5 TOP FACTS HURRICANES

1. The world’s most powerful generator – If you calculate the total heat generated by condensation inside a hurricane, it equals 200 times our daily worldwide energy-generating capacity.
2. No-holds-barred Nancy – Typhoon Nancy, which tore across Japan in September 1961, clocked sustained winds of 185kph (213mph), the fastest on record.
3. A four-ce to be reckoned with – Only twice in modern history – 1893 and 1998 – did four hurricanes power their way simultaneously through the Atlantic basin.
4. Another myth down the drain – It is untrue that the Coriolis force causes toilets to fl ush in different directions in the northern and southern hemispheres.
5. A name to be remembered – Since the Fifties, all tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic basin receive a name. If the storm’s particularly deadly, the name is retired.