All language subtitles for D D S02E09 Cyclones 1080p AMZN WEB-DL DD2 0 H 264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

Pounding rain,

ferocious winds
and surging waves.

Tropical storms are a deadly
disaster that affect millions,

causing damage, death
and destruction in their wake.

They just destroy everything
in their path.

These things are...
Are deadly.

They're-- In some cases
they're unsurvivable.

Then the winds drop
and calm descends.

Is it over?

The eye of the storm is
a small oasis of calm

in the center of
a tropical cyclone storm.

Found at the center,
the eye is surrounded

by storm clouds,
rain and wind.

Cyclones continuously move
across the Earth's surface.

Any safety afforded
by the eye of the storm

is only a temporary respite.

As the cyclone continues
to track forward,

the eye moves on.

The safe zone shifts
as the winds close in again

for a second dose.

Cyclones are among
the most destructive

of natural disasters,

impacting millions of people

and causing billions of dollars
of damage.

In this episode
of Deadly Disasters,

we will discover
how cyclones form

and why they are so deadly.

Experts will provide testimony

on the most catastrophic
disasters of recent years.

We will look at storm case
studies from around the globe.

In 2017, Cyclone Debbie

left no part of Australia
unaffected.

We will see the reasons
why it went on to become

one of the costliest cyclones
in Australian history.

Most of my stuff got
still left there.

And it'll all be gone.

The aftermath of cyclones
can be just as deadly,

with whole populations
of people affected

by the lack of food
and medical supplies.

We will look at how
the rescue efforts in Myanmar

were thwarted
by its despotic rulers,

ensuring the outcome
of Cyclone Nargis in 2008

was many times worse.

What can be expected
when the unthinkable happens

and two major cyclones hit
in a single season?

Southern Africa in 2019

faced up to this
nightmare circumstance,

forced to deal
with both Idai and Kenneth.

No food, no food, no food.

We will consider what happens

when a country struggling
to deal with one disaster

gets hit with another.

We will look at how people
adapt and respond to cyclones.

Our experts will also look
at how our changing climate

has influenced the impact
and outcome of these storms.

Cyclones, typhoons
and hurricanes

are basically
the same type of storm.

The different titles indicate

the storm's
geographical location:

cyclones in the South Pacific
and Indian Ocean,

hurricanes in the Atlantic
and the eastern North Pacific

and typhoons
in the western North Pacific.

Regardless of the title,

these tropical storms
are a serious challenge

for anyone unlucky enough
to be in their path.

Cyclones need very specific
weather conditions to form.

A tropical cyclone is
a large swirling storm

which is found usually
between five degrees latitude

in either hemisphere

and approximately
20 to 30 degrees latitude.

A tropical cyclone
is a low pressure storm

that forms over tropical
or subtropical waters.

The storm winds
circulate in a spiral,

clockwise in the Earth's
southern hemisphere

and counterclockwise
in the north.

The forces that are needed
for them to form

means that they will only occur
in areas in the tropics

away from the equator,

where there is a rotational
effect in the winds.

They will only form
where the ocean is warm.

And they will form where there
is humidity in the atmosphere.

So where those conditions
are right,

then a storm can be formed.

And it can grow and grow
under its own power

and produce
a devastating tropical cyclone.

Cyclones cover large areas,

enough to affect
many millions of people

when they hit
populated areas.

A cyclonic system is typically
eight or 10 kilometers high

and around
480 to 640 kilometers across,

approximately the distance
between London and Dublin.

Hurricanes and cyclones require
several conditions to be right

in order for them to form.

Cyclones start in the tropics

over the warm ocean because
heat and moisture are needed.

This sets up a flow
of warm, moist air

that rises very quickly.

The rising air creates an area
of low pressure at the surface

called a depression.

These tropical depressions
only become tropical cyclones

when certain circumstances
occur.

For instance, sea surface
temperatures need to be

at least 27 degrees Celsius

to inject enough energy
into the process.

Surface winds need to converge
in the same area

from different directions.

This pushes
the damp air upward,

allowing storm clouds to form.

The storm clouds need to rise
vertically unimpeded

without being blown off course,

so wind shear
needs to be minimal.

The twisting motion
of the cyclones is generated

by the rotation
of the Earth.

The depression needs to be

a specific distance
from the equator

to provide a sufficient
Coriolis force.

When all the weather conditions
fall into this Goldilocks zone,

the winds accelerate into the
spiral of a full-blown cyclone.

Its early genesis,
it might be no more

than a severe thunderstorm,

or, as we would see it,

sort of a very cloudy,
thundery, rainy area.

But if it gets
those three conditions right,

it will intensify.

So when we are
forecasting storms,

we can see them change their
characteristics very quickly.

If they are traveling
along a trajectory

which suddenly brings them
into very, very warm ocean

or very moist atmospheres,

or suddenly the winds
that might shear the storm

become very calm,

a tropical cyclone can
intensify incredibly quickly.

In a matter of 24 hours,

it can change from
a Category 1 to a Category 5.

Easily recognized from space,

cyclones form a cylinder
of dense thundercloud

around a calm central eye.

The average eye of a cyclone
is about 48 kilometers across.

The area is relatively calm,

a space where winds
and rain abate.

The most extreme winds
are found

on the edge of this area.

The eyewall is typically

the most destructive part
of a cyclone.

Cyclones can be deadly

because they cause
severe flooding.

And this flooding is over
a fairly large area

and can be extreme,

in terms of 5, 6 meters
of flooding in some cases,

and that catches people
unprepared.

People underestimate cyclones

when they have not experienced
a strong cyclone

in their region
in the last, say, 20 years.

So when there is not the memory

of a strong cyclone
in that region,

people tend to underestimate

how bad a cyclone
is going to be.

Cyclones bring devastation

in the form of high winds,
torrential rain

and coastal storm surges.

Australia, as a continent,

is close to the warm tropical
waters of the South Pacific.

It's no stranger to the havoc
that cyclones can unleash.

For a country that's used
to extreme weather,

2017 was an exceptional year.

Tropical Cyclone Debbie
was one of the worst storms

to hit Australia
since records began.

Cyclones are given
human's names

to allow
for easy identification

of specific storms.

The practice stems
from the 1950s.

Alternating male and female
names are chosen

in alphabetic order.

On March the 23rd,
off the coast of Queensland,

a tropical low pressure zone
was detected.

Fed by high surface
temperatures in the ocean,

it developed over
the next three days

into a Category 4 cyclone.

Categories are
an important indicator

of how dangerous
a cyclone can be.

Cyclones are given
a different numbered category

depending on
their wind speeds.

Category 1 have sustained winds

above 119 kilometers per hour.

Category 2,

above 154 kilometers per hour.

Three, above 178 kilometers
per hour.

Four, above 209.

And Category 5 have speeds

above 251 kilometers per hour.

The higher the category rating,

the more dangerous
the cyclone potentially is.

Category 4 and 5 storms need to
be taken very seriously indeed.

The strongest recorded winds
from a tropical cyclone

are around 200 miles an hour,

sustained for about a minute.

And that is approaching the
kind of winds and devastation

you would get from a tornado.

From March the 26th, 2017,

meteorologists tracked the
westward progress of the storm

across the Pacific.

First landfall occurred

when Debbie hit
the Whitsunday Islands

on March the 28th.

The Whitsunday Islands are
normally a tropical paradise,

famous for their proximity
to the Great Barrier Reef

and a popular
tourist destination.

When Debbie hit the islands,

it was at Category 4 strength

with winds
over 209 kilometers per hour.

The full force of the cyclone

was perfectly targeted
on the islands,

with the eye of the storm
passing directly overhead.

We were either
just inside the red zone

or just outside it
in the orange zone.

And that's like 170,
180 kilometer-an-hour winds.

That's-- That's bad.
Heh, heh, that really is.

After hitting
the Whitsunday Islands,

the storm continued
towards the mainland

and made landfall
at Airlie Beach, Queensland.

A peak storm surge
of over two and a half meters

was recorded
by Laguna Quays.

A storm surge is
a rise in sea level

caused by a tropical cyclone.

Most deaths
from tropical cyclones occur

from flooding
due to storm surge.

And the second cause of death
is flooding

due to freshwater rains
and mudslides.

And the best way to prevent
loss of life in storm surge

is evacuation and shelter.

And so people need time
to be able to get to shelters

and there need to be
shelters close enough

that people can get to them.

And the shelters
need to be large enough

and adequate
to survive the storm.

A storm surge occurs

where the sea level rises
above its normal level,

often flooding low-lying areas.

Surges are caused
by the low pressure,

high winds and high waves
generated by the cyclone.

If a high tide coincides
with the cyclone's landfall,

the waves can be even higher...

because the additional
storm surge waters

flow on top of the high tide.

In coastal areas,
storm surges are often

the greatest threat
to life and property.

A cubic meter of water
weighs about 1000 kilograms,

and surges are able
to exert significant forces

against anything
in their path.

Only the strongest buildings
and flood defenses

can withstand the pounding
of the water.

People caught
in the initial surge

risk being washed away...

drowned,
trapped in falling buildings,

or injured by moving debris.

Floods caused by storm surges

have the added complication
that the seawater is saline.

The salt water flows inland,

poisoning wells, farmland

and seeping
into the groundwater.

The groundwater salinity
can last years,

causing havoc
with water supplies

until it's eventually diluted
enough by fresh rainwater.

Floodwaters can also
overrun sewers,

spreading infectious disease.

Evidence of fecal contamination,
such as E. coli,

as well as we've got evidence

of Streptococcus
and Legionella.

These things,
while they may be harmless

when floating around
in floodwater,

if you were to get them
into a wound or in your mouth

or on your food, could cause

some quite severe
gastrointestinal illnesses.

Dealing with the sheer numbers
of affected people

is one of the main
logistical challenges

associated with cyclones.

All women and children,
follow the lady!

Large numbers
of transient people

can block transport routes

and then need quantities
of food, medicine and shelter.

Flooding was expected
in low-lying coastal areas.

Twenty-five thousand residents
in the area of Airlie Beach,

Bowen and Proserpine
were ordered to evacuate.

The same day,

Debbie made landfall
in Queensland around 5 p.m.

with wind gusts of up
to 262 kilometers per hour.

Boats were blown
onto the shore.

Gusts ripped roofs
off buildings,

leveled walls,

and mature trees were uprooted.

The storm behaved
like a battering ram

as it smashed through the town.

Heavy rainfall continued,

triggering dramatic flooding.

One measuring station recorded
646 millimeters of rain

in a single 24 hours.

The water went up
to the top of the windows,

so everything I couldn't get up
out of it would be gone.

For the next two days,

Cyclone Debbie continued
to push on

across the countryside...

creating a disaster zone...

across a 1400 kilometer-wide
stretch

of the Australian landscape.

Cyclone Debbie was a very large
system that moved slowly.

It took a long time to pass.

Areas underneath were directly
in the storm for longer

than they would otherwise be
in a typical cyclone.

Fortunately, there were
no immediate deaths

in the strike zone,

although the eventual death toll

was at least 10 people.

Days after the cyclone passed,

Airlie Beach was still without
power and running water.

The continued bad weather
frustrated aid efforts,

with roads blocked

and communications
infrastructure damaged.

This happened so fast,

within six hours.

Had virtually no warning.

In fact, the warning I got
was after the event.

The Logan river
burst its banks,

and the area suffered from
particularly extensive floods.

A lot of people
have lost houses.

In this part
of the Logan River,

there's people
who have yet to discover

that they've lost their houses

because they stayed
with family and friends.

They'll come back today and find
that their house is underwater.

Homes were flooded, soaking
belongings beyond repair.

In addition to homes
and buildings being damaged,

farmland was also affected,

with many crops destroyed.

All told,
Tropical Cyclone Debbie caused

insured losses of 1.7 billion
Australian dollars.

The task of rebuilding
was a daunting prospect,

set to impact people's lives
for years to come.

As well as a physical toll,

such disasters can have
a negative impact

on people's mental health.

Populations can bounce back
and recover

from individual incidents.

However, Australia remains
at risk of future cyclones.

Any rebuilding efforts
need to consider

that they will be enveloped
by the next inevitable cyclone.

Cyclones can't be avoided.

But the more
we know about them,

the more it becomes possible
to detect patterns

and learn to manage the risk.

If we are able
to predict cyclones

and provide early warnings,

this information
has the potential

to save thousands of lives
each year worldwide.

Tropical cyclones
by their nature

are difficult to predict.

They can change direction
and dissipate at any time.

This makes long-term
predictions difficult to make.

When it comes
to weather warnings,

it is also important
to avoid false positives.

Mobilizing rescue crews
and evacuating populations

is costly
and should only be done

when strictly necessary.

In some circumstances,
the storm may abate

and it may become safer
for populations to ride it out

rather than evacuate.

Fortunately,
cyclones move quite slowly,

typically 16 to 32 kilometers
per hour.

This allows some time
for evacuation

and fortification of buildings
against the storm.

Satellite imaging is key

in the early detection
of a cyclone

because they normally form
away from land.

Radar and computer modeling
technologies

are being
continuously developed.

Further research has involved
flying planes

directly into cyclones
to gather dimensional data

of the forces involved
in the storm.

At ground level,
so-called storm chasers

use customized vehicles
built to collect data

as they follow
the path of the storm.

International cooperation
is key,

and countries work together
to track cyclones

and share information.

These activities are
coordinated at a global level

by the World Weather Watch
program.

The point of gathering
this data

is to shrink
the cone of uncertainty

and ensure that predictions
are accurate enough

to allow people
to make the right decision

whether to evacuate or shelter
during the next storm.

Cyclone Debbie
was highly damaging

to the settlements
on the Whitsunday Islands.

Coastal mangroves.

A tangle of trees
adapted to survive

in the saltwater deltas.

A twisted knot of roots
intertwined

forms an almost
impenetrable barrier.

Mangroves' complex root systems

are evolved to withstand
the action of the waves.

They form
a natural defensive barrier,

protecting the landscape

from the extremes
of cyclone activity.

In many parts of the world,

humans have cleared
large areas of mangrove forest.

Previously known as Burma,

Myanmar is a country
in South Asia

bordered by Bangladesh, India,
China, Laos and Thailand.

In the last decade,
Myanmar has lost

most of its mangrove forests
along the coast

to shrimp farms
and rice paddies.

The mangroves,
not only do their root systems

hold the soil together

underneath the water
or near the water,

but the trees themselves also
protect against wave action.

And all of this
helps prevent erosion of land

and it helps create new areas
of land out from the coast.

And so mangrove forests
help form a barrier

that protects further inland

from heavy waves
and storm surge.

The data backs this up.

Studies have shown
that mangroves

reduce the number of deaths
in cyclone-hit areas.

In Myanmar, the destruction
of the mangroves

has economic benefits
in the short term.

The farms established
in their place

are relied upon
by the local populations

as a key element
of their diet.

However, in the longer term,

the increased flood risk due
to the loss of the mangroves

has the potential
to impact the economy more.

Low-lying aquaculture ponds

and rice paddies present
an inherent flood risk.

The ground is
already waterlogged,

and any potential barriers

to the influx of water
are removed.

In the event of storm surges,
there is nothing to prevent

oceanic saltwater flowing
inland, poisoning the crops.

With its tropical location,

Myanmar has a high risk
of cyclone activity.

However,
with its defenses depleted

in recent years,
the risk of catastrophic floods

have continued to increase.

It was just a matter of time.

In 2008, time ran out.

2008 was the year

of the most deadly
natural disaster

ever recorded in Myanmar.

It was caused
by a tropical cyclone.

A tropical system was detected

in the Bay of Bengal

by Indian meteorologists
on April the 27th.

By the following day,
it had developed

into a Category 1 cyclone
and was given the name Nargis.

Nargis was a tropical cyclone

that formed in the Bay of Bengal
in late April, 2008.

And the Bay of Bengal has

among the highest
sea surface temperatures

in the entire world,

especially between spring,
summer and fall

in the Northern Hemisphere.

By May the 2nd,

Nargis had developed

into a deadly
Category 4 cyclone,

and it made landfall
near the town of Wagon

in the Ayeyarwady Division.

In Myanmar in particular,

the Cyclone Nargis
was an event that--

None of which on that scale
has happened before.

So the government was very much
unprepared for that.

And people on the ground
in the delta, of course,

were very vulnerable.

Typically,
when a storm would hit

big, solid land of mountains,
it would lose energy.

But in this case, in the delta,

the land is already
completely flooded.

There's lots of warm water
there.

It's very, very flat,
there is no shelter.

And there's nothing to make
the storm lose energy.

So as Nargis hit
the river delta in Myanmar,

it didn't lose
any energy at all.

The winds were
incredibly intense

and the storm surge drove the
water far inland from the delta

because the land was
already flooded full of water.

That was what was responsible
for the loss of life.

Nargis would go on to cause
untold devastation,

destroying 450,000 homes
and damaging a further 350,000.

Approximately 600 hectares
of farmland were destroyed

and over 800,000 people
were displaced.

Nargis could be considered
a perfect storm of destruction.

However, there were several
human factors to consider

that greatly increased the toll
caused by the cyclone.

The country of Myanmar was
not well prepared for cyclones.

It had no early warning system
for incoming storms.

In the case of Cyclone Nargis,

it was only tipped off
to the storm's presence

by Indian meteorologists.

It had no storm shelters
or evacuation plans.

Much of its housing was
particularly vulnerable,

built mainly
from poor materials

in a haphazard fashion

without controls
or building regulations.

Poor quality housing

is one of
the main risk factors

in the developing world when
facing extreme weather events.

Myanmar is one of
the least developed countries

in the world
and in Southeast Asia.

It's also one
of the largest countries

in Southeast Asia actually,
space-wise,

and it has about 55 million
inhabitants who suffered under

authoritarianism, military rule,
ethnic conflicts, civil war

ever since the independence
of the country.

When the weather warnings
did come,

many people doubted
their accuracy

and didn't evacuate
or prepare.

Previous forecasts in Myanmar
had been so inaccurate,

people didn't believe
these warnings...

the cone of uncertainty
regarding storm predictions

having a deadly effect
in this case.

Within a couple of days
of landfall,

some 260,000 people were
evacuated to temporary camps

throughout the Ayeyarwady River Delta.

Heavy rains and
a 3.6-meter-high storm surge

destroyed up to 95 percent
of the buildings

in the cyclone's path.

The floodwaters penetrated
48 kilometers inland

from the coast...

damaging not just homes,

but farms, fisheries, industry,
roads and infrastructure.

The political situation
at the time in Myanmar

greatly complicated
the emergency response.

Myanmar at the time
was considered a pariah state

while under the rule
of an oppressive military junta

from 1962 to 2011.

The military were in place
by force

rather than
a democratic mandate.

Its response to the cyclone

greatly increased
the human cost of the disaster.

During the disaster, despite
international condemnation

by multiple world leaders,

including U.S. President
George W. Bush

and British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown,

Myanmar's rulers heavily
resisted international aid

for too long.

We now estimate
that 2 million people

faced famine or disease
as a result

of the lack of cooperation
of the Burmese authorities.

This is
completely unacceptable.

There must be unfettered access
to humanitarian agencies.

We've already made available
5 million pounds.

We've got a humanitarian team
now in Rangoon

to assess all options

for getting help through
to people in need.

You do have people
that are dying every day.

And we don't have a sense
at this point

that the response to date
is adequate

to keep more people from dying.

It means, you know,
probability of outbreaks,

disease outbreaks.

More people dying
because of exposure,

because of disease,
because of malnutrition,

because of hunger.

When aid finally came,

it was too late for many.

An official death toll
doesn't exist.

Myanmar's military leaders
didn't coordinate a count.

However, the confirmed
death toll is known to be

at least 146,000.

At least 2.4 million people

were greatly impacted
by Cyclone Nargis.

All told, it is estimated

that Cyclone Nargis caused

over 10 billion U.S. dollars'
worth of damage,

making it the costliest cyclone
to have occurred

in the North Indian Ocean
basin.

Most of the discourse
around cyclones

is focused on the damage
they do

and the humanitarian challenges
of dealing with the aftermath.

Climate change also needs to be
factored in

when discussing
the potential future outcomes

of extreme weather systems
like cyclones.

Counterintuitively,

studies show cyclones
are happening less often.

The number of tropical cyclones
over the last 70 years

have steadily reduced.

Unfortunately,
it's not all good news.

The cyclones that do occur

are more intense
and more dangerous.

As the Earth warms,

the moisture content
in the air increases,

which in turn feeds
more powerful storms.

Computer models predict that
for a two-degree Celsius rise

in global temperatures,

rainfall during a cyclone
would increase 10 to 15 percent

and the storm's
intensities would rise by

as much as 10 percent.

Rising sea levels increase the
height of coastal storm surges

and greater flooding is likely.

The effects of climate change
are already visible

in the cyclones that are
affecting many countries.

The trend of more and more
powerful storms

can be seen in Cyclone Idai,

which decimated parts
of Southern Africa in 2019.

The impact a storm has
on the population

depends not just
upon the deadly ferocity

of the storm itself

but how well equipped a
population is to deal with it.

In developing countries,

buildings are
typically less robust

and less able
to withstand the forces

of 160-plus
kilometer-per-hour winds.

Emergency response services
are underfunded,

and their ability
to help is exacerbated

by poor transport
infrastructure.

Food and medical supplies
are often overstretched

by the sheer numbers
of people involved.

This magnifies
the human impact,

resulting in tens of thousands
of casualties,

compared to the hundreds
in the West

for a similar-size cyclone.

Cyclone Idai hit Southeastern
Africa in March, 2019,

and went on to become

one of the hemisphere's
most devastating storms.

Mozambique typically only gets

one significant storm
every 10 years.

Because of this
intermittent risk,

preparation for cyclones
isn't prioritized.

It's unlikely, if an area

is very infrequently attacked
by tropical cyclones,

that they will have
the infrastructure in place

to move people,
to have safe places

where they can
evacuate people to.

So a storm that hits in an area

which is, shall we say,
unprepared,

of course, like any event, is
going to be more badly affected.

Between the 9th and the 12th
of March, 2019,

a tropical storm strengthened
into Tropical Cyclone Idai.

At its peak,
sustained wind speeds

were around
177 kilometers per hour.

Idai's intensity receded
over the next day or so.

But that trend didn't continue,

and Cyclone Idai's wind speed
ramped up again.

By March the 14th,
the sustained wind speeds

peaked at
193 kilometers per hour.

Cyclone Idai had a looping path

that made it unpredictable
and difficult to track.

It actually made landfall twice
in Mozambique.

On the 15th of March,

Idai made landfall in
the Mozambican city of Beira.

It was not prepared
for such a catastrophic storm.

The city of Beira was torn up

as the storm ripped
through the buildings.

Many people were injured
by the airborne debris.

Beira has about 500,000 people,

some of whom live right near
the river in low-lying areas.

So because the system was able
to push a surge of seawater

up the river
in a populated region,

it made this system
quite deadly at landfall.

And furthermore,
it spent more days after that

with heavy rainfall,
causing further river flooding

and other kinds
of inland flooding.

Up to 90 percent
of the buildings in Beira

were totally destroyed.

From Beira,
Cyclone Idai continued inland,

leaving a trail of destruction
in its wake

and reaching Zimbabwe
on March the 16th.

Eventually, Idai killed
at least 1300 people

and impacted over 3 million
people across Madagascar,

Mozambique, Malawi
and Zimbabwe,

making it
the second deadliest cyclone

to hit the Southern Hemisphere.

Idai brought
torrential rainfall,

causing catastrophic flooding
in many areas,

displacing hundreds
of thousands of people.

The floods helped spread
infectious diseases,

including cholera and malaria.

Over 100,000 homes
were destroyed

and at least 1 million acres
of crops were ruined...

exacerbating food shortages

and placing the country
at risk of famine.

Very intense rain

has hit the whole province,

which is
swelling the river basins

and is putting
additional populations

along those rivers at risk,

including the population

in certain cities such as Pemba.

We estimate that probably
over 100,000 more people

are at risk of the flood.

The impact of storms such as
Idai can last a long time.

People can suffer
from disease and malnutrition

for many months
after the storm has passed.

In some areas,

girls are caught between
impossible choices for survival

as severe food shortages bite.

A rise of prostitution,
sex for food,

forced and arranged marriages
were noted

in the aftermath
of the cyclone.

So the main impact of Storm Idai
in Mozambique was the flooding.

The winds, of course,
were very severe,

but the winds were
relatively short-lived.

Idai was not a particularly
severe windstorm

by any standard,

but it did produce
vast amounts of rain,

a lot of storm surge,

and it deposited
a large amount of water

on land that was already
quite low-lying and wet.

As the floodwaters
started to recede

and the slow, painful process
of rebuilding began,

the unthinkable happened.

Less than six weeks
after Cyclone Idai

tore through the country,

Cyclone Kenneth made landfall
in Mozambique

on the 24th of April...

the second major storm to hit

in less than
a two-month period.

Kenneth made landfall just
north of Pemba in Mozambique.

Idai was bad.

Kenneth was worse.

When Kenneth came along
not very long after Idai,

it was falling--
It was causing rain to fall

on an area
that was already flooded.

People's homes
were already devastated.

People were already
living outside

because of the previous storm.

So that when the second storm
came along,

they were totally exposed.

And the impact, of course,
was amplified many times.

Kenneth was to become the most
intense tropical cyclone

in Mozambique's
recorded history,

with sustained winds
of 225 kilometers per hour.

Scientists believe climate
change may have had a hand

in triggering two storms
so close together.

In the case of Idai
when it hit Mozambique,

of course the flooding
and the winds

caused a lot of people to
be moved away from their homes.

A lot of people lost their
homes and then were displaced.

They were battered
by the first storm.

There was a lot of sickness,
a lot of injury,

a lot of people didn't
have water and food.

So under those conditions,

while people are camping
essentially in the open air

in a very weakened state,

the arrival of
the second storm, Kenneth,

a very short period afterwards
was utterly devastating.

The two storms
greatly impacted agriculture

in an area with
780,000 hectares of crops,

plunging some 200,000 children

into crisis levels
of food insecurity.

Mozambique was hit
by two cyclones

in March and April of 2019,

and that additional flooding

made more regions
difficult to get to.

Roads were washed out.

This flooding was
lasting for weeks on end.

And for those reasons,
it was difficult

for international aid workers
to reach

some of the villages
and cities and towns

that had been affected.

And in addition,
these regions are fairly poor,

and they are exposed
to diseases

like cholera and malaria
on a regular basis.

But these flooding conditions
made those worse.

So, for instance, Mozambique had
a cholera outbreak after Idai,

and Kenneth would have
made that even worse.

Cyclones Idai and Kenneth
happening so close together

was a once-in-a-generation
disaster.

Populations still reeling
from Idai

were in no position
to deal with Kenneth.

An estimated
2.5 million people,

almost 10 percent
of the country's population,

needed life-saving assistance.

Cyclones represent nature
at its most primal,

a force we can't control
or easily predict,

with winds and waves
that are so powerful

that our defenses seem futile.

They can strike in many places

and often hit countries

not equipped to deal with them.

The initial landfall
is frightening and chaotic,

but the really deadly disaster
occurs in the aftermath

with the spread
of disease and famine.

A country's infrastructure
can be torn up,

hampering rescue efforts.

Even if people can escape

the initial danger
of the storm,

where do they go?

Cyclones oust hundreds of
thousands of people each year.

Where are these
displaced populations housed?

The various dangers
to these people remain

long after
the storm has abated.

Some of the world's
worst humanitarian disasters

have been triggered
by cyclones,

with individual storms
that negatively impact

millions of people while
costing billions of dollars.

The relationship between
climate change and cyclones

is still being tested,

but the trend is
for more dramatic storms.

Unity among organizations
is the lifeline to survival

in any disaster,
let alone when faced

with the eye
of Mother Nature's fury,

the catastrophic impact
of cyclones.