Post on 02-Jan-2016
LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST NOTABLE DISASTERS
ALGERIAPART 2: DUST STORMS
Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna,
Virginia, USA
NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED DISASTERS IN ALGERIADISASTERS IN ALGERIA
NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED DISASTERS IN ALGERIADISASTERS IN ALGERIA
FLOODS
WINDSTORMS/DUSTSTORMS
EARTHQUAKES
LANDSLIDES
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
HIGH BENEFIT/COST FROM BECOMING DISASTER RESILIENT
HIGH BENEFIT/COST FROM BECOMING DISASTER RESILIENT
GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIESAND COMMUNITIES
GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIESAND COMMUNITIES
DUST STORMS
• A dust storm (or sand storm) is a common meteorological phenomenon that is common in. arid and semi-arid regions
The Sahara Desert is a key source of dust storms, particularly the Bodele Depression and an area
covering the confluence of Muritania, Mali, and Algeria]
ALGERIAN DUST STORM
• This dust storm, like others, carried Saharan dust across the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the Southeast United States.
PAST NOTABLE REGIONAL DUST STORMS
United Arab Emirates--Feb., 2009Al-Asada, Iraq; April 2005
Egypt, May 13, 2005
IMPACTS OF DUST
• Dust injects nutrients, such as iron, into marine ecosystems.
• Dust also carries bacteria and spores from fungi, which can cause diseases long distances away.
IMPACTS OF DUST
• Dust storms can cause or worsen breathing problems.
• Finally, dust in the atmosphere can also influence weather and global climate change.