Burma Natural Disaster Tropical Cyclone Nargis

Group member list Lee Ho Kwong (7) Leung Chung Wai (8) Luk Chung Ling (9) Li Che Yung (26) Li Ka Man (27) Lui Wing Shan (28) Yuen Mei Ki (39)

Content The meaning of tropical cyclone (P.4) Background information of Tropical Cyclone Nargis (P.5-6) Formation of Tropical Cyclone Nargis (P.8-9) Route of Tropical Cyclone Nargis (P.10-17) Flooding (P.18-20) Factor for great destruction (P.21) Effect (P.22-26) Relief (P.27-29) Reference (P.30-31)

The meaning of tropical cyclone a storm system named as hurricanes and tropical storms in the Atlantic Ocean named as typhoons in the Pacific Ocean lifespan varies from a few days to a few weeks lose their strength when they move over land usually produce strong winds and flooding rain

Background information of Tropical Cyclone Nargis

Background Storm path  The cyclone is called "Nargis" -Urdu word means daffodil Tropical Cyclone Nargis made landfall on the south-western coast of Burma (Irrawaddy Delta) on May 2, 2008 Its power is equivalent to a strong Category 3 or minimal Category 4 hurricane

Basic Requirements for the Formation of Tropical Cyclone develop over oceans 8° to 15° North and South of the equator must originate over ocean water that is at least 26.5 °C good cyclonic inflow good outflow channels at the upper levels for effective ventilation

Formation of Tropical Cyclone Nargis absorb a continuous supply of latent heat released from the condensation in rising moist air in the tropics the Coriolis Force ( an effect that results from the turning of the earth ) →makes the cyclone spiral and maintains the low pressure of the disturbance

upper atmosphere : high pressure area → Air diverge and sink Lower atmosphere : low pressure area → air converge and rise This forms a vertical circulation ,which means a tropical cyclone

27 April 2008 an area of deep convection formed near a low-level circulation in the central part of Bay of Bengal (a bay that forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean) India Meteorological Department (IMD) classified the system as a low depression

27 April 2008 later : low depression  deep depression Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) classified it as Tropical Cyclone 01B tracked slowly northwestward as banding features improved Symbol of JTWC

IMD upgraded the system to Cyclonic Storm Nargis Later, IMD upgraded Nargis to a severe cyclonic storm The cyclone developed a concentric eye feature (an eye is a region of mostly calm weather found at the center of strong tropical cyclones) warm waters help intensify the cyclone →Power of the cyclone increased again 28 April 2008

29 April 2008 JTWC estimated Nargis reached winds of 160 km/h IMD classified the system as a very severe cyclonic storm Firstly subsidence and drier air weakened the cyclone deep convection near the center markedly decreased Then convection had begun to rebuild immediate restrengthening was prevented by increased wind shear

1 May 2008 greatly improved outflow in association with an approaching upper-level → cyclone was strengthening continually developed a well-defined eye with a diameter of 19 km

2 May 2008 Around 12:00 UTC , Cyclone Nargis made landfall in the Ayeyarwady Division of Burma (Irrawaddy Delta) near peak intensity (215 km/h) its proximity to the Andaman Sea preventing rapid weakening the approach of a mid-latitude trough to its northwest →its track turned to the northeast and passed the north of Yangon with winds of 130 km/h

Topographic map of Burma which was affected by Cyclone Nargis Coastal area was seriously affected

3 May 2008 quickly weakened after turning to the northeast near the border of Burma and Thailand deteriorating to minimal tropical storm status

Cause of Flooding Typhoon produces a storm surge moved along the Irrawaddy River Delta to inland area Brought the seawater from the Bay of Bengal to the land V-shaped relief of Burma → water was trapped Flooding was as serious as tsunamis

Nargis disaster = tsunami Many people died (↑hundreds of thousands) Houses were destroyed Rice Riot (↑price of rice) Spread of infectious diseases

Human factor for the great destruction Mangrove forests serve as a natural barrier of storms and flooding the growth of tourism and the development of the fishing industry →the destroy of mangrove forests The destruction of the Tropical Cyclone Nargis was great

Effects

Casualties over 100,000 people died 22,000 people died (claimed by the government) 56,000 people missing 90,000 people were homeless thousands orphaned children

Destruction Damage is estimated at over US$10 billion Many houses were destroyed basic infrastructure was damaged Power and telecommunications systems have been affected diesel , natural gas and petrol were unavailable Loss of possessions

Condition of the refugees Disruption in the water supply → shortage of clean drinking water Food supplies are limited → looting and other violence related to possible food shortages Lack of medicine Flooding and mudslides → an increase in the transmission of water-borne diseases

-Insufficient of basic necessaries, E.g.clothes, shoes… -Set up relief camps Condition of the refugees

Relief

Action of the Burmese military government - initially resisted aid from foreign countries finally accepted aid after India's request but the government sell aid to the highest bidder 23 May 2008 , Secretary-General of UN Ban Ki- moon held meetings with Myanmar’s Senior General Than Shwe →allow international aid workers

Aid

Please look at this video ! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7382685.stm

Reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Nargis#cite_note-disc1-16#cite_note-disc1-16 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windstorm#Formation

THE END