Responding to tropical storms

• Tropical storms can cause devastation to a region which will require responses.
• The responses can be immediate, such as rescuing people, or long term, such as rebuilding infrastructure.
• How well a country responds will depend on the wealth of a country.

A tropical storm can cause devastating effects due to the high winds and storm surges. These effects require government action plans in the form of either immediate or long-term responses.

Immediate responses happen either before the storm hits or immediately afterwards. These may include:

• evacuation of residents
• emergency services rescue those who are injured or in danger
• aid is provided by governments and NGOs to provide food, water and medical care
• temporary shelter is set up for people who have had to evacuate their homes
• digital maps are used during and immediately after the storm using satellite photographs to advise on evacuations and support emergency services in rescues

Long term responses take place in the weeks, months and years after the storm and aim to repair the area affected and protect it from further storms. These may involve:

• repairing damaged infrastructure
• strengthening and repairing flood defences
• rebuilding property damaged and rehousing the homeless through rebuild and repair schemes funded by the government
• improving forecasting and monitoring systems allowing for better prevention of damage
• changing building regulations so that properties and infrastructure can withstand the impacts of a tropical storm

Tropical storms can be devastating and it is, therefore, a priority for a lot of nations to attempt to reduce the risks associated with tropical storms. This can be done by using the ‘three Ps’:

• Planning
• Prediction
• Protection

• Training emergency services how to react to a storm can reduce the number of deaths.
• Planning evacuation routes can allow people to get away from the storm quicker.

• Scientists use satellites, radar and aircraft to monitor storms and computers to predict where they will hit, giving people time to evacuate.

• Buildings can be made to withstand tropical storms. They can be put on stilts to lift them out of floodwater or be built with reinforced materials to prevent wind damage.
• Levees and sea walls can be built to prevent flooding.

Several factors can affect the level of risk a country has from a tropical storm.

For example, if the area is heavily urbanised and densely populated there may be more risk, especially in low-income countries (LICs) where the urban poor often live in low-quality housing.

One reason for this is that the concrete used to build roads and buildings does not allow water to soak in, leading to greater flooding as the water runs quickly into rivers. On the other hand, in rural areas where the land is often covered with grass and plants, water soaks into the ground.

The level of development can have a big impact on the effects of and responses to a tropical storm. Low-income countries (LICs) are more at risk and 90 percent of victims from natural disasters are from low-income countries. This may be because a low-income country may not be able to afford the defences needed to protect against a storm or be able to invest in prediction methods.

For example, Hurricane Matthew struck the Caribbean country of Haiti on October 4, 2016 causing 546 deaths. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and despite being in the path of regular hurricanes it lacks the defences needed to protect itself.

If a country has a high income then they will be able to spend more on emergency services but this may not be the case in a low-income country. For this reason, the death toll and amount of damage caused is often higher in LICs.

The United States for example, despite experiencing a number of hurricanes each year can invest in flood defences such as levees and early warning systems resulting in a lower death toll.

Hurricane Sandy was a tropical cyclone which occurred in October 2012. It started off the coast of West Africa, travelled across the Atlantic Ocean, through countries such as Cuba, Haiti and The Bahamas before hitting the east coast of the USA.

Responses

The responses to Hurricane Sandy were varied.

In LICs like Haiti there was insufficient prediction, planning or protection due to a lack of resources.

In contrast, HICs like the USA, had better prediction, planning and protection. The National Hurricane Centre in Miami predicted and monitored the path of Hurricane Sandy and issued warnings which reduced the impact of the storm in the USA:

• Police evacuated hundreds of thousands of people from low-lying coastal areas most vulnerable to Hurricane Sandy.
• Schools and public transport services closed down.
• People temporarily relocated to evacuation centres.

Impacts

• Economic – At the time Hurricane Sandy was the second most costly hurricane on record after Hurricane Katrina, causing $71 billion in damages. In New York City, economic losses are estimated at exceeding $18 billion.
• Social – In Washington DC and other cities, many supermarkets ran out of essentials such as bottled water and batteries as people prepared for the worst.
• Environmental – More than 70 per cent of crops, including bananas and maize, were destroyed in the south of Haiti.