1.3.6

Vulnerability to Tropical Cyclones

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Vulnerability to Tropical Cyclones

Not all countries are equally vulnerable to the impacts of tropical cyclones. There are 3 main categories of reasons that determine the extent of a country's vulnerability:

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Geographic/physical vulnerability

Two kinds of areas are vulnerable to tropical cyclones:

  1. Regions with low-lying coasts and cities close to the sea. Nations like the Netherlands would be vulnerable because of their low-lying land.
  2. Regions that are more likely to be on a tropical cyclone path. This is true for the Caribbean and some American states.
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Economic vulnerability

  • Less wealthy countries are more vulnerable because they will have less money to spend on flood defences, prevention measures and emergency public services to solve a crisis once it hits.
  • Lower-income nations often have a higher % of their population working in farming/agriculture. These people can be affected by flooding or salination.
  • Wealthier nations should be able to spend more money on constructing buildings and infrastructure that are more cyclone proof.
Illustrative background for Social vulnerabilityIllustrative background for Social vulnerability ?? "content

Social vulnerability

  • Lower-income nations usually have lower quality housing (made of wood and sheet metal). They usually have worse national healthcare systems, worse infrastructure, and less well-funded emergency service departments.

Jump to other topics

1Physical Geography

1.1River Environments

1.2Coastal Environments

1.3Hazardous Environments - Tropical Cyclones

1.4Hazardous Environments - Earthquakes & Volcanoes

2Human Geography

3Global Issues

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