Hazards resulting from Atmospheric disturbances

Question 1

what parts of the world are most at risk of tropical storms and why?

Answer 1

Caribbean and south east Asia due to long fetch and warm water

Question 2

what is the definition of a tropical cyclone

Answer 2

A devastating storm that centers around a spinning eye over a large scale bringing high wing

Question 3

what are the primary hazards of a tropical cyclone?

Answer 3

Whirlpools of air, torrential rains, storm surges

Question 4

what are the secondary hazards of a tropical cyclone?

Answer 4

freshwater flooding, landslides, fires

Question 5

what are the conditions for tropical cyclones to occur

Answer 5

Low pressure-980mb
6 weeks of temp above 27c
Slight wind disturbances
Between 5 and 20 degrees north and south

Question 6

what are the names for tropical storms all over the world?

Answer 6

Atlantic-Hurricane
Pacific- Typhoon
Indian Ocean- Cyclone

Question 7

see diagram on how a cyclone forms, yeh?

Answer 7

yeah sound

Question 8

what happens at stage 5 on the saffir-simpson scale?

Answer 8

Houses flattened

Question 9

what is the Dvorak scale?

Answer 9

Measures cyclones on a scale of 1 to 8

Question 10

how does the dvorak scale work?

Answer 10

based on satellite images of patterns in the weather systems
the greater the difference in temp within the eye and the coldness of the surrounding thunderstorm clouds, the stronger the tropical storm is

Question 11

what are some of the social impacts of tropical storms?

Answer 11

Death, Injury, homelessness, communities destroyed, have to rebuild often with no insurance, disease eg. Cholera in Haiti

Question 12

what are some of the economic impacts of tropical storms?

Answer 12

Infrastructure destroyed, Expensive clean up cost, have to re-home people who have lost their homes eg. refugee camps, power lines destroyed, loss of communication due to no power

Question 13

how can hurricanes be monitored?

Answer 13

1) Satellites
2) Aircraft fly into the eye to record information
3) Weather stations monitor on the ground

Question 14

why are hurricanes still unpredictable even with state of the art forecasting?

Answer 14

tropical storms can suddenly change course and their speed of movement can vary

Question 15

how can national authorities prepare for tropical storms?

Answer 15

1) Make a risk assessment( How likely a big tropical storm is going to hit the area) using how often storms have struck, their intensity and location, frequency of flooding etc
2) Land use Zoning: Enforcing that building doesn’t take place in vulnerable areas
3) Flood plain management: make sure the most valuable buildings are not vulnerable to flooding
4) Reducing the vulnerability of structures and infrastructure eg. new building should be wind + water proof
5) food supplies ready to be deployed if needs be

Question 16

how often do the National Hurricane agency in the US monitor a newly formed tropical depression and when does this change?

Answer 16

every 6 hours and when a hurincane developed they monitor it every 3 hours

Question 17

how can lower atmospheric pressure affect the height of a storm surge?

Answer 17

Lower atmospheric pressure, the higher the storm surge because air rises in low pressure systems taking the weight off the sea surface allowing it too rise

Question 18

what are the hazards of a Hurricane?

Answer 18

High winds, storm surges, intense rainfall, Mass movement (usually caused by the intense rainfall)

Question 19

give an example of a tropical storm which has caused mass movement and what were its impacts?

Answer 19

Super Typhoon Durian (November 2006): Torrential rains saturated volcanic deposits on the slopes of Mayon volcano causing mudflows which buried towns and caused 1200 deaths

Question 20

what is a tornado?

Answer 20

A Violent, rapidly rotating and fast moving, narrow, funnel shaped column of cloud that extends from the base of a cumulonimbus cloud to the ground

Question 21

are tornado winds faster than hurricanes?

Answer 21

Yes, they can reach up to 500 km/h while hurricanes usually can only get up to 300km/h

Question 22

what is a tornados average size?

Answer 22

less than 600 m in diameter and have a path width of less than 50m

Question 23

how long does tornados usually travel for?

Answer 23

4km

Question 24

what are the conditions required for tornadoes to form?

Answer 24

1) Cold air mass moves south into warm moist air causing instability
2) form from a rotating supercell thunderstorm and always come from a cumulonimbus cloud
3) Warm moist air of excess of 18degrees
4) Wind speeds greater at altitude than at ground level

Question 25

what are the hazards of tornados?

Answer 25

hit by flying debris
Massive hailstones
Lifted up and thrown into an object
Broken power lines (secondary hazard)

Question 26

Revise the diagram of the formation of a tornado on P. 315 in textbook

Answer 26

sound my g

Question 27

what scale measures tornados?

Answer 27

Fujita- Pearson scale

Question 28

what is the scale of the Fujita- pearson scale?

Answer 28

EF-0 to EF-5

Question 29

what does the Fujita - Pearson scale show?

Answer 29

the damage caused by the tornado and its wind speeds

Question 30

how can tornados be predicted?

Answer 30

Satellites are used to monitor the conditions which could cause tornadoes to form. NOAA monitors the storm every 5mins rather than every 30 when necessary
-Doppler radar used to detect debris and gives more accurate forecasting to the locals

Question 31

what is the average warning time for a tornado?

Answer 31

8-10 mins

Question 32

what are the safety feature inside a safety shelter?

Answer 32

• Anchorage to prevent over turning or sliding
• Structural strength to withstand wind forces
• Emergency supply kit inside
• Reinforced walls to prevent penetration by debris