Tropical storms Flashcards
4 conditions needed for tropical storms
- warm oceans above 27 degrees Celsius
- summer and autumn
- form 5-15 degrees north and south of the equator, (there isn’t enough spin from the rotation of the earth- coriolis effect.
- heat causing unstable air to rise rapidly
structure of a tropical storm
- the eye
- the eye wall
- spiraling winds
- bands of rain and cloud
the eye
small area where relatively cold air sinks towards the ground and warms up. no clouds conditions are calm.
the eye wall
tall bank of cloud. strong winds (120km/h), heavy rain, thunder and lightening
bands of rain and cloud
banks of clouds with thunderstorms and occasionally tornadoes. strong gusty winds, heavy rain.
coriolis effect
spin of the earth.
- close to the equator storms can’t spin
- 5’ Northern hemisphere- anticlockwise
- 5’ Southern hemisphere- clockwise
How much climate change affect tropical storms?
- distribution: higher latitudes
- intensity: more intense storms because more evaporation
- duration of tropical storms: last longer, start earlier and end later
- frequency: possibly less tropical storms because of stronger winds in the upper atmosphere
why was the death toll from Storm Haiyan so high? (11)
- many coastal fishing villages
- roads blocked with debris
- cliffs on coastline
- poor communications
- no mobile phone signal
- poverty- light weight building materials
- low lying land
- high wind speed (314 km/hr, category 5)
- high population density (1100 people/km squared)
- high storm surge (5m)
- storm path not as predicted
9 secondary effects
- 14mill people affected
- flooding caused landslides and blocked roads communities
- power supplies in some places cut off for a month
- ferry services and airline flights disrupted for weeks
- shortages of water, food and shelter affected many people
- jobs lost, hospitals damaged, shops/school destroyed
- looting and violence in Tacloban
- 800,000 liter oil leak
- fishing stopped because of contaminated water
5 immediate responses
- shelter- using debris, for future storms
- water- tapped water, washing and drinking
- fuel- diesel, looting, reselling
- food- selling
- flight- to leave country
5 long term responses
- burying the dead
- accessing remote islands
- rebuilding the roads and homes
- mending boats and nets
- expanding storm shelters
7 primary effects
- 6300 killed
- over 600000 displaced and 40000 homes damaged or flattened
- tacloban airport terminal badly damaged
- 30000 fishing boats destroyed
- strong winds damaged buildings
- 400mm of rain caused widespread flooding
- many roads blocked by trees and debris
3 ways to predict a storm
satellites, supercomputers, hurricane hunters
4 ways to protect against a storm
education, evacuation, building defense, teamwork
3 ways to plan for a storm
building adaption, building design, emergency kits
