The Effects of Hurricanes

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The Effects of Hurricanes Hurricanes also known as Cyclones are amongst the strongest storms on earth, which have plagued man for centuries. Jay Barnes confirms this timeline, with this passage “They are called hurricanes in the Western Hemisphere, a term probably derived from ‘Hurukan,’ the name of the Mayan storm god, and other similar native Caribbean words translated as ‘evil spirit’ or ‘big wind’.” ( 6). Every year, in the summer season, these forces of nature begin to form themselves sometimes less numerous then the year before and sometimes in greater numbers witnessed in a decade. For future reference hurricanes are often named, not only to keep track of them but also people that have experienced them, tend to remember these storms by their name. They are born from tropic waters that affect quite a few across the world but in the Gulf of Mexico they tend to wreak particular havoc. These storms have potential for mass devastation through storm surges that flood the coastline often taking lives and possible contamination of water supplies, heavy rain which contributes to flooding situations and high winds coupling with tornadoes that destroy property, Storm surges are among one of the worst factors of a hurricane. Often, at the time, people do not even realize the impacts a storm surge can have and do not head authorities warnings to evacuate the coastline, which can result in a high death toll. As Jay Barnes notes in his research: As a hurricane churns across the open sea, the combined effects of the storm’s lowered barometric pressure and strong, inward-spiraling winds create a deep, swirling column of water beneath the ocean’s surface. This effect causes the sea level to rise in the vicinity of the storm, creating a dome of water that may be a few feet high in the center and a hundred miles wide. This dome of water and underlying
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