Interesting facts about hurricanes Is a great opportunity to learn more about natural disasters. They have tremendous power, as a result of which they lead to serious destruction. Today it is impossible to fight them, but humanity has learned to predict the appearance of hurricanes and trace their route.
So, here are the most interesting facts about hurricanes.
- It turns out that hurricanes do some good for the ecosystem. For example, they reduce the threat of drought and thin out forests by dropping dry trees on the ground, allowing other plants to grow.
- Did you know that the infamous Hurricane Katrina, which raged in the Gulf of Mexico in 2005, caused over $ 100 billion in losses?
- A hurricane, cyclone, and typhoon are the same concepts, while a tornado (see interesting facts about tornadoes) is something different.
- Hurricane Mitch, which hit the Central American region in 1998, killed about 20,000 people.
- Hurricanes are often the cause of the formation of giant waves, throwing tons of fish and marine animals ashore.
- Over the past 2 centuries, hurricanes have killed almost 2 million people.
- For the first time, a tropical hurricane was described in detail by the discoverer of America, Christopher Columbus.
- An interesting fact is that more people die from tropical hurricanes than from any other cataclysms.
- The fastest hurricane is Camilla (1969). It has led to large-scale landslides and destruction in the Mississippi estuary region.
- During a hurricane, air masses come into motion at an altitude of 15 km above the surface of the earth or sea.
- It is curious that Hurricane Andrew (1992) was so powerful that it managed to rip off a metal beam of several tons from the structure and move it hundreds of meters.
- Few people know the fact that hurricanes never occur on the equator.
- Hurricanes cannot reunite, but they are able to surround each other.
- Until 1978, all hurricanes were called exclusively by female names.
- In the entire history of observations, the highest wind speed during a hurricane reached a fantastic 320 km / h.
- Unlike tornadoes, hurricanes can last for several days.
- Oddly enough, but hurricanes play a significant role in the ecology (see interesting facts about the ecology) of our planet, since they move air masses long distances from the epicenter of events.
- A hurricane can trigger a tornado. So, in 1967, one hurricane generated over 140 tornadoes!
- In the eye of the hurricane, that is, in its center, the weather is calm.
- In some cases, the diameter of a hurricane's eye can be 30 km.
- But the diameter of the hurricane itself can sometimes reach an unimaginable 700 km!
- The lists of names given to hurricanes are repeated every 7 years, while the names of the most powerful ones are excluded from the lists.
- The famous Spanish Invincible Armada was virtually completely destroyed by a powerful hurricane in 1588. Then over 130 warships sank to the bottom, as a result of which Spain lost its maritime dominance.