NOTABLE EVENTS AND DISASTERS OF 2014 HIGHLIGHTS OF SEVERE WINDSTORMS
ATLANTIC BASIN
TROPICAL STORMS AND
HURRICANES
November 30th marked the official
end of a quiet 2014 Atlantic Basin
hurricane season. There were
eight named storms, six of which
were hurricanes, with only two
(Edouard and Gonzalo) becoming
major storms
HIGHLIGHTS
• The Atlantic basin, which includes the
Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean,
produced the fewest tropical cyclones
and fewest named storms since 1997.
HIGHLIGHTS
• The Atlantic basin brought the
strongest landfalling hurricane
(ARTHUR) in the mainland USA in six
years
• Later, the strongest hurricane to occur
anywhere in the Atlantic basin in four
years happened.
HURRICANE ARTHUR
HURRICANE ARTHUR
• Arthur made landfall in eastern North
Carolina on July 3 with 166 kph (100
mph) winds, the first Category 2 or
stronger landfall in the Lower 48 since
Hurricane Ike hit Texas in 2008.
• Arthur was the first hurricane in 12
years to make landfall on the USA
mainland without any direct fatalities;
the last --Hurricane Lili in 2002
BERMUDA
• Bermuda, a tiny cluster of islands,
which have a combined land area of
less than 21 square miles, about three-
fifths the size of Manhattan, had never
been affected by two named storms so
close together in time, with both of
them making landfall.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Two named storms made landfall in
Bermuda just six days apart: Tropical
Storm Fay on Oct. 12, followed by
Hurricane Gonzalo on Oct. 18..
HURRICANE GONZALO
• Gonzalo, a CAT 4 storm before
reaching Bermuda and the strongest
hurricane anywhere in the Atlantic
basin since Igor in September 2010.,
was Bermuda’s strongest and most
damaging hurricane since Fabian in
2003,
• Gonzalo left behind an estimated $200
million to $400 million in damage.
•
EASTERN PACIFIC BASIN
TROPICAL STORMS AND
HURRICANES
November 30th marked the official
end of a very active 2014 Eastern
Pacific hurricane season– the
most active season since 1992.
2014’S EASTERN PACIFIC
STORM TRACKS
There were 20 named storms, the
most in 22 years, peaking 2-3
years after El Niño . Of those
named storms, 14 became
hurricanes, with nine of them
developing into major hurricanes.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Hurricane Amanda became the
strongast May hurricane on record in
the Eastern Pacific basin.
• Hurricane Marie became the sixth-
strongest Pacific hurricane on record,.
• Hurricane Ana became the longest-
lived Central Pacific tropical cyclone in
the satellite era, lasting 13 days (Oct.
13-26) in that basin.
Amanda, the first hurricane of the
season never made landfall, but it
became the strongest May
hurricane on record in the Eastern
Pacific Basin when its maximum
sustained winds reached 155 mph
on May 25, putting it at the top end
of the Category 4 range on the
five-category scale.
El Niño (cyclical surges of
warm water at the equator) • In general, meteorologists believe that
El Niño conditions suppress hurricane
activity in the Atlantic and increase it in
the Pacific.
• A new study suggests that there may
be a delayed reaction, with peak
hurricane activity in the northeastern
Pacific happening two or three years
after an El Niño peak.
PACIFIC BASIN TROPICAL
STORMS AND TYPHOONS
The 2014 season ran throughout the
entire year, although most storms
developed between May and October
Total Storms: 22
Typhoons: 11
Super Typhoons: 8
Fatalities: 481
Damage: $8.29 billion
2014’s STORM TRACKS
The First Storm System
Formed January 14th
The strongest, VONGFONG,
Formed October 2nd to 14th
TYPHOON VONGFONG: 2014’S
6TH SUPER TYPHOON
VONGFONG: A HUGE STORM
• On Oct 7, in just 24 hours,
Vongfong intensified from a
CAT 2 storm to a super
typhoon with 155+ mph wind
speeds, and an estimated
central pressure of 908
milibars.
TYPHOON VONGFONG
REACHED OKINAWA
• Vongfong, which reached
Okinawa on Sunday afternoon,
October 12th, reached Tokyo on
Tuesday, but as a much
weaker storm
TYPHOON VONGFONG: INITIAL
REPORTS
• 35 people were reported injured
in Okinawa and Kyushu, where
150,000 people were evacuated.
• The typhoon toppled trees,
flooded streets and cut power
to more than 60,000 homes.
CYCLONES
CYCLONE HUDHUD HITS INDIA
October 12, 2014
CYCLONE HUDHUD ARRIVED:
OCT. 12
CYCLONE HUDHUD:
OCTOBER 12
• Hudhud hit the southern port
city of Visakhapatnam, location
of a major naval base, close to
noon.
• 400,000 people were evacuated
earlier from the States of
Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
CYCLONE HUDHUD: INITIAL
REPORTS
• The States of Odisha and
Andhra Pradesh experienced
high winds and heavy rainfall.
• Six killed.
• Power was disrupted and
communications collapsed.
1999, 2013, AND 2014
• Fifteen years ago, more than 10,000
people were killed when a cyclone hit
roughly the same area, which lacked
significant evacuation capability.
• In October, 2013, Cyclone Phailin
resulted in 800,000 being evacuated
with few deaths.
• October 12, 2014; 400,000 evacuated
with 6 deaths
CONCLUSION: A MAJOR
IMPROVEMENT IN EVACUATION
• India’s evacuation operations
have improved significantly
during the past 15 years, with a
corresponding significant
reduction in mortality.
