The Baja California Travel & Living Webzine

The Danger of Hurricanes - Drowning is the #1 Killer

Prepare, Prepare and Prepare...

According to the NHC bulk of a hurricane  threat is the tidal surge. It is responsible for more property damage and loss of life than any other aspect of a hurricane. Tidal surge is the actual lifting of the ocean by the upward draft of the storm, not the motion of the surf against the shore. Pacific storms may cause tidal surge of up to 19 feet. This becomes a particular problem if a storm strikes your area at high tide. Imagine adding another 19 feet of rise onto the high tide level! But such extreme tidal surge is rare for the storms that reach Baja.

Drowning is the leading cause of death in hurricanes, in the flooding caused by a tidal surge event. If your property is protected in advance there is no need for you to be exposed to the elements during the storm.

Once you have made your preparations, accept that you have done everything you could and retire to a safe place to observe the storm.

Many people are killed trying to re-secure property at the height of the storm. Under the force of the wind and rain you should accept the fact there is very little left you can do.

In 2003 four people died in La Paz during hurricane Marty from being caught in flood waters. When put in perspective, more deaths can be attributed to any given severe winter storm in the US. The majority of the damage in Baja was limited to the marine community.

Remember to stock your storm preparedness kit prior to the onslaught. Learn from experts the best way to protect yourself and your property. Stay safe, and take wonder at the ferocity of these monsters of nature.

Stay safe and enjoy!

Also See:
• Preparing Particular to Baja
• Batten down the Hatches
• NHC's Hurricane Prep Suggestions
 

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Insider's Notebook: What defines a hurricane?

The terms "hurricane" and "typhoon" are regionally specific names for a strong "tropical cyclone". A tropical cyclone is the generic term for a non-frontal synoptic scale low-pressure system over tropical or sub-tropical waters with organized convection (i.e. thunderstorm activity) and definite cyclonic surface wind circulation (Holland 1993).
Tropical cyclones with maximum sustained surface winds of less than 17 m/s (34 kt, 39 mph) are called "tropical depressions". (This is not to be confused with the condition mid-latitude people get during a long, cold and grey winter wishing they could be closer to the equator ;-)) Once the tropical cyclone reaches winds of at least 17 m/s they are typically called a "tropical storm" and assigned a name. If winds reach 33 m/s (64 kt, 74 mph)), then they are called: a "hurricane" (the North Atlantic Ocean, the Northeast Pacific Ocean east of the dateline, or the South Pacific Ocean east of 160E); a "typhoon" (the Northwest Pacific Ocean west of the dateline); a "severe tropical cyclone" (the Southwest Pacific Ocean west of 160E or Southeast Indian Ocean east of 90E); a "severe cyclonic storm" (the North Indian Ocean); and a "tropical cyclone" (the Southwest Indian Ocean) (Neumann 1993).