Of Typhoons and Hurricanes

[Guest fountainhall]

Early this morning, Hong Kong was struck by its most ferocious typhoon for 13 years. To put that into perspective, like earthquakes in Taiwan and Japan and volcanic eruptions in Indonesia, typhoons in Hong Kong are part of everyday life (as they are in Taiwan and the Philippines). The number hitting or getting close to the city during the May to October typhoon season may vary each year, but it is usually in or close to double figures.

 

A force 10 typhoon is almost exactly similar to a force 5 hurricane in the Caribbean, and hurricanes hitting the Caribbean and the US are almost as common as typhoons in Hong Kong. Yet when a force 10 hits Hong Kong, there are rarely any deaths and relatively minimal damage. The city has an excellent warning system so that it will gradually shut down as the typhoon gets closer. Similarly, as soon as the winds have eased, the city opens up with quite amazing speed. Even the stock market opened this afternoon.

 

Not surprisingly, the Caribbean Islands are not as well developed and so suffer more significant damage. Yet, when a force 4 or 5 hurricane hits the USA, the damage usually runs into billions of dollars – each time! Here are a few

 

Katrina in 2005 - $200 billion

Wilma in 2005 - $21.5 billion

Rita in 2005 - $6 billion

Charlie in 2004 – $14 billion

Andrew in 1992 - $30 billion

 

And I wonder why this is? Building houses of wood is clearly one factor. But if there are communities and cities sitting on hurricane-prone land, should it not be mandatory that more sturdy construction methods be used?

[Rogie]

But if there are communities and cities sitting on hurricane-prone land, should it not be mandatory that more sturdy construction methods be used?

 

Ideally yes.

 

My guess is if we take a developed country such as the US (rather than one of the Caribbean islands), folks are blinkered. They either assume it won't happen to them or maybe they haven't even considered it at all!

 

There is some justification for this as the course of a hurricane is totally unpredicatable. Yes, you know one is brewing far out at sea, but when it hits land its zone of impact is anybody's guess - until it's too late at any rate.

 

I wonder if the people responsible for ensuring public buildings can withstand hurricane force winds - town planners and construction firms - don't take the same devil -nay-care attitude. As for houses, and folks choosing where to live, if you were to move to a town in the hurricane-belt, how much care would you take to ensure the house was built to withstand a hurricane's impact? If you did, I imagine it would cost a lot more than a simple wooden house where no effort had been made to construct it properly. Against that we have insurance - presumably insurance companies have a say in the matter and will levy hefty premiums if a householder lives in a high-risk area and his house was built to sub-standard specifications. It would be interesting to know exactly what those specifications are.

 

Taking the discussion a stage further, there are many other examples of folks living in high-risk areas. I wonder why they do it? They must have their reasons. I suppose they weigh up the risks and decide accordingly. For example, Californians know they live on the San Andreas faultline, but are prepared to live there just the same. So, if you live in California and don't lie awake at night wondering when the 'big one' will hit, and like the quiet life, you might decide living in a large house in the mountains appeals to you. Pros: Good quality of life, little noise, fresh mountain air, wonderful scenery. Cons: The very small chance of a forest fire raging out of control destroying your house and possibly even taking your life.