GEOL 213 Lecture Notes - Lecture 27: Bathymetry, Flood Insurance, Finite Element Method

• School: College of Charleston
• Department: Geology and Environmental Geosciences
• Course: GEOL 213
• Professor: Jaume'

Document Summary

Largest loss of life in cyclones often arises from storm surge & flooding. Strong winds, low pressure and forward motion of cyclone push a dome of water onto land. In low-lying coastal regions (i. e. , bangladesh) water can reach many kilometers inland. River & flash flooding also occur, which cannot drain quickly due to surge. Slow-moving/stationary storms can drop enormous amounts of rain. Minor contribution: strong winds pile water up against the coastline. By far the largest contribution to the size of the strong surge. The width of the wind is as important as the strength: forward motion of cyclone. A faster moving storm is more effective at trapping water against the coast. In the northern hemisphere the right front of a cyclone eye has the largest surge ( left front in the southern hemisphere) The largest surge is therefore offset from the center of the storm. While the maximum wind speed is important, other contributions are: size of storm.