Floods
Consider the following:
When it comes to hurricanes, wind speeds do not tell the
whole story. Hurricanes produce storm surges, tornadoes, and
often the most deadly of all - inland flooding.
While storm surge is always a potential threat, more people
have died from inland flooding in the last 30 years. Intense
rainfall is not directly related to the wind speed of tropical
cyclones. In fact, some of the greatest rainfall amounts occur
from weaker storms that drift slowly or stall over an area.
Inland flooding can be a major threat to communities hundreds
of kilometres from the coast as intense rain falls from these
huge tropical air masses.
Hurricane Floyd (1999) brought intense rains and record flooding
to the Eastern U.S. Of the 56 people who perished, 50 drowned
due to inland flooding.
At least 23% of U.S. tropical cyclone deaths occur to people
who drown in, or attempting to abandon, their cars.
78% of children killed by tropical cyclones drowned in freshwater
floods.
So, the next time you hear hurricane -- think inland flooding!
click here to view steps to follow
when preparing for floods
What can you do?
