Hurricane Horrors
Known in some parts of the world as typhoons or cyclones, hurricanes are powerful storms that frequently leave behind a vast trail of death and destruction. Hurricanes have hit heavily populated cities and areas around the world over the years, and have cost billions of dollars and thousands of lives.
Hurricanes are tropical in nature and are generated in tropical areas that lie close to the equator. They are characterised by swirling winds, at the centre of which lies the ‘eye’ of the hurricane. Hurricanes are low-pressure systems, which means that the eye of the storm is a low-pressure area with surrounding winds of at least 74m.p.h. The calm eye of the storm is around fifteen miles across, and the actual storm can cover an area of between 200-480 miles in diameter.
These storms begin their lives in tropical areas, where they start off as thunderstorms, and then begin to develop in to hurricanes as they pass over tropical waters. It can take anything from a few hours to a few days for the thunderstorm to reach hurricane proportions. It is the combination of moist, warm air, equatorial winds and warm tropical waters that can convert a thunderstorm into a deadly hurricane.
Hurricanes begin to cause extensive damage as they move across the waters and on to land. This is where the destruction and chaos can really kick in, as the powerful storm rages across land, bringing with it violent winds, torrential rain and massive floods. Luckily, advanced technology now enables experts to track the formation of potential hurricanes via satellite, and although we can do nothing to stop the formation we can all benefit from a warning, which can give us time to prepare. However, even with these warning many people over the years have ignored warnings to evacuate and have ended up losing their property, their family and their lives.
Everything that gets in the way of a hurricane can end up being destroyed, and this includes property, trees, cars, animals and people. This is why these storms have caused billions of dollars worth of damage and thousands of deaths. One of the worst hurricanes was the Galveston Hurricane in 1900, which took around eight thousand lives. Since then, these storms have still cost lives but the ability to evacuate an area before the hurricane hits has dramatically reduced the number of deaths. Recent memorable hurricanes include Hurricane Georges, Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Floyd and Hurricane Irene.
A fully formed hurricane consists of three parts. These are:
The eye of the hurricane, which is a low-pressure, calm area that lies at the centre of the storm.
The eye wall is the area surrounding the eye, and this is the part of the hurricane that has the most violent and the fastest winds.
The rain bands are the thunderstorm bands that circulate on the outer part of the hurricane and help to ‘feed’ the storm.
Hurricanes are measured through a system known as the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The storm ratings used by this system are listed below:
1 Wind speeds of 74mph to 95mph. Storms cause minimal damage and some floods.
2 Wind speeds of 96mph to 100mph. Storms cause roof damage and damage
to trees.
3 Wind speeds of 111mph to 130mph. Storms cause structural damage and
severe flooding.
4 Wind speeds of 131mph to 154mph. Storms cause severe flooding, major
structural damage and severe roof damage.
5 Wind speeds of 155mph+. Storms cause severe flooding and severe
structural damage inland.
The destruction caused by a hurricane can be positively devastating, and although the material damage is a major concern those who receive a hurricane warning are best advised to concentrate on their lives rather than on property. If an evacuation warning is issued, then it is in residents’ best interests to get out of the endangered area. Material damage can be repaired and rectified, albeit at great cost, but the lives taken by these horrific storms cannot be replaced.
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