Cyclone Disaster Management

DEPERMENT OF GEOGRAPHY (6th

SEMESTER HONS) MANKAR COLLEGE
Information collected by satellites suggests that cyclones form
in low-pressure zones over warm intertropical seas. These are
gigantic and deadly storms that cause havoc and damage.

Around 70 to 90 cyclones form every year around the globe.

A Brief About Cyclones

How are Cyclones

Formed
Different Categories of
Cyclones

Causes of a Cyclone

Other Names of
Cyclone
Cyclone Disaster
Management
 A Brief About
Cyclones
The storms caused by wind blowing around the low-pressure areas are
called cyclones. Similarly, storms around the high-pressure areas are called
anticyclones. There are types of cyclones:

1 2
Tropical Cyclone Temperate Cyclone
• The storms that originate over a warm • These are storms that occur outside the
tropical ocean are termed as tropical tropics.
cyclones.
• These are referred to as extratropical
• Low atmospheric pressure, high winds cyclones. Other names are frontal
and heavy rainfall are characteristics of cyclones and wave cyclones.
these types of cyclones.
• They occur in polar regions, temperate
• Parts of the Atlantic region, pacific and high latitudes.
ocean, Indian ocean witness tropical
cyclones affecting Gulf Coast of North
America, northwestern Australia, and
eastern India and Bangladesh along with
other areas.
 How are Cyclones Formed?

In the above diagram, we see how cyclones are formed. The rising of warm air is shown using the
green lines while the cool air sinking is shown using the red arrows.
The cyclone is formed when the warm, moist air rises upward over the ocean. As this air moves up,
there is a formation of a low-pressure area below.

Now the low-pressure area is filled with the high-pressure air from the surroundings. Again, the next
batch of cool air gets warm and moist over the ocean moving upward. This once again results in the
formation of a low-pressure area. The cycle continues.
This continuous cycle results in the formation of clouds in the air. More clouds are formed as the
water from the ocean evaporates.
This leads to the formation of the storm system. As the storm system rotates faster, an eye is formed in
the centre. The eye of the storm is considered to be the calm and clear part. The air pressure in the eye
of the storm is low.
Depending on the strength of the winds produced, the cyclones are divided into different classes.
 Different Categories of Cyclones

The categories of a cyclone depend on wind strength. From the following table, We will be
able to estimate the damage a cyclone may cause after landfall based on wind speed.
Catagory Wind Speed(in kmph) Damage at Landfall

1 119-153 Minimal
2 154-177 Moderate
3 178-210 Extensive
4 211-250 Extreme
5 More than 250 Catastrophic
Catagor Catagor
Catagor
y 2 y 3 Catagor Catagor
y 1
y 4 y 5

Hurricane Alex 2016 Hurricane Juan 2004 Hurricane Alex 2004 Hurricane Frances2004 Hurricane Isabel 2003
 Causes of a Cyclone?

Here are the factors responsible for cyclone formation -

Warm temperature at sea surfaces.

Coriolis force impact area that forms a low-pressure zone.

Atmospheric instability.

Increased humidity in the lower to middle levels of the troposphere.

Low vertical wind shear.

Pre-existing low-level disturbance or focus.

 Other names of Cyclone
The cyclone is known to have different names in different regions of
the world, and they are:
 Cyclone Disaster Management

The above-mentioned data signifies the importance of cyclone disaster management to mitigate
personal and economic losses.

Hazard Mapping Engineered Structures

It suggests that using hazard mapping, These structures
one can predict the vulnerable areas withstand the wind forces
affected by the storms. and prove to mitigate the
losses. The public
It maps the pattern of old cyclones using infrastructure of the
their wind speed, areas affected, flooding country should be
frequency etc. designed keeping in mind
the hazard mapping of the
cyclone.
Land use planning Cyclone Sheltering
With the effective implementation of At national, state and regional
land use planning, the key activities and level, the construction of
settlements can be avoided in the most cyclone shelters should be
vulnerable areas. For example, a taken up to help the vulnerable
settlement in the floodplains is at utmost community from cyclones. The
risk. Hence, authorities should plan shelters should be built
ahead to avoid such risks. considering the population
density, transportation and
communication, distance from
the affected areas of the past,
and the areas’ topography.
 Flood Management
As the cyclonic storms lead to heavy
rainfall that further lead to flooding in
various areas; important should be given
to the flood management. The drainage
systems should be well-designed to
mitigate flooding. The participation both
from the government and the local
community is required for this.
Vegetation Cover Improvement
To increase the water infiltration
capacity, improving vegetation cover is
of high
importance. Planting trees in rows,
coastal shelterbelt plantations, mangrove
shelterbelt plantations, etc can help
break the wind force and mitigate the
severe losses.
Mangrove Plantation
The ecologically-efficient
mangroves should be planted more.
The root systems of mangroves help
in mitigating tsunamis, soil erosion
etc.
Saline Embankment
Along the coast, saline embankments
help protect habitation, agricultural
crops, and other important installations.
Artificial Hills
These act as the refuge during flooding,
and should be taken up in the right
areas.
Awareness of the public
The participation of the community
increases with the number of public
awareness initiatives. The governments
at all levels should initiate programs
bringing awareness about the natural
calamities and making provisions for
higher local participation in the
mitigation process.
THANK YOU
Presentation by Group D-

•Akash Roy
•Rahul Saha
•Soham Hazra
•Chandan Konra
•Kallol Das