Case Study: Nargis
Geography: Edexcel IGCSE, topic 1.3.9
Preparing For and Responding to Hurricane Nargis
Cyclone Nargis was a category 4 cyclone that hit the Irrawaddy Delta in Myanmar (a developing country) on 2nd May 2008. Myanmar was less prepared to cope with Cyclone Nargis than the USA was for Hurricane Katrina.
Weather forecasting
- There is no storm monitoring centre in Myanmar.
- There was no radar to forecast the cyclone or storm surges.
- The average income in Myanmar is $1,200 per year.
- The only warnings for Myanmar came from Indian weather organisations.
Storm surge defences
- The only protection against storm surges were natural.
- Mangrove forests usually protected the population, but people in Myanmar had been chopping down mangrove trees to build.
Impacts on the environment
- Thousands of square miles were flooded. Lots of the mangrove swamps were destroyed and the land was salinated (so much salt was deposited that it is hard to grow plants).
Test yourself on Case Study: Nargis
What was the name of the cyclone that struck the Irrawaddy Delta in May 2008?