Cyclone Preparation Contrast

The storm is not the question

A tropical cyclone that crosses a wealthy coastline and one that crosses a poorer one are, as weather, much the same event. What differs is everything the two places can DO about it. That difference is what this part of the specification examines. You need one named example from a developed country and one from an emerging or developing country, and you need to compare their preparation and response directly. Two good paragraphs, one per country, will not do it. An answer that describes each in isolation and leaves the reader to spot the difference has not made the comparison, and the comparison is the skill being marked. Everything in this module builds towards writing it properly.

Cyclone risk words

Six terms, and the last three are the ones that turn a description into a comparison:

Match each hazard to what it does

Where they form, and where they do not

Tropical cyclones need warm ocean water, around 27 degrees Celsius, deep enough to keep feeding the storm. That confines them to a belt, and the belt has a hole in the middle of it. They form roughly 5 to 30 degrees either side of the equator - not further out, where the sea is too cool, and not on the equator itself, for a reason you will meet in a moment. Next you will see that belt with no labels on it, so here is the key. The red line across the middle is the equator. The narrow pale strip running along it is the zone within about 5 degrees. The two shaded bands, one above and one below that strip, are the formation belts. The plain water beyond them is too cool for a cyclone to form.

Tap the formation belt

Using the key you have just been given, tap the band NORTH of the equator where tropical cyclones form.

Why is there a hole in the middle?

The sea is at its warmest on the equator, yet tropical cyclones do not form there. Why not?

• The spin that a cyclone needs comes from the rotation of the Earth, and that effect falls to nothing at the equator
• The water there is too warm, and a cyclone needs a moderate sea temperature
• There is not enough land near the equator for storms to build against
• The winds there blow too strongly for a storm to organise itself

The same warning, two sets of options

Satellites track every storm, so a forecast reaches both countries. What differs is what each can do with it. Your worked pair is Hurricane Ian, Florida, USA, in 2022 (developed) against Cyclone Amphan, Bangladesh, in 2020 (emerging/developing) - and the point of the pairing is the mechanisms below, not a list of figures.

Which raise vulnerability?

Two places are hit by similar storms. Select the TWO factors that would make one of them suffer more.

• Dense population living on low-lying, low-elevation coastal land
• Housing built without enforced standards, from materials that will not stand the wind
• The storm was tracked by satellite for several days beforehand
• The sea the storm crossed was unusually warm

Which sentence actually compares?

Here is part of a student answer. Three of the highlighted sentences describe one country at a time. Tap the ONE that makes a direct comparison between the two.

• Both countries had several days of warning.
• In the developed country, most people evacuated by car along major roads.
• In the emerging country, people moved on foot to raised cyclone shelters.
• The warning reached both, but only one had the road network and vehicles to move a whole population quickly, so evacuation was faster where capacity was greater.
• Recovery in the emerging country depended heavily on international aid.

Plan the contrast

A comparison question is four moves, and most candidates only make two of them. Put them in order.

• Name both examples, and say which is the developed one and which the emerging or developing one
• Take ONE aspect at a time: warning, evacuation, building, or recovery
• On that aspect, put the two side by side in one sentence, using words like whereas or however
• Explain the difference with wealth, infrastructure or capacity, not just by stating that it exists

Write one properly

Both countries received satellite warnings several days ahead, _____ only the higher-income country had the road network and the vehicles to evacuate a large population quickly. The difference is not the _____ they received but the _____ to act on it. In the emerging country, people were moved instead to raised cyclone _____, which is an effective response built around the resources actually available. Comparing them on the same _____ at the same time is what turns two descriptions into an answer.

Three decisions

Three moments where the right move is not the obvious one.

• You have written a paragraph on the developed country and a paragraph on the emerging one, both accurate and detailed. The question said "compare". What is missing?
• You write: "The developed country coped better because it is richer." Why will that not score well?
• You cannot remember any figures for either event. How much of a problem is that here?

Two countries, one cyclone

Compare preparation and response to tropical cyclones in one developed and one emerging or developing country. Use the pair above, or the two your school has taught you, and add the detail from your own case-study notes.

• Name both examples and say which is which
• Compare them on WARNING and evacuation, in sentences that hold both countries at once
• Compare them on BUILDING and defences in the same way
• Compare them on RECOVERY, including where the money to rebuild comes from
• Explain each difference through wealth, infrastructure or capacity, never by stating wealth alone