| Name:Ken Chen
Class: 9A Teacher: Mr Chapman Task: Natural Hazards ICT WebPage |
Severe thunderstorms activities can often cause some very dramatic and devastating damage to the surroundings. Thunderstorms are classed as one of the most destructive and dangerous natural hazard that we encounter. This is perhaps because thunderstorms strike the most frequently and its destructive capabilities are often under estimated.
Severe thunderstorms can and many times have caused chaos. Strong gusty winds will blow debris and cause heavy objects to become airborne and collide into other things. The immense rain may cause flash flooding to occur which proves to be a very difficult situation to handle. Hail strikes can break and damage many objects in the surroundings, most often cars and glass screens are the most frequently inflicted upon. And finally thunder and lightning strikes can start fires, and potentially kill living things if they are hit by the strong electrifying strike. Each year about 5-10 deaths are caused by lightning strikes.
The environment will suffer a lot when a town is hit by a severe storm. The most common scenario is when lightning causes sparks to flare up near forests or immense shrubs. This will start bushfires which will be spread rapidly due to the harsh winds accompanied by the storm.
In addition to the burning of trees, (which could potentially affect the atmosphere), buildings and other resources and structures can also be damaged or destroyed due to the effects of thunderstorms. Trees can be struck down either by strong gusty winds themselves, or by the collision from other flying objects. Falling trees are very hazardous since they weigh many tones and are more than capable of crushing almost any object in its falling path. Past incidents have involved massive tree trunks torn from its roots and dumped onto other buildings or objects up to five hundred meters away!
�Big storm=Big damage=Big Bills�� This is a very logical phrase which explains why the economy often plunders after a storm hits. Savage thunderstorms will cause chaos for insurance companies as well as the government in order to recover after the destruction of a storm. Just picture how much it would cost to clean up the destruction, fix buildings and foundations, get telephone and electrical lines up and running again, compensate for the damages and destruction�the list just goes on and on. And when you have finally managed to calculate the total cost, the sum isn�t pretty, often damages of up to the several millions mark is expected. In fact, on average, severe storms tally up a larger insurance cost that tropical cyclones, earthquakes, floods, or bushfires each year in Australia!
The money is one thing, but what about the time, resources and lives that have been sacrificed because of this natural hazard? Cleaning up the mess and debris would be a difficult and time consuming task to complete. Replacing and rebuilding structures and buildings can also prove to be time consuming, not to mention expensive. However, despite these types of damages and destructions, nothing is worth more than the life of another person.
Unfortunately, thunderstorms can actually kill people, and the loss of a close friend or relative can prove very distressing to cope with. Thunderstorms can strike people with their enormous voltages in lightning, capsize small boats and possibly drown the crew on board, or cause falling or flying objects to collapse onto other things, sometimes even a human body.
Finally, thunderstorms also manage to cause major impacts to the people that have been affected. Loss of property, homes, lives and time are just some of the chaos caused by the devastating effects of a severe thunderstorm.
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