Venezuela Blog post

    🗲  Venezuela and it's Amazing Catatumbo Lightning 🗲     Venezuela is home to one of the most interesting lightning storms. Located in Lake Maracaibo the lightning storm is practically continuous. I went through different articles and found that since it is not really a hazard and more of a natural wonder there are no mitigation efforts. I can, however include the interesting facts about this "everlasting lightning storm" in Venezuela.  Causes  First it's causes and why this storm is able to happen for so long. A video posted by Atlas Obscura gives a good explanation. In the video they say "the lake's unique shape forces warm air from the Caribbean up nearby mountains." Since the warm air front from the Caribbean clashes with the cold air found high up in the mountains, it makes nearly perfect conditions for lightning storms. The difference in temperature leads to those negative charges transferring, through energy and light, to the more positive...

  Venezuela Mass Wasting      There were multiple instances of mass wasting in Venezuela so I know it is not a rare hazard. One debris flow mudslide in Las Tejerìas left a death toll of 34 and over 1,000 homes affected by damage or complete destruction (NPR). Hurricane Julia affected many Central American countries and was also the cause of this mudslide because of it's torrential rain. Another mudslide was in Vargas in December 1999. The countries most devastating debris flow mudslide on an alluvial fan. There was mass property damage and a death toll of 19,000 people (Larsen et. al).  The instances of these debris flows are evidence that Venezuela definitely has a mass wasting risk. There are broad prevention and mitigation strategies to use for these landslides. Hazard mapping is really helpful when it comes to identifying areas at risk. Rescue teams in place avoid building in risk areas and insurance for affected homes. All of these techniques are listed on ...