Tropical Cyclone damages in Sri Lanka

Abstract

A tropical cyclone is a region of violently circulating air about a central core of low atmospheric pressure relative to its surrounding. These devastating atmospheric phenomena are capable of surface winds with sustained maximum speeds in excess of 62 km/hr, torrential rains along and between its spiral bands, huge swells and strong currents upto great depths when over the ocean and powerful storm surges while making landfall. Tropical cyclones generally form between the 5o-25o North and South latitudes and are relatively rare events. Strong trends are immediately recognized over oceanic basins such as the North Atlantic or Northeast Pacific, Indian or Southwest Pacific and the Northwest Pacific, where they are also referred to as hurricanes, cyclones or typhoons. Variability in the quality and quantity of data as well as regional practices of climatology have led to several tropical cyclone classification systems from the more commonly known Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (SSHWS) to the Classification of Cyclonic Disturbances in the North Indian Ocean by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), and to the Japan Meteorological Agency’s Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale[1]. Table 1 depicts many different tropical cyclone classification systems adopted[1]