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Hurricanes

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Both hurricanes and tornadoes are examples of the devastation that nature can wreak on human construction and lives. Both are associated with intense winds, rain and danger. The primary difference lies in the scale and scope of the disaster.

A tornado is a very concentrated storm, with its vortex winds stretching from a few feet to over a quarter mile across. Within that vortex, the wind speed will vary for the life of the tornado from slower than hurricane force up to 300 miles per hour or more. Where a tornado is most intense, the damage can be massive. Mobile homes can be completely obliterated, cars picked up and rolled over, trees knocked down, and even well built homes losing portions of roofs and walls.

All of this damage is still just a fraction of what a hurricane does. Like a tornado, the cyclonic winds reach their peak intensity for only a short period of time compared to the life of the storm and the maximum wind speed for a hurricane is likely to be lower than that of the most dangerous tornadoes. Yet, it is the shear size of a hurricane which makes it more dangerous.

In addition to the high speed winds, a hurricane brings with it lots of rain and a storm surge that together can flood inland and coastal areas. The flooding, associated mud slides and storm surge are the second part of a hurricane that dramatically increases the fatalities compared to tornadoes.

The final contributor to the increased danger of a hurricane is that when it hits land, there are almost always people living there. Coastal areas are the most populous in the world. This by itself increases the deadliness of hurricanes as we saw with Katrina in Louisiana. Tornadoes regularly form in less populous regions, and even when they hit a metropolitan area they do not damage the entire city.

Both types of storms are extremely dangerous. Having the ability to retreat to a reinforced shelter for each is a good idea and can reduce the death toll from these killer storms. Having been through a hurricane and seen tornadoes, it is my hope to never see either one again without having proper shelter to protect me.

Learn more about this author, Jack Thornton.
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