Hazardous Earth Flashcards
What is the evidence for natural climate change
– Tree rings – growth rings are wider indicating warmer weather conditions
– ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica indicating levels of CO2 from when the ice was formed
– historical sources including diaries, paintings, farming/yield records
What are tropical cyclones powered by and what does this mean creates an intense tropical cyclone
– Heat energy that is released when warm moist air condenses
– the one with the water, the more intense the tropical cyclone
Why will a tropical cyclone begin to dissipate when it makes landfall
It loses energy moving away from the energy powered by warm water
What will a tropical cyclone dissipate into after a few days on land
A normal low pressure system
What is the system which scales the intensity of tropical cyclones, And how many categories are there
The Saffir- Simpson scale
5
What makes tropical cyclones dissipate
Dissipates – reach land because they lose energy, moving to areas of cold water, run into other weather systems where winds are blowing in different directions
What are five effects of tropical cyclones on people and the environment – describe
– High winds – up to 250 km/h, uprooting trees, damaging infrastructure, buildings, causing injury and loss of life
– intense rainfall – leading to flooding, damaging property and injuring people from fast flowing water
– storm surges – created from large areas of low pressure allowing the sea level to rise, combined with high winds a large mass of water is forced towards land – this kind of roads beaches, damage see defences contaminating farmland and freshwater, low pressure increases surge
– coastal flooding – caused by intense rainfall and storm surges could affect large areas of low-lying land including farmland and the tourist industry
– landslides – triggered because soil becomes saturated due to intense rainfall and in areas with steep slopes where soil can no longer hold its position sliding down the slope
Explain three ways in which some countries are vulnerable to tropical cyclones
– Socially – areas where poverty leads to poor construction of housing is more easily damaged, poorer areas are less likely to have access to shelter, food, clean water and medical care, old and young people are also more vulnerable as they are more likely to struggle evacuating
– physically – low lying islands nations and coastal locations are much more at risk from high winds and storm surges whereas areas of high relief are particularly at risk from landslides
– Economically– countries with high levels of development are less vulnerable due to accurate weather predictions, coastal defences to manage storm surges and evacuation procedures
What is an example of a tropical cyclone in a developed and a developing/emerging country
– Developed – hurricane Katrina, USA
– emerging – typhoon Haiyan– Philippines
What dates did hurricane Katrina hit, what category was it, what was the storm surge, how many deaths were there and what was the cost of damage
– 29th of August 2005 – category 3 –6 m storm surge – 1800 deaths – $100 billion
Describe the preparation for hurricane Katrina
– Forecasting and tracking very good
– mayor of new Alans ordered an evacuation
– Many people unable to leave due to a lack of transport
– Superdome was set up as an evacuation emergency shelter
– approximately 80% of the city were evacuated before the storm hits, those left either stayed at home and went to the Superdome
– however, when the storm surge created by the storm hit the city the levees and barriers were overwhelmed flooding 80% of the city
Describe the response to hurricane Katrina
– Criticised by many as it was too slow and not affected
– Superdome trapped people with limited food
– the emergency services were unprepared for the scale of destruction
– the poorest regions of the city, without cars were hit the hardest and survivors felt betrayed by their government
Describes the improvements in America since hurricane Katrina
– All of the cities 400 km of levies have been made much higher and much stronger
– all of the cities 78 flood water pumping stations have been made flood proof
– the lake borgne surge barrier has been built to protect New Orleans – the largest storm surge barrier in the world
– upgrading these responses cost $14 million
– new funding spent on search and rescue teams and the city residents now get evacuation updates by text message
When was typhoon haiyan, What category was it, how high was the storm surge, how many deaths were there and what did the damage cost
– 2nd to the 7th of November 2013 – category 5 –5 meter storm search – 7000 deaths – 3 billion
What was the preparation like before typhoon in the Philippines
– Japan assisted the tracking of the typhoon and the government used a public storm warning signal – originally at category one but as it moved closer to the island is the level increased
– when it made landfall a category for those people at risk of flooding and landslides were evacuated to see if areas
– the military sent planes and helicopters to help with the eight effort
– government emergency shelters were not placed on high enough land to escape the storm surge
