Hurricane Andrew is a storm that destroyed South Florida, and the Bahamas, and ripped through Louisiana, costing as much as 26 billion dollars.
Hurricane Andrew was formed of the west coast of Africa on August 14. When it passed the Caribbean, the pressure system made it stronger. From there, the wave moved the storm to the North Atlantic. People had started to leave the area right before the Hurricane started. Schools and businesses were shut down, it hit Dale County Florida at 5:00 a.m. August 24, and it was high tide when the waves hit. There was weird lightning streaks of blue greenish colors, and thick streams of water. Some people said it sounded like bombs were going off. Roofs were no longer to be seen and windows were broke glass everywhere. The waves surges were up to twelve feet high. High winds up to 170 mph. Category 4 Hurricane was
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The waves were still high at 10 feet. The power started going out when the storm was about 40 miles from land and 1.4 million people were without power (Provenzo JR. & Provenzo, 2002). It slammed into the Bahamas at 120 mph. Where buildings were toppled, bungalows out from their roots, and luxury hotels only had broken winds (Longshore, 1998). Several days before it had produced a deep convection, that had high pressure (Rappaport, 1993). On August 26, the storm was getting weaker everyday. A cold front was moving east and downgraded the storm to tropical. Soon when the Hurricane got to Pennsylvania, the storm faded away. Some people tried to dismantle their houses to see what was left (Sherrow, 1998). After the storm over, 11 inches of rain had fallen in Louisiana, and 7 inches in Mississippi (Rappaport, 1998). 275 small planes were no longer functionable. Over 325 trees looked like they had been smacked off. Power boats were stacked on top of each other. Power lines were down because trees were on top of them (Provenzo JR. & Provenzo,
Hurricane Andrew was an unusually compact system. Although it caused an estimated $25 billion in property damaged and directly caused 15 deaths, a larger
Over the past decade, the world has experienced more natural disaster than people can count. Floods, mudslides, earthquakes, and raging fires are just a few of the events that have stripped people away from their families, homes, and possessions. The deadliest of these natural disasters are hurricanes. Extremely strong winds mixed with large waves can cause enormous damage, taking months, even years for towns to recover. Hurricane Katrina left millions of people without homes and families torn apart. Hurricane Sandy demolished the Jersey coast, leaving years of repair work behind. The most recent and powerful hurricane that surfaced is Hurricane Maria. A level five hurricane, Hurricane Maria ripped straight through the United States territory of Puerto Rico. The island lost power, supplies
In 1992, Hurricane Andrew hit south Florida destructing thousands upon thousands of homes, killing people, leaving south Florida completely destroyed. The aftermath of Hurricane Andrew took roughly two weeks until people started
Packing 145-mile-an-hour winds as it made landfall, the category 3 storm left more than a million people in three states without power and submerged highways even hundreds of miles from its center. The hurricane’s storm surge — a 29-foot wall of water pushed ashore when the hurricane struck the Gulf Coast — was the highest ever measured in the United States. Levees failed in New Orleans, resulting in political and social upheavals that continued a half decade later. (Laforet, New York Times)
a billion in losses to boats in southeast Florida. The damage to Louisiana is estimated at $1
Much of the eastern Florida Panhandle observed tropical storm force winds, downing power lines and trees, some of which fell on cars, roofs, and streets. Along the coast, winds blew water away from land, rather than generate storm surge, with water receding more than 10 ft (3.0 m) in some areas.[259] In Taylor County, damage was mainly limited to downed power lines and trees, with a few falling onto houses. Three homes suffered major damage and two homes experienced minor damage.[212] At the height of the storm, all electrical customers in the county – a total of 12,916 – were left without power.[104] Two indirect deaths occurred, both by carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator. In Madison county, trees and power lines were toppled across the county, two of which obstructed traffic on Interstate 10. Falling trees damaged two roofs. Throughout the county, 12 homes were damaged, with 3 sustaining major damage.[212] In Jefferson County, sustained winds reached about 40 mph (64 km/h) and gusts topped out at 60 mph (97 km/h). Winds uprooted or damage 338 trees, with 1 hitting a house and several falling onto roads. The storm also downed 224 power lines,[260] which at one point left 8,113 customers – 100% of the county – without electricity.[104]
The hurricane appears to have started as an atmospheric trough from West Africa, causing unsettled weather in the Caribbean, and emerging into the Florida Straits as a tropical storm on September 5. Owing to contradictory forecasts, the people of Galveston felt no alarm until the official hurricane warning of September 7. Next morning a storm surge of 15 ft (4.6 m) washed over the long, flat island-city which was only 8 ft (2.4 m) above sea level, knocking
To begin with, the waves caused by the hurricane jostling the waters were anywhere from 30 to 50 feet high. The waves were powerful enough to knock a house off its foundation and fast enough to catch a whole neighborhood by surprise. They also led to flooding and destruction of many houses and farms.
Upon landfall the hurricane had winds up to 111 to 129 miles per hour. In New Orleans, a combination of rain, overturned levees, and damaged drainage canals caused severe flooding. By 9 a.m., many low lying places such as St. Bernard Parish and the Ninth Ward were so flooded that people had to go to their rooftops and attics to stay above the water. In the afternoon, the storm ripped a hole in the roof of the Superdome, putting sheltered victims at risk. At 7 a.m. on August 30 the hurricane downgraded to a tropical storm while passing through Tennessee. The storm was over, but it’s consequences had been severe, about 80% of New Orleans was covered in water, reaching as high as 20 feet. Hurricane Katrina ended up being one of the deadliest and costliest hurricanes of all time. However, after Hurricane Katrina the US saw many kind and heroic acts. The Coast Guard rescued 34,000 people in New Orleans alone. Even everyday citizens showed acts of kindness by helping their friends, neighbors and even strangers during and after the hurricane. Many citizens even drove their private boats around offering food and shelter to people affected by the
The sky was getting darker by the hour, and the people seemed to be going mad on the streets, trying to find food and water to sustain them for what would be the biggest hurricane of the century. The streets were filled with cars, it seemed as it were rush hour, every hour, and road rage was inevitable. The gas stations running out of gas and the ones that had, the lines would go all the way down the already busy streets. Our neighborhood was being forced to evacuate due to a storm surge of around 10 feet of water. Our
It intensified so quickly and its path was so unpredictable. South Florida had only about 20 hours before it would hit. Evry one scrambled to prepare for it.
On the morning of August 29, 2005, the rain had already been falling for hours as Katrina churned closer to land (Hurricane Katrina, n.d.). Before making landfall, Hurricane Katrina was officially downgraded to a category 3 storm, with wind speeds in excess of 111 miles per hour, and the storm surge reaching the shore approached 30 feet, and quickly overwhelmed the unstable levees (Amadeo,
Twenty years ago in 1992 Hurricane Andrew hit the united states and changed the face of South Florida along with other major cities. Hurricane Andrew showed the devastation that a major hurricane can cause.
In this study, I have examined multiple hazards from land falling Hurricane Isabel and the effects it had on Maryland. Hurricanes are areas of low air pressure that form over oceans in tropical climate regions. Hurricanes are considered very large storms with rotating winds. Forming over warm waters of the oceans, there are large pressure and temperature differences between the warm water and the clouds. These clouds pull the moisture and the air near the surface of the water up, towards the clouds, which creates a column of fast moving air. There are many different parts of a hurricane. Feeder Bands are squally bands of showers characterized by strong gusty winds and heavy rains. These bands become more pronounced as the storm intensifies, and are fed by the warm waters. The eye wall is a band of clouds, strong winds, and heavy rains surrounding the eye of the storm. At the eye wall, there is rapid movement of
The Great Hurricane of 1938, or known to many as the Long Island Express, was known as one of the most disastrous hurricanes to hit New England. It wasn’t the high winds, heavy rain, and high waves/storm surge that gave this hurricane its title in history. The Great Hurricane had a fourth deadly weapon; the element of surprise. It was the beginning of September, a time where many packed up their summer clothes, boarded up their houses, and left to return back to the real world leaving their summer homes behind. When symptoms of a storm approached New England, many locals convinced themselves and others that it was just the normal “line storm” which occasionally comes in September. It wasn’t until Sept 21 that people realized the so-called