The risks of Tropical Cyclones
There are numerous risks and threats to Australian communities when a tropical cyclone takes place. Some of these risks may result in serious consequences such as major injuries or even in some cases, death. These risks are:
- Strong winds causing flying debris, destruction and weakening of buildings, fallen power lines preventing communication and blocking of road ways stopping access to help.
- Storm surges causing a rise in sea level (joined by heavy rainfall) leads to flooding, cutting off escape passages.
- Heavy rainfall causing flooding, landslides and mudslides leading to destruction and pollution of affected areas (increasing the risk of disease).
and there affect on people...
Tropical cyclones pose many risks to many Australian communities. People can get fatally ill from the contamination of water supplies and electricity is often malfunctioning, causing fires and electrocuting people. Without electricity, depending on the surround environment being hot or cold, people could become sicker. Often after a cyclone has destroyed a city, they will be chaos, people searching for loved ones, building damaged and roads blocked by tree branches, telegraph poles and any other material the cyclone has damaged. If the roads are blocked, this means that emergency services will not be able to assist the ones wounded by the cyclone. There could be many buildings a collapsed and destroyed by the destructive, gale force winds produced by the tropical cyclone including the hospital. If the hospital is ruined, there would be no place for sick people to get vital treatment advice and medicine. Also, if there is a storm surge, any survivors will have to cope with the massive tidal wave.