Reducing the effects of tropical storms – OMG Revision – GCSE Geography 9-1.

This video from OMG (One Minute Geography) Revision looks at the different methods that we can use to reduce the effects of tropical storms. Monitoring involves tracking tropical storms across the ocean using doppler radar and satellite images. This enables scientists to predict when and where a tropical storm will hit to minimise the impacts on people and property – this could involve the evacuation of people prior to a tropical storm making landfall. Protection is another method of reducing the effects of tropical storms and can include building sea walls to reflect the energy of powerful storm surges, levees to enable rivers to hold more water when tropical storms create storm surges that push water in land and storm shelters. Storm shelters have stilts so that flood water can go beneath them, they are built of strong reinforced concrete and shutters can be dropped over windows. Planning is also a key method of reducing the effects of tropical storms. For example, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the USA provides people with information and education on what to do during the event of a tropical storm. This can be ensuring that you have a hurricane emergency kit that contains essentials such as bottled water and medication. Other examples include Hurricane Preparedness week that takes place every year in parts of the USA that are at risk of being hit by a tropical storm. In order to revise this topic, you need to know the difference between monitoring, prediction, planning and protection and be able to describe and explain the differences between them and the advantages of each method.