Mitigating means to make something less severe (ie. reducing the damage caused to people and property) – in terms of mitigating weather hazards there are 4 stages of this…

Monitoring – using scientific equipment to detect warning signs of events.

Prediction – using historical evidence along with live data to estimate when and where a natural hazard might happen.

Protection – designing buildings or structures that will withstand natural hazards.

Planning – identifying and avoiding places most at risk, preparing for a disaster.

It is useful to remember these as MP3.

Monitoring and prediction

Tropical storms are monitored by satellites and aircraft to track their size, temperature and moisture; as well as windspeed and air pressure. The path of the storm is predicted using a track cone where scientists predict where it is likely to hit – 70% of all tropical storms hit within the track cone. Computers are also used to give out advanced warnings. The USA also uses Hurricane Watch and Hurricane Warning. Hurricane watch tells us that a hurricane may hit within 48 hours, whereas Hurricane Warning says it is likely to hit and gives 36 hours warning.

Protection

Many people protect their homes from tropical storms by reinforcing them, for example, putting shutters across the windows, securing roofs and doors with galvanised metal hurricane straps, building homes on stilts to protect from flooding, tying down things like garden furniture and removing trees close to buildings. We can also build storm drains to remove excessive rainfall quickly, can build sea walls to protect against storm surges, and can restore mangrove forests which absorb excess water.

Planning

There should be raised awareness amongst communities about what to do in a tropical storm, for example in July the USA has a Hurricane Preparedness Week just ahead of hurricane season getting into full swing. And probably obvious advice for all natural hazards is for people to prepare disaster supply kits and stock up on food, water and fuel (for transport and power supply), as well as knowing how and where to evacuate to (eg. official shelters) and planning what to do with family members.