Hurricane Mitch Research Paper
Hurricane Mitch was born 21 October 1998 in the warm waters near the equator. The sun heats the surface of the sea evaporating 1 trillion tons of water each day. Once in the air the water droplets cool transforming into clouds. Carried by the rising warm air, the clouds billow upwards. If the heat from the sea below is strong enough they turn into massive tropical storms. The storm spun towards Central America picking up vast amounts of water and increasing wind speed. On Thursday, October 29 1998, hurricane Mitch wreaked utter death and destruction over Central America. The favorable conditions rapidly strengthened Mitch to a category 5 status (sustained winds greater than 157 MPH) with the highest sustained winds at 180 MPH. Due to Hurricane
Mitch slow motion it dropped historic amounts of rainfall in Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua with reports up to 75 inches. In Nicaragua several feet of water deposited over the mountainous terrain triggered debris avalanches and huge mudslides. The water raced down the mountains and was funnel into the valleys at terrifying speeds wiping out anything in its path. The town of casitas was virtually wiped off the map by a mudslide. Catastrophic flooding made it the second deadliest Atlantic hurricane next to the great Atlantic hurricane in 1780. As of 2008 the official death toll was placed at 19,325 with thousands more unaccounted for. The flooding caused extreme damage estimated at 5 billion dollars with 3 million people left homeless. Strategies to decrease the risk of mudslides include draining off hillsides and armoring the base of hills. During armoring engineers put heavy large rocks at the base of the slope to prevent it from coming loose.
Mitch slow motion it dropped historic amounts of rainfall in Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua with reports up to 75 inches. In Nicaragua several feet of water deposited over the mountainous terrain triggered debris avalanches and huge mudslides. The water raced down the mountains and was funnel into the valleys at terrifying speeds wiping out anything in its path. The town of casitas was virtually wiped off the map by a mudslide. Catastrophic flooding made it the second deadliest Atlantic hurricane next to the great Atlantic hurricane in 1780. As of 2008 the official death toll was placed at 19,325 with thousands more unaccounted for. The flooding caused extreme damage estimated at 5 billion dollars with 3 million people left homeless. Strategies to decrease the risk of mudslides include draining off hillsides and armoring the base of hills. During armoring engineers put heavy large rocks at the base of the slope to prevent it from coming loose.