1. El Niño and El Niña's Impact on Globalization
Shashank Musku

2. Thought Provoking Questions
What exactly is El Niño and La Nina?
How do they start?
Is there anyway we can stop it?
What should we do in the future to prevent such problems?

3. El Niño
El Niño - A warming of the surface water of the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, occurring every 4 to 12 years and causing unusual global weather patterns
La Niña - A cooling of the ocean surface off the western coast of South America, occurring periodically every 4 to 12 years and affecting Pacific.

4. First Signs of an El Niño
Rise in surface pressure over the Indian Ocean, Indonesia, and Australia
Fall in air pressure over Tahiti and the rest of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean
Trade winds in the south Pacific weaken or head east
Warm air rises near Peru, causing rain in the northern Peruvian deserts
Warm water spreads from the west Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the east Pacific. It takes the rain with it, causing extensive drought in the western Pacific and rainfall in the normally dry eastern Pacific.

5. El Niño

6. Effects of the El Niño
The effects of El Niño in South America are direct and stronger than in North America.
Major Flooding in parts of South America
Droughts in many nations particularly southeast Asia
Severe cyclones in the Pacific
Severe storms in the western and northeastern United States.

7. El Niño and its impact on Globalization
In South America rainfall causes crops to flourish, feeding vast quantities of people and fueling economies of entire nations.
In Asia and the western Pacific region, severe droughts starve crops, people, and economies. Severe rainfall is brought as well, that has effects on tourism and cash crops as well.
The climate effects North America heavily as well, bringing flooding to some parts and droughts to others. These conditions hurt farming as well as bringing damage to the United States as well as around the globe in property and business.

8. Natural Disasters
the effect of a natural hazard that affects the environment, and leads to financial, environmental and/or human losses.
Floods
Tornado
volcano eruption
Earthquake
Landslide
Hurricanes

9. Hurricane Katrina
Took place over a 7 day period from August 23, 2005 to August 30, 2005.
Highest Winds reached up to 175 mph
1,836 confirmed, 705 missing
Total damages are estimated to be around $90.9 billion

10. Sources http://www.usgs.gov/faq/faq.asp?id=274&category_id=4

11. The End