LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST NOTABLE DISASTERS

ALGERIAPART 2: DUST STORMS

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna,

Virginia, USA 

ALGERIA

ALGERIA

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]

Saharan dust storms have increased approximately 10-

fold since the 1950s.

DUST STORM OFF ALGERIA:DECEMBER 6, 2003

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

DUST STORM: AL-ASAD, IRAQ; APRIL 27, 2005

DUST STORM LEAVING 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.

ECONOMIC IMPACTS

• Reduced visibility caused by dust can affect aircraft transportation.

ECONOMIC IMPACTS

• Dust storms cause soil loss from the dry lands, and the abrasive effect of the storm damages young crop plants.

• They preferentially remove organic matter, thereby reducing agricultural productivity.