Hurricanes
Hurricanes are one of natures many destructive forces. The word comes
from West Indian; huracan ("big wind"). Hurricanes are seasonal storms and are
most prevalent in August and September. They develop from easterly waves, which can later
develop into a tropical depression with winds up to 31 miles per hour. Later, it might
develop into a tropical storm with winds up to 73 miles per hour, and eventually a
hurricane. Thunderstorms often form with hurricanes and then produce waterspouts.
Hurricanes are huge tropical cyclones that originate over oceans near
the equator, such as the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Usually they follow a
parabola shaped path and sometimes do not reach any land at all. However, if they do reach
land, destruction of property is imminent. Winds whirl in a counter clockwise direction in
the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. Wind speeds of a
hurricane range from seventy to one hundred fifty miles per hour. These winds blow
circularly around a low-pressure center known as the eye of the storm. Hurricanes cause
numerous deaths in addition to the millions of dollars of property damage each year due to
the intense winds and huge tidal surges.
One of the most destructive elements of a hurricane is the huge waves that are formed because of the strong winds and heavy rains. These waves called a storm surge can rise several feet above water levels, especially during high tide. The worst hurricane in the United States was the one during the year of 1900 in Galveston Texas, where a hurricane swept a fifteen foot wall of water out of the Gulf of Mexico and into the city, washing away and killing six thousand people. About 90 percent of deaths during a hurricane are caused by drowning. Another devastating outcome of a hurricane is the mudslides that can follow. These are caused by the heavy rains and extensive deforestation in some areas. A good example of this was during the month of July 1998, when a huge mudslide that followed a storm in a little Himalayan village in India, killed hundreds of people.