Hurricanes can cause a lot of damage. They bring along strong winds and heavy rainfall. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and destroyed New Orleans . Many people died and hundreds of thousands had to leave the city.

When a hurricane reaches land, the winds can knock down small buildings, tear off roofs of houses and uproot trees. Waves produce floods around the coast. The surface water can rise up to 5 metres. This is called a  storm surge. 



Category Speed Damage Caused
Category 1 119 – 153 km/h Winds cause only small damage to houses and buildings.
Category 2 154 – 177 km/h Storms can tear away roofs , damage doors and windows. Boats often break away from docks.
Category 3 178 – 209 km/h Winds can destroy mobile homes. Areas lower than 1.5 metres above sea level may be flooded.
Category 4 210 – 249 km/h Areas lower than 3 m above sea level are flooded . Coastal areas (up to 10 km) are  evacuated.
Category 5 more than 249 km /h These are the most powerful hurricanes. Places within 15 km of the coast are evacuated.  





Hurricane Irma

Damage caused by Hurricane Irma (Cat. 5) on the British Virgin Islands in 2017
Image: DFID - UK Department for International Development, CC BY 2.0,
via Wikimedia Commons



Words

  • cause = lead to
  • coastal = place where land and water come together 
  • damage = destruction
  • destroy = wipe out, damage, ruin 
  • docks = a place where a ship or boat is fixed to land 
  • evacuate = to bring people away from a dangerous place to where it is safe 
  • flood = when land is covered with water 
  • knock down = to hit something very hard 
  • sea level = the average height of the sea ; it is the basis for measuring other heights like mountains etc.. 
  • surface = the top layer of something  
  • tear away, tear off = destroy
  • uproot = to pull a tree and its roots out of the ground