The Appearance of Hurricanes - Essay Example

Hurricane Hurricane is a strong and powerful tropical storm that originates from the ocean and lashes the coast killing people and destroying properties. The wind speed can reach up to 155 mph (250 kph), which comes with heavy rain and thunderstorms (Amidon 9). Due to its strong force it is said to tear big and strong buildings apart, as well as, throwing cars kilometers away (Hawkin 4). American people named Hurricane after the ancient Mayan god of winds and storm. In Asia, they call it typhoons from a Chinese word ‘Taifeng’ meaning ‘powerful wind’ whereas in Australia they call it cyclones. The Appearance of Hurricanes’ A picture from the satellite gives a clear view of hurricanes. All hurricanes have an eye at the center which is surrounded by bands of clouds. Winds in the eye are almost calm and are less than a hundred mile across. Tall and big clouds circling the eye known as eye wall, contains the storm’s strongest winds. A picture of a hurricane Hurricane size Hurricane size is categorized by the radial extent of gale-force winds (32 – 54 mph). Depending on the wind strength one can be able to calculate the size of the hurricane by use of gale- force criteria. Using the gale – force criteria, the winds of 35 mph of average Atlantic hurricane has a radius of 150 miles or equivalent diameter of 300 miles. On average, the width of hurricane’s cloud shield is around 500 miles, but it can vary (Fitzpatrick 7). Formation of Hurricanes Hurricane does not form instantaneously but is formed by a number of processes (Leatherman and Minneapolis 11). Warm and humid air from the ocean fuels a hurricane. Solar radiation warms large areas of tropical ocean to 80 F (27 c) or hotter. Due to this rise in temperature ocean water evaporates making the air in a thousand feet above the ocean extremely humid. Warm humid air above the ocean are said to be a good source of energy that causes hurricanes. Warm humid air then starts to condense into cloud droplets releasing heat picked up when it evaporated. In most cases, this heat provides the energy for thunderstorms. Once the necessary conditions are in place clouds and thunderstorms forms in line and start increasing (Fitzpatrick 19). Since the air warmed by heat released by condensation rises, air flows in to replace it. This rotation causes the wind to curve. Condensation keeps on releasing more and more heat, which in turn causes the air to rise faster, and the wind blowing into the storm to speed up. Once the hurricane forms it is able to travel several miles across the ocean with fast and trailing strength. Places Susceptible to Hurricanes Hurricanes take place in the tropical regions of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. Apparently, a storm is classified as a hurricane the water temperature must be above 79.7 F (26.5 c) for it to gather sufficient strength. Severe hurricanes hit the southern coast of the United States, Central America and the Caribbean. Basically, Indian Ocean, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand are the main victims of hurricane. On the other hand, Japan Eastern China and the Philippines are the victims of hurricane related to the Pacific Ocean (Leatherman and Minneapolis 13). Effects of Hurricanes A hurricane has been a potential source of destruction of properties along the coastal communities. The destructions, which come as the result of a hurricane usually, take many years to recover (Davis 8). When the hurricane exceeds designed specifications it results to damages such as; downing of trees and power poles, which results to power black outs (Allen 44). Hurricanes come with heavy downfall which causes heavy floods. Flooding has been very destructive hence widely to be the leading cause of hurricane related deaths today in United States. According to survey carried out by Rappaport in year 2000, it indicates 57 percent of the United States deaths between 1970 and 1999 was due to floods. Heavy floods compel steams and river to overflow and if these flood water crosses a roadway they can be very dangerous (Amidon 5). A lot of moving water can cause a driver to lose control of the car and crush. If this water is too much and has enough force to carry most of the cars and drown its driver (Fitzpatrick 15) Heavy rainfall does not only occur at the coast but also in hills and mountains. Hurricane can bring heavy rains in the mountains where it causes rivers and streams to overflow in a matter of minutes. Heavy rains in mountainous areas come with mud slides, which burry homes and destroy properties. One of the most horrific hurricane occurred in 1972 causing the death of 188 people and destruction of properties worth more than $2.1 billion. Storm surge is the most destructive hurricane. Storm surge is the huge dome of water that hurricane fetches from the ocean and brings it to the land with great force. It carries everything that comes its way destroying it completely. Weak storm surge pour 3 feet (9 m) of water while the strong one pours more than 25 feet (8 m) high. In 1991, the surge from storm killed more than 130,000 people and damaged millions of homes in Bangladesh (Hawkin 7). Hurricanes Prevention Since hurricanes will always occur and human beings can not deter them from occurring, there is need to come up with means to reduce destructions associated with them and especially deaths. First, the National Weather Service should always alert people in advance on when the hurricanes are due to strike (Allen 40). Moreover, government should ensure people living in coastal areas where hurricanes occur are moved to less prone areas. In general sense, people living in hurricane prone areas should take an insurance cover for them to be compensated in case of such occurrences (Davis 4) Conclusion Hurricane size is categorized by the radial extent of gale-force winds (32 – 54 mph). All hurricanes have an eye at the center which is surrounded by bands of clouds. Hurricanes take place in the tropical regions of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. A hurricane has been a potential source of destruction of properties along the coastal communities. Hence, hurricanes are nature largest and most destructive storm people must always be prepared to deal with them so as to reduce damages and injuries. Works Cited: Allen, Jean. Hurricanes Natural disasters. Mankato, Minn: Capstone Books, 2001. Print. Hawkins, John. Hurricane disasters. New York Rosen Central, 2012. Print. Amidon, Marcia. Natural Disasters. Edina, Minnesota: ABDO Publishing Company. 2011. Print. Davis, Lee. Natural Disasters. New York: Facts on File.2008.Print. Fitzpatrick, Patrick Hurricanes second edition, Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2006. Print. Leatherman, Stephen and Minneapolis, Williams, Hurricanes: causes, effects, and the future MN: MBI Pub. Co., 2008. Print Read More