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Passage 5 Hurricanes A hurricane is a fiercely powerful rotating tropical storm that is 200 to 2000 kilometers across. Hurricanes have a calm central region of low pressure between 20 and 100 kilometers across, known as the eye. They occur in tropical regions around the world, and are called typhoons in south-east Asia and the Pacific, and cyclones in the Indian Ocean and Australia. The term hurricane is derived from Huracan, the name of a Mayan storm god. Over its lifetime, one of these massive storms can release as much energy as a million Hiroshima nuclear bombs. The brutality of each annual hurricane season shifts according to decadal variation, but there is now evidence to suggest global warming could be making hurricanes more frequent and unpredictable. As populations and economies grow along coastal regions, the damage from these storm is increasing. Hurricane Katrina: The AftermathThe Most Destructive US Natural Disaster in Living Memory In 2005, hurricane Katrina had a devastating impact on the Gulf Coast of the US, leaving a disaster zone of 230,000 square kilometers in its wake and causing damage estimated at $ 75 billion. Katrina whipped up sustained winds of 225 kilometers per hour and a 5-to-9-metre-high storm surge of sea water. The maelstrom tore through New Orleans flood defenses and flooded 80% of the city. Thousands were killed or injured and more than half a million people were displaced in a humanitarian crisis not seen in the US since the Great Depression. | 
