Technical College Post and Telecommunications "Gh.

Airinei"

Natural disasters

Student Coordinating teacher

Nicolescu Bogdan Carlan Laura

Bucharest 2009
introduction ................................................................................. 4

I Tornadoes ............................................................................... 5

1.1 Etymology ........................................................... 5

1.2 Tornado ................................................................ 6
1.3 Tornado family .................................................... 7
1.4 Tornado outbreak ................................................. 7
1.5 Characteristics ...................................................... 8
1.6 Climatology .......................................................... 12
1.7 Prediction ............................................................. 14
1.8 Safety .................................................................. 15

II Earthquake ............................................................................. 17

2.1 Naturally occuring earthquakes ........................... 17

2.2 Earthquake away from plate boundaries ............. 18
2.3 Shallow-focus and deepfocus earthquakes .......... 19
2.4 Aftershocks .......................................................... 19
2.5 Earthquake storms ................................................ 20
2.6 Size and frequency of occurrence ........................ 20
2.7 Shaking and ground rupture .............................. 21
2.8Landslides and avalanches ................................... 22
2.9Preparation for earthquakes ................................. 22

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III Hurricane ........................................................................ 23

3.1 Structure of a tropical cyclone ........................ 24

3.2 Eye and center ................................................. 25
3.3 Mechanics ........................................................ 26
3.4 Multiple storm interaction ............................... 29
3.5 Efects ............................................................... 30
3.6 Classifications, terminology and naming ........ 31
3.7 Hurricane or typhoon ...................................... 32

IV Australian fire ................................................................... 33

4.1 Central Australian fires .................................... 34

conclusion ............................................................................. 36

bibliography ........................................................................... 37

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Introduction
The world has evolved over time, science too. However,
people still can not control every aspect of life. Natural
disasters or climate phenomenal represent weather in front
of which stand as a civilization helpless spectator. Like
people would not be quite skilled in a spoil yourself
wearing unfinished wars and unnecessary Nature more sometime
one palm humanity. Down through the centuries, tens of
millions of others of us had lost their life after
earthquakes, hurricanes, floods or volcanic eruptions.
Even the biggest empire and political powers of the
world remain powerless in the face of an invisible and
unpredictable forces. There have been some of the most
devastating natural disasters that have hit the world in
last century.
Due to global warming natural disasters began to become
more frequent and to prevent this, we must try to stop
pollution and to leave nature in its normal environment.
If we continue in this style to pollute and to clear,
we will be responsible for what will happen.

TORNADEOS

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 A tornado is a violent, rotating column of air which is in contact with both the
surface of the earth and cumulus clouds. Tornadoes come in many sizes but are typically
in the form of a visible condensation funnel, whose narrow end touches the earth and is
often encircled by a cloud of debris.
Most tornadoes have wind speeds between 40 mph (64 km/h) and 110 mph
(177 km/h), are approximately 250 feet (75 m) across, and travel a few miles (several
kilometers) before dissipating. Some attain wind speeds of more than 300 mph
(480 km/h), stretch more than a mile (1.6 km) across and stay on the ground for dozens of
miles (more than 100 km).
Although tornadoes have been observed on every continent except Antarctica,
most occur in the United States. They also commonly occur in southern Canada, south-
central and eastern Asia, east-central South America, Southern Africa, northwestern and
southeast Europe, western and southeastern Australia and New Zealand.

Etymology

The word tornado is an altered form of the Spanish word “tronada” , which means
"thunderstorm.". This in turn was taken from the Latin tonare, meaning "to thunder". It
most likely reached its present form through a combination of the Spanish tronada and
tornar ("to turn"); however, this may be a folk etymology. A tornado is also commonly
referred to as a twister, and is also sometimes referred to by the old-fashioned colloquial
term cyclone. The term "cyclone" is used as a synonym for "tornado" in the often-aired
1939 film, The Wizard of Oz. The term "twister" is also used in that film, along with
being the title of the 1996 film Twister.

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Definitions

This tornado has no funnel cloud, however, the rotating dust cloud indicates that
strong winds are occurring at the surface, and thus it is a true tornado. This was taken
near Alva, Oklahoma in 1975.

Tornado

The Glossary of Meteorology defines a tornado as "a violently rotating column of

air, in contact with the ground, either pendant from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a
cumuliform cloud and often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud...". In practice, for a
vortex to be classified as a tornado, it must be in contact with both the ground and the
cloud base. Scientists have not yet created a complete definition of the word; for
example, there is disagreement as to whether separate touchdowns of the same funnel
constitute separate tornadoes. "Tornado" refers to the vortex of wind, not the
condensation cloud.
A tornado is not necessarily visible; however, the intense low pressure caused by
the high wind speeds (see Bernoulli's principle) and rapid rotation (due to cyclostrophic
balance) usually causes water vapor in the air to become visible as a funnel cloud or
condensation funnel.
Tornadoes often begin as funnel clouds with no associated strong winds at the
surface, however, not all of these evolve into a tornado. However, many tornadoes are
preceded by a funnel cloud. Most tornadoes produce strong winds at the surface while the

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visible funnel is still above the ground, so it is difficult to discern the difference between
a funnel cloud and a tornado from a distance.

Tornado family

Occasionally, a single storm will produce more than one tornado, either
simultaneously or in succession. Multiple tornadoes produced by the same storm are
referred to as a tornado family. Often mistaken for single long track tornadoes, a tornado
family is a series of tornadoes which occur along a similar path. Spawned by the same
supercell, these families can cover a short span or a vast distance. Sometimes evidenced
by breaks in the damage path, expert analysis is necessary to determine whether or not
damage was created by a family or a single tornado. In some cases, different tornadoes of
a tornado family merge, making discerning whether an event was continuous or not even
more difficult.
Some tornado damage remains a mystery even today due to a lack of evidence.
The Tri-State Tornado was one such tornado. It could either have been the longest single
tornado recorded, or a family of tornadoes. New, ongoing reanalysis indicates that it was
one continuous tornado, however, many other very long track tornado events were later
found to be tornado families, notably the Woodward, Oklahoma tornado family of April
1947 and the Charleston-Mattoon , Illinois tornado family of May 1917.

Tornado outbreak

Occasionally, several tornadoes are spawned from the same large-scale storm
system. If there is no break in activity, this is considered a tornado outbreak, although
there are various definitions. A period of several successive days with tornado outbreaks
in the same general area (spawned by multiple weather systems) is a tornado outbreak
sequence, occasionally called an extended tornado outbreak.

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 Characteristics

A wedge tornado, nearly a mile wide. This tornado hit Binger, Oklahoma.

Shape

Most tornadoes take on the appearance of a narrow funnel, a few hundred yards (a
few hundred meters) across, with a small cloud of debris near the ground. However,
tornadoes can appear in many shapes and sizes.
Small, relatively weak landspouts may only be visible as a small swirl of dust on
the ground. Although the condensation funnel may not extend all the way to the ground,
if associated surface winds are greater than 40 mph (64 km/h), the circulation is
considered a tornado. A tornado with a nearly cylindrical profile and relative low height
is sometimes referred to as a stovepipe tornado. Large single-vortex tornadoes can look
like large wedges stuck into the ground, and so are known as wedge tornadoes or wedges.
The stovepipe classification is also used for this type of tornado, if it otherwise fits that
profile. A wedge can be so wide that it appears to be a block of dark clouds, wider than
the distance from the cloud base to the ground. Even experienced storm observers may
not be able to tell the difference between a low-hanging cloud and a wedge tornado from
a distance. Many, but not all major tornadoes are wedges.
Tornadoes in the dissipating stage can resemble narrow tubes or ropes, and often
curl or twist into complex shapes. These tornadoes are said to be roping out, or becoming
a rope tornado. Multiple-vortex tornadoes can appear as a family of swirls circling a

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common center, or may be completely obscured by condensation, dust, and debris,
appearing to be a single funnel.
In addition to these appearances, tornadoes may be obscured completely by rain
or dust. These tornadoes are especially dangerous, as even experienced meteorologists
might not spot them.

Size

In the United States, on average tornadoes are around 500 feet (150 m) across,
and stay on the ground for 5 miles (8 km). Yet, there is an extremely wide range of
tornado sizes, even for typical tornadoes. Weak tornadoes, or strong but dissipating
tornadoes, can be exceedingly narrow, sometimes only a few feet across. A tornado was
once reported to have a damage path only 7 feet (2 m) long. On the other end of the
spectrum, wedge tornadoes can have a damage path a mile (1.6 km) wide or more. A
tornado that affected Hallam, Nebraska on May 22, 2004 was at one point 2.5 miles (4
km) wide at the ground.
In terms of path length, the Tri-State Tornado, which affected parts of Missouri,
Illinois, and Indiana on March 18, 1925, was officially on the ground continuously for
219 miles (352 km). Many tornadoes which appear to have path lengths of 100 miles
(160 km) or longer are actually a family of tornadoes which have formed in quick
succession; however, there is no substantial evidence that this occurred in the case of the
Tri-State Tornado. In fact, modern reanalysis of the path suggests that the tornado began
15 miles (24 km) further west that previously thought.

Appearance

Tornadoes can have a wide range of colors, depending on the environment in

which they form. Those which form in a dry environment can be nearly invisible, marked
only by swirling debris at the base of the funnel. Condensation funnels which pick up

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little or no debris can be gray to white. While traveling over a body of water as a
waterspout, they can turn very white or even blue. Funnels which move slowly, ingesting
a lot of debris and dirt, are usually darker, taking on the color of debris. Tornadoes in the
Great Plains can turn red because of the reddish tint of the soil, and tornadoes in
mountainous areas can travel over snow-covered ground, turning brilliantly white.

Photographs of the Waurika, Oklahoma tornado of May 30, 1976, taken at nearly
the same time by two photographers. In the top picture, the tornado is front-lit, with the
sun behind the east-facing camera, so the funnel appears nearly white. In the lower
image, where the camera is facing the opposite direction, the tornado is back-lit, with the
sun behind the clouds.
Lighting conditions are a major factor in the appearance of a tornado. A tornado
which is "back-lit" (viewed with the sun behind it) appears very dark. The same tornado,
viewed with the sun at the observer's back, may appear gray or brilliant white. Tornadoes
which occur near the time of sunset can be many different colors, appearing in hues of
yellow, orange, and pink.
Dust kicked up by the winds of the parent thunderstorm, heavy rain and hail, and
the darkness of night are all factors which can reduce the visibility of tornadoes.
Tornadoes occurring in these conditions are especially dangerous, since only

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weather radar observations, or possibly the sound of an approaching tornado, serve as any
warning to those in the storm's path. Fortunately most significant tornadoes form under
the storm's rain-free base, or the area under the thunderstorm's updraft, where there is
little or no rain. In addition, most tornadoes occur in the late afternoon, when the bright
sun can penetrate even the thickest clouds. Also, night-time tornadoes are often
illuminated by frequent lightning.

Rotation

Tornadoes normally rotate cyclonically in direction (counterclockwise in the

northern hemisphere, clockwise in the southern). While large-scale storms always rotate
cyclonically due to the Coriolis effect, thunderstorms and tornadoes are so small that the
direct influence of the Coriolis effect is inconsequential, as indicated by their large
Rossby numbers. Supercells and tornadoes rotate cyclonically in numerical simulations
even when the Coriolis effect is neglected. Low-level mesocyclones and tornadoes owe
their rotation to complex processes within the supercell and ambient environment.
Approximately 1% of tornadoes rotate in an anticyclonic direction. Typically,
only landspouts and gustnadoes rotate anticyclonically, and usually only those which
form on the anticyclonic shear side of the descending rear flank downdraft in a cyclonic
supercell. However, on rare occasions, anticyclonic tornadoes form in association with
the mesoanticyclone of an anticyclonic supercell, in the same manner as the typical
cyclonic tornado, or as a companion tornado, either as a satellite tornado or associated
with anti-cyclonic eddies within a supercell.

Formation

As the mesocyclone approaches the ground, a visible condensation funnel appears

to descend from the base of the storm, often from a rotating wall cloud. As the funnel
descends, the RFD also reaches the ground, creating a gust front that can cause damage a

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good distance from the tornado. Usually, the funnel cloud becomes a tornado within
minutes of the RFD reaching the ground.

Maturity

Initially, the tornado has a good source of warm, moist inflow to power it, so it
grows until it reaches the mature stage. This can last anywhere from a few minutes to
more than an hour, and during that time a tornado often causes the most damage, and in
rare cases can be more than one mile (1.6 km) across. Meanwhile, the RFD, now an area
of cool surface winds, begins to wrap around the tornado, cutting off the inflow of warm
air which feeds he tornado.

Climatology

Areas worldwide where tornadoes are most likely, indicated by orange shading.

Intense tornado activity in the United States. The darker-colored areas denote the area
commonly referred to as Tornado Alley.

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 The United States has the most tornadoes of any country, about four times more
than estimated in all of Europe, not including waterspouts. This is mostly due to the
unique geography of the continent. North America is a relatively large continent that
extends from the tropical south into arctic areas, and has no major east-west mountain
range to block air flow between these two areas. In the middle latitudes, where most
tornadoes of the world occur, the Rocky Mountains block moisture and atmospheric flow,
allowing drier air at mid-levels of the troposphere, and causing cyclogenesis downstream
to the east of the mountains. The desert Southwest also feeds drier air and the dry line,
while the Gulf of Mexico fuels abundant low-level moisture. This unique topography
allows for many collisions of warm and cold air, the conditions that breed strong, long-
lived storms many times a year. A large portion of these tornadoes form in an area of the
central United States known as Tornado Alley. This area extends into Canada,
particularly Ontario and the Prairie Provinces. Strong tornadoes also occasionally occur
in northern Mexico.
The United States averages about 1,200 tornadoes per year. The Netherlands has
the highest average number of recorded tornadoes per area of any country (more than 20,
or 0.0013 per sq mi (0.00048 per km²), annually), followed by the UK (around 33, or
0.00035 per sq mi (0.00013 per km²), per year), but most are small and cause minor
damage. In absolute number of events, ignoring area, the UK experiences more tornadoes
tan any other European country, excluding waterspouts.
Tornadoes kill about 179 people per year in Bangladesh, by far the most in the
world. This is due to high population density, poor quality of construction, lack of
tornado safety knowledge, and other factors. Other areas of the world that have frequent
tornadoes include South Africa, parts of Argentina, Paraguay, and southern Brazil, as
well as portions of Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and far eastern Asia.
Tornadoes are most common in spring and least common in winter. Since autumn
and spring are transitional periods (warm to cool and vice versa) there are more chances
of cooler air meeting with warmer air, resulting in thunderstorms. Tornadoes can also be
caused by landfalling tropical cyclones, which tend to occur in the late summer and
autumn .But favorable conditions can occur at any time of the year.

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 Tornado occurrence is highly dependent on the time of day, because of solar
heating. Worldwide, most tornadoes occur in the late afternoon, between 3 pm and 7 pm
local time, with a peak near 5 pm. However, destructive tornadoes can occur at any time
of day. The Gainesville Tornado of 1936, one of the deadliest tornadoes in history,
occurred at 8:30 am local time.

Prediction

Probabilistic maps issued by the Storm Prediction Center during the heart of the
April 6-8, 2006 Tornado Outbreak. The top map indicates the risk of general severe
weather (including large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes), while the bottom map
specifically shows the percent risk of a tornado forming within 25 miles (40 km) of any
point within the enclosed area. The hashed area on the bottom map indicates a 10% or
greater risk of an F2 or stronger tornado forming within 25 miles (40 km) of a point.
Weather forecasting is handled regionally by many national and international
agencies. For the most part, they are also in charge of the prediction of conditions
conducive to tornado development.

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 Today, most developed countries have a network of weather radars, which
remains the main method of detecting signatures likely associated with tornadoes. In the
United States and a few other countries, Doppler radar stations are used. These devices
measure the velocity and radial direction (towards or away from the radar) of the winds
in a storm, and so can spot evidence of rotation in storms from more than a hundred miles
(160 km) away.
Also, most populated areas on Earth are now visible from Geostationary
Operational Environmental Satellites, which aid in the nowcasting of tornadic storms.
The most extreme tornado in recorded history was the Tri-State Tornado, which
roared through parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana on March 18, 1925. It was likely
an F5, though tornadoes were not ranked on any scale in that era. It holds records for
longest path length (219 miles, 352 km), longest duration (about 3.5 hours), and fastest
forward speed for a significant tornado (73 mph, 117 km/h) anywhere on earth. In
addition, it is the deadliest single tornado in United States history (695 dead). It was also
the second costliest tornado in history at the time, but has been surpassed by several
others non-normalized. When costs are normalized for wealth and inflation, it still ranks
third today.
The deadliest tornado in world history was the Daultipur-Salturia Tornado in
Bangladesh on April 26, 1989, which killed approximately 1300 people.
Storms which produce tornadoes can feature intense updrafts, sometimes exceeding
150 mph (240 km/h). Debris from a tornado can be lofted into the parent storm and
carried a very long distance.

Safety

Though tornadoes can strike in an instant, there are precautions and preventative
measures that people can take to increase the chances of surviving a tornado. Authorities
such as the Storm Prediction Center advise having a tornado plan. When a tornado
warning is issued, going to a basement or an interior first-floor room of a sturdy building

15
greatly increases chances of survival. In tornado-prone areas, many buildings have storm
cellars on property. These underground refuges have saved thousands of lives.
Some countries have meteorological agencies which distribute tornado forecasts and
increase levels of alert of a possible tornado (such as tornado watches and warnings in the
United States and Canada). Weather radios provide an alarm when a severe weather
advisory is issued for the local area, though these are mainly available only in the United
States.
Unless the tornado is far away and highly visible, meteorologists advise that
drivers park their vehicles far to the side of the road (so as not to block emergency
traffic), and find a sturdy shelter. If no sturdy shelter is nearby, getting low in a ditch is
the next best option.
Highway overpasses are extremely bad shelter during tornadoes.

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 EARTHQUAKE
Naturally occurring earthquakes

Tectonic earthquakes will occur anywhere within the earth where there is
sufficient stored elastic strain energy to drive fracture propagation along a fault plane. In
the case of transform or convergent type plate boundaries, which form the largest fault
surfaces on earth, they will move past each other smoothly and aseismically only if there
are no irregularities or asperities along the boundary that increase the frictional

17
resistance. Most boundaries do have such asperities and this leads to a form of stick-slip
behaviour. Once the boundary has locked, continued relative motion between the plates
leads to increasing stress and therefore, stored strain energy in the volume around the
fault surface. This continues until the stress has risen sufficiently to break through the
asperity, suddenly allowing sliding over the locked portion of the fault, releasing the
stored energy. This energy is released as a combination of radiated elastic strain seismic
waves, frictional heating of the fault surface, and cracking of the rock, thus causing an
earthquake. This process of gradual build-up of strain and stress punctuated by occasional
sudden earthquake failure is referred to as the Elastic-rebound theory. It is estimated that
only 10 percent or less of an earthquake's total energy is radiated as seismic energy. Most
of the earthquake's energy is used to power the earthquake fracture growth or is
converted into heat generated by friction. Therefore, earthquakes lower the Earth's
available elastic potential energy and raise its temperature, though these changes are
negligible compared to the conductive and convective flow of heat out from the Earth’s
deep interior.
There are three main types of fault that may cause an earthquake: normal,
reverse (thrust) and strike-slip. Normal and reverse faulting are examples of dip-slip,
where the displacement along the fault is in the direction of dip and movement on them
involves a vertical component. Normal faults occur mainly in areas where the crust is
being extended such as a divergent boundary. Reverse faults occur in areas where the
crust is being shortened such as at a convergent boundary. Strike-slip faults are steep
structures where the two sides of the fault slip horizontally past each other; transform
boundaries are a particular type of strike-slip fault. Many earthquakes are caused by
movement on faults that have components of both dip-slip and strike-slip; this is known
as oblique slip.

Earthquakes away from plate boundaries

Where plate boundaries occur within continental lithosphere, deformation is

spread out a over a much larger area than the plate boundary itself. In the case of the San

18
Andreas fault continental transform, many earthquakes occur away from the plate
boundary and are related to strains developed within the broader zone of deformation
caused by major irregularities in the fault trace (e.g. the “Big bend” region). The
Northridge earthquake was associated with movement on a blind thrust within such a
zone. Another example is the strongly oblique convergent plate boundary between the
Arabian and Eurasian plates where it runs through the northwestern part of the Zagros
mountains. The deformation associated with this plate boundary is partitioned into nearly
pure thrust sense movements perpendicular to the boundary over a wide zone to the
southwest and nearly pure strike-slip motion along the Main Recent Fault close to the
actual plate boundary itself. This is demonstrated by earthquake focal mechanisms.
All tectonic plates have internal stress fields caused by their interactions with
neighbouring plates and sedimentary loading or unloading (e.g. deglaciation). These
stresses may be sufficient to cause failure along existing fault planes, giving rise to
intraplate earthquakes.

Shallow-focus and deepfocus earthquakes

The majority of tectonic earthquakes originate at the ring of fire in depths not
exceeding tens of kilometers. Earthquakes occurring at a depth of less than 70 km are
classified as 'shallow-focus' earthquakes, while those with a focal-depth between 70 and
300 km are commonly termed 'mid-focus' or 'intermediate-depth' earthquakes. In
subduction zones, where older and colder oceanic crust descends beneath another tectonic
plate, deep-focus earthquakes may occur at much greater depths (ranging from 300 up to
700 kilometers). These seismically active areas of subduction are known as Wadati-
Benioff zones. Deep-focus earthquakes occur at a depth at which the subducted
lithosphere should no longer be brittle, due to the high temperature and pressure. A
possible mechanism for the generation of deep-focus earthquakes is faulting caused by
olivine undergoing a phase transition into a spinel structure.
Earthquakes also often occur in volcanic regions and are caused there, both by
tectonic faults and by the movement of magma in volcanoes. Such earthquakes can serve

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as an early warning of volcanic eruptions, like during the Mount St. Helens erupions of
1980.

Aftershocks

An aftershock is an earthquake that occurs after a previous earthquake, the

mainshock. An aftershock is in the same region of the main shock but always of a smaller
magnitude. If an aftershock is larger than the main shock, the aftershock is redesignated
as the main shock and the original main shock is redesignated as a foreshock.
Aftershocks are formed as the crust around the displaced fault plane adjusts to the effects
of the main shock.

Earthquake storms

Sometimes a series of earthquakes occur in a sort of earthquake storm, where

the earthquakes strike a fault in clusters, each triggered by the shaking or stress
redistribution of the previous earthquakes. Similar to aftershocks but on adjacent
segments of fault, these storms occur over the course of years, and with some of the later
earthquakes as damaging as the early ones. Such a pattern was observed in the sequence
of about a dozen earthquakes that struck the North Anatolian Fault in Turkey in the 20th
century and has been inferred for older anomalous clusters of large earthquakes in the
Middle East.

Size and frequency of occurrence

Minor earthquakes occur nearly constantly around the world in places like
California and Alaska in the U.S., as well as in Guatemala. Chile, Peru, Indonesia, Iran,

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Pakistan, the Azores in Portugal, Turkey, New Zealand, Greece, Italy, and Japan, but
earthquakes can occur almost anywhere, including New York City, London, and
Australia. Larger earthquakes occur less frequently, the relationship being exponential;
for example, roughly ten times as many earthquakes larger than magnitude 4 occur in a
particular time period than earthquakes larger than magnitude 5. In the (low seismicity)
United Kingdom, for example, it has been calculated that the average recurrences are: an
earthquake of 3.7 - 4.6 every year, an earthquake of 4.7 - 5.5 every 10 years, and an
earthquake of 5.6 or larger every 100 years. This is an example of the Gutenberg-Richter
law.
The number of seismic stations has increased from about 350 in 1931 to many
thousands today. As a result, many more earthquakes are reported than in the past, but
this is because of the vast improvement in instrumentation, rather than an increase in the
number of earthquakes. The USGS estimates that, since 1900, there have been an average
of 18 major earthquakes (magnitude 7.0-7.9) and one great earthquake (magnitude 8.0 or
greater) per year, and that this average has been relatively stable. In recent years, the
number of major earthquakes per year has decreased, although this is thought likely to be
a statistical fluctuation rather than a systematic trend. More detailed statistics on the size
and frequency of earthquakes is available from the USGS.
Most of the world's earthquakes (90%, and 81% of the largest) take place in
the 40,000-km-long, horseshoe-shaped zone called the circum-Pacific seismic belt, also
known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, which for the most part bounds the Pacific Plate.[15][16]
Massive earthquakes tend to occur along other plate boundaries, too, such as along the
Himalayan Mountains. Humans can cause earthquakes for example by constructing large
dams and buildings, drilling and injecting liquid into wells, and by coal mining and oil
drilling.
With the rapid growth of mega-cities such as Mexico City, Tokyo or Tehran,
in areas of high seismic risk, some seismologists are warning that a single quake may
claim the lives of up to 3 million people.

Shaking and ground rupture

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 Shaking and ground rupture are the main effects created by earthquakes,
principally resulting in more or less severe damage to buildings or other rigid structures.
The severity of the local effects depends on the complex combination of the earthquake
magnitude, the distance from epicenter, and the local geological and geomorphological
conditions, which may amplify or reduce wave propagation. The ground-shaking is
measured by ground acceleration.
Ground rupture is a visible breaking and displacement of the earth's surface
along the trace of the fault, which may be of the order of several metres in the case of
major earthquakes. Ground rupture is a major risk for large engineering structures such as
dams, bridges and nuclear power stations and requires careful mapping of existing faults
to identify any likely to break the ground surface within the life of the structure.

Landslides and avalanches

Landslides are a major geologic hazard because they can happen at any place in the
world, much like earthquakes. Severe storms, earthquakes, volcanic activity, coastal
wave attack, and wildfires can all produce slope instability. Landslide danger may be
possible even though emergency personnel are attempting rescue.

Preparation for earthquakes

Today, there are ways to protect and prepare possible sites of earthquakes from
severe damage, through the following processes: Earthquake engineering, Earthquake
preparedness, Household seismic safety, Seismic retrofit (including special fasteners,
materials, and techniques), Seismic hazard, Mitigation of seismic motion, and Earthquake
prediction.

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 Hurricane

A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low pressure center

and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and flooding rain. Tropical
cyclones feed on heat released when moist air rises, resulting in condensation of water
vapor contained in the moist air. They are fueled by a different heat mechanism than
other cyclonic windstorms such as nor'easters, European windstorms, and polar lows,
leading to their classification as “warm core” storm systems.
The term "tropical" refers to both the geographic origin of these systems, which
form almost exclusively in tropical regions of the globe, and their formation in Maritime
Tropical air masses. The term "cyclone" refers to such storms' cyclonic nature, with
counterclockwise rotation in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise rotation in the
Southern Hemisphere. Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is
referred to by many other names, such as hurricane, typhoon, tropical storm, cyclonic
storm, tropical depression, and simply cyclone.
While tropical cyclones can produce extremely powerful winds and torrential
rain, they are also able to produce high waves and damaging storm surge as well as
spawning tornadoes. They develop over large bodies of warm water, and lose their
strength if they move over land. This is the reason coastal regions can receive significant

23
damage from a tropical cyclone, while inland regions are relatively safe from receiving
strong winds. Heavy rains, however, can produce significant flooding inland, and storm
surges can produce extensive coastal flooding up to 40 km (25 mi) from the coastline.
Although their effects on human populations can be devastating, tropical cyclones can
also relieve drought conditions. They also carry heat and energy away from the tropics
and transport it toward temperate latitudes, which makes them an important part of the
global atmospheric circulation mechanism. As a result, tropical cyclones help to maintain
equilibrium in the Earth's troposphere, and to maintain a relatively stable and warm
temperature worldwide.
Many tropical cyclones develop when the atmospheric conditions around a weak
disturbance in the atmosphere are favorable. Others form when other types of cyclones
acquire tropical characteristics. Tropical systems are then moved by steering winds in the
troposphere; if the conditions remain favorable, the tropical disturbance intensifies, and
can even develop an eye. On the other end of the spectrum, if the conditions around the
system deteriorate or the tropical cyclone makes landfall, the system weakens and
eventually dissipates. It is not possible to artificially induce the dissipation of these
systems wich current tohnology.

24
 Structure of a tropical cyclone

All tropical cyclones are areas of low atmospheric pressure near the Earth's
surface. The pressures recorded at the centers of tropical cyclones are among the lowest
that occur on Earth's surface at sea level. Tropical cyclones are characterized and driven
by the release of large amounts of latent heat of condensation, which occurs when moist
air is carried upwards and its water vapor condenses. This heat is distributed vertically
around the center of the storm. Thus, at any given altitude (except close to the surface,
where water temperature dictates air temperature) the environment inside the cyclone is
warmer than its outer surroundings.

Eye and center

A strong tropical cyclone will harbor an area of sinking air at the center of
circulation. If this area is strong enough, it can develop into an eye. Weather in the eye is
normally calm and free of clouds, although the sea may be extremely violent. The eye is
normally circular in shape, and may range in size from 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to
370 kilometres (230 mi) in diameter. Intense, mature tropical cyclones can sometimes
exhibit an outward curving of the eyewall's top, making it resemble a football stadium;
this phenomenon is thus sometimes referred to as the stadium effect.

25
 There are other features that either surround the eye, or cover it. The central dense
overcast is the concentrated area of strong thunderstorm activity near the center of a
tropical cyclone; in weaker tropical cyclones, the CDO may cover the center completely.
The eyewall is a circle of strong thunderstorms that surrounds the eye; here is where the
greatest wind speeds are found, where clouds reach the highest, and precipitation is the
heaviest. The heaviest wind damage occurs where a tropical cyclone's eyewall passes
over land. Eyewall replacement cycles occur naturally in intense tropical cyclones. When
cyclones reach peak intensity they usually have an eyewall and radius of maximum winds
that contract to a very small size, around 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to 25 kilometres (16 mi).
Outer rainbands can organize into an outer ring of thunderstorms that slowly moves
inward and robs the inner eyewall of its needed moisture and angular momentum. When
the inner eyewall weakens, the tropical cyclone weakens (in other words, the maximum
sustained winds weaken and the central pressure rises.) The outer eyewall replaces the
inner one completely at the end of the cycle. The storm can be of the same intensity as it
was previously or even stronger after the eyewall replacement cycle finishes. The storm
may strengthen again as it builds a new outer ring for next eyewall replacement.

Mechanics

Tropical cyclones form when the energy released by the condensation of moisture in
rising air causes a positive feedback loop over warm ocean waters.

A tropical cyclone,s primary energy source is the release of the heat of

condensation from water vapor condensing at high altitudes, with solar heating being the
initial source for evaporation. Therefore, a tropical cyclone can be visualized as a giant

26
vertical heat engine supported by mechanics driven by physical forces such as the
rotation and gravity of the Earth.[ In another way, tropical cyclones could be viewed as a
special type of mesoscale convective complex, which continues to develop over a vast
source of relative warmth and moisture. Condensation leads to higher wind speeds, as a
tiny fraction of the released energy is converted into mechanical energy; the faster winds
and lower pressure associated with them in turn cause increased surface evaporation and
thus even more condensation. Much of the released energy drives updrafts that increase
the height of the storm clouds, speeding up condensation. This positive feedback loop
continues for as long as conditions are favorable for tropical cyclone development.
Factors such as a continued lack of equilibrium in air mass distribution would also give
supporting energy to the cyclone. The rotation of the Earth causes the system to spin, an
effect known as the Coriolis effect, giving it a cyclonic characteristic and affecting the
trajectory of the storm.
What primarily distinguishes tropical cyclones from other meteorological
phenomena is deep convection as a driving force. Because convection is strongest in a
tropical climate, it defines the initial domain of the tropical cyclone. By contrast, mid-
latitude cyclones draw their energy mostly from pre-existing horizontal temperature
gradients in the atmosphere. To continue to drive its heat engine, a tropical cyclone must
remain over warm water, which provides the needed atmospheric moisture to keep the
positive feedback loop running. When a tropical cyclone passes over land, it is cut off
from its heat source and its strength diminishes diminishes rapidly.

27
Chart displaying the drop in surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita passed over.

The passage of a tropical cyclone over the ocean can cause the upper layers of the
ocean to cool substantially, which can influence subsequent cyclone development.
Cooling is primarily caused by upwelling of cold water from deeper in the ocean due to
the wind. The cooler water causes the storm to weaken. This is a negative feedback
process that causes the storms to weaken over sea because of their own effects.
Additional cooling may come in the form of cold water from falling raindrops (this is
because the atmosphere is cooler at higher altitudes). Cloud cover may also play a role in
cooling the ocean, by shielding the ocean surface from direct sunlight before and slightly
after the storm passage. All these effects can combine to produce a dramatic drop in sea
surface temperature over a large area in just a few days.
While the most obvious motion of clouds is toward the center, tropical cyclones
also develop an upper-level (high-altitude) outward flow of clouds. These originate from
air that has released its moisture and is expelled at high altitude through the "chimney" of
the storm engine. This outflow produces high, thin cirrus clouds that spiral away from the
center. The clouds are thin enough for the sun to be visible through them. These high
cirrus clouds may be the first signs of an approaching tropical cyclone.

Map of all tropical cyclone tracks from 1945 to 2006. Equal-area projection.

There are six Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) worldwide.

These organizations are designated by the World Meteorological Organization and are
responsible for tracking and issuing bulletins, warnings, and advisories about tropical
cyclones in their designated areas of responsibility. Additionally, there are six Tropical

28
Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs) that provide information to smaller regions. The
RSMCs and TCWCs are not the only organizations that provide information about
tropical cyclones to the public. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issues
advisories in all basins except the Northern Atlantic for the purposes of the United States
Government. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services
Administration (PAGASA) issues advisories and names for tropical cyclones that
approach the Philippines in the Northwestern Pacific to protect the life and property of its
citizens. The Canadian Hurricane Centre (CHC) issues advisories on hurricanes and their
remnants for Canadian citizens when they affect Canada.
On 26 March 2004, Cyclone Catarina became the first recorded South Atlantic
cyclone and subsequently struck southern Brazil with winds equivalent to Category 2 on
the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. As the cyclone formed outside the authority of
another warning center, Brazilian meteorologists initially treated the system as an
extratropical cyclone, although subsequently classified it as tropical.

Multiple storm interaction

Tropical Storm Franklin, an example of a strongly sheared tropical cyclone in the

Atlantic Basin during 2005

29
 A tropical cyclone can dissipate when it moves over waters significantly below
26.5 °C (79.7 °F). This will cause the storm to lose its tropical characteristics (i.e.
thunderstorms near the center and warm core) and become a remnant low pressure area,
which can persist for several days. This is the main dissipation mechanism in the
Northeast Pacific ocean.[59] Weakening or dissipation can occur if it experiences vertical
wind shear, causing the convection and heat engine to move away from the center; this
normally ceases development of a tropical cyclone.[60] Additionally, its interaction with
the main belt of the Westerlies, by means of merging with a nearby frontal zone, can
cause tropical cyclones to evolve into extratropical cyclones. This transition can take 1–
3 days.[61] Even after a tropical cyclone is said to be extratropical or dissipated, it can still
have tropical storm force (or occasionally hurricane/typhoon force) winds and drop
several inches of rainfall. In the Pacific ocean and Atlantic ocean, such tropical-derived
cyclones of higher latitudes can be violent and may occasionally remain at hurricane or
typhoon-force wind speeds when they reach the west coast of North America. These
phenomena can also affect Europe, where they are known as European windstorms;
Hurricane Iris's extratropical remnants are an example of such a windstorm from 1995.
Additionally, a cyclone can merge with another area of low pressure, becoming a larger
area of low pressure. This can strengthen the resultant system, although it may no longer
be a tropical cyclone.

Efects

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest
tropical cyclone in world history.

30
Main article: Effects of tropical cyclones

Tropical cyclones stir up water, leaving a cool wake behind them,[22] which causes
the region to be less favourable for subsequent tropical cyclones. On land, strong winds
can damage or destroy vehicles, buildings, bridges, and other outside objects, turning
loose debris into deadly flying projectiles. The storm surge, or the increase in sea level
due to the cyclone, is typically the worst effect from landfalling tropical cyclones,
historically resulting in 90% of tropical cyclone deaths.[73] The broad rotation of a
landfalling tropical cyclone, and vertical wind shear at its periphery, spawns tornadoes.
Tornadoes can also be spawned as a result of eyewall mesovortices which persist until
landfall.
Over the past two centuries, tropical cyclones have been responsible for the deaths
of about 1.9 million people worldwide. Large areas of standing water caused by flooding
lead to infection, as well as contributing to mosquito-borne illnesses. Crowded evacuees
in shelters increase the risk of disease propagation.[75] Tropical cyclones significantly
interrupt infrastructure, leading to power outages, bridge destruction, and the hampering
of reconstruction efforts.
Although cyclones take an enormous toll in lives and personal property, they may
be important factors in the precipitation regimes of places they impact, as they may bring
much-needed precipitation to otherwise dry regions.[77] Tropical cyclones also help
maintain the global heat balance by moving warm, moist tropical air to the middle
latitudes and polar regions.[78] The storm surge and winds of hurricanes may be
destructive to human-made structures, but they also stir up the waters of coastal estuaries,
which are typically important fish breeding locales. Tropical cyclone destruction spurs
redevelopment, greatly increasing local property values.

Classifications, terminology and naming

31
Three tropical cyclones at different stages of development. The weakest (left),
demonstrates only the most basic circular shape. A stronger storm (top right)
demonstrates spiral banding and increased centralization, while the strongest (lower
right) has developed an eye.

Tropical cyclones are classified into three main groups, based on intensity: tropical
depressions, tropical storms, and a third group of more intense storms, whose name
depends on the region. For example, if a tropical storm in the Northwestern Pacific
reaches hurricane-strength winds on the Beaufort scale, it is referred to as a typhoon; if a
tropical storm passes the same benchmark in the Northeast Pacific Basin, or in the
Atlantic, it is called a hurricane.[51] Neither "hurricane" nor "typhoon" are used in either
the Southern Hemisphere or the Indian Ocean. In these basins, storms of tropical nature
are referred as simply "cyclones".
Additionally, as indicated in the table below, each basin uses a separate system of
terminology, making comparisons between different basins difficult. In the Pacific
Ocean, hurricanes from the Central North Pacific sometimes cross the International Date
Line into the Northwest Pacific, becoming typhoons (such as Hurricane/Typhoon Ioke in
2006); on rare occasions, the reverse will occur.[87] It should also be noted that typhoons

32
with sustained winds greater than 67 metres per second (130 kn) or 150 miles per hour
(240 km/h) are called Super Typhoons .

Hurricane or typhoon

A hurricane or typhoon (sometimes simply referred to as a tropical cyclone, as

opposed to a depression or storm) is a system with sustained winds of at least 33 metres
per second (64 kn) or 74 miles per hour (119 km/h).[15] A cyclone of this intensity tends to
develop an eye, an area of relative calm (and lowest atmospheric pressure) at the center
of circulation. The eye is often visible in satellite images as a small, circular, cloud-free
spot. Surrounding the eye is the eyewall, an area about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) to
80 kilometres (50 mi) wide in which the strongest thunderstorms and winds circulate
around the storm's center. Maximum sustained winds in the strongest tropical cyclones
have been estimated at about 85 metres per second (165 kn) or 195 miles per hour (314
km/h)

AUSTRALIAN FIRE

The deadly Australian bushfires appear to have been so deadly because they were
unusual.  The fires caught people before they new it was coming, and unlike many fires

33
they were too strong to fight.  What made these fires unusual?  At first look it seems to be
a combination of a lack of social memory, fuel accumulation, and climate change - that
together reduced community resilience to fire.
The rationale behind the policy is that if you have a fire plan in place - that is, you
have a water source, a pump that is not dependent on the power supply, you have ember-
proofed your house, and so on - it is safer to stay and let the front pass over, than to leave
at the last moment. And historically, it is true that most houses lost in bush fires have
burnt because of defendable ember-strikes rather than direct contact with the fire, and
most deaths have been due last-minute evacuations.
But conditions have changed. Southern Australia’s epic 12-year drought, higher
temperatures due to climate change, and less “prescribed” burning to remove the plant
life that acts as fuel, all combine to increase the risk of extreme fire. This year already,
we’ve had several days in the mid-40s that have burnt leaves off trees, and squeezed the
last drops of moisture out of already tinder-dry bush. One survivor described the ground
underfoot prior to the fires going through as "like walking on cornflakes".
According to Robert Heath, a psychologist at the University of South Australia in
Adelaide, they don’t bank on the overwhelming heat, the lack of contact with the outside
world, the darkness, or the noise: loud and like a huge blowtorch, apparently. Perhaps it’s
not surprising then, that many people who lost their lives are thought to have done so
while fleeing in their cars.

Central Australian fires

(1974 – 1975)

In the northern half of Australia, fires are frequent in the dry season (winter and
spring). Fire is often used as a land management technique, typically to burn off dry grass
from the previous wet season, and to encourage regrowth of more nutritious feed in the
following wet season. But lightning is also a major cause of wildfires in this area. These
fires are capable of spreading over vast areas of the arid and semi-arid inland, but are

34
seldom serious in terms of life or property losses, because of the normal sparseness of the
vegetation. This was not the case in 1974, however, when exceptional rainfall over most
of the inland during the preceding summer wet season produced abundant grass and scrub
growth. More rain in the winter and early spring of 1974 maintained this growth.
However the return of dry conditions over the inland in the late spring (earlier in northern
areas) allowed this abundant vegetation
to dry out. Lightning from
thunderstorms, many of them
accompanied by little or no rain,
initiated many fires by year’s end. With
fire suppression forces few and thinly
spaced, the fires spread over vast areas,
and lasted for weeks and even months.
Most states were affected, but the largest
area burnt was in the Northern Territory
(about 45 million hectares, some 33
percent of the total area). Large areas of
South Australia and southeastern
Western Australia were also burnt (see map). Counting protective burning by graziers in
the far north, in all some 117 million hectares (or 15.2 percent) of the continent were
burnt. Most of the financial losses were due to damage to fences; stock losses were
comparatively light, but loss of fodder due to the fires constituted a more serious
problem. More settled areas towards the coast were spared the worst effects, even though
vegetation was more dense here. More fire fighting resources, and - fortuitously -
relatively few days of strong winds, restricted the spread of fire in these areas. A
bushfire is a fire that occurs in the bush (collective term for scrub, woodland or
grassland of Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia). In south east Australia, bushfires
tend to be most common and most severe during summer and autumn, in drought years,
and particularly severe in El Niño years. Southeast Australia is fire prone, and warm and
dry conditions intensify the probability of fire. In the north of Australia, bushfires usually
occur during winter (the dry season), and fire severity tends to be more associated with

35
seasonal weather patterns. In the southwest, similarly, bushfires occur in the summer dry
season and severity is usually related to seasonal growth. Fire frequency in the north is
difficult to assess, as the vast majority of fires are caused by human activity, however
lightning strikes are as common a cause as human ignited fires and arsonevertheless,
there were several instances where damage to farms and houses occurred.

Bushfires are a natural and complex part of the Australian environment and have
been for thousands of years. People as well as the natural environment have developed
ways of coping with bushfires. Individuals and communities living in or near bushfire
prone areas have established strategies to protect themselves and their homes from fires,
these include removing all rubbish and leaf litter around buildings, implementing fire
restrictions and preparing evacuation plans. While in the natural environment, many
plants have evolved to adapt to, and cope with fires. Research is now underway on many
fronts to determine not only how to prevent bushfires, but also gain further insight on
their devastating effects. The areas being looked at include how repeated fires affect local
communities, the environment and our native plants and animals, as well as the extra
dangers brought about by climate change and drought.

Conclusion

36
 Bibliography

www.wikipedia.com

www.google.ro

Dangerous Planet: Natural disasters

37
38