2.9B Storm surges

• storm surge = temporary rise in local sea level produced when a depression, storm or tropical cyclone, reaches the coast. 
• short-term impacts of Storm surges:

  • Deaths and injuries to people immediately through drowning or collapsing buildings
  • Subsequent deaths from hypothermia (homes destroyed), water borne diseases (sewer systems and freshwater pipe destroyed), natural causes (transport routes to medical care cut)
  • Destruction of infrastructure - roads, railways, ports, and airports flooded or destroyed
• UK Storm Xavier facts:

  • 80+ MPH winds
  • Total economic loss estimated at $100 million
  • dunes were eroded, seven houses and a lifeboat station destroyed
  • 1400 homes flooded