Physical Hazards of Tropical Cyclones
Geography: Edexcel IGCSE, topic 1.3.3
Physical Hazards of Tropical Cyclones
Tropical cyclones cause many physical hazards when they hit human settlements. In the eyewall, winds are very strong and there is a lot of rain.
High winds
- In 2015, Hurricane Patricia recorded wind speeds of 215 miles per hour (346km/h).
- This was the fastest wind speed ever.
Intense rainfall
- Tropical cyclones are capable of releasing trillions of litres of rain in a single day.
- Such a large amount of rainfall can cause mudslides and landslides, which can fall on people, killing them, or destroy buildings.
Storm surges
- Storm surges are large sea level rises brought about by high winds and low pressure.
- A storm surge happened in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit.
- Storm surges lead the sea to flood coastal areas.
Test yourself on Physical Hazards of Tropical Cyclones
What do we call large sea level rises brought about by the low pressure and high winds associated with tropical cyclones?