Impacts & Responses to Tropical Cyclones (Edexcel GCSE Geography A)

Buildings and bridges are destroyed

People are homeless, causing distress, poverty, ill-health, or death due to a lack of shelter. The cost of rebuilding can be expensive and some people may not have insurance

Roads, railways, ports, and airports are damaged

Blocked or destroyed roads prevent rescue and emergency vehicles and aid from getting through

Electricity lines are damaged or destroyed

Life support systems, hospitals, shops and homes left without power supplies

Gas lines broken

Risk of fires and explosions

Sewage overflows

Clean water supplies contaminated, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases and death

Rivers and coastal areas flooded

People are drowned or are injured by rushing water. Crops, livestock and habitats were destroyed, leading to a shortage of food and potentially famine

Businesses destroyed

Economic impact to business owners and potential unemployment

Social

Out of a total death toll of 150, 72 people were killed directly by the hurricane in the US 

Around 200,000 homes were destroyed, with New York declaring that 30–40,000 people were made homeless

Electricity lines were damaged, affecting around 8 million residents and forcing many to evacuate their homes

Schools were closed for days 

Economic

Estimated property damage of around US$65 billion. In New York City, economic losses were estimated at more than US$18 billion

The government had to pay for diesel and petrol to be brought in as supplies ran out

Loss of income from cancelled events: the New York Marathon had to be cancelled, impacting many businesses

Businesses were lost due to the damage, with an estimated job loss of 30,000. Many businesses did not have insurance to cover floods and storm damage

15,000 flights were cancelled into New York and the East Coast airports disrupted trade both internally and internationally

Environmental

1.5 billion tonnes of untreated sewage from flooded areas around New Jersey and New York City contaminated the Raritan river

The storm surge caused significant damage to coastal nature reserves such as the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware

In parts of New Jersey, 10 meters of beach was lost, exposing the coast to future coastal erosion and damaging habitats

300,000 gallons of oil spilled into the New Jersey waterways when industrial sites were flooding

Social

6201 people died, and 1.1 million homes lost

More than 4 million people were displaced. Two months later, 21,000 families were still in 380 evacuation centres, waiting to be rehoused by the government in bunkhouses that needed to be built

Casualties: 28,626 from lack of aid. The UN feared possibility of the spread of disease due to a lack of food, water, shelter and medication

Overall, over 16 million people were affected

Economic

Estimated at $13 billion, Tacloban city was decimated

Major sugar and rice-producing areas were destroyed

Between 50,000 and 120,000 tonnes of sugar and over 130,000 tonnes of rice were lost

The government estimated that 175,000 acres of farmland was damaged (worth $85 million)

Environmental

Loss of forests and trees, and widespread flooding

Oil and sewage leaked into local ecosystems. Lack of sanitation in days following led to a higher level of pollution

Coconut plantations were 'completely flattened' (coconut equates to nearly half of the Philippines agricultural exports and is the world's biggest producer of coconut oil)

Fishing communities were severely affected

Evacuate people before the tropical storm arrives

Improve long-term forecasting techniques to give people more time to evacuate in the future

Rescue people before the storm cuts people off from flooding and treat injured people

Provide aid, grants or subsidies to residents to repair and strengthen their properties

Recover any dead bodies to reduce and prevent water- and air-borne diseases

Repair and improve flood defences (flood gates, levees, etc.).

Set up temporary shelters for the homeless and post notices where they are being housed for missing family members

Repair homes or rehouse people who have lost their homes or been damaged

Provide temporary supplies of power, food and water, and restore communication systems as soon as possible

Repair, replace and improve infrastructure

Overseas aid may be sent in the form of workers, supplies, equipment or financial donations

Improve building regulations so that more buildings can withstand the impacts of tropical storms or change planning rules to restrict homes being built in risky areas

Tech companies are encouraged to set up disaster response tools to let people confirm their safety, report damaged areas and be alert about risky areas 

Encourage economic recovery in the area and encourage people to return with incentives or tax breaks

Individual

Residents evacuated

The 12-12-12 Concert for Sandy Relief with Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi

Donations to the Red Cross

Communities supported each other and helped with rescue and rebuilding

Blood was needed and many people donated

Organisational

Flight cancellations were put in place

National park service closed at least five sections

Power companies attempted to prevent long-term power failures by being prepared to repair storm damage and by having employees work longer hours

American Red Cross provided 7,000 emergency shelters across the region

Direct Relief provided medical supplies to support medical relief and recovery efforts

FedEx transported medical supplies to affected areas for free

Governmental

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provided 7,000 people to establish 65 Disaster Recovery Centres and gave over US$600 million in direct assistance to individuals impacted by the storm

National Guard and U.S Air Force put as many as 45,000 personnel in at least seven states on alert for possible duty in response to the preparations and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

Closures and cancellations of activities in schools

Metro services: rail and buses were cancelled

US$50.5 billion Hurricane Sandy relief bill was passed through legislation to help rebuild and support victims

New York set up a new local government office to support the rebuild

Individual

'Cash for Work' schemes gave locals money to help clear the debris

Money was donated towards the relief effort, although 5 days went by before any aid was received and only 20% of victims received aid

An increased number of cyclone shelters have been built further away from coastal areas

Organisational

The Philippines Red Cross delivered basic food aid, e.g. rice and canned food

International aid agencies responded quickly with food, water and temporary shelters

The UN donated financial aid, supplies, and medical support. The UN admitted its response was too slow amid reports of hunger and thirst among survivors

Oxfam helped finance replacement of the fishing boats

Governmental

The Philippines declared 'a state of national calamity' and asked for international aid the next day

UK sent shelter kits to provide emergency shelter for a family

The French, Belgians, and Israeli's set up field hospitals to help the injured

US$475 million sent as aid and US sent 13,000 soldiers