TROPICAL STORMS/CYCLONES

I. What are they?

II. Where are they found
III. How are they formed?
IV. What are the effects or impacts of them?
V. How to respond to tropical cyclones
VI. How to reduce the impacts of tropical cyclones?
NB:
Also check other names and measurements

TROPICAL STORMS/CYCLONES
Tropical cyclones are areas of intensive, low pressure system
around the tropics.
They are also known as tropical storms, hurricanes, typhoons
etc. depending on the location.
I. Hurricane – North America.
II. Cyclones – India.
III. Typhoons – Japan And east Asia.

FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF TROPICAL

CYCLONES
The following factors influence the formation of tropical
cyclones:
I. They occur in areas of intensive low-pressure system around
the tropics
II. They are formed over warm tropical oceans where
temperatures exceed 270C.
III. They occur in trade wind belts between 50 North and 200
South of the equator.
IV. They occur in late summer and early autumn when sea
temperatures are at their highest.
Weather characteristics associated with the passage of
tropical storms are: High winds, High temperatures and Heavy
rainfall.

HOW THEY ARE FORMED

Tropical storms need warm ocean water over 270C, the warm
water heats the air above it creating an area of very low
pressure in the center (Eye). The raising air quickly cools down
forming thick, dense cumulonimbus clouds which brings heavy
rainfall accompanied by strong winds.
In the northern hemisphere, the strong wind rotates
anticlockwise while in the southern hemisphere they rotate
clockwise due to the rotation of the earth.
Tropical storms need warm water energy; therefore, once
they reach the land, they quickly lose the power
A CROSS-SECTION OF TROPICAL STORMS

MEASURING AND RECORDING TROPICAL

STORMS
Tropical storms are measured on the 5 point saffir Simpson
scale. The critical features that cause most damage are:
 The wind speed
 The scale of the storm surge
Tropical storms are classified into 5 categories based on the
saffir Simpson scale. Classification as shown below
SAFFIR SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE
CATEGORY WINDS(KMPH) DAMAGE STORM
SURGE
(M)
1 74-95 Minimal: Damage to 4-5
unanchored mobile
homes, vegetation and
signs. Coastal road
flooding. Some shallow
flooding of susceptible
homes
2 96-110 Moderate: Significant 6-8
damage to mobile
homes and trees.
Significant flooding of
roads near the coast
3 111-130 Extensive: Structural 9-12
damage to small
buildings. Large trees
down. Mobile homes
largely destroyed.
Widespread flooding
near the coast and bay.
4 131-155 Extreme: Most trees 13-18
blown down. Structural
damage to many
buildings. Roof on small
structures. Flooding
extends far inland.
 Major damage to
structures near shore.
5 More than Catastrophic: All trees Greater
155 blown down. Some than 18
complete building
failures. Widespread
roof failures. Flood
damage to lower floors
less than 15 feet above
sea level

EFFECTS/IMPACTS OF TROPICAL STORMS

1. PRIMARY IMPACTS (SHORT-TERM)
The primary impacts are a result of high winds and torrential
rainfall and storm surges.
They fall under four major headings, which include:
I. Physical – The damage of property caused by high winds,
heavy rainfall and storm surges.
II. Social – People die or injured. This disrupts the commutes and
their ways of life.
III. Economic – There is destruction and disruption of businesses,
shops damaged, also destruction of transport links and
services.
IV. Environmental – Occurrence of landslides and soil erosion
upsets the ecosystem.
V. Prolonged flooding may interfere with the environment and
damage the farmland.
 2. SECONDARY/LONG TERM IMPACTS
I. High cost repairing the damaged infrastructure. This may
affect the economy.
II. Spread of waterborne diseases due to flooding.
III. Displacement of people due to loss of homes and recession.
IV. Interrupting of communication due to transport links being
blocked by landslide.

RESPONDING TO TROPICAL STORMS

People respond to tropical storms through the application of 3
P’s (Predict, Prepare, Protect)

I. PREDICTION
Prediction is knowing that a hazard event is shortly going to
take place and so warning the public to be prepared. Tropical
cyclones are moving hazards, they should be tracked and
forecast made of their progress.
The following are ways meteorologists track the movement of
tropical storms:

A. WEATHER STATIONS
A global network of weather stations tracks the movement of
tropical storms. Once all the information about pressure,
temperature, humidity and wind are collected and put
together. It can be used to predict what will happen to a
tropical cyclone/storm.

B. WEATHER SATELLITES
They show cloud formation, large weather even such as
hurricanes and other global weather systems.
 It has 2 types of sensors:

i. IMAGER
It gathers information on cloud movement and patterns
during daylight hours by capturing reflected light to create
images.

ii. SOUNDER
It is an infrared sensor that reads temperature therefore it
measures the amount of energy radiated by the earth’s
surface, clouds, ocean and air.
The infrared sensor can be used at night

iii. RADAR
Radar measures reflective soundwaves
When soundwaves are broadcasted from a radar mast and
come into contact with a moving object, such as a rain cloud,
radar will give information about the direction and speed of
the objects movement
By using radar and getting a picture of precipitation (Water
falling to the ground) on the radar screen, meteorologists are
able to track a storms progress overtime

PROTECTION
The following are ways of people protect themselves against
tropical storms;
I. Encouraging settlements away from tropical storm paths.
II. Planting mangrove trees along coastal areas to absorb the
storm surge.
III. Building and strengthening dykes along coastal areas to
prevent storm from reaching the inland.
IV. Preparing an evacuation plan and organizing transport,
accommodation for victims.

CASE STUDY 1: HURRICANE KATRINA

Hurricane Katrina was an extremely destructive and deadly
tropical cyclone.
It formed over the Bahamas in August 2005 and the moved
eastwards across the edge of Florida, a category 1 hurricane.
It reached category 5 at sea on 25th August.
The cyclone doubled its size and wind speeds were over 300
km/h
It swung north eastwards, weekend to category 3 and makes
it landfall at New Orleans on 29th August

EFFECTS OF HURRICANE KATRINA

I. Nearly 2000 people were killed.
II. 1000 of people were injured.
III. Nearly 1,000,000 people were displaced.
IV. The high winds destroyed many buildings including hotels.
V. It produced a storm surge with 8km waves which over
whelmed the floods protection system of New Orleans city.
VI. Very heavy rainfall caused 80% of the city being flooded.
Despite New Orleans being a leading city in the USA, it
suffered so much devastation and chaos during the days
immediately following the event.
The investigation indicated that the devastations were so
much because of the following reasons:
 I. The levee and the coastal flood protection walls were aging
and neglected.
II. The slow emergency response from the authorities.
III. The release effort of a large number of organizations were
poorly coordinated.
IV. Food and water shortages were evidence that emergency aid
were poorly organized.
V. Despite large scale evacuations many poor people were left
behind and many refused to leave their homes.
VI. There was so much looting of abandoned properties.
VII. Some of the money raised by public appeals around the world
“Disappeared”, so could not be put to good use
More than 10 years after the disaster, the city has recovered
and flood defenses have been improved.
Also damaged buildings have been repaired or replaced.
The once-poor parts of the city have been gentrified

CASE STUDY 2: TYPHOON HAIYAN, PHILIPINES

2013
It was one of the most tropical cyclones to hit the Philippines.
It took place on 8th November 2013 and it was a category 5
typhoon.
Wind speeds of over 300 km/h were recorded.
It originated in the north/west Pacific Ocean.
It is named as typhoon Yolanda.

EFFECTS OF TYPHOON HAIYAN

I. More than 6,000 people were killed and many more injured.
 II. Approximately 800,000 people were evacuated and 1.9
million were left homeless.
III. Most of roads and airport were blocked by fallen trees and
debris.
IV. Much coastal shipping was destroyed by the storm surge
generated by the typhoon.
V. Crops were wiped out, these resulted into serious shortages
of food.

RESPONSE AND RECOVERY AFTER THE

TYPHOON HAIYAN
Philippines is a densely populated country, however it
experienced relatively lower rate of deaths and damages
compared to hurricane Katrina.

REASONS
I. Quick action by the authorities, Aid agencies and local
organizations helped to save many lives. However, the
delivery of emergency aid was very difficult because the
airport was badly damaged and roads blocked by fallen trees.
II. Around three million people received food assistance
including rice, high energy biscuits and other emergency
items.
III. After the event, the recovery work involved the building of
structures that were upgraded and made more hazard proof,
the slogan adopted by the government of the Philippines for
the recovery program is Build Back Better with the above aim.
IV. No build zones have been defined along the stretches of the
coast that were hit by the storm surge.
V. A new storm surge warning system is now operational.
VI. Mangrove trees have been replanted to help the natural
protection of the coast.

CONCLUSION
Given that the Philippines is not a rich or a technological
advanced country, the management of typhoon Haiyan, its
immediate after mark and the subsequent recovery, reflects
well of the country.
Philippines is a densely populated country. The cluster of
islands that make up Philippines have a population of 100
million people in 2013. The population of New Orleans
metropolitan was just over 1 million yet it experienced more
death rates and damages compared to the Philippines during
Typhoon Haiyan.
One main reason for this was:
I. Warning time – Hurricane Katrina was expected to travel
westwards to Mexico, but it suddenly turned northwards and
came up to the shore within 24 hours (People were caught
unaware). Unlike Typhoon Haiyan that may tend the
consistent direction across the pacific. Therefore, people have
sufficient time to prepare and evacuate in time (5 days).
NB:
Storm surge – It is a rapid rise in sea level in which water is piled
up against the coast and exceeds the normal sea levels.
It tends to happen when there is low atmospheric pressure
and where sea water is pushed into a narrow channel or land.