The eye of Hurricane Ian, considered “extremely dangerous” by the US authorities, made landfall this Wednesday (09.28.2022) near Cayo Costa, in southwest Florida, with winds of 240 kilometers per hour, the National Hurricane Center reported. (NHC) of the US The phenomenon has already caused flooding that has been described as “catastrophic”.
In Florida, Ian left more than a million homes without electricity, according to the specialized site PowerOutage, which records power outages in the United States. The streets of Punta Gorda, in the south of the state, where some passers-by were still walking at noon, suddenly emptied, while the sky turned gray and the showers intensified.
Strong winds, corresponding to category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, although close to 5, which is the maximum, uprooted the branches of many palm trees in the center, causing even the electric poles to wobble, when the cyclone was still about 40 kilometers from the city. Additionally, storm surges occurred, raising sea levels and inundating coastal areas.
missing at sea
In Naples, in southwestern Florida, images from MSNBC showed completely flooded streets and cars floating in the current. “This is a storm that will be talked about for many years,” National Weather Service (NWS) Director Ken Graham said at a news conference. Although winds are expected to weaken after landfall, Ian could be close to hurricane force as it moves over the east coast of Florida tomorrow and as it approaches northeastern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina on Friday.
At sea, bad conditions capsized a boat carrying migrants. The coast guard is still searching for 20 missing people, while three others were rescued and four others managed to swim to shore, authorities said. Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who warned that it was no longer possible to “evacuate safely,” asked to pray for those who have decided not to leave their homes in the mandatory evacuation zones.
Of Florida’s 67 counties, all of them declared an emergency since Monday, 18 issued mandatory evacuation orders before Ian’s arrival, according to the federal Department of Emergency Management (FEMA). The shelters were full and closed in the impact zone when Ian arrived and thousands of people chose to leave the coastal areas and move inland to protect their lives.
DZC (EFE, AFP)
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Typhoon, hurricane or tornado?
Three names, a natural phenomenon
Typhoon, hurricane and cyclone are three ways of referring to the same extreme phenomenon: the tropical cyclone. In East and Southeast Asia it is called a typhoon, off the coast of North America a hurricane, and in India a cyclone. Despite the different names this phenomenon arises in the same way.
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Typhoon, hurricane or tornado?
Tropical storms arise over the sea
Water evaporates at minimum temperatures of 26 ° Celsius. The water vapor condenses, then the air warms up and pushes the cooler air up. This generates winds that travel up to 350 kilometers per hour.
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Typhoon, hurricane or tornado?
eye of the storm
Due to the Earth’s rotation, the air begins to swirl around the center of the storm, which can be up to 50 kilometers wide. Here it looks almost completely clear.
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Typhoon, hurricane or tornado?
When the hurricane reaches the mainland
When the cyclone passes the coast, inland, it loses the engine that moves it, because it no longer has hot water below. It is the large amounts of rainwater that cause the most damage, such as those left behind by Typhoon Nanmadol (China) in August 2011.
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Typhoon, hurricane or tornado?
Chronicle of an announced chaos
Sandy was one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic. This hurricane generated giant waves of four meters, fires, power outages, breakage of levees. Sandy wreaked immense havoc as it passed at more than 145 kilometers per hour in North America. New Jersey and New York were especially hard hit.
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Typhoon, hurricane or tornado?
destructive whirlwind
Tornadoes are not only phenomena of the tropics, they can appear anywhere where large masses of hot air collide with cold air: the currents of hot air rise, while those of cold rush downward. In this collision, the hot air forms an eddy that rotates faster and faster upwards. Tornadoes have a maximum width of one kilometer.
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Typhoon, hurricane or tornado?
The swiftest among the storms
Due to the rapidly rising hot air, a kind of elephant mucus is created, very characteristic of a tornado. There, the air speed is enormous – up to 500 km / h. For this reason, among hurricanes, the tornado is the world champion of speed.
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Typhoon, hurricane or tornado?
A huge swath of destruction
Hundreds of tornadoes occur in the Midwestern United States each year. In this area, currents of cold and dry air from the north collide with currents of humid and warm air from the Gulf of Mexico. Tornadoes also occur in Germany, especially on the coasts of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Its devastating effects can cover several kilometers.
Autor: Brigitte Osterath / jov
