Hurricanes' Effects on Society
Hurricanes are one of nature’s most natural occurrences and intense phenomenal storms. Yet, as phenomenal as they are, they are still one of the deadliest and disastrous natural occurrences that continue to plague costal residents with fears of their homes being destroyed, their towns wiped out, and loved ones either disappearing or dying.
Roger A. Pielke Jr. and Roger A. Pielke Sr. in their book Hurricanes: Their Nature and Impacts on Society, state that the hurricane is a member of a phenomena called cyclones, which refers to “any weather system that circulates in a counterclockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere and in a clockwise direction in the Southern Hemisphere” (p.15). The word “hurricane,” originating from the Spanish word huracan, probably came from the Carib and other Indian tribes that once inhibited the Caribbean islands and Central and South America (Tufty p.13). According to Barbara Tufty’s Hurricanes, the Guatemalan Indians called the god of stormy weather Hunrakan, while the Quiche of southern Guatemala spike of Hurakan as their god of thunder and lightning (p.13).
Hurricanes are defined as large, rotating storms with strong blowing winds around the “eye,” or relatively calm center, where winds and rain clouds spiral in large bands (Tufty p.1, 13). According to Nature’s Hurricane Recipe by James C. White II, Hurricanes are rated on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale on a scale from one to five, based on the intensity of the hurricane, with wind speed being the determining factor. A category one hurricane sustains winds of 74 to 95 mph, with the storm surge being about four to five feet, and causing no real damage to building structures. A category two ...
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...l buildings, rural neighborhoods, and crops and livestock.
References
Landsea, C.W., Franklin, J.L., McAdie, C.J., Beven, J.L., Gross, J.M., Jarvinen B.R., et al (2004). A Reanalysis of Hurricane Andrew’s Intensity. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 85, 1699-1712.
Pielke, R.A Jr, Pielke R.A. Sr (1997). Hurricanes: Their Nature and Impact on Society. NY: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Rodriguez, H. (1997). A Socioeconomic Analysis of Hurricanes in Puerto Rico: An Overview of Disaster Mitigation and Preparedness. 121-143. In H.F. Diaz and R.S. Pulwarty (Eds.), Hurricanes: Climate and Socioeconomic Impacts. Germany. Springer-Verlag Berlin Hiedelberg.
Tufty, B. (1970). 1001 Questions Answered about Storms and Other Natural Disasters. NY: Dover Publications, Inc.
White, J.C. (2005). Nature’s Hurricane Recipe. Mercury. 34, 28-33.
Isaac’s Storm, by Erik Larson was a very fascinating book because it is difficult to say absolutely what the true subject of the book is. There are three key players in the book, first it is Isaac Cline a meteorologist for the U.S Weather Bureau, The U.S. Weather Bureau itself, and finally the storm of 1900. However, all three elements collaborate with one another in a significant way. The storm of 1900 is the main catalyst for one of the most devastating storms in the United States. However, the Weather Bureau and Isaac Cline both had an impact on the outcome of the catastrophic storm. The book generally focuses on the Galveston Hurricane of 1990, but more so the actions that Isaac Cline takes, or didn’t take rather. It was very tricky to
I know very little about the 1900s storm, but I feel very educated on the subject now. Work Cited Larson, Erik. A. Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History. New York: Crown Publishing, 1999. 1-316.
Such greatness had innocuous and humble beginnings. Like all hurricanes that have existed, is existing, and will exist, the hurricane originated within the waters of the world and from the winds of the world. The temperate waters of the eastern North Atlantic Ocean gave rise to the storm upon August 31, 1900. Its birthplace was roughly 400 miles west of Africa’s Cape Verde Islands (Longshore).
On August 24th, 1992 in the state of Florida, complete destruction was the end result of Hurricane Andrew. A Hurricane that began in the Atlantic ocean at 20mph. That is almost twice the strength that normal hurricanes begin at. The peak strength of Hurricane Andrew was so strong that devices were not able to measure the winds. An approximation of the force of the winds was said to be up to 200mph. Andrew destroyed about 28,000 homes, damaged 100,000 homes and left 250,000 people homeless along with 30 billion dollars in damage and almost 30 deaths. Hurricane Andrew did not end its devastation in Florida, soon it went to Louisiana causing more damage. (Fig.1)
24 March 2009. The 'Secondary Web. The Web. The Web. 21 Nov.2011 Cottier, Michael. A. “Hurricane Andrew-Facts and Information about the Hurricane.”
Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters to happen in the United States. The storm resulted in more then US$100 billion in damage when the cities flood protection broke and 80% of the city was flooded (1). The protection failure was not the only cause for the massive flooding, the hurricanes clockwise rotation pulled water from north of New Orleans into the city. 330,000 homes were destroyed and 400,000 people from New Orleans were displaced, along with 13,00 killed (1). Although the population quickly recovered, the rate of recovery slowed down as the years went on leading us to believe not everyone
Hurricanes are extremely large area’s of low pressure that are over the ocean in either the North Atlantic ocean, or the eastern North Pacific Ocean. If a hurricane is in the western Pacific Ocean than it is called a typhoon. One in the Indian Ocean is called a cyclone. The danger region of a hurricane is normally in the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean. The hurricane season is the six month time period from June-November. The peak month of hurricanes is September.
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
Katrina demolished more residential buildings than any other recent hurricane and ‘’Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne which in total, wrecked approximately 85,000 homes.’’ Hurricane Katrina also left ‘’many people homeless as more than 800,000 housing units were destroyed or damaged in the storm.’’ The storm dislocated beyond a million people in the Gulf Coast region. Even though residents have returned home, up to ‘’600,000 households were still displaced a month later.’’ The storm may have happened in 2006, but it still impacted the following year by 85 percent of public schools remaining
Laukaitis, Algis J. "The Blizzard of 1888 -- the Force of a White Hurricane -- Hit 125 Years Ago." JournalStar.com. JournalStar, 11 Jan. 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2014.
On August 29, 2005, the third strongest and biggest hurricane ever recorded in American history hit the Gulf Coast at eight o’clock a.m. The interaction between a tropical depression and a tropical wave created a tropical storm later referred to as Hurricane Katrina (FAQS, 2013). Forming over the Bahamas, Hurricane Katrina gradually strengthened as it moved closer and closer to the Gulf of Mexico. Recorded on August 28th, 2005, Katrina jumped from a category three storm to a category five storm with maximum sustained winds up to 160 miles per hour. Although other hurricanes, such as Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Wilma, exceeded Katrina, this dominant storm was classified as the fourth most intense hurricane based its pressure capacity. Once Hurricane Katrina hit land, it was pronounced as a category four storm moving slowly. While people thought that the slow speed of this storm prevented trauma, records show that Katrina did more damage than any fast-moving storm could have ever achieved (Solanki, 2013). Katrina produced abundant debris. The debris was in such large quantity that if it was stacked together on a football field, the rubble would reach the elevation of ten and a half miles. The size of Katrina also caused 90,000 square miles to be affected. Once proclaimed a category three storm, Hurricane Katrina slowed to the speed of 155 miles per hour. At this point in time, Katrina proved to be the sixth most prevailing hurricane traced in history. (Solanki, 2013). Several different aspects of life were impacted by Hurricane Katrina such as availability of gasoline, economic issues, and the ability to have an adequate supply of drinking water (Solanki, 2013). Hurricane Katrina was a large storm ...
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...
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.
A hurricane is a type of natural disaster that can be harmful and destructive to anything in its way. Every year five to six hurricanes are formed, damaging and destroying people’s homes, landmarks, and anything in its path (“Hurricane”). Before a hurricane is developed it is known as a tropical storm. To be a tropical storm wind speed must be at least thirty eight miles per hour (“Hurricane”). Once wind speeds reaches seventy four miles an hour it can then be classified as hurricane (“Hurricane”). Large scale storms, like hurricanes have a variety of ways to measure the sev...