Sunday September 14th, 2008 Hurricanes

Sitting here looking out my window at the gentle swish of the wind through the trees as the first of the yellowing leaves fall to the ground, it is almost impossible to comprehend the ferocity and damage that can be done when as swirling winds meet warm ocean waters. The series of hurricanes that are, currently, bearing down on the Caribbean and southern US demonstrate the fragility of life on our ever changing planet.

Whether it’s called a hurricane, typhoon or tropical cyclone, depends on where you are on the planet but the devastation is the same. The topic of the weather has fascinated man since the beginning of time and as the world becomes an ever smaller planet the natural disasters faced in one part of the world have taken on global significance. The library is full of new materials that explore both the tragedies and the triumphs of the human spirit that occur when a disaster strikes. In the meantime, put on a comfortable pair of walking shoes and enjoy the gentle fall breeze.

The Encylopedia of Hurricanes, Typhoons and Cyclones by David Longshore, will provide an excellent beginning to understanding everything about storms, with over 200 entries that cover hurricanes in science, history, culture and folklore. Longstore explores the basic facts, like what was the biggest hurricane (Hurricane Camille, 1969), the deadliest (San Calixto II, 1780, with over 25,000 dead), and the costliest (Hurricane Katrina, 2005 with over 96 billion dollars of damage). The encyclopedia is a full a to z guide, that discusses all aspects of a hurricane, from the naming of, to the instruments used to track the storms, to the zoology of the animals whose behavior is studied as harbingers of coming storms.

For students and budding scientists that are interested in studying storms, or even for parents that are looking to remove the fears of their youngsters, an excellent source of information is Hurricane Force: in the Path of America’s Deadliest Storms by Joseph B. Treaster. Treaster investigates the weather factor necessary to spawn a meteorological monster, how scientists plot the paths and potential power of storms, the effects and aftermath of a hurricane as well as a look at precautions for the future. The book included a large number of colour photographs, maps and diagrams to help visual learners understand the dynamics of a storm.

Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics and the Battle over Global Warming by Chris Mooney explores the changes in the world’s weather patterns and how this change is becoming the next political battleground. Examining the split in science between those who believe the field of study should be rooted in the careful collection of data and observations (meteorologists) and those who prefer theory-based deductions from the laws of physics (climatologists); and how governments are using this debate to avoid responsibility in dealing with climate change. Storm World also looks back over the last 30 years of research into global climate as a single, evolving system in which there are more frequent and larger hurricanes, and the modeling that is predicting the appearance of “hypercanes”, in the near future that will dwarf the worst of known disasters.

The dvd, Blue Planet, focuses entirely on the oceans and all the life that depend on it. The dvd which is a companion piece to BBC’s Planet Earth is a masterpiece of cinematography and over the 4 discs captures the oceans of the world and all its life from the tiniest of plankton to the teeming life of a coral reef. Looking at the currents and the weather , the rain and the storms at sea, the dvd shows the beauty and the terror of a developing hurricane.



Finally, for those who prefer their storms as fiction can find a great audio download in Philip S Donlay’s Category Five. With a great mix of fact and fiction, the novel follows the plot of a research jet with catastrophic engine failure, whose only safe haven is to remain in the eye of the world’s deadliest hurricane as their fuel begins to run out.

Lori Kauzlarick, Public Services Assistant at the Brodie Resource Library