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Encyclopedia of Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones
This book helps you discover the tumultuous and exciting world of hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones. The science, history, and culture of tropical cyclones around the globe have evolved considerably since the publication of the award-winning first edition of ""Encyclopedia of Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones"" nearly 10 years ago. Improved forecasting techniques, new naming systems, and heightened intensity and duration records are only a few of the changes that have taken the meteorological world by storm in recent years.""Encyclopedia of Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones, New Edition"" features significant updates and information on recent weather phenomena and the devastation and loss that often resulted. Hurricanes Andrew, Dean, Felix, Gilbert, and Wilma are covered in detail in this comprehensive resource, as well as the most destructive and deadly tropical cyclone witnessed in the United States in the last 50 years - Hurricane Katrina. This completely revised edition features more than 70 all-new black-and-white photographs and line illustrations, a revised introduction, historical and cultural entries, extensively revised front and back matter, a bibliography of print and Web resources, a chronology, and an index.
Engineering Investigations of Hurricane Damage
Sponsored by the Technical Council on Forensic Engineering and the Technical Council on Wind Engineering of ASCE After a hurricane or tropical storm strikes, civil engineers are often called upon to investigate the resulting damage to structures. One of the common assignments is to distinguish between wind damage and water damage. This task can be complex, requiring expertise in structural engineering, historic building codes, construction practices, wind forces, and water/wave forces, as well as familiarity with meteorology. The engineer may be asked to provide a rational estimate of the extent of wind damage to a structure that was subsequently destroyed by water. This publication provides civil engineers with the background and guidance necessary to conduct engineering damage investigations of structures following hurricanes, focusing particularly on distinguishing between wind damage and water damage. The first part introduces the scientific background and engineering principles of topics essential to an investigation: hurricane characteristics, wind speeds, storm surges, building codes, and the response of buildings. The second part applies these principles and covers the practical side of carrying out a post-hurricane damage assessment, including planning and managing an investigation, tips for conducting a field investigation, researching specific events, and writing reports. A final chapter offers case studies illustrating ways to synthesize and apply all the collected information. This valuable resource will assist civil engineers in providing efficient and high-quality services, based on sound technical principles, to clients such as insurance firms, building owners, and local governments.
The Hurricane
First published in 1990, this book describes the nature of the hurricane, one of the world's most dangerous weather hazards. It examines the formation, development, movement, and impact of these tropical cyclones, and assess the ability of science to describe, forecast, and control them.
Hurricane Climatology : A Modern Statistical Guide Using R
Hurricanes are nature's most destructive storms and they are becoming more powerful as the globe warms. Hurricane Climatology explains how to analyze and model hurricane data to better understand and predict present and future hurricane activity. It uses the open-source and now widely used R software for statistical computing to create a tutorial-style manual for independent study, review, and reference. The text is written around the code that when copied will reproduce the graphs, tables, and maps. The approach is different from other books that use R. It focuses on a single topic and explains how to make use of R to better understand the topic. The book is organized into two parts, the first of which provides material on software, statistics, and data. The second part presents methods and models used in hurricane climate research.
Hurricane Ike Field Investigation
Prepared by the Hurricane Ike Field Assessment Team of the Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute of ASCE. Hurricane Ike Field Investigations: A Report of Field Operations from October 3-6, 2008 describes the environmental and infrastructure impacts of Hurricane Ike on the upper Texas coast. Most important, the report identifies factors that appeared to provide protection from storm damage and presents some policy implications. After a general introduction to the area, its geology, historical storm events and rehabilitation, and coastal processes, the book describes Hurricane Ike, including water levels, storm surge measurements, and comparisons with other storms. It portrays the physical impacts of the storm, such as geomorphic changes, erosion rates, shoreline position, and impact of winds on engineered structures. Damage to and survival of shoreline structures--piers, seawalls, geotextile tubes, groins, and inlet jetties--are also discussed. Subsequent chapters address structural damage to buildings, lifelines and infrastructure, and marinas from wind, flooding, waves, and erosion. Finally, the book raises policy issues and summarizes lessons learned. Civil engineers engaged in projects related to coasts, oceans, ports, and rivers, especially in hurricane-prone areas; facilities managers in coastal areas; government officials from agencies that participate in coastal zone management or manage emergency preparedness will find the observations and conclusions of this book valuable.
Hurricane Risk in a Changing Climate
How is a changing climate affecting hurricanes, and how are these changes intersecting with our changing exposure and vulnerability in ways that affect tropical cyclone risk? Crucially, how should this understanding be incorporated into risk management practice? This book takes a cross-sectoral look at how damaging tropical cyclone characteristics are changing and presents novel approaches to integrate science with risk assessment. In this new era of tropical cyclone impacts, understanding effective risk management practice in a changing climate is more important than ever. This book details the outcomes of new research focusing on climate risk related to hurricanes in a changing climate. Topics include characteristics of tropical cyclone risk, perspectives on hurricane risk management strategies in the built environment, and implications for commercial risk. Inspired by the Symposium on Hurricane Risk in a Changing Climate, this book brings together leading international academics and researchers, and provides a source reference for both risk managers and climate scientists for research on the interface between tropical cyclones, climate, and risk. 8 chapters are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
Hurricanes
Praise for the previous edition: WINNER! SELECTED BY THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY AS ONE OF THE 1998 BOOKS FOR THE TEEN AGE Mitch
Lessons from Hurricane Ike
If Hurricane Ike had made landfall just fifty miles down the Texas coast, the devastation and death caused by what was already one of the most destructive hurricanes in US history would have quadrupled. Ike made everyone realize just how exposed and vulnerable the Houston-Galveston area is in the face of a major storm. What is done to address this vulnerability will shape the economic, social, and environmental landscape of the region for decades to come. In Lessons from Hurricane Ike, Philip Bedient and the research team at the Severe Storm Prediction, Education, and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center at Rice University provide an overview of some of the research being done in the Houston-Galveston region in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. The center was formed shortly after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Its research examines everything from surge and inland flooding to bridge infrastructure. Lessons from Hurricane Ike gathers the work of some of the premier researchers in the fields of hurricane prediction and impact, summarizing it in accessible language accompanied by abundant illustrations--not just graphs and charts, but dramatic photos and informative maps. Orienting readers to the history and basic meteorology of severe storms along the coast, the book then revisits the impact of Hurricane Ike and discusses what scientists and engineers are studying as they look at flooding, storm surges, communications, emergency response, evacuation planning, transportation issues, coastal resiliency, and the future sustainability of the nation's fourth largest metropolitan area.
Featured Print Books

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Divine Wind : The History and Science of Hurricanes
Imagine standing at the center of a Roman coliseum that is 20 miles across, with walls that soar 10 miles into the sky, towering walls with cascades of ice crystals falling along its brilliantly white surface. That's what it's like to stand in the eye of a hurricane. In Divine Wind, Kerry Emanuel, one of the world's leading authorities on hurricanes, gives us an engaging account of these awe-inspiring meteorological events, revealing how hurricanes and typhoons have literally altered human history, thwarting military incursions and changing the course ofexplorations. Offering an account of the physics of the tropical atmosphere, the author explains how such benign climates give rise to the most powerful storms in the world and tells what modern science has learned about them. Interwoven with this scientific account are descriptions of some of themost important hurricanes in history and relevant works of art and literature. For instance, he describes the 17th-century hurricane that likely inspired Shakespeare's The Tempest and that led to the British colonization of Bermuda. We also read about the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, by far theworst natural calamity in U.S. history, with a death toll between 8,000 and 12,000 that exceeded the San Francisco earthquake, the Johnstown Flood, and the Okeechobee Hurricane co Boasting more than one hundred color illustrations, frommbined. Boasting more than one hundred color illustrations,from ultra-modern Doppler imagery to classic paintings by Winslow Homer, Divine Wind captures the profound effects that hurricanes have had on humanity. Its fascinating blend of history, science, and art will appeal to weather junkies, science buffs, and everyone who read Isaac's Storm.
Hurricanes : A Reference Handbook
From killer storms to their implications for the insurance premiums of U.S. residents, this much-awaited update explores the ecological, social, and economic consequences of hurricanes and their effects on both coastal and inland areas. * A unique three-part chronology of the science of hurricanes, from the time of Sir Isaac Newton to the latest discoveries in quantitative climatology * A thorough description of the key government agencies and other bodies concerned with the preparation for, study, and forecasting of hurricanes
Hurricane Watch : Forecasting the Deadliest Storms on Earth
The ultimate guide to the ultimate storms, Hurricane Watch is a fascinating blend of science and history from one of the world's foremost meteorologists and an award-winning science journalist. This in-depth look at these awe-inspiring acts of nature covers everything from the earliest efforts by seafarers at predicting storms to the way satellite imaging is revolutionizing hurricane forecasting. It reveals the latest information on hurricanes: their effects on ocean waves, the causes of the variable wind speeds in different parts of the storm, and the origins of the super-cooled shafts of water that vent at high altitudes. Hurricane Watch is a compelling history of man's relationship with the deadliest storms on earth. Includes: - The story of the nineteenth-century Cuban Jesuit whose success at predicting the great cyclones was considered almost mystical. - A new look at Isaac Cline, whose infamous failure to predict the Galveston Hurricane left him obsessed with the devastating effects of storm surge. - The story of the Hurricane Hunters, including the first man ever to deliberately fly into a hurricane. - A complete account of how computer modeling has changed hurricane tracking. - A history of Project Stormfury: the only significant, organized effort to reduce the damaging strength of severe hurricanes. - A unique firsthand account of Hurricane Andrew by both authors, who were at the National Hurricane Center when Andrew struck. - A listing of the deadliest storms in history.
Sea of storms : a history of hurricanes in the greater Caribbean from Columbus to Katrina
A panoramic social history of hurricanes in the Caribbean The diverse cultures of the Caribbean have been shaped as much by hurricanes as they have by diplomacy, commerce, or the legacy of colonial rule. In this panoramic work of social history, Stuart Schwartz examines how Caribbean societies have responded to the dangers of hurricanes, and how these destructive storms have influenced the region's history, from the rise of plantations, to slavery and its abolition, to migrations, racial conflict, and war. Taking readers from the voyages of Columbus to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Schwartz looks at the ethical, political, and economic challenges that hurricanes posed to the Caribbean's indigenous populations and the different European peoples who ventured to the New World to exploit its riches. He describes how the United States provided the model for responding to environmental threats when it emerged as a major power and began to exert its influence over the Caribbean in the nineteenth century, and how the region's governments came to assume greater responsibilities for prevention and relief, efforts that by the end of the twentieth century were being questioned by free-market neoliberals. Schwartz sheds light on catastrophes like Katrina by framing them within a long and contentious history of human interaction with the natural world. Spanning more than five centuries and drawing on extensive archival research in Europe and the Americas, Sea of Storms emphasizes the continuing role of race, social inequality, and economic ideology in the shaping of our responses to natural disaster.