Wind surge: what is it, causes and consequences

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

As you know, the wind is a stream of fast moving air. Therefore, it is not surprising that in most cases it is the cause of many natural disasters. One of these is wind surge.

What is this?

Wind surge is a vertical rise in the water level, which is caused by strong wind blowing in a particular direction. Most often, such a natural phenomenon occurs in areas near lakes, reservoirs and mouths of large rivers.

Wind surge is similar to other natural disasters such as ice storms or floods. That is, when the level of the water surface rises so much that a flood may occur in cities and towns, and, accordingly, industrial and transport facilities will be damaged, crops will be destroyed, etc. For example, one of the large cities has been flooded many times since its foundation Russia - St. Petersburg. The most tragic event was a terrifying surge in 1824. Then the water level at the mouth of the Neva reached more than four meters in height. A. S. Pushkin mentioned this in his poem "The Bronze Horseman".

Types of wind surges

Typhoons, high waves and wind surges are natural disasters that can appear at any moment. That is, there is no periodicity. Therefore, it is very difficult to classify them.

As a rule, such natural disasters can only be classified according to their consequences. Yes:

• Small wind surges that cause minimal damage. For example, farmland located on the plains, unprotected from disasters, is flooded. People almost always remain unharmed.
• Great surges that cause significant damage to both farmland and houses located in the valleys. People are most often evacuated from dangerous areas.
• Outstanding and catastrophic, which can thoroughly flood even large cities, destroy material values, cultural monuments, etc. It will be necessary to evacuate people en masse, conduct large emergency and rescue operations.

Causes of occurrence

As already known, such terrible natural phenomena as surges occur in areas near the sea, rivers, lakes and reservoirs. The main reason for the occurrence of such a disaster is, of course, an intense and continuous flow of air moving in one direction towards the shore parallel to the water surface, thereby causing undulating movements of the water. But besides this, there are other important causes of wind surges:

• Seiches - waves that do not move in the direction of the coast and arisein closed waters. Their height can reach from eight to twelve meters. Subsequently, such waves become the main "destructive elements" of the wind surge.
• Pressure sea level rise, typically one to two meters.
• The appearance of long and short water waves in the center of the cyclone, eight to twelve meters high.

Danger factors

Water surges and wind surges pose a particular danger to people when:

• Dramatically increases the rise of water and the speed of the current. This can lead to the flooding of large areas, including crop fields, the destruction of residential and industrial buildings, and even the death of the population.
• Water temperature is sub-zero or close to low (eg late autumn). People who stay in such conditions for a long time can get sick or die from hypothermia.
• Buildings in which citizens are located are emergency or uninhabitable. In such cases, there is a risk that the buildings will not withstand the strong pressure of the water and collapse, resulting in death of people.

Effects of wind surges

The consequences of a wind surge will generally depend directly on the type of terrain, the duration and type of disaster, the height of the water level rise and the composition of the water flow, the number of buildings and people in the vicinity, etc. Therefore, the main result of suchcataclysms can be:

• landslides and collapses;
• changing the terrain, as well as the structure of soil and soil;
• washing away crops, stocks of raw materials, products, etc.;
• destruction of residential and industrial buildings;
• fall into water and air streams of flammable and chemical substances;
• destruction of power lines and communications;
• complete destruction or damage to vehicles and other equipment;
• emergence of epidemic diseases;
• death of the population and farm animals.

How to prepare for a natural disaster

If an area is located near a sea or a river where flooding or wind surge occurs constantly, the population must be prepared for a natural disaster at any moment. For this you need:

• Put valuables, medicines, documents in a special backpack or bag and store in a specific place in the living quarters. This way, in the event of a disaster, everything you need will already be at hand.
• Create an evacuation plan that all family members must be familiar with. If there is none, then when a flood occurs, you need to go up to the upper floors of a residential building or to the roof of a private house, waiting for help from rescuers. In addition, do not forget about the filing of visual distress signals. To do this, you need to use any white fabric product that can be attached to a wooden stick or other object.

Don't forget to always listen to the informationcomply with all requirements and adhere to the instructions offered by various rescue services.