Tropical cyclone preparedness
[1] On land, strong winds can damage or destroy vehicles, buildings, bridges, and other outside objects, turning loose debris into deadly flying projectiles.
[2] The broad rotation of a landfalling tropical cyclone, and vertical wind shear at its periphery, spawns tornadoes.
Large areas of standing water caused by flooding lead to infection, as well as contributing to mosquito-borne illnesses.
[2] Tropical cyclones significantly interrupt infrastructure, leading to power outages, bridge destruction, and the hampering of reconstruction efforts.
[2][4] On average, the Gulf and east coasts of the United States suffer approximately US$5 billion (1995 US $) in cyclone damage every year.
[8] The storm surge and winds of hurricanes may be destructive to human-made structures, but they also stir up the waters of coastal estuaries, which are typically important fish breeding locales.
[9] When hurricanes surge upon shore from the ocean, salt is introduced to many freshwater areas and raises the salinity levels too high for some habitats to withstand.
Some are able to cope with the salt and recycle it back into the ocean, but others can not release the extra surface water quickly enough or do not have a large enough freshwater source to replace it.
[11] Recent windstorm activity, in the United States in particular[citation needed], has focused interest in measures that can be used to lower the likelihood of damage to structures.
Billions of dollars of damages have resulted from such strong winds and the manner in which structures have been built in the affected areas in the United States.
Some tracking charts have important contact information in case of an emergency or to locate nearby hurricane shelters.
[19] If evacuation is not possible or necessary, other preparedness actions include storing supplies, securing a home against extreme winds and rain, and making plans with others prior to the storm's landfall.
[24] An important decision a homeowner should make is to locate the building outside of range from the coast that is exposed to storm surge.
[citation needed] When making these types of home improvements, there are two major areas of focus: the roof and the openings.
A homeowner who anticipates sustained winds greater than 100 mph may use a razor knife taped to a telescopic pole to cut down the screens from the enclosure's skeleton structure.
This pressure increase results after an opening, that is, a window or door, is breached after being struck and broken by wind blown debris.
[34] University of Florida's team led by Forrest Masters developed "the world's most powerful portable hurricane simulator, a giant machine capable of reproducing winds in excess of 120 mph (190 km/h) and recreating rain.
