What kind of damage does hurricanes cause

That is, the destructive force of the hurricane will be coming from the other direction. Jamaica, W. Toll free: Telephone: — or — Skip to content Jamaica Information Service.

Government of Jamaica. What Are The Hurricane Categories? Photo of the day. Click to view more. Latest stories. 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. Hurricane Hazards and Impacts. The flooding results from the coastal storm surge of the ocean and the torrential rains, both of which accompany the storm. The Saffir-Simpson scale is the standard scale for rating the severity of a hurricane as measured by the damage it causes.

It classifies hurricanes on a hierarchy from category 1 minimal , through category 2 moderate , category 3 extensive , and category 4 extreme , to category 5 catastrophic. A supertyphoon is equivalent to a category 4 or 5 hurricane. Only four category-5 storms have hit the United States since record-keeping began—the Labor Day hurricane, which devastated the Florida Keys, killing ; Hurricane Camille, in , which ravaged the Mississippi coast, killing ; Andrew, in , which leveled much of Homestead, Fla.

Hurricane Dorian was a category-5 storm when it devastated the N Bahamas in , and other Atlantic hurricanes have been category 5 at landfall in Central America and the Caribbean or while over water. If you live in an area prone to hurricanes, consider making a hurricane safety kit. The Hurricane Preparedness web site at the U. National Hurricane Center offers tips on how to prepare for a hurricane. When a hurricane is over the ocean and far from land, they are still a hazard to boats at sea.

Before modern weather forecasting, hurricanes were the cause of many shipwrecks including several in the Bermuda Triangle, an area known for disappearing ships. But with forecasting and warning systems, boats can steer clear of hurricanes. Unlike boats, oil and gas platforms over the water are unable to move out of harms way and can be damaged by the fierce wind and waves.

When a hurricane strikes a coastal area, it brings a number of serious hazards. These hazards include heavy rains , high winds , a storm surge , and even tornadoes. While there is no way to stop a hurricane from hitting a coastal area, people in communities near the coast usually have a few days warning as a hurricane approaches. That's enough time to get out of harm's way before the storm arrives.