Tropical storm case studies: causes, effects and responses

OCR J383 Paper 2 requires you to compare TWO tropical storm case studies — typically one in an HIC (or NEE) and one in an LIC — to evaluate why impacts and responses differ. Named case studies with real statistics are essential for L3 marks.

Case Study 1: Hurricane Katrina (2005) — USA (HIC)

Background

• Date: 29 August 2005
• Category: 5 at peak; made US landfall as Category 3 (winds ~200 km/h)
• Location: Gulf of Mexico coast; New Orleans, Louisiana (much of city below sea level)
• Ocean temperature: Gulf of Mexico was unusually warm (30°C+) — fuelled rapid intensification

Primary effects

• 1,833 deaths — lower than in an LIC context but high for a wealthy nation
• 80% of New Orleans flooded — the city sits in a bowl below sea level; levées failed
• 1 million people displaced; 90,000 km² of land affected

Secondary effects

• Economic cost: $125 billion in damage (costliest US hurricane at the time)
• Environmental: oil spills from damaged refineries; 190 million gallons leaked into surrounding waters
• Social: predominantly African-American and low-income communities worst affected — highlighted deep racial and economic inequalities
• Displacement: many residents never returned; New Orleans lost 29% of population

Immediate responses

• Federal government's response widely criticised as slow and disorganised
• FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) overwhelmed; search-and-rescue delayed
• National Guard deployed but coordination poor
• Thousands stranded at Superdome for days without adequate food/water

Long-term responses

• $14.5 billion levée improvement programme (post-Katrina)
• "Road Home" programme: $13.4 billion to help homeowners rebuild
• Improved FEMA coordination; revised National Response Framework
• Coastal restoration programme to rebuild Louisiana wetlands (which buffer storms)

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Case Study 2: Typhoon Haiyan (2013) — Philippines (LIC/NEE)

Background

• Date: 8 November 2013
• Category: Super Typhoon (Category 5 equivalent); winds up to 315 km/h at landfall — one of the strongest ever recorded
• Location: Central Philippines — Tacloban City hardest hit; Visayas region
• Ocean temperature: warm Pacific waters (29–30°C)

Primary effects

• 6,300 deaths (conservative estimate; many bodies never recovered)
• 4 million displaced; 1.1 million homes destroyed or damaged
• Tacloban city centre almost completely destroyed; storm surge up to 5–7 metres

Secondary effects

• Economic cost: $10 billion — massive relative to Philippines' GDP
• Food security crisis: crops destroyed; 2.4 million people needed food assistance
• Disease risk: limited clean water → cholera and typhoid risk
• Infrastructure collapse: roads, ports, communications destroyed — hampering aid delivery

Immediate responses

• Philippine government declared a state of national calamity
• International response: largest UN aid operation at the time ($800 million appeal)
• US military aircraft delivered aid; UK and Australia sent naval ships
• Early warning system had worked — most people knew the storm was coming, but many chose to shelter in place

Long-term responses

• "Build Back Better" programme with improved building codes
• Relocation of communities from high-risk coastal zones (No-Build Zones)
• Investment in early warning system improvements
• International aid: $690 million from the Philippines government; $500 million+ from international donors

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Comparison: HIC vs LIC responses

Factor	Katrina/USA (HIC)	Haiyan/Philippines (LIC/NEE)
Death toll	1,833	6,300+
Infrastructure	Mostly intact; levées failed	Catastrophic collapse
Immediate response	Internal but poor coordination	Relied heavily on international aid
Long-term rebuild	Well-funded ($14.5bn levées alone)	Dependent on donor funding
Underlying vulnerability	Inequalities by race/income	Widespread poverty; exposed coastal communities
Recovery	Partial; population still below pre-storm level	Slow; "No-Build Zones" remained controversial

Key evaluation point

The Philippines had early warning systems and people knew Haiyan was coming — yet impacts were severe because poverty, poor construction and dependence on coastal livelihoods created deep structural vulnerability. The USA's larger economic and institutional resources enabled a faster (if still criticised) response. The capacity to respond depends on development level, not just the storm's physical intensity.

Common OCR exam mistakes

1. Writing about the storm in general rather than the specific case study — always give the storm name, year, category and death toll.
2. Confusing primary effects (immediate, direct) with secondary effects (consequence of primary damage).
3. Not comparing — the 8-mark question usually requires sustained comparison between HIC and LIC. Use connectives: "whereas", "in contrast", "similarly".
4. Saying HICs always cope better — Katrina showed even rich nations can fail; the difference is in structural/institutional capacity, not automatically in outcomes.