15 Scary Things To Know About Hurricanes

Cyclone Catarina from ISS. Author Astronaut photograph ISS008-E-19646 was taken March 7, 2004, with a Kodak DCS760 digital camera equipped with an 50-mm lens, and is provided by the Earth Observations Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. Wikimedia Commons

15 Scary Things To Know About Hurricanes

Hurricanes are also called cyclones and typhoons, depending on where they occur, are defined as giant tropical storms that produce heavy rainfall and super-strong winds.  In the Atlantic Ocean and Northwest Pacific they are hurricanes, in the Northwest Pacific they are typhoons and in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean they are cyclones. Though not considered a worldwide problem, it usually has far-reaching consequences. Apart from taking away the lives of millions of people, it also causes damage to almost all of human creation. It can cause extensive damage to coastlines and several hundred miles inland due to heavy rainfall.

It is believed that their formation occurs over warm ocean waters near the equator as they rotate around a circular center called the “eye“,. The warm, moist air above the ocean surface then rises, causing air from surrounding areas to be “sucked” in. This “new” air then becomes warm and moist, and rises, too, beginning a continuous cycle that forms clouds. The clouds then rotate with the spin of the Earth. If there is enough warm water to feed the storm, a hurricane forms.

1. Hurricanes Are Capable Of Destroying Whole Villages

1970 Bhola Cyclone. Author Noaa. Wikimedia Commons

1972 will go down history as the time when the deadliest blizzard in history occurred in Iran. Historians tell us that the storm lasted a full week from, February 3rd to 9th, and resulted in the deaths of approximately 4,000 people. Sadly, Southern Iran received as much as 26 feet of snow, and about 200 villages were completely buried and wiped off the map, which resulted in no survivors in the outlying areas of the country which were hit the hardest. Cyclone Bhola, which grew from a depression in the south central Bay of Bengal, hit what was then East Pakistan on 12-13 November 1970. It caused an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 fatalities, mostly the result of a large storm surge overwhelming the low-lying islands and tidal flats along the shores of the Bay of Bengal.

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2.  Hurricane Andrew Lead to a Python Invasion in Florida

Hurricane Andrew. Author NASA. Wikimedia Commons

When Hurricane Andrew hit Southern Florida on August 23, 1992, its fierce winds that were traveling at 150 miles per hour caused a lot of havoc.  During the storm, a facility housing Burmese pythons was destroyed, allowing many of them to escape into the Everglades. The destruction of this facility contributed significantly to the establishment of breeding populations in Florida. Due to rapid reproduction and ability to prey on many species, the population of Burmese pythons exploded, with possibly as many as 300,000 in the Everglades alone.

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3. It Is Translated To Mean The Evil Spirit Of The Wind

The term ‘hurricane’ is derived from Taino Native American word ‘hurucane,’ which means the evil spirit of the wind. Just a mention of this is scary to many.

4. One Tornado Has a Death Toll of Nearly 700

Most of us fear death no matter the cause. Hurricanes have also been known to cause death. The Tri-State Tornado on March 18, 1925 for example, was the deadliest tornado in U.S. history. It caused 695 deaths, more than twice the fatalities of the second deadliest tornado, which took place in Mississippi in 1840.

5. A Huge Hurricane Can Release Energy Equivalent To 10 Atomic Bombs Per Second

Just mentioning atomic bomb brings shivers across the spine of many people. It is said that hurricanes are extremely powerful and are the equivalent to packing as much energy as five Hiroshima-type atomic bombs. They get their power from the condensation of warm ocean water. Condensing moisture in low-pressure region releases energy, which heats the air, then rises and pulls in more air from outside toward the center, creating a devastatingly powerful cycle.

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6.  In 1970 It Caused An Estimated 300,000 to 500,000 Fatalities

Cyclone Bhola. Author Noaa. Wikimedia Commons

Cyclone Bhola, which grew from a depression in the south central Bay of Bengal, hit what was then East Pakistan on 12-13 November 1970 is considered the deadliest in terms of fatalities. It caused an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 fatalities, mostly the result of a large storm surge overwhelming the low-lying islands and tidal flats along the shores of the Bay of Bengal.

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7. A Hurricane Can Reach 40,000 to 50,000 Feet Up Into The Sky

Hurricanes are very dangerous.  Clouds in a hurricane can reach 40,000 to 50,000 feet up into the sky. Though the eye is the calmest part of the storm, over the ocean, it can be the most dangerous area. While waves in the eye wall travel in the same direction, waves in the eye converge from all directions, which often create rogue waves.

8. Strangely, Lightning Once Struck And Killed An Entire Soccer Team But Left the Opposing Team Untouched

Hurricanes can also bring about Lightning. Incidentally, on October 28, 1998, a freak blast of lightning struck dead an entire soccer team in the African state of Congo during a match, while their opponents were left entirely unharmed. All 11 team members, aged between 20 and 35 years old, lost their lives, while members of the home team were untouched. After this bizarre incident many soccer fans blamed it on witchcraft justified by the score that was tied at the time of the deadly lightning strike.

9. One Hurricane Lasted an Entire Month

Hurricane John. Author NOAA / Satellite and Information Service. Wikimedia Commons

Hurricane John, also known as Typhoon John, was both the longest-lasting and the farthest-traveling cyclone ever recorded. John formed in 1994 and peaked as a Category 5 hurricane. John traveled 7,165 miles from the eastern Pacific to the western Pacific and back to the central Pacific, lasting 31 days in total. Despite enduring for a full month, John barely hit any land and only minimally affected the Hawaiian Islands and the U.S. military base on Johnston Atoll.

10. Hurricanes Are Also Associated With Myths

It was reported that during the Galveston hurricane of 1900, nuns used ropes to tie themselves to rows of children in orphanages, but the floodwater was too hard and fast. People found the nuns still tied to the children after the flood. Unfortunately, they had all drowned.

11. Flooding Can Lead To Affected Communities Being Cut Off From Essential Services

A hurricane is dangerous in many ways. The presence of the winds and heavy storm clouds causes a storm surge to coastal areas and torrential rains. This in turn causes flooding and over-saturates the ground, leading to landslides. The result is that the affected communities are cut off from essential services living children and women vulnerable.

12. Hurricane Hunters Fly Planes Into Storms

Scientists have confirmed that it’s pretty hard to know exactly what a hurricane is doing unless it passes directly over a buoy or a ship. This is where the Hurricane Hunters come in, a brave group of scientists with the United States Air Force and NOAA who fly specially outfitted airplanes directly into the worst of a storm to measure its winds and report back their findings. An old practice since World War II  has now become a mainstay of hurricane forecasting in the decades since.

13. Hurricane Sandy Damaged About 650,000 Homes

Hurricane Sandy. Author NASA, MODIS/ LANCE, HDF . Wikimedia Commons

In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy left parts of lower Manhattan under water and residents across the borough without power for days. Meanwhile, parts of Staten Island and beaches in Queens were nearly wiped off the map. The consequence was damage to about 650,000 homes in the Northeast U.S. and killed 117 people in the U.S. alone, as well as 69 others in Canada and the Caribbean. The approximate damage impact was $65 billion.

14. Hurricane Katrina Was The Costliest At The Time

Hurricane Katrina was a classified as Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 deaths and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the costliest tropical cyclone on record and is now tied with 2017’s Hurricane Harvey. It is estimated that about 400,00 people were displaced permanently in areas like Houston and Atlanta.

15. Hurricane Mitch Led To 11,000 Deaths

Not many people know about this hurricane that happened the U.S., but the death and devastation it caused exceeded some of history’s better-known storms. It happened in October 1998, dumping up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain an hour for two days, causing mudslides and deadly flooding along the way. With approximately 11,000 people dead (and thousands more missing), Mitch is the second-deadliest hurricane on record and the worst to hit the Western Hemisphere in more than 200 years