Cause And Effects Of Hurricanes

1321 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: A physical effect of hurricanes

Taylor Vlad
Ecology Ferrara
February 13, 2014
There are on average 17 hurricanes per a ten-year time span. Natural and human caused disasters happen every day due to natural occurrence or human error. Since 1495, hurricanes have been recorded as a God caused occurrence but as technology has advanced, they are proven to have purely scientific roots. Hurricanes are also known as cyclones or typhoons depending on where in the world they occur. Hurricanes are a natural disaster that can have devastating impacts on society.
Though there are many factors in the formation of a hurricane, it all starts with having warm ocean water, mainly around summer and early autumn. Hurricanes form in low-pressure areas in which winds in the low levels of the atmosphere converge and uplift. The water vapor from the heated ocean water is the energy source for the hurricane. The water must be warm enough to put heat and moisture into the atmosphere. The atmospheric moisture combines with the energy or ‘fuel’ and propels the hurricane. The wind must maintain itself in order to become a hurricane. Hurricanes continue to grow stronger while they are traveling over warm ocean water. Once a hurricane reaches a mass of cold ocean water or land, they lose their source of fuel and gradually decrease in power and size. Hurricanes cause great amounts of damage to coastal land when the hurricane is fresh off warm water.
Air pressure is also a main factor in the building of a hurricane. Air surrounding the areas with high-pressure air pushes into the low-pressure areas that new warm and moist air rises while the surrounding air swirls in to replace it, in either a counter clockwise motion or clockwise motion depending on where in the world they are formi...

... middle of paper ...

...so you can avoid areas prone to flooding. Having a family communication plan is essential. Arrange a meeting place and a plan maintain contact with other family members and validate your safety. It is important to stay updated on what is happening in your hometown and having a long term back up location to reside in incase of an emergency. It is also important to turn off the electrical panel, gas main and the water main to prevent further damage.
Hurricanes are natural disasters that have great impacts on the world. They take tolls on the environment, animal life and the human population. Though they cannot be prevented, they can be traced early enough for evacuation and preparation as long as the proper precautions are taken such as having the right insurance, having a basic disaster kit, and the means to evacuate as instructed, human error can be avoided.

Show More
Related

  • Does Global Warming Effect Hurricane Frequency and Intensity?

    1478 Words  | 3 Pages

    Firstly hurricanes, otherwise known as tropical-cyclones, are formed over warm ocean waters of at least 26.5ºC through depths of at least 45m. There must also be a high Coriolis Effect present such as there is just north and south of the equator. (Moran, 2011) Hurricanes begin as smaller storms called tropical disturbances, if the storm experiences a sufficient loss in surface air pressure coinciding with a strengthening sustained wind the storm is then upgraded to a tropical depression. As the storm continues to intensify and the wind speeds reach 63km/h it then becomes a tropical storm and is finally given a name. When the storm continues to grow in strength and reaches wind speeds of 119km/h it then becomes a hurricane. (Moran,2011)

    Read More

  • Hurricane Andrew

    608 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hurricane preparation is the most important thing in staying safe during a hurricane. Through technology we are able to track these hurricanes and have time to get ready for them. Recovery takes a lot of time and work, but safety and injury prevention should be your number one concern.

    Read More

  • Hurricane Katrina Impact

    1498 Words  | 3 Pages

    Like Brown told CNN’s Larry King, “I must say, this storm is much bigger than anyone expected.” What should we have to know in case of an emergency, especially if you live in a hurricane evacuation zone. According to Live Science, you have to start with a hurricane plan with your family and find out your zone and local evacuation route. We have to keep in mind the hurricanes are very powerful tropical storms with heavy rains, strong winds and that a hurricane can damage buildings, cars, homes, etc. First of all, always have a hurricane survival kit, during hurricane warning and never ignore evacuation orders. Equally important, prepared your home with flood insurance, buy emergency supplies, plan for your pets, and don’t forget to search for resources for more information about hurricane planning. According to Erik Salna, “Everyone who lives in an area affected by hurricanes needs to take personal responsibility and accountability to be prepared… It has to become a way of life, something you naturally do.” In discussion of how to be prepared in case of a hurricane, one controversial issue has been the disaster of hurricane Katrina. On the one hand, we need to keep in mind that is up to us to try to be prepared in case of a hurricane warning. On the other hand, if you ignored evacuation orders you may regretted later on in life, don’t

    Read More

  • The Natural Causes Of Hurricane Katrina

    993 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hurricanes are born over the warm waters of tropical oceans and are formed by a low-pressure system caused by the heating of water. The heat causes the air to rise and form lower pressures in a feedback loop, making the hurricane stronger. Heavy rain results from a condensation of water and strong winds develop from warm air rushing to the eye of the hurricane. Essentially, greater storms and winds occur when the hurricane feeds of the rising temperature of the water. In addition, researchers studied disturbances and intense thunderstorms in the atmosphere over Western Africa and believe they are partly to blame for extreme hurricanes affecting the United States and Canada. While these are all the main ingredients of a perfectly natural process, they were not the primary causes of the damage done by Hurricane

    Read More

  • Informative Speech On Hurricanes

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mother Nature cannot be controlled and as humans we are forced to deal with various natural disasters. We have earth quakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, tornadoes and many other types of events that are weather driven. Many natural disasters affect our everyday lives and individuals may be forced to safe areas to protect themselves from potential danger. Natural disasters can also place a financial burden on people in affected communities. Hurricanes are strong storms that have been hitting the United States for as long as history can remember. Many hurricanes have hit the southeastern part of the United States the past 100 years. Some of these hurricanes have left little effect of society while others have scarred into the history

    Read More

  • Cause And Effects Of Hurricane Katrina

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hurricane Katrina was one of the most deadliest and horrific disasters in United States’ history. The hurricane started building up in the Bahamas from the “interaction between a tropical wave and the remnants of Tropical Depression Ten.” On August 23, 2016. A day later the storm strengthened and was named Tropical storm Katrina. As the storm developed it at one point became a category five hurricane when it hit the gulf of Mexico. On August 29, 2015, the hurricane weakened to a category 3 hurricane and hit the Gulf Coast of the United States. The hurricane pounded most parts of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, but most of the devastation was concentrated in New Orleans. Several days before the disaster, Louisiana activated their emergency

    Read More

  • Comparisons between Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Katrina

    1844 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hurricanes are formed over tropical waters. These intense storms consist of winds over 74 miles per hour (Ahrens & Sampson, 2011). The storms addressed here are Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy. This paper will explore the contrasts and comparisons between these two horrific storms.

    Read More

  • Betsy

    558 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gardiner, Lisa. "How Hurricanes Form." - Windows to the Universe. N.p., 13 Mar. 2009. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • The Galveston Hurricane

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    The birth of a hurricane requires at least three conditions. First, the ocean waters must be warm enough at the surface to put enough heat and moisture into the overlying atmosphere to provide the potential fuel for the thermodynamic engine that a hurricane becomes. Second, atmospheric moisture from seawater evaporation must combine with that heat and energy to form the powerful engine needed to propel a hurricane. Third, a wind pattern must be near the ocean surface to spirals air inward. At least 3 conditions must be present for a hurricane to emerge. Water, heat, and wind are the three main factors that have to be in perfect conditions to start a hurricane. (The Weather Channel, 2008)

    Read More

  • Hurricane Floyd

    1256 Words  | 3 Pages

    Then finally, the storm can be bumped up into a hurricane if the winds reach 75 mph. The National Weather Service is constantly trying to provide us with data and other information about when and where hurricanes are forming. It has been said that the only way to reduce the number of fatalities in serious storms is to give people more warning time for them to go to a safer place. Many times in hurricanes people are told to evacuate their city or state. The more time that people have to do this, the more that people will do this.

    Read More

  • Hurricane Katrina: Causes, Effects, and Aftermath

    1428 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hurricanes are powerful and destructive storms that involve great rain and wind. The United States of America has dealt with many hurricanes that have cost a great amount of damage. However, there is one hurricane that happened in 2005 that stands out among the others, Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst hurricanes to hit the United States, a category 5 on the Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Scale. An estimated 1836 people died because of the hurricane and the floodings that happened after (Zimmermann 1). Katrina initially beg...

    Read More

  • The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

    1254 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hurricanes begin as tropical disturbances in warm ocean waters with temperatures of at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit. These low pressure systems are served by energy from the warm seas. If a storm reaches wind speeds of 38 miles an hour, it is known as a tropical depression. A tropical depression becomes a tropical storm, and is given a name, when its sustained wind speeds top 39 miles an hour. When a storm’s sustained wind speeds reach 74 miles an hour, it becomes a hurricane and earns a category rating of 1 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

    Read More

  • hurricanes

    558 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hurricanes are one of the deadliest and most expensive natural disasters around. They are more common in areas of humid yet moist weather so they are very foreign to certain places. But to the places were hurricanes are the norm, the people take them extremely seriously because they kill people and ruin countless amounts of property. Hurricanes can attack and harm people in so many ways they can kill people, leave them homeless, it leaves children orphaned and disable them. On the west coast of the United States and other places hurricanes aren’t taken as seriously as other more common disasters, such as, earthquakes and volcanoes yet the hurricane can be a lot more damaging that both of those. Hurricanes are cyclones that develop over warm oceans and breed winds that blow yup to 74 miles per hour.

    Read More

  • Natural Disasters- Hurricanes

    1668 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hurricanes occur all over the world, at different times, but commonly through June first and late November. However in late August 2005 a catastrophic hurricane struck. This was Hurricane Katrina. With winds traveling over one hundred miles per hour making it a category five on the Saffir- Simpson Hurricane Scale it was said to have cause billions of dollars’ worth of damage. Hurricane Katrina flooded nearly forty thousand homes, and killed at least two thousand people (“Hurricane”). An average category five hurricane has enough energy to power street lamps for more than twenty seven thousand hours (Williams 58). Knowing about Hurricane Katrina, and the devastation of the city in New Orleans would be beneficial. Also, general information on hurricanes can help civilians and people of higher authority better understand and prepare for damage that could once hit their town and community. Because experts know the general information on these storms they can help explain to the public why and how Hurricane Katrina and other hurricanes occur. Hopefully, in the future civilians will know and use this information to their advantage against hurricanes.

    Read More

  • Tornado Essay

    997 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tufty, Barbara; 1001 Questions Answered about Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and Other Natural Air Disasters; Dover Publications, Incorporated, August 1987

    Read More

More about Cause And Effects Of Hurricanes

Open Document