Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region IV-A CALABARZON
Division of Laguna
District of Famy-Mabitac
MABITAC INTEGRATED NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
(Formerly Mabitac National High School)
Mabitac, Laguna

Classification of Hurricanes
• The Saffir-Simpson
Hurricane Wind Scale
divides hurricanes into five
categories based on average
wind speed, with Category 1
storms being the weakest and
Category 5 the strongest. The
higher wind speed, the
stronger the hurricane. A
hurricane typically changes
category as it develops, either
intensifying or weakening.
• Although the Saffir- Simpson
Scale is designed to indicate
the intensity of a hurricane, it
can be misleading as an
indicator of the level of
expected damage.
• In addition to the wind speed,
the amount of damage from a
hurricane is heavily dependent
on the height of water rise
from the storm surge, how
large an area is covered, the
duration of high water and
high winds, and how recently
another storm has a effected
the area
Storm damage

• Deaths and damages from

hurricanes can be caused
by storm surge, high
winds with flying debris,
waves, torrential rainfall,
and flooding.
Storm surge

• Coastal areas experience storm

surges, also called storm tides, as the
sea rises along with an incoming
hurricane, as a result of low
atmospheric pressure and high winds.
• Prolonged high winds contribute to a
storm surge by pushing sea water into
huge mounds as high as 7.3m and 80-
160km wide. The crest of surge waves
moves more or less at the speed of the
storm because it is pushed ahead of
the storm. The pileup of water before
the wind is higher, with greater wind
speed and fetch, the distance the wind
travels over open water, and with
shallower water.
• The level of surge hazard depends on
a variety of factors. Because sea level
rises rapidly during an incoming
storm surge, low-lying coastal areas
are flooded and people drown. In
fact, about 90% of all deaths in
tropical cyclones result from storm-
surge flooding.
• Contrary to many people’s
assumptions, the highest surge levels
are not at the center of the hurricane
but in its north to northeast quadrant.
Because hurricanes rotate counter-
clockwise, winds in that “right-front”
quadrant point most directly at the
shore and cause the greatest surge and
wave effect there.
• Winds south of the eye of the
hurricane are moving offshore
and have no onshore surge or
wave effect.
• A hurricane arriving
perpendicular to the coast can
lead to a higher storm surge
because the whole surge mound
affects the shortest length of
coast. One arriving at a low angle
to the coast spread out over a
greater length of shoreline but
will remain along the coast for
longer.