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https://theconversation.com/death-and-devastation-why-a-rare-equatorial-cyclone-and-other-storms-have-hit-southern-asia-so-hard-270939>
"More than 900 people are dead, thousands more missing and millions affected by
a band of cyclones and extreme monsoonal weather across southern Asia.
Torrential rain has triggered the worst flooding in decades, accompanied by
landslides. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia have been hit
hardest. The death toll is likely to rise significantly.
Normally, cyclones don’t form close to the equator. But Cyclone Senyar formed
just north of the equator in the Malacca Strait. It triggered lethal flooding
in Sumatra and peninsular Malaysia last week.
It wasn’t alone. Other tropical cyclones formed along a zone of converging
trade winds north of the equator. Typhoon Koto caused severe flash floods and
landslides in the Philippines before weakening as it neared Vietnam. Tropical
Cyclone Ditwah devastated Sri Lanka. One reason Sumatra was hit by such severe
flooding was due to the unusual interaction between Typhoon Koto and Cyclone
Senyar, which has now weakened.
The near-simultaneous emergence of these intense storms isn’t unheard of, and
equatorial cyclones are rare but known. But the devastation is extraordinary.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake described the floods as the “most
challenging natural disaster” in the country’s history. Is there a climate
link? We don’t know yet, but we do know climate change is projected to trigger
fewer cyclones overall, but with higher intensity."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
