Weather Hazards Flashcards
What Is the key term for receiving sunlight in an area?
Solar insolation
Which place in the world receives the most solar insolation?
The equator, as the sunlight is concentrated over a smaller area
What is the air pressure at the equator?
Low air pressure as hot air is constantly rising
What is another name for the equator?
ITCZ - intertropical convergence zone
What are the three types of cells?
Hadley cell - between 0 and 30 degrees north and south
Ferrell cell - between 30 and 60 degrees north and south
Polar cell - above and below 60 degrees north and south
What are the components required for a tropical storm to form?
27 degrees Celsius
Low wind shear
60 to 70 m water depth
Coriolis effect
Warm moist air
Between 5 and 30 degrees north and south of the equator
Why do tropical storms not form along the equator?
The coriolis effect is too weak at the equator
What is the specific name given to the type of clouds in a tropical storm
Cumulonimbus clouds
How does a tropical storm form?
Warm air from roses rapidly, drawing moisture with it and causing rapid winds.
The air cools at the top to form cumulonimbus clouds
The coriolis effect causes the air to spin around the calm central eye of the storm
The storm travels along the ocean in the prevailing wind
The storm loses power when it reaches land as there is no more moisture and warmth from the sea to fuel it.
What scale is used to measure tropical storms.
The Saffir Simpson scale
Category 2 to category 6
How are tropical storms monitored and predicted?
Supercomputers track the path of a storm
Dropsondes are dropped into a storm to record data such as temperature and wind speeds
Track cones are used to see where the storm will hit
When and where did Typhoon Haiyan occur?
Nov 2013 Philippines and North Pacific Ocean
What category was the Typhoon Haiyan on the scale?
Category 5 with 195 mph winds
How many people died in Haiyan?
6190
What were the primary effects of Haiyan?
Airport badly damaged
1.1 m homes damaged
4.1 m people made homeless
$53 million of rice damaged
Roads blocked
90% of Tacloban destroyed
6190 deaths
What were some secondary effects of Haiyan?
Oil barge spilled 800,000 litres of oil in Estancia
Rice price increased by 11.9%
Stampedes and looting rife
Infections and disease due to water contamination
Immediate responses of Haiyan
800,000 people evacuated
President issues warning on live TV
People took refuge in a stadium but it flooded and killed people
1 m food packs and 250,000 litres of water handed out
$1.5 billion dollars raised by 33 countries
What were the long term responses to Haiyan?
No build zone in Eastern Visayas
Build Back Better scheme for reinforcing buildings introduced by government
Mangroves replanted
Storm surge warning system
What are the 4 main types of extreme weather hazards?
Flooding
Droughts
Storm
Extreme cold
When were the Cumbria floods? What were they caused by?
2009 - deep Atlantic depression moving over Scotland and north England
What were the social effects of the Cumbria floods?
Bill barker a police officer died when a bridge into Workington collapsed
Many people injured
1500 homes flooded
River water contaminated with sewage
Economic effects of Cumbria floods
6 bridges collapsed
Many businesses closed and didn’t reopen until much later
£100 million in damages to the Cockermouth high street
Environmental effects of Cumbria floods
River tore loose carrying trees and damaging habitats and ecosystems
River Derwent caused landslides by water erosion
Short term responses to Cumbria floods
Salvation Army set up a soup stand
Army set up a temporary bridge and railway station
£1m pledged by PM
RNLI part of rescue (lifeboats)
RSPCA rescued animals
What were the long term responses to the Cumbria floods?
Ensuring bridges are safe
Flood defences such as a retractable wall
Environment Agency providing flood warning info
Carpet replaced with stone tiles
£4.5 million funded by central government
What two extreme weather events are being affected by climate change
Droughts are more frequent due to higher temperatures
Flooding is more frequent due to rising sea levels
