MIAMI – So what is the difference between a typhoon and a hurricane? Nothing.
"Typhoon" is the title given to tropical cyclones in the Western Pacific. Super Typhoon Haiyan that recently decimated the Philippines had estimated sustained winds of 190 mph.
Recommended Videos
What causes a Typhoon to form is the same thing that causes a Hurricane to form; ocean temperature of at least 80 degrees, thunderstorms, a disturbance like a tropical wave and little or no wind shear.
Winston Churchill once said, "The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see."
In other words, history has a funny way of repeating itself so we best not forget the past.
With images of the Philippines bombarding the news, many people have asked me if a Haiyan could happen here? Surely they say, conditions are different in the Western Pacific that allows such a powerful storm to develop. Unfortunately, my response was not what they wanted to hear.
Storms like Haiyan have and will continue to form in the Atlantic Basin. There is very little difference between a Haiyan and an Andrew. The end result is the same, destruction, especially for coastal communities.
When we think of devastating hurricanes of recent memory, Katrina is certainly at the top of the list. But let's not forget the strength that other hurricanes achieved which impacted the U.S. since 1900:
Note that 3 out of the 5 hurricanes listed above (Wilma, Andrew and Labor Day storm) directly impacted South Florida. We are the only state that is susceptible to storms from the South, East and West.
Philippines, Disaster Waiting to Happen
As Super Typhoon Haiyan approached the Philippines there was no doubt this was going to be a massive killer. The suffering and devastation would be too much for some to comprehend. How could so many suffer so much in today's day and age? The answer is simple. There are over 7,000 islands in the Philippines. However, only 2,000 of those islands are inhabited with 96 – million people. Here in the U.S. we usually have to evacuate one or two coastlines from storm surge. In the Philippines there are thousands of coastlines to evacuate. This unique geography makes the task literally impossible. The only thing residents could do is find some higher ground like clinging to a rooftop in hopes of escaping the rising ocean. That combined with substandard buildings and widespread poverty meant that the victims of Haiyan were left to fend for themselves against the ocean and winds that leveled everything in their path. This was the kiss of death for many. The sad thing is that there is no government intervention sufficient to match the level of devastation this storm has cause. The suffering, pain and death will go on for some time.
Advantage Florida
Hurricane Andrew destroyed over 60,000 homes and left 175,000+ homeless in Dade County. Andrew exposed weaknesses in building codes, emergency preparedness and government planning. Since then, our construction codes have changed and emergency planners know what to do and when to do it. Hurricane forecasting has improved dramatically and most residents of South Florida are aware of the dangers. However, there are many who refuse to believe they are vulnerable. Yes, many of our buildings are mini bunkers but the lack of preparation on the individual's behalf could still cause suffering here in the event of a catastrophic storm.
1 / 26
The death toll of this month's Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines has risen to 5,209.The number of injured was at 23,404, with 1,582 still missing, the government-run Philippines News Agency reported on Nov. 22.The estimated death toll has fluctuated a great deal -- everywhere from 1,200 to as many as 10,000 -- since the storm hit. With so much debris blocking roads and preventing aid workers from getting to hard-hit areas, getting an accurate casualty toll has been difficult.Tacloban, a city that is home to 200,000 people, suffered the greatest devastation, said Lt. Jim Aris Alago, information officer for Navy Central Command. Officials initially found more than 100 bodies scattered on the streets of the coastal city, and that death toll was expected to rise dramatically.Doctors in Tacloban had trouble treating all the city's injured in the immediate aftermath of the storm. At the city's only functioning hospital, doctors couldn't admit any more wounded victims -- there wasn't enough room. Some of the injured lay in the hospital's cramped hallways seeking treatment. "We haven't anything left to help people with," one of the doctors said. "We have to get supplies in immediately."There were fewer corpses along the streets one week after the storm. Cadaver crews have been driving around and collecting bodies, which are being buried in mass graves.The violence was not all caused by Haiyan. A Philippines senator said she's learned of reports of rapes and other crimes against women, some allegedly by prison escapees, PNA reported. But the U.S. military has said that violent crime is less of an obstacle to providing aid than is the debris that blocks roads.Super Typhoon Haiyan -- one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever observed -- first made landfall before dawn Friday on the Philippines' eastern island of Samar.For a time, storm clouds covered the entire Philippines, stretching 1,120 miles -- the distance between Florida and Canada -- and tropical storm-force winds covered an area the size of Germany.At the time of landfall, sustained winds were clocked at 195 mph winds with 235 mph gusts -- the equivalent of a strong Category 5 hurricane.What's the difference between a typhoon and a hurricane? Depends on where you live. Tropical cyclones with sustained surface winds of 74 mph or more are known as typhoons when they form west of the international date line. East of the line, they're known as hurricanes.It wasn't just the storm's strong winds that caused damage -- it was also a mammoth storm surge that reached up to 5 meters (16 feet) high.But the speed of the storm -- which was clocked at 41 mph -- meant residents didn't have to hunker down long. Many emerged Saturday from their homes and shelters and trekked through streets littered with debris to supermarkets, looking for water and food.Storm chaser Jason Reynolds was among the people in the Philippines when the storm hit. He said that among the 35 typhoonshis company has filmed since 2005, Haiyan was the worst. "It was without a doubt the most catastrophic event I've witnessed before my eyes," Reynolds said of the super typhoon. "To actually go through a disaster as it takes place and then be there afterward just compares to nothing. It'll probably be the only time in my life."An estimated 9.5 million people have been affected by the typhoon, including roughly 620,000 displaced from their homes, according to the United Nations.The casualties from the storm occurred despite preparations that included the evacuation of more than 800,000 people, said Tomoo Hozumi, UNICEF's Philippines representative.As the full impact of the storm is assessed, children are expected to be among the most affected, according to UNICEF, which put the number of children living in the typhoon's path at 1.7 million.The storm continued churning across Asia early Monday, making landfall in Vietnam's Quang Ninh Province -- weakened but still powerful. The storm was packing winds of 75 mph with higher gusts. Six people were killed in Vietnam as Haiyan battered the country, state media reported Monday.The typhoon was 3.5 times more forceful than the United States' Hurricane Katrina in 2005. "This disaster on such a scale will probably have us working for the next year," said Sandra Bulling, international communications officer for the aid agency CARE.Aid workers were already in the Philippines right after the storm, but they were having trouble accessing many hard-hit areas. The Tacloban city airport was shut to commercial flights, and it would be three days before a land route was open, so organizers were considering chartering a boat for the 1-to-2-day trip, one Red Cross representative said the Saturday after the storm.Authorities are funneling aid on military planes to Tacloban's airport, which resumed limited commercial flights Monday. But with the airport nine miles (15 kilometers) from the city center and many roads still clogged with debris, getting supplies to where they're most needed is proving difficult.The UN's World Food Programme is set up logistical pipelines to transport food and other relief items. WFP spokeswoman Bettina Luescher said the U.N. group was gearing up its global resources to send enough food to feed 120,000 people.Sandra Bulling, international communications officer for the aid agency CARE, estimates that her organization will be participating in recovery efforts for the next year. "Fishermen have lost their boats. Crops are devastated. This is really the basic income of many people."The U.S. is sending support to the Philippines. The U.S. Agency for International Development, known as USAID, announced it immediately made available $100,000 to go for health care, clean water and sanitation to areas hit hard by the devastating storm.The American Embassy noted that Washington will also fly a humanitarian assistance surveyteam to Manila due to the catastrophe.Find out how you can help Typhoon Haiyan survivors.
The death toll of this month's Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines has risen to 5,209.
Avoid the Rush
Now that this hurricane season is nearly behind us may I suggest we take advantage of this down time to slowly prepare and think about the future.
Fact – We live in hurricane country. Florida averages more hurricanes than any other state.
Fact – Preparation is better than panic. Why do you have car or homeowners insurance? Because you're concerned about what could happen and you're trying to protect your investment. May I suggest that investing in non-perishable food is an insurance policy to protect you and your family. I believe that everyone should have at least 2-3 weeks' worth of food storage on hand.
Fact – If we do not learn from history, then history will repeat itself.
Summary
Seeing the plight and human suffering in the Philippines has caused me to think about what is most important. Self reliance is the key to overcoming adversity. It doesn't take much. If you spend a little here and a little there on supplies you'll be surprised how quickly it all adds up. We live in a tropical paradise. But what makes us a paradise is also what makes the most powerful storms on the planet.
1 / 11
Take a look back at the 10 deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history.10. Great Miami Hurricane (1926) -- This Category 4 storm killed an estimated 372 people in Miami, the Florida Panhandle and Alabama.9. Last Island Hurricane (1856) -- This Category 4 storm destroyed Louisiana's Last Island, a popular tourist destination, and killed an estimated 400 people.8. Great Labor Day Hurricane (1935) -- The country's first Category 5 storm of the 20th century, the Great Labor Day Hurricane killed 408 people in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.7. Hurricane Audrey (1957) -- A powerful Category 4 storm, Audrey caused catastrophic damage across eastern Texas and western Louisiana, killing 416 people.6. Georgia-South Carolina Hurricane (1881) -- An estimated 700 people perished in this Category 2 storm.5. Sea Islands Hurricane (1893) -- Storm surge killed the majority of the 1,000 to 2,000 people estimated to have died in this Category 3 storm that made landfall in Savannah, Ga.4. Cheniere Caminada Hurricane (1893) -- Also known as the Great October Storm, this Category 4 hurricane devastated the Louisiana island of Chenire Caminada. An estimated 1,100 to 1,400 people died.3. Hurricane Katrina (2005) -- More than 1,200 people died in this Category 3 storm that devastated the Gulf Coast, breaching the levees and flooding most of New Orleans for days.2. Okeechobee Hurricane (1928) -- In South Florida, at least 2,500 were killed when a storm surge from Lake Okeechobee breached the dike surrounding the lake, flooding an area covering hundreds of square miles.1. Great Galveston Hurricane (1900) -- An estimated 8,000 people died in this Category 4 storm that devastated eastern Texas. So many people died that corpses were piled onto carts for burial at sea.
Take a look back at the 10 deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history.
Copyright 2013 by Local10.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
