5.5 — Cyclones and Severe Storms

Cyclone, hurricane and typhoon are the same phenomenon with different regional names.

And the most important fact about them is counter-intuitive: the wind is not what kills most people.

Water is — storm surge and flooding — and that is where the planning should go.

The warning period

Days, which makes this the most preparable hazard in Part 5.

Typically: several days of watching a developing system, then a formal warning, then landfall.

Which means everything in this chapter can be done calmly, in advance, and the people who do badly are almost always the ones who left it to the last day.

Before: the week

Nine things.

Know your risk. Are you in a storm surge zone? What is your elevation? Is your building constructed to withstand it?

Know the evacuation route and the nearest cyclone shelter. India has a substantial network of purpose-built cyclone shelters along the east coast, and knowing which one is yours, in advance, is what makes evacuation fast.

Set the trigger (5.1). An official evacuation order means go, immediately, regardless of conditions outside at that moment.

Secure the outside. Anything loose becomes a projectile: furniture, pots, sheets of metal, tools, bicycles. This is one of the highest-value hours of preparation.

Trim overhanging branches if there is time in the season, not in the last days.

Protect windows. **Shutters if you have them, or boards. Tape does not prevent breakage — it is largely a myth — though it may reduce the spread of fragments.

Fill containers with drinking water, and fill the bath for washing and sanitation. Water supply commonly fails for days.

Charge everything, and get cash.

And fuel the vehicle. Fuel stations run dry and lose power.

Before: the last day

Bring everything inside.

Move to the strongest interior room on the lowest floor — unless you are in a surge or flood zone, in which case elevation matters more, and the answer is to have evacuated.

Turn off gas.

Fully charge devices and have the radio ready.

And if you have been told to evacuate: go. Not after one more thing.

During

Six rules.

Stay inside, away from windows. Interior room, no glass, ideally with a mattress or heavy furniture available to shelter under.

Do not go outside to look.

Expect to lose power, water and mobile service.

Use the radio.

If the roof begins to fail, get under something solid — a heavy table, a stairwell, a bathtub.

And the most important one, which catches people every time:

The eye

A cyclone has a calm centre.

The wind stops. The sky may clear. It looks and feels as though it is over.

It is not. The second half arrives, from the opposite direction, and is frequently as strong as or stronger than the first.

The interval can be a few minutes to an hour or more depending on the size of the storm and your position.

People go outside during the eye — to check the damage, to look for animals, to move something — and the second half arrives while they are out.

This is one of the most consistent causes of death in cyclones.

The rule: do not go outside until officials say the storm has passed. Not until it looks calm. Until you are told.

Storm surge

The thing that actually causes most deaths and the thing most people prepare least for.

A surge is the sea pushed inland by the storm — a rise in water level, on top of the normal tide, that can be several metres and can extend far inland over flat coastal terrain.

It arrives fast, it is full of debris, and 5.4's rules about moving water apply in full.

**Which means: if you are in a surge zone and told to evacuate, the decision is not about the wind. A well-built house may survive the wind and be entirely irrelevant if it is under three metres of moving seawater.

Evacuation from surge zones is horizontal — inland — rather than upward.

After

Seven things, because the aftermath causes a large share of injuries.

Wait for the all-clear.

Assume every downed line is live (6.2). Stay well clear and report it.

Watch for structural damage — sagging ceilings, cracked walls, leaning trees.

Do not drive unless necessary. Roads are blocked, flooded and scoured.

Do not use a generator indoors or in a garage. Carbon monoxide poisoning from generators is a leading cause of post-storm deaths (6.2), and it is entirely preventable: outdoors only, well away from windows and doors.

Boil or treat water until told otherwise.

And check on neighbours, particularly anybody elderly or alone.

Severe thunderstorms and squalls

Shorter warning, less severe, and the same principles.

Get inside a substantial building. A vehicle is better than nothing but is not safe from falling trees or flooding.

Away from windows.

Unplug sensitive electronics where practical.

And beware the sudden onset of strong straight-line winds, which can do damage comparable to a small tornado and arrive with very little warning.

Lightning has its own chapter (5.6).

What to do with this page

Water kills more people than wind. Plan for surge and flood, not for the roof.

Know your shelter and your route before the season, not on the day.

Secure everything loose outside. One hour, highest value in the chapter.

The eye is not the end. Do not go outside until you are told, not until it looks calm.

And generators outdoors only. Post-storm carbon monoxide deaths are entirely preventable and they happen every season.

Next: 5.6 — lightning, hail and tornado, three short-notice hazards with clear rules.