On November 3rd, 2013 a typhoon was beginning to form in the Philippines, it was not considered too big a threat, but Tacloban (a city in the Philippines) began to prepare. On November 8th 2013, one of the biggest typhoons ever recorded in history hit Tacloban, Philippines; this typhoon was known as Typhoon Haiyan or locally known as Typhoon Yolanda. Typhoon Haiyan was one of the biggest storms ever recorded in history. It was a category 5 Super Typhoon which is the highest category there is on the scale of typhoon and hurricane measurement. The extreme measures of the storm lasted 3 days and then dissipated on November 11th, 2013 to China, Vietnam, and some parts of Micronesia, the death toll in just the Philippines alone was at least 6268 people and in 2014, the search of missing bodies still continues. This storm left approximately $313, 942, 20 (CND) world of damage! Typhoons start off as large tropical thunderstorms; the strong winds pull in moisture from the oceans, and the thunderstorms convert the moisture into heat. The heat causes more air to flow to the center of the storm which causes evaporation. All the heat and air flow towards the centre which is known as the eye of the typhoon to form the typhoon. Typhoons are measured by the storm units as categories, much like any other storms such as hurricanes, and cyclones. Different storms have other units as well, an example is a tornado. Tornados are measured in F’s, the larger the number, the more powerful the storm will be. This rule applies to all storms including typhoons. The categories are determined based on the wind speed and how large a space it covers. A category 1 hurricane has winds from 74-75mph and does not due much damage to buildings and houses; a... ... middle of paper ... ...October 12th 1979. In number 6 Typhoon Sally which hit Ponape on September 3rd 1964. In number 5 Typhoon Kit which did not reach landfall but was still extremely powerful and had winds at the exact speed as Typhoon Haiyan (195mph). In number 4 is Typhoon Haiyan which his Tacloban on November 8th, 2013. In Number 3 Typhoon Ida which hit Japan on September 1958. In Number 2 is Typhoon Violet which also hit Japan in 1961. And the strongest storm ever recorded is Cyclone Nancy which hit Japan and other countries in Asia on September 7th 1961. In conclusion although Typhoon Haiyan was not the strongest typhoon in the world, it caused extensive catastrophic damage to the Philippines and many other parts in Asia leaving many people killed, many houses destroyed and many lives ruined. Typhoon Haiyan is the most recent storm to make it to the top 5 of the biggest storms.
In 1992, hurricane Andrew was a category four hurricane and said to be one of the worst natural disasters to happen in the United States at the time. It’s winds surpassed 160 miles per hour and caused damage to over 125,000 homes within 400 square miles. Hurricane Andrew left approximately 175,000 families and children temporarily homeless.
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)
Early in the morning on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States. When the storm made landfall, it had a Category 3 rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale–it brought sustained winds of 100–140 miles per hour–and stretched some 400 miles across. The storm itself did a great deal of damage, but its aftermath was catastrophic. Levee breaches led to massive flooding, and many people charged that the federal government was slow
Disasters are often followed by reports of damages to the built environment—the cost of buildings, roads, bridges, electricity lines, stores, schools and hospitals. These of course follow the death toll and economic and social impacts of citizen’s lives. It was not different with Hurricane Ike whose 20 feet surge left one of the hugest damages ever. The stories of how it impacted other things for the benefit do not make much of the well-known histories. For Gene Straatmeyer a resident of Bolivar Peninsula— which was most hit by the storm, the story is not just about how destructive it was:
Leading up to the hurricane, many scientists expected the storm to dissipate over the ocean and cause little to no harm (Rappaport). The scientists were relying on faulty equipment that said that due to slow air speed and l...
Through the path of history, there have been several major events that influenced thousands of lives and were significant in forming the world today. One of the largest and deadliest events that occurred in history was a disaster not anybody could control or be held accountable for. This was Hurricane Katrina. On the early Monday morning of August 29th, 2005, a Category 5 rating Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States with winds up to 175 miles per hour and a storm surge of 20 feet high. Hurricane Katrina was one of the greatest and most destructive natural disasters recorded to make landfall in the United States. The natural causes of the hurricane, poorly structured levees, disaster inside the Superdome, and the
On August 29th, 2006 New Orleanians were expecting a total of 12 to 15 inches of rain and extended five or six inches from the upcoming storm later known as the costliest hurricane in U.S history. The Category 3 hurricane devastated most of eastern North America with blustery winds of 170 mph (280 km per hour) and storm surge values ranging from 10 to 20 feet. The storm called ‘’Hurricane Katrina’’ originated in the Bahamas on August 23th, 2005, but only became a devastation the next day. On August 28th, Hurricane Katrina succeeded a Category 3 hurricane(sustained winds of 122 kt) and exceeded the limits of a Category 5 storm (sustained winds of 136 kt). The following day, the cyclone shifted northwest towards Mississippi and Louisiana, where the hurricane hit the hardest. New Orleans was one of the cities where the most damage was caused; leaving a negative environment, residential and economic effects on the Gulf Coast.
Hurricane Sandy occurred in the year 2012. The formation of this storm began as early as October 11, 2012. It traveled through different areas of the southwestern Caribbean, and eventually created devastation to the eastern coast of the United States of America on October 29, 2012 (Blake, Kimberlain, Berg, Cangialosi & Beven II, 2013) (Manuel, 2013).
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.
The Great Chilean Earthquake, considered one of the largest registered in history happened on a Sunday of March 22, 1960 at around 3:11pm local time in Chile. Its epicenter was registered near the neighborhoods of the city of Valdivia, Chile and had a magnitude of 9.6 on the Richter scale. After the main shock, a series of major Earthquakes were registered between May 21 and June 6 that affected much of Southern Chile. The quake was felt in different parts of the planet and produced a tsunami that hit several towns along the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii and Japan and caused the eruption of the Puyehue volcano in the Andean Mountains of Chile. The number of deaths is not concrete and there have been different figures of death tolls. Despite the fact, we know that more than 2,000 people dies and more than 2 million were left homeless because of the disaster.
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 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.
In March of 2011, Japan suffered one of the largest most powerful earthquakes to hit Honshu, Japan. (“Facts about Japan”) The earthquake registered 8.9 and was the fifth largest most powerful earthquake in the world.... ... middle of paper ... ...
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...
The death toll climbs to over 10,000 and is still rising (Branigan 2). The disaster in Japan began without warning on Friday March 11, 2011 at 2:46pm with a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, the strongest ever recorded in the country (Fackler 3). A massive thirty-three foot high tsunami, generated by the earthquake, swept over lands in northern Japan, taking objects and debris with it. To make matters worse, the tsunami caused the cooling systems at several nuclear power plants to fail. The disaster in Japan was a tragic event, and it had a plethora of causes and effects.