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Introduction
Amidst the natural disasters that occur globally, some of the more dangerous are a product of warm air from the ocean rising and rotating rapidly due to the Earth’s Coriolis effect. When this happens, tropical cyclones are formed. A typhoon is a tropical cyclone formed over the western Pacific Ocean, while a hurricane is formed over the Atlantic Ocean. Tropical cyclones formed in other areas are usually referred to as simply cyclones. When a cyclone reaches land, the movement of wind leads to the formation of tornadoes. All tropical cyclones are dangerous, with winds over 75 miles per hour. When they occur in or near inhabited areas, they cause immense damage to infrastructure and endanger many lives. However, among all the tropical storms and wind-related disasters, the worst is the tornado.
Tornados
A tornado is a rapidly rotating column of air travelling over land, which can reach wind movement speed of 480 km per hour. This force is devastating enough to remove roofs off of buildings and lift cars. While other types of cyclones occur seasonally and can be somewhat predicted (such as hurricanes), tornadoes are more dangerous because they occur suddenly. Though they typically last approximately 10 minutes, some have lasted several hours. Even those tornadoes that last minutes leave devastating consequences in areas where they pass. In 2011, there were 701 tornadoes in the United States alone, which killed 551 people (Lim et al, 2017). There is little anyone can do to prevent the effects of a tornado. Populations affected by them frequently are given instructions on what to do in case of a hurricane, such as tying all of their belongings down to prevent them from being displaced, among others. However, this does not prevent the damage to property that a tornado’s passage inevitably incurs.
The main danger of tornadoes is the fact that they often occur over land. While larger hurricanes like Hurricane Katrina affect wider areas and last longer than any tornado, the majority of their effects occur over the ocean. In many cases, the majority of the regions affected by the tropical cyclones only experience severe adverse weather effects. These are often mitigated by advanced knowledge of the hurricane approaching. As they start their movement far in the ocean, most affected regions have time to prepare for their arrival, such as planning to stay indoors. Tornadoes, on the other hand, occur over land and cause damage to anything that exists near their path. Though warning systems and proper education lessen the danger to human life, many are still left injured or homeless as a result of the tornado’s passage. Furthermore, a particularly powerful tornado can form several smaller ones, making it even more devastating.
Due to the dangers posed by the tornado, it is ill advised for people to live in areas where these disasters occur most frequently. However, it would be difficult or near impossible to completely avoid building or living in areas where tornadoes occur, especially in the United States, where more than half of the country is affected to some extent. Therefore, with complete avoidance being impossible, focus should be given to prevent people from living in hotspots of tornado activities. In other regions, proper precautions should be used to protect the populace.
Conclusion
In conclusion, tornadoes are highly dangerous, more so than even typhoons, cyclones, and hurricanes, because they are very frequent and occur on land, thus doing more damage to property and the population. They are short-lived but devastating and a large tornado can form several smaller ones. Though it would be best to avoid living in areas where tornados are active, this would be impossible due to how much territory is affected by them.
Reference
Lim, J., Loveridge, S., Shupp, R., & Skidmore, M. (2017). Double danger in the double wide: Dimensions of poverty, housing quality and tornado impacts. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 65, 1-15.
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