Essay On Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma was a natural disaster that mainly affected the Caribbean and Florida. Irma had struck the Florida Keys as a category 4 hurricane on September 10th, and was reduced to category 3 when it struck mainland Florida later that same day (Manzo, 2017). Prior to making landfall, the path that Irma would take was unclear. This uncertainty lead Governor Rick Scott to issue an evacuation order for 6.5 million residents (The New York Times, 2017). In the days preceding hurricane Irma, roads were congested with evacuees from both coasts, schools were closed, and resorts and parks did not open. In the aftermath of hurricane Irma, approximately 6.5 million Floridians were without power across the state (Kelsey, 2017). The human toll in the wake of Irma is estimated at 75 deaths (Rabin, 2017). After the initial impact of Irma, different health related issues arise that must be dealt with. There are many health-related issues that arise when a hurricane subsides, and one of the most dangerous is flooding. Flooding can cause potable water to become contaminated, which could negatively impact the health of the people who come in contact with contaminated water. For example, rat urine contaminated drinking water can cause a bacterial infection known as Leptospirosis. With this infection comes kidney damage, and other negative health
The military has a wide variety of responsibilities throughout the world, to include defense, projection of power, and disaster relief. The Army had made available 16,700 soldiers, 150 boats, 3,400 trucks, 680 generators, helicopters for rescue operations, as well as water resupply in the wake of hurricane Irma (Rempfer, 2017). Since there is a water sanitation issue and water restrictions following a hurricane, military personnel are often at community centers giving out water to help combat infectious diseases (Perez,