Hurricanes/cyclones

Adverse climatic conditions at a site will increase costs. Abnormally low temperatures will require the provision of additional insulation and special heating for equipment and pipe runs. Stronger structures will be needed at locations subject to high winds (cyclone/hurricane areas) or earthquakes. 

Windstorm/typhoon/cyclone Hurricane/typhoon/cyclone Biological event Heat wave Extreme cold... 

Hurricanes predominantly effect the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of North America. These weather systems can also occur in other regions of the world where they may be identified by other names such as typhoons or tropical cyclones. Hurricanes that effect North America are spawned over the western Atlantic Ocean and usually develop between July and September. These weather systems are very powerful and can affect the weather pattern for hundreds of miles (kilometers) from the center of the storm. The National Weather Service can usually provide a 2-3 day warning to those areas in the expected path of a hurricane. 

Lack of escape routes Persons on board Cyclones/hurricanes Downers and leaners Blowouts Hydrogen sulfide Dropped objects Helicopters Ship collision. 

Cyclones (hurricanes/typhoons) develop over warm bodies of water and create high winds and thunderstorms. Many offshore oil and gas facilities, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, are vulnerable to the effects of cyclones. Tropical storms and tropical depressions have the same causes as cyclones but generally do not generate such high winds—although they can create considerable rainfall. 

A summary of key design parameters with cross references to key technical documents (covering storm/wave/current conditions, wind, seawater/air temperatures, earthquakes, cyclones/hurricanes, other extreme conditions, and... 

Cyclones (hurricanes, tornadoes and tropical typhoons) and straight winds ... 

Probably one of the most interesting aspects comes from observation of tropical cyclones (hurricanes and typhoons). They are detected at their birth and followed step by step. Speeds, directions, and intensity are immediately evaluated and the coasts likely to be struck are warned in time. Material damage has not been minimized, but I believe the number of victims has been considerably reduced, thanks to the satellites. 

Almost everyone has a concept of pressure from weather reports of tlie pressure of the atmosphere around us. In this context, high pressure is a sign of good weather while very low pressures occur at the eyes of cyclones and hurricanes. In elementary discussions of mechanics, hydrostatics of fluids and the gas laws, most scientists leam to compute pressures in static systems as force per unit area, often treated as a scalar quantity. They also leam that unbalanced pressures cause fluids to flow. Winds are the flow of the atmosphere from regions of high to low... 

The hurricane season in 2003 was extremely active in the basin of the Atlantic Ocean with sixteen tropical storms, seven hurricanes, and three super-hurricanes. Five of these tropical cyclones led to landslides in the northeast of Mexico. In 2003, destructive hurricanes devastated New Scotland and Bermuda. The formation of five tropical storms in the Gulf of Mexico turned out to be a specific feature of a region in the Atlantic Ocean. Three tropical storms formed outside the usual time interval (June-November), one formed in April, and two in December. In the eastern sector of the Pacific Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere, the activity of storm formation was below usual (there were no large-scale storms here at all). 

Natural disasters can be categorized as acute or slow in their onset (Noji, 1996). They are predictable because they cluster in geographic areas. Natural hazards are unpreventable and, for the most part, uncontrollable. Even if quick recovery occurs, natural disasters can have long-term effects. Natural disasters with acute onsets include events such as avalanche blizzard or extreme cold earthquake fire flood heat wave hurricane, cyclone, or typhoon tornado tsunami or storm surge volcanic eruption and wildfire. Natural hazards with a slow or gradual onset include deforestation, desertification, drought, and pest infestation. The most important natural disasters and examples of their environmental effects are listed in Table 17.1. 

As air is lifted through the center of a cyclone, it often reaches its dew point, forming clouds and creating precipitation. If sufficiently warm and moisture-laden air is drawn into a cyclone, the heat energy released by condensation can augment the kinetic energy of the cyclone, causing it to intensify. This process occurs in hurricanes over warm, tropical seas. 

El A (2006a) The Impact of Tropical Cyclones on Gulf of Mexico Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production , Energy Information Administration, Washington, DC, June 2006, available at http //www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/steo/pub/pdf/ hurricanes.pdf. 

Hurricanes are storms that develop when warm, moist air carried by trade winds rotates around a low-pressure eye . A large, rotating, low-pressure system accompanied by heavy precipitation and strong winds is called a tropical cyclone or is better known as a hurricane. In the Pacific region, a hurricane is called a typhoon. 

Tropical/subtropical cyclone position and intensity estimates The TAFB provides the National Hurricane Center with position estimates of tropical cyclones every 3 h and intensity estimates every 6 h. The TAFB position and intensity estimates are not available to the public. 

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