HURRICANES: Weather at Its Worst

by Thomas Helm ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1967

This is essentially a history of disaster with some survival advice to those who may find themselves in the path of a hurricane, typhoon or twister. Hurricanes are indigenous to the Atlantic and came as an unpleasant surprise to early New World explorers. An interesting sidelight is that, according to Mr. Helm, Benjamin Franklin was ""perhaps the first person to suggest that hurricanes might be a type of storm that blew in a circular path."" This describes the effects of each storm from the most destructive, in terms of human life--the Galveston hurricane that swept over the city in 1900 leaving some 6000 known dead, to the Brenda, Hannah and Betsys of the `60's. Heroes are also in the wake...Major Duckworth, the first to deliberately fly into the eye of the storm not once but twice in the same day in a search for meteorological data...the eighteen-year-old teenager who bolstered her young brother through a three mile swim only to lose him just before reaching safety. There is technical information about cause and effect. Tornadoes and typhoons are dealt with briefly. Of particular interest for those who have weathered a real storm and after a slow start, it generates its own excitement.

Pub Date: May 1, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dodd, Mead

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1967

Categories: NONFICTION