What kind of damage does a hurricane cause

Water weighs approximately 1, pounds per cubic yard, and extended pounding by frequent waves can demolish any structure not specifically designed to withstand such forces. In the absence of currents and waves, flooding is usually insufficient to cause a building to collapse, unless the flood level is greater than a couple of meters. With proper design and construction, hurricane wind and flood damage to residential structures can be greatly reduced or eliminated.

The scientific study of hurricane impacts on buildings and the environment has seen major advances over the years.

From small-scale wind tunnel laboratories to experimental external wind devices, materials and structures have been tested and modified for better performance. In order to create full-scale realistic hurricane conditions, newer facilities have been designed and created to simulate the varying nature of the wind field, along with rains and debris, during these powerful events. High-tech facilities, such as the RenaissanceRe Wall of Wind opened in and the more recent Institute for Business and Home Safety facility opening soon in , were designed to test full-scale residential structures and materials in a repeatable, scientifically controlled environment.

Scientists and engineers better understand how buildings fail under the force of hurricane force winds and this knowledge has enabled policy makers to develop modern Source: Canadian Hurricane Centre.

Building codes also address flooding threats in several ways, including requiring buildings to be built above projected flood levels or requiring lower level components of buildings to break away in a flood. Another ASCE publication provides guidelines for flood resistant design and construction. For further discussion on building codes please see Mitigation and Preparation to Response and Recovery.

Additional Links on HSS. Debris, such as signs, roofing material, siding and small items left outside become flying missiles during hurricanes. Winds can stay above hurricane strength well inland. In , Hurricane Charley made landfall at Punta Gorda on the southwest Florida coast and produced major damage well inland across central Florida with gusts of more than mph. Atlantic and Eastern Pacific hurricanes are classified into five categories according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , which estimates potential property damage according to the hurricane's sustained wind speed.

The strong winds of a tropical cyclone can cause dangerous waves that pose a significant hazard to mariners and coastal residents and visitors. When the waves break along the coast, they can produce deadly rip currents - even at large distances from the storm. Rip currents are channeled currents of water flowing away from shore, usually extending past the line of breaking waves, that can pull even the strongest swimmers away from shore.

In , despite the fact that Hurricane Bertha was more than a 1, miles offshore, the storm resulted in rip currents that killed three people along the New Jersey coast and required 1, lifeguard rescues in Ocean City, Maryland, over a 1 week period.

In , all six deaths in the United States directly attributable to tropical cyclones occurred as the result of drowning from large waves or strong rip currents. Hurricanes and tropical storms can also produce tornadoes. These tornadoes most often occur in thunderstorms embedded in rain bands well away from the center of the hurricane; however, they can also occur near the eyewall.

And low-lying areas are often flooded. The amount of damage depends on the strength of a storm and what it hits.

As a storm moves towards a coast, it can cause sea level to rise as much as 20 or 30 feet. Wind from the storm pushes ocean water towards the land. The low pressure of the storm also allows the water level to creep higher.

The water piles up with nowhere to go but onto land when it gets to the coast. The rising water, called storm surge, can submerge low-lying areas and towns along the coast.

Combined with the crashing waves of the storm, the storm surge can cause demolishing docks, houses, roads, and erode beaches. The floods from storm surge usually lasts for a short time, usually just a few hours, but can cause a tremendous amount of damage. When storm surge happens at high tide, there is even more flooding. The model takes into account important factors that affect storm surge include the speed of winds in the storm, the distance that those winds travel over the ocean, how the hurricane approaches the coast whether it is a direct impact or hits at an angle , and the shape of the coast and the ocean floor.

After a hurricane hits a coastal area, it can travel inland. At this point, the storm has typically weakened, but it can still cause damage. Torrential rains from the storm can cause rivers to flood their banks and mudslides to form. Around the world, about 10, people die each year in hurricanes and tropical storms.