happen gradually. Flooding typically occurs when prolonged rain falls over several days, when intense rain falls over a short period, or when an ice or debris jam causes a river or stream to overflow onto the surrounding area. Flooding can also result from the failure of a water control structure, such as a levee or dam.

A major drought occurred in late 2017, and early 2018 in the Pampas of central-eastern Argentina, a major world breadbasket. The drought was linked to a mild La Niña event and intraseasonal modes of atmospheric variability. Several locations in the Pampas showed historical lows in precipitation during this event. The lack of rainfall was compounded by high temperatures and heat waves during early 2018. On April 4th, 2013, a news article reported a devastating flood in Argentina. At least 50 people have died in Argentina after a month's worth of rain fell in just a couple of hours, triggering flash flooding. Hundreds of thousands of residents in La Plata and the capital, Buenos Aires, have been affected and there are widespread power outages.

Water conservation is one way in which residents can help reduce the effects of the drought in Argentina. One of the easiest steps we can take to help mitigate the impacts of drought is conserving water. If we use water wisely at all times, more water will be available to us and to plants and wildlife when a drought happens. Conserving water makes it so that where there is less water being used, high water usage will only add to the impact of the drought.

The NOAA strategies of what to do during a flood include a list of steps to follow during the flood. Stay Informed, listen to radio and television, including NOAA Weather Radio if possible, and check the Internet and social media for information and updates. Get to Higher Ground, if you live in a flood-prone area or are camping in a low-lying area, get to higher ground immediately. Obey Evacuation Orders, if told to evacuate, do so immediately. Lock your home when you leave. If you have time, disconnect utilities and appliances. Practice Electrical Safety: Don't go into a basement, or any room, if water covers the electrical outlets or if cords are submerged. Avoid Flood Waters don't walk through flood waters. It only takes 6 inches of moving water to knock you off your feet. If you are trapped by moving water, move to the highest possible point and call 911 if possible. Do not drive into flooded roadways or around a barricade.

The Sub-Meridional Lowlands and the Salado River (Santa Fe) These depressed areas extend over approximately 80,000 km² in the provinces of Santa Fe, Chaco, and Santiago del Estero. The floods here are mainly caused by local rainfall and water table saturation. River floodplains and coastal areas are the most susceptible to flooding, however, it is possible for flooding to occur in areas with unusually long periods of heavy rainfall. The areas listed above along with the coastal areas of Argentina would be the areas where I would address the issues of flooding first since they are the most affected by this natural disaster. For the natural hazard of the drought affecting Argentina, I would target the farmlands and crop fields first because Argentina is a major crop producer and gets a lot of its profits from these crops. Lacking these crops and their revenue is negatively affecting the country's trading as well as its economy. In areas not on farmland, I would implement procedures for the residents to reduce their water usage and help maintain the country's water supply.

To help mitigate the effects of the current ongoing drought to try to make it not get worse in Argentina I would implement water-saving measures for the residents. Such as how much and how often residents can use water as well as providing more water-friendly procedures that residents can use to help sustain the country's water supply. “Ecosystems-based approaches, like constructed wetlands, dedicated retention areas, and restoring vegetation cover to help mitigate the impacts of floods, are gaining increased attention and funding, and form a core part of UNEP's work in the area of climate,” says Bernhardt. I would also follow these steps and ideas in how to protect the residents from floods and lessen the effects and damages of these floods. This along with encouraging residents to either move or not build houses in areas that are more prone to flooding and also providing residents with safety steps and warnings to help keep the residents safe in the case of a flood.

I would build my house away from the Sub-Meridional Lowlands and the Salado River and the coast to reduce the risk of flooding. I would also build my house near a source of water so that I would be able to have a water supply, possibly a well. I would practice water conservation measures to help stop the hazard of the drought. I would build my house inland and in the center of the country and away from areas prone to flooding to reduce my risk of being affected by the flood. I would also research where recent floods have affected the country and research ways to conserve water and ways to reinforce my house to be better protected from floods.