Hurricane Katerinas worst pain Essays - Atlantic Hurricane Season

Hurricane Katerina's worst pain Hurricane Katerina's worst pain Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 29, 2005, was the most destructive and costliest tropical cyclone to hit States. Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 29, 2005, was the most destructive and costliest tropical cyclone to hit the United States. Hurricanes are tropical cyclones which are huge rotating storms which can cause huge amounts of damage. Hurricanes can reach up to 210 mph with heavy rain and stormy seas. The hurricane begins with an area of heated air over the warm seas in the Tropics. The heated air expands and rises, creating an area of low pressure. The surrounding air moves in towards the low pressure and is made to spin by the earth's rotation. Areas affected by Hurricane Katrina were Bahamas, South Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida Panhandle and most of eastern North America. The US estimates the death toll to be in the thousands and the damage cost is higher than $200 billion. The mayor in New Orleans, Ray Nagging ordered an evacuation before the hurricane struck on August 28th, He repeated the order on August 31st.The storm started east of the Bahamas, it moved over it and made its way to Miami, south of Florida. It strengthened and turned into a hurricane just before reaching the Florida coast. Hurricane Katrina passed leaving 100,000 people without power. It strengthened further with wind speeds of 100-145mph and curved its way inland, towards Louisiana. When the hurricane reached New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina was at its fullest, at nearly 165mph! It destroyed and flooded most of New Orleans and parts of Mississippi and Alabama. The hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm when it reached the middle of Mississippi and Alabama. Over 150,000 people could not evacuate because many of the New Orleans' school busses. In addition to residents, tourists were stranded on high pieces of land. Fuel and cars were in short supply and the Greyhound bu s and Amtrak train were stopped On August 28th, many refugees that could not leave the city went to the Louisiana Superdome. It housed nearly 10,000 people including National Guard troops. The Louisiana National Guard delivered three truckloads of water and seven truckloads of food, enough to supply 15,000 people for three days. When Katrina passed, it tore two massive holes in the Superdome roof. On September the 1st, it is reported that over 60,000 people had gathered at the Superdome even with the harsh circumstances. On August 31st, it was announced that evacuees were to be moved to the Astrodome in Texas. There were countless reports of looting and violence when many people were evacuating. There were even shootings on emergency helicopters halting rescues. Much of New Orleans is below sea level, which meant it only took 24 hours for 80% of New Orleans to be flooded when part of the levees was destroyed. Army helicopters dropped massive sandbags in the water to close the gap so that no more water could be flooded in. Trucks filled with big rocks also helped to fill the gap. They then put a sheet steel barrier using a crane beside the rocks/sandbags to stop the water completely. They finally used a giant pump to pump the water out of flooded areas to the river/lake. Experts said that it would take around 80 days before they could drain all the water out of New Orleans.

The History of Singapores Economic Development

The History of Singapores Economic Development In the 1960s, the city-state of Singapore was an undeveloped country with a GDP per capita of less than U.S. $320. Today, it is one of the worlds fastest-growing economies. Its GDP per capita has risen to an incredible U.S. $60,000, making it one of the strongest economies in the world. For a small country with few natural resources, Singapores economic ascension is nothing short of remarkable. By embracing globalization, free-market capitalism, education, and pragmatic policies, the country has been able to overcome its geographic disadvantages and become a leader in global commerce. Independence For over 100 years, Singapore was under British control. But when the British failed to protect the colony from the Japanese during World War II, it sparked a strong anti-colonial and nationalist sentiment that subsequently led to Singapores independence. On August 31, 1963, Singapore seceded from the British crown and merged with Malaysia to form the Federation of Malaysia. The two years Singapore spent as part of Malaysia were filled with social strife, as the two sides struggled to assimilate with one another ethnically. Street riots and violence became very common. The Chinese in Singapore outnumbered the Malay three-to-one. The Malay politicians in Kuala Lumpur feared their heritage and political ideologies were being threatened by the growing Chinese population throughout the island and peninsula. Therefore, as a way of ensuring a Malay majority within Malaysia proper and to limit the influence of communism, the Malaysian parliament voted to expel Singapore from Malaysia. Singapore gained formal independence on August 9, 1965, with Yusof bin Ishak serving as its first president and the highly influential Lee Kuan Yew as its prime minister. After independence, Singapore continued to experience problems. Much of the city-states three million people were unemployed. More than two-thirds of its population was living in slums and squatter settlements on the citys fringe. The territory was sandwiched between two large and unfriendly states in Malaysia and Indonesia. Singapore lacked natural resources, sanitation, proper infrastructure, and adequate water supply. In order to stimulate development, Lee sought international assistance, but his pleas went unanswered, leaving Singapore to fend for itself. Globalization During colonial times, Singapores economy was centered on entrepà ´t trade. But this economic activity offered little prospect for job expansion in the post-colonial period. The withdrawal of the British further aggravated the unemployment situation. The most feasible solution to Singapores economic and unemployment woes was to embark on a comprehensive program of industrialization, with a focus on labor-intensive industries. Unfortunately, Singapore had no industrial tradition. The majority of its working population was in trade and services. Therefore, they had no expertise or easily adaptable skills. Moreover, without a hinterland and neighbors who would trade with it, Singapore was forced to look for opportunities well beyond its borders to spearhead its industrial development. Pressured to find work for their people, the leaders of Singapore began to experiment with globalization. Influenced by Israels ability to leap over its Arab neighbors (who boycotted Israel) and trade with Europe and America, Lee and his colleagues knew they had to connect with the developed world and convince multinational corporations to manufacture in Singapore. In order to attract investors, Singapore had to create an environment that was safe, corruption-free, and low in taxation. To make this feasible, the citizens of the country had to suspend a large measure of their freedom in place of a more autocratic government. Anyone caught conducting narcotic trade or intensive corruption would be met with the death penalty. Lees People Action Party (PAP) repressed all independent labor unions and consolidated what remained into a single umbrella group called the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC), which the party directly controlled. Individuals who threatened national, political, or corporate unity were quickly jailed without much due process. The countrys draconian, but business-friendly laws became very appealing to international investors. In contrast to its neighbors, where political and economic climates were unpredictable, Singapore was very stable. Moreover, with its advantageous location and established port system, Singapore was an i deal place to manufacture goods. By 1972, just seven years after independence, one-quarter of Singapores manufacturing firms were either foreign-owned or joint-venture companies, and both the United States and Japan were major investors. As a result of Singapores steady climate, favorable investment conditions and the rapid expansion of the world economy from 1965 to 1972, the countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP) experienced annual double-digit growth. As foreign investment money poured in, Singapore began focusing on developing its human resources in addition to its infrastructure. The country set up many technical schools and paid international corporations to train their unskilled workers in information technology, petrochemicals, and electronics. For those who could not get industrial jobs, the government enrolled them in labor-intensive un-tradable services, such as tourism and transportation. The strategy of having multinationals educate their workforce paid great dividends for the country. In the 1970s, Singapore was primarily exporting textiles, garments, and basic electronics. By the 1990s, they were engaging in wafer fabrication, logistics, biotech research, pharmaceuticals, integrated circuit design, and aerospace engineering. A Modern Economy Today, Singapore is a modern, industrialized society and entrepà ´t trade continues to play a central role in its economy. The Port of Singapore is now the worlds busiest transshipment port, surpassing Hong Kong and Rotterdam. In terms of total cargo tonnage handled, it has become the worlds second busiest, behind only the Port of Shanghai. Singapores tourism industry is also thriving, attracting over 10 million visitors annually. The city-state now has a zoo, a night safari, and a nature reserve. The country recently opened two of the worlds most expensive integrated casino resorts in the Marina Bay Sands and the Resorts World Sentosa. The countrys medical tourism and culinary tourism industries have also become quite successful, thanks to Singapores cultural heritage and advanced medical technology. Banking has grown significantly in recent years and many assets formerly held in Switzerland have been moved to Singapore due to new taxes imposed by the Swiss. The biotech industry is burgeoning, with drug makers such as GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and Merck Co. all establishing plants here, and oil refining continues to play a huge role in the economy. Despite its small size, Singapore is now the 15th largest trading partner of the United States. The country has established strong trade agreements with several countries in South America, Europe, and Asia as well. There are currently over 3,000 multinational corporations operating in the country, accounting for more than two-thirds of its manufacturing output and direct export sales. With a total land area of just 433 square miles and a small labor force of 3 million people, Singapore is able to produce a GDP that exceeds $300 billion dollars annually, higher than three-quarters of the world. Life expectancy is 83.75 years, the third highest in the world. Singapore is considered to be one of the best places to live on Earth if you dont mind the strict rules. Singapores model of sacrificing freedom for business is highly controversial and heavily debated. Regardless of philosophy, though, its effectiveness is undeniable.

What do you perceive to be the main benefits and criticisms of RCT Essay

What do you perceive to be the main benefits and criticisms of RCT - Essay Example The RCT facilitates research and development of new clinical interventions and contribute towards the enhancing of medical knowledge. RCT is highly relevant in the present time of advancing medical science that encourage researchers in their effort to discover new models of methods and medicines to reduce pain and find cure for diseases. It is most efficient way of validating the effective outcome of new clinical intervention. The most important criticism is that RCT treat human beings as guinea pigs who may experience adverse impact that may be or may not be fatal. Hence, RCTs endanger one’s life. RCTs are also criticized because even with consent, they are ethically wrong to put someone’s life at stake because people who receive the clinical intervention are expected to experience a particular type of change in some physiological dimension. RCT is also not feasible or appropriate in some cases like cancer screening where the impact is visible only after a long period of