Tropical
cyclones are named ¨cyclones¨ in the Indian Ocean, ¨hurricanes¨ in the
Caribbean and ¨typhoons¨ in the South China Sea. The conditions for these to
form are that they have to be near the tropics, they occur by the end of summer
and beginning of autumn when water is hottest, the temperature of the water has
to be at its maximum (27 degrees) and finally the humidity has to be high.
Moreover, they form only over warm ocean waters. The warm moist air rises
upwards and moves up and away where there is less air near the surface. The
system of clouds and wind spin fed by the oceans heat and water. As it becomes faster
and faster, an eye forms in the centre. Besides, a hurricane loses its energy
when it gets in touch with land since the water is the one that gives energy to
the hurricane. Based on a hurricane’s sustained wind speed they can be
classified in a scale from 1 to 5. This is called the ¨Saffir Simpson Scale. In category 1 hurricane, winds range from 74 to
95 mph and the damage is minimum however.
In a Category 5 hurricane, the
highest category hurricane, winds are 157 mph or higher and the damage is huge.
Names are
given to hurricanes. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) keeps a list
of names to use. There are different names given for each region of the
world. Names are taken from an
alphabetic list that is used again every six years. In 1979 names of men were
added. It also is important to mention that if the hurricane was very deadly,
the name given to it cannot be repeated. In addition, hurricanes cannot be prevented
and you can never know its direction. Some consequences are: loss of life, they
destroy everything like home possessions, floodings, economic loses, leaving
people jobless as industries are ruined. Also health consequences may occur for
example cholera, among others.
