Surviving Cyclones: Preparation and Safet y Procedures

[an error occurred while processing this directive] This page provides a general checklist for cyclone preparation and safety procedures. Preparation and Safety information is also linked in the right hand column including details about damage and danger associated with cyclone intensity, storm surge and advice for mariners. State and territory emergency agencies are the primary providers of advice for cyclone procedures. Contact details and web links are provided at the bottom of this page. Contents Preparation & safety procedures checklist Getting information during a cyclone The information in this checklist was prepared by Emergency Management Australia in consultation with State/Territory Emergency Services to help protect you and your property.

Before the cyclone season

Check with your local council or your building control authority to see if your home has been built to cyclone standards. Check that the walls, roof and eaves of your home are secure. Trim treetops and branches well clear of your home (get council permission). Preferably fit shutters, or at least metal screens, to all glass areas. Clear your property of loose material that could blow about and possibly cause injury or damage during extreme winds. In case of a storm surge/tide warning, or other flooding, know your nearest safe high ground and the safest access route to it. Prepare an emergency kit containing: o a portable battery radio, torch and spare batteries; o water containers, dried or canned food and a can opener; o matches, fuel lamp, portable stove, cooking gear, eating utensils; and o a first aid kit and manual, masking tape for windows and waterproof bags. Keep a list of emergency phone numbers on display. Check neighbours, especially if recent arrivals, to make sure they are prepared.

When a cyclone watch is issued

Re-check your property for any loose material and tie down (or fill with water) all large, relatively light items such as boats and rubbish bins. Fill vehicles' fuel tanks. Check your emergency kit and fill water containers. Ensure household members know which is the strongest part of the house and what to do in the event of a cyclone warning or an evacuation. Tune to your local radio/TV for further information and warnings. Check that neighbours are aware of the situation and are preparing.

When a cyclone warning is issued

Depending on official advice provided by your local authorities as the event evolves; the following actions may be warranted. If requested by local authorities, collect children from school or childcare centre and go home. Park vehicles under solid shelter (hand brake on and in gear). Put wooden or plastic outdoor furniture in your pool or inside with other loose items. Close shutters or board-up or heavily tape all windows. Draw curtains and lock doors. Pack an evacuation kit of warm clothes, essential medications, baby formula, nappies, valuables, important papers, photos and mementos in waterproof bags to be taken with your emergency kit. Large/heavy valuables could be protected in a strong cupboard. Remain indoors (with your pets). Stay tuned to your local radio/TV for further information.

On warning of local evacuation

Based on predicted wind speeds and storm surge heights, evacuation may be necessary. Official advice will be given on local radio/TV regarding safe routes and when to move. Wear strong shoes (not thongs) and tough clothing for protection. Lock doors; turn off power, gas, and water; take your evacuation and emergency kits. If evacuating inland (out of town), take pets and leave early to avoid heavy traffic, flooding and wind hazards. If evacuating to a public shelter or higher location, follow police and State/Territory Emergency Services directions. If going to a public shelter, take bedding needs and books or games for children. Leave pets protected and with food and water.

When the cyclone strikes

Disconnect all electrical appliances. Listen to your battery radio for updates. Stay inside and shelter {well clear of windows) in the strongest part of the building, i.e. cellar, internal hallway or bathroom. Keep evacuation and emergency kits with you. If the building starts to break up, protect yourself with mattresses, rugs or blankets under a strong table or bench or hold onto a solid fixture, e.g. a water pipe. Beware the calm 'eye'. If the wind drops, don't assume the cyclone is over; violent winds will soon resume from another direction. Wait for the official 'all clear'. If driving, stop (handbrake on and in gear) - but well away from the sea and clear of trees, power lines and streams. Stay in the vehicle.

After the cyclone

Don't go outside until officially advised it is safe. Check for gas leaks. Don't use electric appliances if wet. Listen to local radio for official warnings and advice. If you have to evacuate, or did so earlier, don't return until advised. Use a recommended route and don't rush. Beware of damaged power lines, bridges, buildings, trees, and don't enter floodwaters. Heed all warnings and don't go sightseeing. Check/help neighbours instead. Don't make unnecessary telephone calls.

Storm Surge Preparedness and Safety

About tropical cyclone warning services | Preparation & safety | About tropical cyclones | FAQs

What is storm surge? How high will the storm surge be? What should I do?

Around the world, drowning by storm surge accounts for a high proportion of the deaths in tropical cyclones. In 1970, a severe tropical cyclone struck the coast of Bangladesh and over 300,000 people were drowned by the storm surge. Many parts of the Australian coastline are vulnerable to storm surge and Australians have been killed in past storm surge events.

What is Storm Surge?

A storm surge is a rise above the normal water level along a shore resulting from strong onshore winds and / or reduced atmospheric pressure. Storm surges accompany a tropical cyclone as it comes ashore. They may also be formed by intense low-pressure systems in non-tropical areas.

Richelieu Apartments before and after Hurricane Camille. A seven metre storm surge devastated all in its path (Pass Christian, Mississippi, August 1969)

Storm Surge + Normal Tide = Storm Tide

The combination of storm surge and normal (astronomical) tide is known as a 'storm tide'. The worst impacts occur when the storm surge arrives on top of a high tide. When this happens, the storm tide can reach areas that might otherwise have been safe. On top of this are pounding waves generated by the powerful winds. The area of sea water flooding may extend along the coast for over 100 kilometres, with water pushing several kilometres inland if the land is low lying. The combined effects of the storm tide and waves can knock down buildings, wash away roads and run ships aground. If you are caught in your home or in a car when a significant storm surge arrives, you may not survive. The paths of cyclones are often erratic, which makes it hard to forecast exactly when and where a cyclone will cross the coast. This makes it difficult to predict how high the astronomical tide will be when the storm surge strikes, since the time difference between high and low tide is only a few hours. As a result the Bureau of Meteorology, in its warnings to the public, makes the 'worst case' assumption that the cyclone will cross the coast at high tide. Had Cyclone Tracy arrived in Darwin during a high tide, the devastation would have been even worse. Similarly, a low tide saved Townsville from a dangerous storm surge that accompanied Cyclone Althea in 1971.

Storm surges and tsunami

Storm surges and tsunamis are generated by quite different phenomena. While both can cause inundation and significant damage in coastal regions, they have quite different characteristics. A storm surge is generated by weather systems forcing water onshore over a generally limited stretch of coastline. It will normally build up over a time frame of a few hours, as the cyclone or similar weather system approaches. Normally wind-waves on top of the surge will contribute to its effect. A Tsunami is generated by earthquakes, undersea landslides, volcanic eruptions, explosions or meteorites. These travel great distances, sometimes across entire oceans affecting vast lengths of coastal land.
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How high will the storm surge be?

Every cyclone that affects the coast produces a storm surge. But not all storm surges rise to dangerous levels. The height of the surge depends on:

Erosion which occurred during Severe Tropical Cyclone Vance near Exmouth, 1999.

The intensity of the cyclone - as the winds increase, the sea water is piled higher and the waves on top of the surge are taller. The forward speed of the cyclone - the faster the cyclone crosses the coast, the more quickly the surge builds up and the more powerfully it strikes. The angle at which the cyclone crosses the coast - in general, the more head?on the angle, the higher the surge. However other angles can lead to local zones of enhanced surge in areas such as narrow inlets and bays.

The shape of the sea floor - the surge builds up more strongly if the slope of the sea bed at the coast is shallow. If the sea bed slopes steeply, or if fringing reefs are present, then the surge will be less. Local topography - bays, headlands and offshore islands can funnel and amplify the storm surge.

Before and during a Storm Surge in Port Hedland, 1939

What should I do?

You need to plan well ahead of time. Are you under threat? If you live or work in the coastal tropics or subtropics, find out from your local Emergency Services or local council whether you are in a surge-prone area. If you are, decide where you will go in the event of a storm surge. You might have a friend living on higher ground with whom you could go and stay. Wherever your nearest safe high ground shelter might be, work out the safest way to get there. Are you ready to evacuate? Now is the time to plan for what you will do in the event of evacuation. Will you have essential medicines? What about vital documents? What will you do with your pets? Talk with your local council or Emergency Services about what you plan to do. Time to evacuate! Be prepared to evacuate as soon as you are advised to do so. This makes it easier for Emergency Services to manage the difficult task of moving a lot of people all at once, especially if the weather is getting worse. If you choose to leave of your own accord, tell your neighbours. When a cyclone threat develops, keep listening to official warnings issued by the Bureau of Meteorology. These will advise if high tides and coastal flooding are expected

FLOODS

There are few places on Earth where people need not be concerned about flooding. Any place where rain falls is vulnerable, although rain is not the only impetus for flood. A flood occurs when water overflows or inundates land that's normally dry. This can happen in a multitude of ways. Most common is when rivers or streams overflow their banks. Excessive rain, a ruptured dam or levee, rapid ice melting in the mountains, or even an unfortunately placed beaver dam can overwhelm a river and send it spreading over the adjacent land, called a floodplain. Coastal flooding occurs when a large storm or tsunami causes the sea to surge inland.

Most floods take hours or even days to develop, giving residents ample time to prepare or evacuate. Others generate quickly and with little warning. These flash floods can be extremely dangerous, instantly turning a babbling brook into a thundering wall of water and sweeping everything in its path downstream. Disaster experts classify floods according to their likelihood of occurring in a given time period. A hundred-year flood, for example, is an extremely large, destructive event that would theoretically be expected to happen only once every century. But this is a theoretical number. In reality, this classification means there is a one-percent chance that such a flood could happen in any given year. Over recent decades, possibly due to global climate change, hundred-year floods have been occurring worldwide with frightening regularity. Moving water has awesome destructive power. When a river overflows its banks or the sea drives inland, structures poorly equipped to withstand the water's strength are no match. Bridges, houses, trees, and cars can be picked up and carried off. The erosive force of moving water can drag dirt from under a building's foundation, causing it to crack and tumble. In the United States, where flood mitigation and prediction is advanced, floods do about $6 billion worth of damage and kill about 140 people every year. A 2007 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that coastal flooding alone does some $3 trillion in damage worldwide. In China's Yellow River valley, where some of the world's worst floods have occurred, millions of people have perished in floods during the last century. When floodwaters recede, affected areas are often blanketed in silt and mud. The water and landscape can be contaminated with hazardous materials, such as sharp debris, pesticides, fuel, and untreated sewage. Potentially dangerous mold blooms can quickly overwhelm water-soaked structures. Residents of flooded areas can be left without power and clean drinking water, leading to outbreaks of deadly waterborne diseases like typhoid, hepatitis A, and cholera. But flooding, particularly in river floodplains, is as natural as rain and has been occurring for millions of years. Famously fertile floodplains like the Mississippi Valley in the American Midwest, the Nile River valley in Egypt, and the Tigris-Euphrates in the Middle East have supported agriculture for millennia because annual flooding has left millions of tons of nutrient-rich silt deposits behind. Most flood destruction is attributable to humans' desire to live near picturesque coastlines and in river valleys. Aggravating the problem is a tendency for developers to backfill and build on wetlands that would otherwise act as natural flood buffers. Many governments mandate that residents of flood-prone areas purchase flood insurance and build flood-resistant structures. Massive efforts to mitigate and redirect inevitable floods have resulted in some of the most ambitious engineering efforts ever seen, including New Orleans's extensive levee system and massive dikes and dams in the Netherlands. And highly advanced computer modeling now lets disaster authorities predict with amazing accuracy where floods will occur and how severe they're likely to be

What are landslides and how do they occur?

Landslides have always existed on our planet. Generally classified as mass movements of rock, debris, and soil down a slope of land. While landslides are a naturally occurring environmental hazard they have recently increased in frequency in certain areas due to human activity. Although there are many different causes

of landslides, they all have two things in common. According to Geoscience Australia's website at http://www.ga.gov.au "...they are the results of the failure of the soil and rock materials that make up the hillslope and they are driven by gravity." Natural causes of Landslides: Earthquakes: Seismic activities have always been a main cause of landslides throughout the world. Any time plate tectonics move the soil that covers them moves with it. When earthquakes occur on areas with steep slopes, many times the soil slips causing landslides. Furthermore, ashen debris flows caused by earthquakes can also trigger mass movement of soil. Heavy Rainfall: When sloped areas become completely saturated by heavy rainfall many times landslides can occur. Without the aid of mechanical root support the soil simply runs off when it contains too much water. Human causes of Landslides: Clear Cutting: Method of timber harvesting which completely removes all old growth timber from the area. This method is hazardous because it destroys the existing mechanical root structure in the area.

Mining: Mining operations that use blasting techniques often cause other areas that are at the risk of sliding to slide due to vibrations under the soil. HIGH WINDS
With the recent high winds causing widespread power outages and even deaths across parts of the US, several readers wrote in wanting to know how high winds can develop so quickly. Winds are simply air that moves as a result of a pressure gradient. Think of winds as a squeezed balloon. If you take a balloon and squeeze it at one end, the air rushes from the end where you apply pressure and flows to the lower pressure zone. Winds work in the same way. The unequal heating of the Earth by the sun creates differences in air pressure all over the surface of Earth. Since winds move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure (pressure gradient) the greater the difference in pressure, the higher the wind speed. Meteorologists use various barometers to measure air pressure. Weather maps are then created showing isobars which are lines of equal pressure. This week, the isobar map showed several areas with isobar lines very close together. The closeness of the lines indicates high wind speed potential.

High Winds
Tropical storm-force winds are strong enough to be dangerous to those caught in them. For this reason, emergency managers plan on having their evacuations complete and their personnel sheltered before the onset of tropical stormforce winds, not hurricane-force winds. Hurricaneforce winds, 74 mph or more, can destroy buildings and mobile homes. 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 2004, 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 100 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

What Causes An Earthquake ?

An Earthquake is a sudden tremor or movement of the earth's crust, which originates naturally at or below the surface. The word natural is important here, since it excludes shock waves caused by French nuclear tests, man made explosions and landslides caused by building work. There are two main causes of earthquakes. Firstly, they can be linked to explosive volcanic eruptions; they are in fact very common in areas of volcanic activity where they either proceed or accompany eruptions.

Secondly, they can be triggered by Tectonic activity associated with plate margins and faults. The majority of earthquakes world wide are of this type. Terminology An earthquake can be likened to the effect observed when a stone is thrown into water. After the stone hits the water a series of concentric waves will move outwards from the center. The same events occur in an earthquake. There is a sudden movement within the crust or mantle, and concentric shock waves move out from that point. Geologists and Geographers call the origin of the earthquake the focus. Since this is often deep below the surface and difficult to map, the location of the earthquake is often referred to as the point on the Earth surface directly above the focus. This point is called the epicentre. The strength, or magnitude, of the shockwaves determines the extent of the damage caused. Two main scales exist for defining the strength, the Mercalli Scale and the Richter Scale. Earthquakes are three dimensional events, the waves move outwards from the focus, but can travel in both the horizontal and vertical plains. This produces three different types of waves which have their own distinct characteristics and can only move through certain layers within the Earth. Lets take a look at these three forms of shock waves. Types of shockwaves P-Waves Primary Waves (P-Waves) are identical in character to sound waves. They are high frequency, short-wavelength, longitudinal waves which can pass through both solids and liquids. The ground is forced to move forwards and backwards as it is compressed and decompressed. This produces relatively small displacements of the ground. P Waves can be reflected and refracted, and under certain circumstances can change into S-Waves.

Particles are compressed and expanded in the wave's direction.

S-Waves Secondary Waves (S-Waves) travel more slowly than P-Waves and arrive at any given point after the P-Waves. Like P-Waves they are high frequency, short-wavelength waves, but instead of being longitudinal they are transverse. They move in all directions away from their source, at speeds which depend upon the density of the rocks through which they are moving. They cannot move through liquids. On the surface of the Earth, S-Waves are responsible for the sideways displacement of walls and fences, leaving them 'S' shaped.

S-waves move particles at 90 to the wave's direction.

L-Waves Surface Waves (L-Waves) are low frequency transverse vibrations with a long wavelength. They are created close to the epicentre and can only travel through the outer part of the crust. They are responsible for the majority of the building damage caused by earthquakes. This is because L Waves have a motion similar to that of waves in the sea. The ground is made to move in a circular motion, causing it to rise and fall as visible waves move across the ground. Together with secondary effects such as landslides, fires and tsunami these waves account for the loss of approximately 10,000 lives and over $100 million per year.

L-waves move particles in a circular path.

Tectonic Earthquakes Tectonic earthquakes are triggered when the crust becomes subjected to strain, and eventually moves. The theory of plate tectonics explains how the crust of the Earth is made of several plates, large areas of crust which float on the Mantle. Since these plates are free to slowly move, they can either drift towards each other, away from each other or slide past each other. Many of the earthquakes which we feel are located in the areas where plates collide or try to slide past each other. The process which explains these earthquakes, known as Elastic Rebound Theory can be demonstrated with a green twig or branch. Holding both ends, the twig can be slowly bent. As it is bent, energy is built up within it. A point will be reached where the twig suddenly snaps. At this moment the energy within the twig has exceeded the Elastic Limit of the twig. As it snaps the energy is released, causing the twig to vibrate and to produce sound waves. Perhaps the most famous example of plates sliding past each other is the San Andreas Fault in California. Here, two plates, the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, are both moving in a roughly northwesterly direction, but one is moving faster than the other. The San Francisco area is subjected to hundreds of small earthquakes every year as the two plates grind against each other. Occasionally, as in 1989, a much larger movement occurs, triggering a far more violent 'quake'. Major earthquakes are sometimes preceded by a period of changed activity. This might take the form of more frequent minor shocks as the rocks begin to move,called foreshocks , or a period of less frequent shocks as the two rock masses temporarily 'stick' and become locked together. Detailed surveys in San Francisco have shown that railway lines, fences and other longitudinal features very slowly become deformed as the pressure builds up in the rocks, then become noticeably offset when a movement occurs along the fault. Following the main shock, there may be further movements, called aftershocks, which occur as the rock masses 'settle down' in their new

positions. Such aftershocks cause problems for rescue services, bringing down buildings already weakened by the main earthquake. Volcanic Earthquakes Volcanic earthquakes are far less common than Tectonic ones. They are triggered by the explosive eruption of a volcano. Given that not all volcanoes are prone to violent eruption, and that most are 'quiet' for the majority of the time, it is not surprising to find that they are comparatively rare. When a volcano explodes, it is likely that the associated earthquake effects will be confined to an area 10 to 20 miles around its base, where as a tectonic earthquake may be felt around the globe. The volcanoes which are most likely to explode violently are those which produce acidic lava. Acidic lava cools and sets very quickly upon contact with the air. This tends to chock the volcanic vent and block the further escape of pressure. For example, in the case of Mt Pelee, the lava solidified before it could flow down the sides of the volcano. Instead it formed a spine of solid rock within the volcano vent. The only way in which such a blockage can be removed is by the build up of pressure to the point at which the blockage is literally exploded out of the way. In reality, the weakest part of the volcano will be the part which gives way, sometimes leading to a sideways explosion as in the Mt St.Helens eruption. When extraordinary levels of pressure develop, the resultant explosion can be devastating, producing an earthquake of considerable magnitude. When Krakatoa ( Indonesia, between Java and Sumatra ) exploded in 1883, the explosion was heard over 5000 km away in Australia. The shockwaves produced a series of tsunami ( large sea waves ), one of which was over 36m high; that's the same as four, two story houses stacked on top of each other. These swept over the coastal areas of Java and Sumatra killing over 36,000 people. By contrast, volcanoes producing free flowing basic lava rarely cause earthquakes. The lava flows freely out of the vent and down the sides of the volcano, releasing pressure evenly and constantly. Since pressure doesn't build up, violent explosions do not occur.