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Tropical storm essay

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Tropical storm essay
Olivia Ince

“The impact of tropical storms Katrina and Nargis were beyond the scope of government to manage effectively” Discuss.

Tropical storms have different names depending on their location i.e., in North America and the Caribbean they are known as hurricanes whereas in India and Bangladesh they are known as cyclones. There are various factors which need to be in place for a tropical storm to occur including sea temperatures to be over 27ºC to provide a source of energy, warm water extending down to at least 70m and a location of at least 5º N/S of the equator to allow coriolis force to cause the spin of the system. The magnitude of tropical storms is measured by using the Saffin-Simpson scale which is a close, 5 level scale based on pressure, wind speed and potential for damage. Tropical storms can have a variety of impacts including socially, economically, and environmentally: all of which can pose difficulties to the government in charge.

Hurricane Katrina began as a very low pressure weather systen, which strengthened to become a tropical storm as it neared Florida on the evening of August 25th 2005. As it crossed southern Florida, it left approximately 100,000 homes without power, before strengthening further and making its way inland towards Louisiana where it peaked at 10am local time on 29 August. The most significant number of deaths (a total of 1836) occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana which flooded as the levees were breached. The hurricane had redistributed over 1 million people from the central Gulf to other parts of the United States, e.g., Houston, Texas had an increase of 35,000 people and Chicago had an increase of 6,000. By late January 2006, approximately 200,000 people had moved back to New Orleans which was less than half of the pre-storm population and in addition to this, the new population estimates were calculated to show at population decline of 4.87%. Those who could afford to leave did, and those who couldn't had no other

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