ESCI 1012 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Hurricane Mitch, Reduced Properties, Typhoon Haiyan
Document Summary
Although stor(cid:289) surge is typically a hurrica(cid:290)e(cid:910)s (cid:289)ost deadly effect- not all flooding is due to storm surges. Storm surges are limited to coastal areas (although in some areas they can have remarkable inland reach) Rain and wind can extend much further inland. Rain is the major reason why slow-moving, low-intensity hurricanes can often create more problems than faster-moving, high-intensity hurricanes. Flat, low lying areas drain slowly and magnify problems. Combining mountainous terrain with deforestation and torrential rains can be. If one hurricane follows another, flooding worse as soils already saturated catastrophic. Storm surge damage was significant but most deaths were due to landslides triggered by torrential rains. Can contribute directly to hurricane damage or indirectly (by building wave height) For some hurricanes, wind damage can be the greatest factor. But can also fan flames and drop power lines to start additional fires. Force is proportional to square of speed, doubling speed of wind makes it four times as strong.
