Hurricane Dorian :
Recent catastrophic changes in the climate have put the world on red alert. Sweltering heat waves, prolonged droughts, massive floods, blazing forest fires, rampaging hurricanes are some of the furious replies by nature to the ongoing climate change.
‘Hurricane Dorian’ is the latest wrath of Nature. Although hurricanes aren’t uncommon in the Atlantic Ocean in these times of the year [June 01 – Nov 30], the intensity of these ‘one-eyed monsters’ is growing stronger and stronger.
According to the reports from BBC, the frequency of the cat 5 hurricanes is on the rise. The study of hurricanes since 2000 has revealed a chilling fact. Meteorologists have observed 13 cat 5 hurricanes with 5 in the past 4 years alone. And the trend could rise in the coming years.
Hurricane ‘Dorian’… one of the deadliest in the recorded history has battered and devastated the Bahamas islands and the U.S east coast with gusty winds and pouring rains.
As Dorian attained category 5 strength, this is the 1st time since the beginning of the technological era that cat 5 hurricanes have developed for 4 consecutive years in the tropical Atlantic.
According to the Tropical Weather expert Brian McNoldy, Hurricane Dorian’s unusual strength and it’s exponential growth rate is uncommon and shows an increase in the potential of more intense hurricanes in the future.
Scientific studies have revealed an increase in ‘Hurricane Rapid Intensification’ and modeling studies project a spike in the frequency of cat 4 and 5 storms. And it isn’t just the gust that could worsen but the pouring rainfall too.
Warm air can hold more moisture which in turn increases the amount of torrential rainfall that will be responsible for intense inland flooding.
Devastating Effects of Hurricane Dorian :
Monsterous cat 5 Hurricane ‘Dorian’ has devastated the Bahamas islands and the U.S. east coast. The National Hurricane Center said that the storm’s eye was a whopping 50 nautical miles across.
Dorian hit the Bahamas as a cat 5 hurricane [it was the deadliest ever in the history of the Bahamas]. Winds reached the speed of 185 mph [298 km/h] and were the highest ever recorded for longest duration of landfall. Great Abaco and Great Bahama were 2 of the worst-hit islands.
After the rampage of Dorian, the land looked like a wasteland. Abacos island is seen with miles and miles of destruction, high water levels submerging the residential streets, capsized boats and shipping containers, toppled cars, uprooted trees, torn off roofs and scattered debris all over the places.
Some survivors said, they witnessed sharks swimming in the residential streets. Dorian caused damage to assets worth billions of dollars.
Hurricane chaser Josh Morgerman tweeted the storm is “by far the most intense cyclone I’ve witnessed in 28 years of chasing”.
Yep, I’m alive. Made it to Nassau. #Hurricane #DORIAN: By far the most intense cyclone I’ve witnessed in 28 years of chasing. Thought I was playing it safe by riding it out in a solid-concrete school on a hill in Marsh Harbour. Thought wrong.
— Josh Morgerman (@iCyclone) September 3, 2019
At peak intensity, Hurricane Dorian had the gust with a speed of 185 mph which is about 2½ times greater than a low-end cat 1 hurricane with 75 mph wind speed.
According to Friday’s report by BBC, the official deaths toll in the Bahamas rose to 43 and is expected to rise.
According to the UN reports, more than 70,000 Bahamians are in need of immediate humanitarian relief after the Dorian devastation.
As the catastrophic Hurricane Dorian maintained its course to the U.S. east coast region. It hit Florida, North and South Carolina, Georgia.
Catastrophic damage was inevitable. 800,000 people were advised to evacuate from the coast of Carolina.
Here’s the report by AccuWeather.
Top North Carolina Gusts :
> Cedar Island – 110 mph
> Hatteras – 101 mph
> Nags Head – 99 mph
> Avon – 98 mph
Heavy Rainfall :
> Effingham, SC – 22.75″
> North Myrtle Beach, SC – 18.55″
> George Town, SC – 18.35″
> Wilmington, SC – 13.10″
And the hurricane is moving to the Atlantic Canada region with cat 1 formation. The U.S. coast guards have launched the search and rescue mission in the disaster-struck regions. Britain’s Royal Fleet Auxiliary, ‘Mount’s Bay’ is anchored 5.5 miles offshore. The massive 179-meter vessel has been deployed to aid the disaster survivors.
Is ‘Climate Change’ the prime suspect for intense Hurricanes :
According to the National Hurricane Center, June 1st – 30th November is the official season of hurricanes in the tropical Atlantic.
Report by BBC says that scientists aren’t sure if climate change is increasing the number of hurricanes. But they are sure that it definitely intensifies the force of the forming hurricane because of our warming climate.
Also check: Climate Change, Worst Disaster is Yet to Come, Scientists Warn.
These are the reasons :
> The wind speed of a storm and the amount of precipitation by a hurricane intensifies as the sea surface temperature increase.
> The rise of the sea level by about 1-4 feet is expected over the next century if the same warming trend is continued which intensifies the potential of far worse damage by sea surges and coastal flooding.
> The hurricanes are formed by drawing their energy from the warm oceans that have a temperature of 26.5°C or above. The higher the sea temperature, the more powerful the storm becomes.
Since the mid 20th century, the global sea temperature has risen about 1°C on average. Favorable condition for the hurricanes to thrive.
Interesting facts about Hurricanes :
> Hurricanes are monstrous, spiraling tropical storms with the wind speed of up to 200 mph.
> A single storm precipitation can pour over 2.4 trillion gallons of water a day.
> The economically deadliest hurricane ever to make landfall was Hurricane Katrina a cat 5 that devastated Lousiana in August 2005, it’s damage was estimated at around $108 billion.
> ‘Hurricane Patricia‘ is the world’s most intense hurricane ever recorded 345 km/h with a wind speed of 215 mph.
> ‘Hurricane Dorian’ cat 5 is the strongest hurricane ever to batter the Bahamas.
And guess what, it will only get worse if we fail to heed to these nature’s warnings.
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