Tropical Hazards Flashcards
What is Global Atmospheric circulation?
Due to high temperatures at the equator, the air rises into the atmosphere. This creates low pressure (as the air rises, it puts less pressure on the Earth’s surface). As the air rises, it becomes colder, causing condensation (forming clouds) that leads to rainfall.
When the air reaches the top of the atmosphere, it needs somewhere to go. Some of the air travels north and some south of the equator. The air cools and then sinks around 30° north and south of the equator. As the air sinks, this creates high pressure. As moisture in the sinking air fell at the equator, it is dry, so few clouds form here.
Global atmospheric circulation creates winds across the planet as air moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure.
What are tropical storms?
A tropical storm is a powerful low-pressure weather system that forms in tropical regions. Tropical storms have strong winds and heavy rainfall that can be disruptive and dangerous.
Tropical Storms are areas of extremely low pressure. Air rises rapidly, causing ‘low pressure’ on the Earth’s surface.
Where do tropical storms happen?
Tropical storms typically develop over warm ocean waters, usually at least 26.5°C (80°F), where there is enough moisture and heat to fuel the storm. They often form between about 5° and 30° latitude.
How does climate change affect the distribution frequency and intensity of tropical storms?
A warmer atmosphere will mean more moisture in the air, so heavy rainfall is expected to increase.
With an increase in heavy rainfall will cause tropical storms become more destructive, an increase in flooding looks likely.
Sea levels will rise as temperatures increase due to thermal expansion. Increasing sea levels mean storm surges are expected to become higher.
Higher temperatures also mean higher-intensity tropical storms with higher wind speeds, which could cause more damage. Also, there is evidence that extra water vapour in the atmosphere makes storms wetter
What are primary effects of tropical storms?
People are injured or killed by debris being blown around
Drowning
Buildings are destroyed or damaged
Electric supplies are cut off due to power lines being destroyed
Sewage is released due to flooding
Water supplies become contaminated
What are the secondary effects of tropical storms?
People being left homeless
A lack of clean water and sanitation – water-borne diseases can affect local people.
Road and rail networks can be blocked by debris, making it difficult to provide support and aid for people affected.
Unemployment is caused by businesses being damaged
If crops are destroyed and/or livestock is killed, there can be a shortage of food
What are the immediate responses to tropical storms?
People are evacuated before the storm lands
rescue people trapped and provide medical support for injured people
temporary shelters are set up for people made homeless by the storm
provide water and food for people
recover dead bodies
What are the long term responses to tropical storms?
repair and rebuild properties
rehouse people
repair the transport infrastructure
improve forecasting and early warning systems
provide grants and aid to people to help rebuild their homes
improve building regulations so that properties are constructed to withstand the impacts of tropical storms better
Offer incentives such as tax breaks to encourage economic recovery
What were the features of Typhoon Haiyan?
Typhoon Haiyan, a category five typhoon, struck the Philippines, close to Tacloban on 8th November, 2013 at 4.40 am. The tropical storm originated in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It is one of the most powerful typhoons to affect the Philippines. Wind speeds of 314 kilometres
What were the primary effects of Typhoon Haiyan?
strong winds battered homes
people were made homeless
electric was interrupted
airport badly damaged
roads were blocked by fallen trees and other debrise, 400mm of rainfall flooded an area of up to 1km inland
90% of Tacloban was destroyed
6190 people died
29,000 people were injured
4.1 million people were made homeless
14.1 million people affected
The overall cost of damage was around $12 billion
What were the secondary effects of Typhoon Haiyan?
Social effects
Infection and diseases spread, mainly due to contaminated surface and ground water.
Survivors fought for food and supplies. Eight people died in a stampede for food supplies.
Power supplies were cut off for months in some areas.
Education was disrupted as many schools were destroyed
Economic effects
An oil tanker ran aground, causing an 800,000-litre oil leak that contaminated fishing waters.
The airport was badly damaged and roads were blocked by debris and trees.
Environmental effects
The leak from the oil barge led to ten hectares of mangroves being contaminated.
Flooding caused landslides.
What were the immediate responses to Typhoon Haiyan?
The government issued a televised warning to people to prepare and evacuate.
Eight hundred thousand people were evacuated following a televised warning by the president. Many people found refuge in a stadium in Tacloban. However, many people died when it was flooded. The government provided essential equipment and medical supplies. A curfew was introduced two days after the typhoon to reduce looting.
Over 1,200 evacuation centres were set up to help the homeless.
Three days after the storm, the main airport was reopened, and emergency aid arrived. Power was restored in some regions after a week. One million food packs and 250,000 litres of water were distributed within two weeks.
What were the Long term responses to Typhoon Haiyan?
A cash for work programme paid people to clear debris and rebuild Tacloban
Build Back Better is the government’s response to the typhoon. Launched in 2014, it intended to upgrade damaged buildings to protect them from future disasters
What were the features of Hurricane Imra?
Hurricane Irma struck the Caribbean and the east coast of the United States in September 2017. The hurricane first made landfall on 6th September along the northern coast of Barbuda with wind speeds of up to 282 kph (175mph). It travelled north along the east coast of the Caribbean as a category-five hurricane. The hurricane reached Florida on 10th September as a category four hurricane with sustained winds of 209 kph (130mph).
How did countries plan to manage the impact of Hurricane Imra?
On September 4, Puerto Rico declared a state of emergency. By September 6, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency had deployed response teams in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. Supplies, including food rations, medical supplies, and blankets, were pre-staged in strategic locations on the islands for distribution.
The Dominican Republic activated the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, thus providing for humanitarian satellite coverage; the United States and Haiti followed suit two days later. According to officials, 11,200 people were evacuated from vulnerable areas before the storm’s arrival. Seven thousand four hundred tourists were moved away from beach resorts to Santo Domingo.
