2 Where do Hurricanes occur?
Hurricanes occur in the Atlantic Ocean. Similar storms in the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal are called cyclones, while those in the western North Pacific are known as typhoons. Each year these powerful storms are named in alphabetical order as they appear.
Some regions of the world are more prone to hurricanes than others. Areas outside the tropics, which are more than 2’500 km from the equator, are much less at risk than tropical regions.
This is because the seas are cooler far from the equator, providing less energy to fuel hurricanes. The northeast coast is an area often hit because it lies in the path of hurricanes that form just north of the equator, and move northwest of the Atlantic Ocean.
Hurricanes bring huge waves, known as storm surges, which cause the biggest loss of lives. But it is the strong winds that cause the greatest destruction; they have no regard for people’s homes or possessions.
3 Six countries that are affected by Hurricanes
4 Cross section of a Hurricane
5 Recent Hurricanes in MEDC & LEDC
MEDC
- Hurricane Floyd, North Carolina, USA - 1999
LEDC
- Hurricane Mitch, Honduras, S American – 1998
Information about the impact of the Hurricanes
Hurricane Floyd
Hurricane Floyd flooded large parts of North Carolina and a number of other East Coast states in September 1999. The storm killed more than 50 people, destroyed thousands of homes, and left a massive public health and environmental disaster in its wake.
As the hurricane approached the South eastern coast in mid-September, the Texas-sized Floyd was a category 5 storm, the strongest and rarest kind, packing winds of more than 250 km/h (155 mph). Fearing widespread deaths, officials in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina ordered residents to evacuate coastal areas. About 2.6 million people were affected by the evacuation orders.
By the time Floyd made landfall in the early morning hours of September 16 near Cape Fear, North Carolina, it was a Category II storm with winds between 154 and 180 km/h (96 to 110 mph).
Floyd continued to subside over the next few hours, and by evening it had been downgraded to a tropical storm after its winds fell below hurricane strength (119 km/h [74 mph]).
This massive rainfall caused several North Carolina rivers, including the Cape Fear, Tar, Neuse, and Lumber rivers, to overflow their banks.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the floods in North Carolina killed at least 35 people and left thousands homeless, as 30,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. FEMA estimated that North Carolina's agricultural industry suffered an estimated $1 billion in losses, with more than 110,000 hogs and 1 million turkeys and chickens killed in the floods. The storm also damaged many crops.
Other states also suffered losses. FEMA estimated that 1,900 homes in Virginia were destroyed, in addition to 2,200 in Pennsylvania and about 200 in South Carolina. Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine also received heavy rainfall from the storm. Floyd also caused heavy damage in the Bahamas islands, which were struck as the storm made its way toward the U.S. coast. A final figure on the damages caused by Floyd was not available by the end of September, but officials in North Carolina said damages in their state alone could top $6 billion.
In addition to causing extensive property damage, the floodwaters created a public health and environmental disaster in many areas, especially North Carolina. The floods overwhelmed sewage treatment plants, causing tons of raw sewage to be released into the floodwaters. The sewage mixed with oil and gasoline leaks from stranded cars and flooded gasoline stations. The floodwaters also mixed with chemicals washed from industrial sites and were further polluted by the carcasses of thousands of farm animals. This poisonous mixture contaminated water supplies in dozens of areas and raised concerns about outbreaks of diseases such as typhoid, tetanus, and cholera.
Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch stroke with fury and took away many hundreds of lives. The death toll rose to hundreds, because the storm left floods and slides all over the country.
The North Coast territories, where 70 percent of the country's agricultural production, was destroyed. Large plantations of banana, coffee, rice, fruits and cereals were gone.
At the Central, Eastern, Western and South sides of the country the situation was very similar. Kettle drowned and people started to get hungry and food was scarce. The country roads were broken; every major city was isolated because most of the bridges fell under the furious water of rivers. There were almost a million of Hondurans that lost their homes. In Tegucigalpa, the capital city, the entire neighbourhood disappeared and many were at risk of falling down.
The most urgent need were food, medicines and clothes
The country was unravelling the situation got from bad to
worse. Basic infrastructure collapsed, food supplies ran
dangerously low, gasoline was being rationed, and the relief centres were out of food. The American school and hotel Honduras Maya were working relief kitchens with 25,000 meals a day.
The city was cut off by land as all bridges and roads in and out of the city were un-passable. The entire country was devastated by the storm and after effects.
More than 1 million people were homeless by Hurricane Mitch. 20% of the telephone system functioned. Potable water systems were functioning in 20% of the country. Electricity was working at 25 % of its capacity.
More than 70,000 homes were destroyed. All stadiums and public facilities were full. At least 5000 people were in treetops for protection. Fifty big bridges were totally destroyed and possibly more than 200 small bridges were semi destroyed.
More than 100 people died, but the figure is possibly higher, because it is difficult get up to date information from LEDC countries.
An Outline Report
There are many impacts that can affect the weather. Among the most important are the heating of the Earth by the sun and differences in atmospheric pressure.
There are many different disasters in the world such as earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes. These cause devastation in a country if they had been attacked.
Hurricanes cause great impacts in a country. They cause many deaths and can destroy a city. If a LEDC suffers due to a hurricane and cannot afford the cost of the damages other MEDC’s could help that country to recover from such a disaster. Other large charities could also raise money to assist these countries.
In rich, industrialised countries, meteorologists are working on ways of improving information and warning systems of hurricanes and other disasters. Hurricane shelters should be built in case of emergency. Bangladesh has many hurricanes so therefore they built 63 shelters. Each shelter can hold up to 1500 people.
