As I have Learned through the course of this semester every Country has a set number of problems for them and I can pretty much guarantee that not all of them are man made problems ether. There is this little thing called Mother Nature that plays a far greater role then we give it credit for. Mexico is No different. If broken down Mexico has Two giant problems with Mother Nature and they are Volcanic Eruptions which is a surprise to no one but the next one might be to some people. The Second would center around Mexico's Shoreline. Yes I know that is not a specific problem but I think that the positioning that Mexico is in that it can be a major problem. First off lets get a little more depth with Mexico and its Volcano problem. Just inside the last 5 years Mexico has had two problems with Colima and Popocatepetl Volcanoes. Now most people might only find the major problem with a Volcano being its lava which it is but there is much more things to worry about other then the lava. When dealing with Volcanic Eruptions you have to be aware of the lava but also the aftermaths of that lava and how if the Volcano is in the ocean it can cause a Tsunami. So what Causes a Volcano? Well the Volcanoes Mexico is dealing with comes from Two Tectonic Plates collide. In this case it would be the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate Colliding with each other. IF anyone who is reading has no Idea where those two are it is pretty much from Guatemala and Belize to pretty much the Gulf of Mexico. That is where Colima and Popocatepetl are located. This is also a reason for my number two problem with the shoreline which I will explain a little later. These Eruptions can seriously injury people and cause property damage. In the Grand scheme property damage dopes not seem to big like a big deal but things are measured nowadays on how much it costs to fix things that the disaster or hazard destroyed. Now on two Problem two. Shorelines. With The Gulf of Mexico being Right along the North American and Caribbean Plates that can cause another major problem. As Mexico has a problem with Volcanoes things like Tsunamis need to areas of caution as well. Tsunamis can bring a number of bad things into Mexico and any other Country with things like tornadoes and heavy rainfall as well as flooding. All of these will cause property damage but most importantly they can cause great bodily harm. I think it is important that I said Shoreline instead of Tsunamis because it allows me to talk about things like beach erosion and things of that nature because Mexico is known for their beaches and these things are slowly eating away at what they are known for. How I would help these parts of Mexico the lower parts closer to the Caribbean and South America would be to have an easy way to evacuate because there really is no preventing these things there is just making the people aware of what needs to happen when they occur. Also I would have make them be aware that maybe living there is not the safest things to do. If I were constructing a home I would place this home in the center of Mexico and yes I know this may seem like a generic answer but Its not here are my reasons. For starters As I previously stated I would stay away form the shorelines because to many bad things may happen by the shoreline like Tsunamis and I want to part in that. And though I might not want to live near those problems I would definitely want to live close enough where they are still an option for a quick vacation. Also in the center of Mexico because geographically speaking there are no Volcanoes there, though I have never seen one in person I cant say that I would ever want too ether. My recommendations to Mexico would be simple keep people away from the problem areas which sounds repetitively simple but Mother Nature has a funny way of turning things as ugly as sinkholes into things as beautiful as cenotes.
References
http://classes.colgate.edu/s08/geol220/pcross/Location.htm
http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/mexico.html
http://www.history.com/topics/mexico/colima
http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/03/gulf_coast_not_immune_to_tsuna.html
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/hurricane-patricia-strongest-storm-ever-measured-hit-mexico-n449731
Dear Mike,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your chosen hazards. I was probably going to mention subsidence too (due to extraction of groundwater) but that is still not as big of a problem as the coastal erosion. I’d have liked to see images showing the plates again, as it helps visually to follow your blog.
Tsunamis/coastal erosion are natural hazards that definitely need addressing, in particular in the coastal communities. I liked your reasons for choosing your living place. I hope you learned a lot this semester!
-Thank you for sharing with us Mexico!
I completely agree with you, that it was very interesting to learn about each countries issues. It was a eye opener to hear bout some of the more extreme ones, especially mexico. I however, was not aware that they have issues with volcanoes. I did know that it did face coastal hazards.
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