Hurricane Case Studies
Hurricane Sandy
What
Where
When
Cause
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Hurricane sandy was
the largest hurricane
in the 2012 Atlantic
hurricane season
 Second most costly
storm in US history
 Category 3 storm at
its peak
 Winds up to 185km
per hour
 Affected 24 US states,
worst affected were
New York and New
Jersey
 Jamaica (Kingston)
 Haiti
 Dominican Republic
 Puerto Rico
 The Bahamas
 Canada
 Formed October 22nd
2012
 Hit USA October 29th
2012
 Dissipated October
31 2012
Low pressure system
Effects Social
Short
 286 people killed (across all the
term
countries affected)
 Left 70% of people in Jamaica
without power
 Caused food shortages in Haiti
 New York – flooded streets,
subway lines and cut power
(affected over 8 million people)
 Shortages of food and water in
New York so had to be given out in
public places and delivered to
elderly residents
 Patients had to be evacuated from
the New York University Langone
Medical Centre
 Some looting of evacuated
buildings after the storm in New
York
Long
Term
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102,000 people’s homes flooded in
Long Island New York
200,000 people homeless in Haiti
15,000 homeless in the Dominican
republic
Economic
 Businesses and shops had to shut
down during the storm this meant
that many lost revenue and
including repair costs the cost to
businesses was over 19 billion in
New York
Environmental
 Water plants disabled
 Sewage discharged as 80 out of 369
sewage treatment plants were
damaged in New Jersey
 Diesel leaked into creeks (Arthur
Kill) but was cleaned up by skimmer
boats
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65 billion US dollars’ worth of
damage in the USA (68 billion
overall countries)
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6.2 million cubic yards of debris in
New Jersey which had to/still has to
be cleared.
Damaged parks
Hurricane Katrina
What
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Where
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When
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Cause
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Hurricane sandy was
the largest hurricane
in the 2005 Atlantic
hurricane season
Most costly storm in
US history
Category 3 storm
Winds up to 175 km
per hour
Cuba
South Florida,
Mississippi, Alabama
etc.
Canada
New Orleans
Louisiana
Formed August 23rd
2005
Hit New Orleans
August 29th 2005
Dissipated August
30th 2005
Low pressure system
Levee system in New
Orleans failed
Effects Social
Short
 1,833 people killed (across all the
term
countries affected)
 Power and telephone lines
affected in Cuba and 8,000 people
evacuated
 Several bridges destroyed causing
transport problems in Louisiana
 900,000 people lost power in
Louisiana
 Many people missing and fire
services had to carry out searches
 Many of the dead were left in the
street for days before being
recovered
 Crime in New Orleans increased
due to the limited Police Force
 Evacuation process in New Orleans
has been criticised for taking too
long and the getting aid in was also
too slow.
Long
 80% of New Orleans was flooded
Term
therefore there was a lot of
damage and many people were
left homeless
 90% of towns in Mississippi coastal
towns were flooded, this is where
the worst property damage
happened.
 Migration of people from affected
places population of Louisiana
calculated to have dropped by
4.87%
Economic
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Environmental
 Tornado formed from the outer
rain band of Katrina and hit part
of Florida causing damage
(causing Marathon airport $5
million of damage). (62 formed in
total)
 Caused widespread flooding
 8-10 inches of rain
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105 billion US dollars’ worth of
damage
Oil supply interruption affecting
economy as 30 oil stations were
affected in the gulf of Mexico
resulting in 24% production loss and
their closure for 6 months
Forestry industry affected, loss of 5
billion dollars
Farming jobs affected therefore social
impacts as 600,000 people employed
in that sector (exceed $150 billion
loss)
Insurance companies won’t insure
some families or businesses anymore
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1.3 million acres of forest
affected
Beach erosion
Lost breeding grounds for many
species of wildlife including
ducks, fish, turtles…
Oil spills caused by hurricane (7
million gallons)
Hurricane Mitch
What
Where
When
Cause

Hurricane Mitch was the largest
hurricane in the 1998 Atlantic hurricane
season (4th most intense ever at the
time, now dropped to 7th)
 Category 5 storm at its peak
 Winds up to 285 km per hour
 Honduras
 Nicaragua
 Caribbean islands such as Jamaica and
Cayman Islands
 Central America (Panama, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Mexico…)
 Florida
 October 22nd 1998
 Hit Honduras October 29th 1998
 Dissipated November 9th 1998
Low pressure system and a very hot
summer meant that the sea was at the right
temperature for the hurricane to form
Effects
Short term
Social
 Total death toll: 18,974
(14,600 in Honduras) –
mostly from flooding and
mudslides
Economic
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Environmental
 Trees and plants uprooted
 Large amounts of rainfall
caused rivers to overflow
Long Term
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Damage to water facilities
1/3 of the buildings in
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
damaged
35,000 homes destroyed
and 50,000 damaged – 1.5
million people homeless
(20% of population)
Transport damaged
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Total of 6.8 billion dollars
of damage (3.8 in
Honduras)
50,000 bovine killed and
60% of fowl population
70% of crops destroyed
Agriculture damage cost
around 1 billion dollars
Fishing industry affected in
Nicaragua
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Lagoons and coastlines
damaged
Mangroves destroyed
Sewage systems damaged
in Nicaragua
Hurricane Andrew
What
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Where
When
Cause
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Hurricane Andrew was the largest
hurricane in the 1992 Atlantic hurricane
season
At the time it was the most costliest
hurricane in the USA’s history (now 4th
after Sandy, Katrina and Ike)
Category 5 storm at its peak (only 3
category 5 storms hit the US in the
whole of the 20th century)
Winds up to 280 km per hour
Bahamas
Florida
Louisiana
Formed August 16th 1992
Hit USA August 24th 1992
Dissipated August 28th 1992
Low pressure system
Effects
Short
term
Social
 65 people died (some indirectly)
 1.4 million people without power
 150,000 people without
telephone connection
 Congestion and traffic as 9,500
traffic signals destroyed
 Looting occurred afterwards to
damaged homes and shops
 Streets blocked by fallen trees
Economic
Environmental
 Strong gusts of wind
(222km/hour) and storm
surge in the Bahamas
 Tornados produced as a
result of the hurricane
 Heavy rainfall throughout
the state of Florida
 River flooding in Louisiana
Long
Term
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177,000 people homeless (36,000
homes destroyed)
31 schools affected
3,300 miles of power lines
affected
3,000 water mains affected
Mobile homes also destroyed
(almost all of them)
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$26.5 billion dollars
damage
82,000 businesses
damaged
Farming industry affected
(soybean and sugar crops)
Damage to fishing industry
($266 million) due to
upwelling killing 187
million fish
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32,900 acres of farmland
affected
National Parks in the area
affected – 25% of trees
damaged
20 million cubic yards of
debris to clean up
Cyclone Nargis
What
Where
When
Cause
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Rare eastward moving cyclone
Worst natural disaster in history recorded in Myanmar
(second deadliest cyclone ever recorded possibly)
Category 4 storm
Winds up to 165 km per hour
Myanmar (hit densely populated area of Irrawaddy delta)
Western Bay of Bengal
Formed April 23rd 2008
Hit Myanmar May 2nd 2008
Dissipated May 3rd 2008
Low pressure system
Political corruption meant aid was unable to get through,
the military junta particular refused aid from the USA.
India warned of the cyclone 48 hours before, this was
ignored
China suffered a massive earthquake (Sichuan) 10 days
afterwards – worst in China’s history meaning aid efforts
were spilt.
After a week only 1 in 10 people affected had received
aid and only 25% after 2 weeks
Visas weren’t granted to relief volunteers
Effects
Short
term
Long
Term
Social
 At least 138,000 causalities (official death toll
unreported by government – stopped
reporting after this to minimize political
fallout)
 Many people missing, some people were
washed out to sea, buried or decayed and
never found.
 Aid was only received after a few days when
India’s request was accepted
 1.5 million people severely affected
(estimate)
 5 areas officially disaster zones
 State television made it look like the military
had provided the aid instead of international
sources
 Thought to have been more deaths from
disease and lack of relief efforts
 Millions homeless (estimates 2-3 million)
 Thousands of buildings destroyed (reported
95% in Irrawaddy Delta)
 Lots of temples destroyed, this has a big
effect as religion is a big part of the culture
 Ruined rice crop led to shortages in food and
famine
 Carried on with scheduled referendum even
after disaster
Economic
 Businesses
and markets
closed
Environmental
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Damages
estimated
to cost
K62,988,000
,000 (US$10
billion)
Ruined rice
crop meant
economy
affected
and food
prices rose
by two or
threefold
Waste
pipes burst
ruining
landscape
and crops
Typhoon Haiyan (researched 28/11/2013 – try again when there is more information)
What
Where
When
Cause
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Deadliest Pilipino Typhoon on record
Strongest storm recorded at landfall
4th strongest ever recorded in terms of
wind speed (230km/hour)
Category 5 super typhoon
Philippines
Micronesia
Southern China
Vietnam
Formed November 3rd 2013
Hit Philippines November 8th 2013
Dissipated November 11th 2013
Originated from an area of low pressure
Worsened by the fact that part of the
Philippines affected was hit by a 7.2
earthquake two weeks before.
Effects
Short
term
Social
 Death toll at least 5,560 (sources
vary between 2,500 and 10,000)
 22,000 people missing
 No mobile phone coverage
afterwards
 No power for some areas (may
have no power for up to a
month)
 Lack of access to clean water
(some pipes were dug up by
residents)
 Escaped prisoners from prison
 Ormoc city also badly affected,
but there was a fear that they
would be without aid as Tacloban
was worse affected, 2,000 injured
in Ormoc and hospitals shut or
working at partial capacity.
 Looting occurred due to lack of
aid being received in some areas,
aid trucks and fuel stations were
also attacked
 New people’s army (communist)
ambushed relief convoy killing
two people.
Economic
 Ferries affected
 Airports closed
Environmental
 281.9mm of rainfall
recorded, which feel in
under 12 hours
 Storm surges measured 5
to 6 metres
 Trees blown over
 Flooding extended for 1km
inland
 Landslides
 Flash floods
Long
Term
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11 million people affected and
many have been left homeless
Cities and towns largely
destroyed in the Leyte and Samar
islands
Some areas completely washed
away (90% of Tacloban estimated
to have been destroyed)
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Damage $1.41 billion USD
(30.6 million has been
allocated by the
government to relief)
Tacloban airport destroyed
Mud and debris needed to
be cleared up