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The physical impacts of HURRICANES
An essay about hurricanes
Causes of hurricanes essay
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Have you ever thought about what it would be like to have a hurricane hit you, or your hometown, and I mean really thought about what it would be like, not just say “oh, it would be horrible”. Imagine the winds outside were ripping trees out of the ground, and things blowing around, making it dangerous to go outside, imagine not knowing what was going on outside your home(other than that there was a hurricane) and being stuck in that for days. You might lose your home, or car, or both. Hurricanes are extremely dangerous and devastating. You might be wondering, ‘well how do these hurricanes start?’ The answer is that we don’t really know, but we do know that they need both warm water, and the winds that have the same direction and speed as they rise higher in the atmosphere. The warm water is used as the energy for the hurricane (“What is a hurricane?”). The way that they tell the difference the difference between tropical storms and hurricanes, are that hurricanes have winds of at least 74 mph (119 kilometers per hour). …show more content…
For weeks more than 6,200,000 (6.2 million) homes and businesses were without power. Then there was also trees, boats, and other things like that were thrown all over the place by the fierce winds, svulcanologistome homes were even ripped from their foundations. Now imagine being in that. At one point a 60 ft sinkhole opened right under a apartment building.(“Extent of damage Hurricane Irma inflicted on Florida remains
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)
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
Leading up to this storm, many prominent scientists believed that the hurricane would never make landfall, or if it did hit, would not cause any major damage. Due to this foolhardy belief held by the scientists, many civilians did not have any time to evacuate their homes and barely escaped with their loved ones and whatever small valuables or keepsakes they could grab. Regretfully, many families had to leave everything they had behind. Hurricane Andrew also damaged the livelihood of many small shop owners or farms and caused long term problems as well. Due to the large flooding and high wind speeds, much of southern Florida was left in ruin and many years were spent trying to clean the rubble and restore buildings. Hurricane Andrew also destroyed many precious ecosystems on top of all of that.
Hurricanes form over the ocean. Easterly waves, what hurricanes develop from, are long, narrow regions of low pressure which occur in ocean winds called trade winds. At first, these easterly waves can grow into something called, a tropical depression. A tropical depression occurs when winds are up to 31 mph. Then tropical depressions can be upgraded into a tropical storm if the winds reach speeds of 74 mph or less. Then finally a the storm can be bumped up into a hurricane if the winds reach 75 mph.
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
Hurricane Katrina left a devastating scar on the citizens of the southern coast of the U.S., especially New Orleans, Louisiana. The category 5 hurricane was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the most deadly. Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29th, 2005 and after that day, 66,000 people were displaced from their homes. Of those who decided to ride out the storm with hopes of success and survival as they had experienced with other storms, they were found on their rooftops, in their attics, hoping for boat or helicopter rescue, relying on others for help to survive. The storm had reached 28,000 square feet inward to Louisiana, which was 60 percent of the state. 1,100 Louisianans lost their lives, and 200,000 were displaced and/or lost their homes (Davis 8). It was a devastating time of despair and suffering. People were put through experiences that would scar them for a long time. While preparing for evacuation, people left most of their belongings at home to flee to a safer city or to find shelter in the Superdome and Convention Center. Some even decided to remain in their boarded up homes. After the hurricane had past, a few hours went by and a levee located near the Mississippi River canal broke leaving New Orleans flooded (Delisi). After the disaster, the state and federal governments were pointing fingers at each other as to who was to blame for the poorly planned evacuation and rescue efforts for the victims. The state government promised to help evacuate those who could not transport themselves. Citizens were told to go to the Superdome and convention center for evacuation, but the supplies needed for survi...
Hurricane Maria was destructive and caused a large amount of damage to the entire island of Puerto Rico. Maria hit on September 20 and was a category four hurricane, nearly a category five. Hurricane Maria has had a tremendous impact on the lives of Puerto Ricans and even the world.
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...
In the hurricane the mixture of the water and winds can be extremely damaging. The winds are extremely dangerous and usually don’t go faster than about 75 miles per hour but have been documented to go as fast as 85 miles per hour. Due to the fact that hurricanes need water to survive they cannot go too far on land, but that does not stop them from causing billions of dollars in damages. Hurricanes are so dangerous that they were listed number 1 on the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Hazard and Disasters list.
The Formation of Hurricanes Hurricanes begin as tropical storms over the warm moist waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans near the equator. (Near the Philippines and the China Sea, hurricanes are called typhoons.) As the moisture evaporates it rises until enormous amounts of heated moist air are twisted high in the atmosphere. The winds begin to circle counterclockwise north of the equator or clockwise south of the equator. The relatively peaceful center of the hurricane is called the eye.
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.
Hurricanes originate as tropical disturbances over warm oceans with trade winds. The tropical turbances intensify into tropical depressions, and eventually into a tropical storm. They only originate in the tropical trade winds because the ocean temperatures are quite warm there. Powered from the heat that the sea gives off, they are steered by the east trade winds and the temperate west ones, as well as by their own ferocious energy. Around their core, winds grow with a tremendous amount of velocity creating violent seas. As they move toward the shore, they move the ocean inward, while spawning tornadoes and producing torrential rains and floods.
The warm water provides the energy for increased evaporation of water from the ocean surface. Water vapor is the "fuel" for the hurricanes because it releases the "latent heat of condensation" when it condenses to form clouds and rain, warming the surrounding air. (This heat energy was absorbed by the water vapor when it was evaporated from the warm ocean surface, cooling the ocean in the process. Over the sea, a hurricane, cyclone or typhoon can cause the level to rise by several meters. This rise in water causes massive waves to hit the shores near the storm.
A hurricane can be defined as than 64 knots (74 miles per hour; 119 kilometers per hour), originating in the equatorial regions of the Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean Sea or eastern regions of the Pacific Ocean, traveling north, northwest, or northeast from its point of origin, and usually involving heavy rains. Hurricanes are a natural disaster with far reaching consequences. It takes away the lives of millions of people and causes damage to almost all of human creation. It can cause extensive damage to coastlines and several hundred miles inland due to heavy rainfall. It takes away the lives of millions of people and causes damage to almost all of human creation.
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...