Storm Hazards

Question 1

Where will storm hazards occur?

Answer 1

Areas of low pressure
Warm sea water above 27 degrees
Convergence of air
Occur in tropics but no equtor

Question 2

Describe the formation of a tropical storm

Answer 2

High pressure areas air rises as it rises the vapour cools
Water vapour condenses to form clouds (cumulonimbus)
Coriolis effect caused by earths rotation causes storm to spin
Presure gradient into eye of storm = strong gusts of wind

Question 3

How are storm hazards measured?

Answer 3

Saffir Simpson scale 1-5 with 5 being the strongest

Question 4

Give four hazards associated with storm events

Answer 4

Strong winds (at least 75 to be classed as a strom)
Storm surges 3meters in height
Heavy rain up to 1000mm
Landslides

Question 5

Compare the magnitudes of hurricane katrina and nargis

Answer 5

Katrina: category 5 storm
8.5meter storm surges
250mm rain fall

Nargis: caterogy 4 storm
5m storm surges

Question 6

When was hurricane Katrina?

Answer 6

29th august 2005

Question 7

When was cyclone nargis?

Answer 7

2nd may 2008

Question 8

Where were hurricance katrina and cyclone nargis

Answer 8

Hurricane katrina - south east USA e.g. Mississippi

Nargis - Myanmar ( one of least developed countries in the world)

Question 9

Compare the death tolls of nargis and katrina

Answer 9

Katrina - 1836

Nargis - 140,000 (nearly 100 times more)

Question 10

Compare the amount of people made homeless by nargis and katrina

Answer 10

Katrina : 60,000 homless (when 300,000 houses destroyed, good as managed to get lots of people into temporary homes)
Nargis : 3.2 million homeless from 450000 destroyed houses

Question 11

Compare the economic loses of nargis with katrina

Answer 11

Nargis: $10 billion damage, many fishing communities destroyed= out of work

Katrina: $100 billion in damage - disruption to oil industry in particular

Question 12

What was the most significant environmental impact of cyclone nargis?

Answer 12

380 Km^2 of mangrove forests destoryed

Also salinisation of agricultural land

Question 13

Give some environmental impacts of hurricane katrina

Answer 13

Sea turtle breeding ground destroyed
Oil spills
Salt marshes flooded = loss of biodiversity

Question 14

Comapre the pre event warnings in nargis and katrina

Answer 14

Nargis: Myanmar has no satellites to track cyclones, Indian authorities tracked the storm, but this had an obvious delay in relaying information
Lack of radio and tv communication + no SMS warnings (in part because low disposable income so no phones)

Katrina: highly advanced monitoring systems used to track hours ahead

Question 15

Compare the evacuation plans in katrina and nargis

Answer 15

Katrina : 1000 buses out of new Orleans every hour
80% evacuated

Nargis : nothing

Question 16

Describe the aid and rescue efforts in katrina opposed go nargis

Answer 16

Katrina : 50,000 resuced
$85 billion in aid from FEMA

Nargis:
No rescue services
Due to politics initially refused all aid, prevented any outside help from coming in for a week. Even when allowed in military government seized aid for themselves