weather and climate: gateway 3

Question 1

hazards- storm surges

Answer 1

• hurricane Katrina in 2005
  > storm surges directly and indirectly caused 1500 deaths
  > storm surges of 7-8m above normal tide levels
  > wind speeds reached 280km/h
  > estimated cost of $75 billion in the New Orleans area
  > surges breeched and overtopped levees which resulted in flooding in much of the city and suburbs

Question 2

hazards- strong winds

Answer 2

• in 1992, hurricane Andrew attained strong winds of 177km/h
  > caused widespread destruction to the Bahamas and various parts of the USA
  > damage to infrastructure disrupted power supply and left about 150 000 homes without electricity

Question 3

hazards - torrential rains

Answer 3

• in 2003, Hurricane Isabel flooded rivers that flowed across the states of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and Washington DC in USA
  > flooring affected an area about 120 times the size of Singapore and resulted damage of more than $2.23 billion

Question 4

physical impact

Answer 4

• in 2009 Typhoon Ketsuna, caused serious damage to road networks in the Philippines, Laos and Cambodia which hindered rescue work
  > 80% of the health centers in Manila, Philippines, was destroyed by the tropical cyclone
  > made it difficult to distribute food and medicine to those who needed them

Question 5

economic impacts- crops

Answer 5

• hurricane Katrina in 2005, which struck the east coast of USA
  > cost estimated $81 billion
  > large portion came from repairs of more than 200 000 homes
• great economic costs also incurred from damaged crops
• Tropical Cyclone Yasi, hit north Queensland, Australia in 2011
  > 75% of the total banana crop was lost amounting to US$350 million
  > tropical cyclone also destroyed 20% of farmer’s sugarcane farmland

Question 6

economic impacts - food aid

Answer 6

• when cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar in 2008
  > total of US$ 4 billion was required to repair infrastructure and provide humanitarian aid

Question 7

social impacts - disruption to water supply

Answer 7

• in 2009, when cyclone Aila hit West Bengal India
  > contaminated drinking water caused cholera outbreak resulting in about 1000 infected people and 14 deaths

Question 8

social impacts- spread of diseases

Answer 8

• Hurricane Mitch struck in 1998
  > dengue fever and malaria increased in Guatemala and Nicaragua

Question 9

social impacts - displacement of people from their homes

Answer 9

• Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005
  > hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes

Question 10

emergency action

Answer 10

• assistance from national government and governments from neighbouring countries is often needed to help repair the damage and provide aid to victim
• NGOs like Red Cross Oxfam and Save the Children
  > send relief teams to countries struck by tropical cyclones
  > provides victims with basic necessities like food, clothing, shelter and health care
• Red Cross provided aid when Typhoon Megi hit the Philipenes in2010

Question 11

prediction and warning

Answer 11

• Japan and the USA have installed warning systems for tropical cyclones and necessary precautionary measures that need to be taken care
  > announced to the public through warning systems

Question 12

reducing vulnerability of infrastructure (roof)

Answer 12

• in Florida, USA, the state government aids homeowners by employing specialised companies to improve the design of the roof and openings of houses
  >measures were effective
• when hurricane Wilma struck in 2005
  > the houses of most citizens living on Jensen Beach only suffered minor roof damage

Question 13

reducing vulnerability of infrastructure- barriers

Answer 13

• the construction of protective barrier along the coast in Apia, Samoa
  > protected the coastline and the harbour when Cyclone Val struck the island in 1991
  > the harbour was previously destroyed by Cyclone Ofa in 1990