1 / 14

Understanding Tropical Cyclones: Risks and Mitigation Strategies in South Africa

Explore the characteristics of tropical cyclones, their threats including floods and wind damage, regions in South Africa at risk, and how to minimize risks by monitoring weather information and avoiding settling in vulnerable areas.

rossp
Download Presentation

Understanding Tropical Cyclones: Risks and Mitigation Strategies in South Africa

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Tropical Cyclones Are we at risk? http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/Images/seawifs_cyclone_dera.jpg

  2. Questions • What is a tropical cyclone? • How does it threaten us? • What parts of South Africa are threatened? • How can we minimise the risk?

  3. What is a Tropical Cyclone? • relatively small, intensely developed low pressure cell • occur over warm oceans • diameter can range between 200 and 2000 km • maximum wind speed exceeds 110 km/h • Torrential rain

  4. How does it threaten us? • Floods • Damage to roads, bridges, buildings • Loss of farmland • Silting of dams and river flood plains http://www.whistler.com/buzzard/photoj5.html

  5. How does it threaten us? • Wind damage • Loss of crops • Damage to buildings and communications • Stormy seas http://coastalhazards.wcu.edu/StormDamage/Opal/opal1.jpg

  6. What parts of SA are threatened? • Where do they come from? • How do they travel? http://www.weathersa.co.za/wfacts/9902-3.GIF

  7. Few reach 25 S as mature storms Few reach 50 Conclusion – most storms miss us http://www.dmc.co.zw/images/saison_cyc_2001_2002.gif

  8. Past events in South Africa

  9. Demoina and Imboa (1984) • Extensive flood damage in KZN

  10. Eline (Feb 2000) • Extensive flooding in Mozambique and Limpopo valley http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/649873.stm

  11. Hudah (2002) • Serious floods in Mozambique http://www.reliefweb.int/mapc/afr_sth/cnt/moz/moz_hudah.html

  12. Japhet (2003) • Flood disaster in Mozambique and Zimbabwe http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/ (2003)

  13. How can we minimise risk? • Monitor information from the weather bureau • Look at weather satellite images • Avoid settling on northern coastal shores • Don’t live on river banks in KwaZulu Natal

  14. Conclusion • We are not at high risk in this country • But we should have flood relief programmes in place in KwaZulu Natal

More Related