Natural Disaster

CYCLONE

Sakshi Mehta
XE
15

Introduction
Inmeteorology,acycloneisanareaofclosed,circularfluidmotionrotatinginthe

samedirectionastheEarth.
Thisisusuallycharacterizedbyinwardspiralingwindsthat

rotatecounterclockwiseintheNorthernHemisphereandclockwiseintheSouthern
HemisphereoftheEarth.
Mostlarge-scalecycloniccirculationsarecenteredonareasoflowatmospheric

pressure.

What causes cyclones ?

Themainsourceofenergyfortropicalcyclonesisthewarmoceansinthetropical

regions.Toinitiateatropicalcyclonethesea-surfacetemperaturegenerallyneeds
tobeabove26.5C.
Thedevelopmentofatropicalcyclonealsoreliesonfavorablebroad-scalewind

regimesandcanpersistforseveraldayswithmanyfollowingquiteerraticpaths.
Theylosetheirsourceofenergywhentheymoveoverlandorcolderoceans

causingthemtodissipate.
Sometimesadecayingtropicalcyclonemayinteractwithaweathersystemin

higherlatitudestocauseimpactsfarfromthetropics.

Photo courtesy
Google Images

Audio-Visual Explanation

Youtube.com\

Aftermath, Effects of the cyclone

Themaineffectsoftropicalcyclonesincludeheavyrain,strongwind,largestorm

surgesatlandfall,andtornadoes.
At sea :

1)Shipwrecks
Shipwrecksarecommonwiththepassageofstrongtropicalcyclones.

2)Shipping
Sailorstermtherightsidethedangerous semicirclesincetheheaviestrainandstrongestwinds
andseaswerelocatedinthishalfofthestorm,asthecyclone'stranslationspeedandits
rotationalwindareadditive.

Upon Landfall:
Themostsignificanteffectsofatropicalcycloneoccurwhentheycrosscoastlines,makinglandfall.

1)Strong winds
Strongwindscandamageordestroyvehicles,buildings,bridges,personalpropertyandotheroutside
objects,turningloosedebrisintodeadlyflyingprojectiles.
2)Storm surge

(increase in sea level)

3) Heavy rainfall
4)Tornadoes

Reconstruction, repopulation and natural resources

Whiletropicalcyclonesmaywellseriouslydamagesettlement,totaldestructionencourages
rebuilding.

Researchindicatesthatthetypicalhurricanestrikeraisesrealhousepricesforanumberof
years,withamaximumeffectofbetween3percentto4percentthreeyearsafteroccurrence.

Inisolatedareaswithsmallpopulations,tropicalcyclonesmaycauseenoughcasualtiesto
contributetothefounder'seffectassurvivorsrepopulatetheirplace.

Tropicalcyclonesreshapethegeologynearthecoastbyerodingsandfromthebeachaswellas
offshore,rearrangingcoral,andchangingduneconfigurationonshore.Theirrainwatergets
absorbedintostalagmiteswithincaves,creatingarecordofpasttropicalcycloneimpacts.

Cyclone Olwyn

Role of government and community

Governmentagenciesplayacriticalroleduringtimesofdisaster,buttheexactroleof
governmentisoftenuncleartodisastervictims.

Evenmoredifficulttodecipherarethecomplexrelationshipsbetweenvariousgovernment
programs,fromlocaltonationallevels.

Thisdocumentwillattempttomaketherolesandrelationshipsalittlemoreunderstandable.

Types of Assistance

Individual Assistance
Forindividuals,families,farmers,andbusinesses,intheformofloans,
grants,emergencyhousing,taxreliefandunemploymentassistance.

Public Assistance
Fundsforstates,localcommunitiesandnonprofitgroupstorestorepublic
systemsandfacilities.

Matching Mitigation Funds

Forstatesandlocalcommunities,forprojectswhicheliminateorreducean
area'svulnerabilitytoahazard.

TheRoleofCommunicationsTechnologyDuring
NaturalDisasters-

2007- Apple reinvents the phone

Communicationtechnologyservesasaearly
warningandpredictionsystemintimesof
naturaldisasters.
Theyhelptowarnthepublicresultinginearly
evacuationofthepeoplesavinglifeofmany.
Itisthefastestwaywehavetocommunicate
andarrangesupplyofresourcestothe
affectedareas.
Todaysstate-of-the-arttechnologymakes
technologyaimportanttoolintimesofnatural
disaster.