"They are trying to use the slaughter of innocent people to cow us, to frighten us out of doing the things that we want to do, of trying to stop us going about our business as normal as we are entitled to do. They should not and they must not succeed" -Prime Minister Tony Blair

Natural Disasters

Hurricanes - Hurricane Damage

Hurricanes can cause catastrophic damage to coastlines and several hundred miles inland.   Winds can exceed 155 miles-per-hour.   Hurricanes and tropical storms can also spawn tornadoes and microbursts, create surge along the coast, and cause extensive damage due to inland flooding from trapped water.

Tornadoes most often occur in thunderstorms embedded in rain bands well away from the center of the hurricane; however, they also occur near the eye-wall.   Typically, tornadoes produced by tropical cyclones are relatively weak and short-lived but still pose a threat.

A storm surge is a huge dome of water pushed on-shore by hurricane and tropical storm winds.   Storm surges can reach 25 feet high and be 50-100 miles wide.   Storm tide is a combination of the storm surge and the normal tide (i.e., a 15 foot storm surge combined with a 2 foot normal high tide over the mean sea level creates a 17 foot storm tide).   These phenomena cause severe erosion and extensive damage to coastal areas. Despite improved warnings and a decrease in the loss of life, property damage continues to rise because an increasing number of people are living or vacationing near coastlines.   Those in hurricane-prone areas need to be prepared for hurricanes and tropical storms.

Hurricanes are classified into five categories based on their wind speed, central pressure and damage potential.   Category Three and higher are considered major hurricanes, though Category One and Two are still extremely dangerous and warrant your full attention.

Inland/freshwater flooding from hurricanes
Hurricanes can produce widespread torrential rains.   Floods are the deadly and destructive result.   Excessive rain can also trigger landslides or mud slides, especially in mountainous regions.   Flash flooding   can occur due to the intense rainfall.   Flooding on rivers and streams may persist for several days or more after the storm. The speed of the storm and the geography beneath the storm are the primary factors regarding the amount of rain produced.   Slow moving storms and tropical storms moving into mountainous regions tend to produce more rain. Between 1970 and 1999, more people lost their lives from freshwater flooding associated with landfalling tropical cyclones than from any other weather hazard related to tropical cyclones. See the "Floods" section for more specific information on flood related emergencies.

For More Info:
- What to do before a hurricane
- What to do during a hurricane
- What to do after a hurricane
- Back to Hurricanes

Back to Natural Disasters