With us today is Judy Miller, a well known scientist.0:06
How did you happen to become so interested in ecological problems?0:12
I was born and grew up in the southern part of the US I went to school in the city of New Orleans.0:15
In the summer of 2005, I was back home from my holidays, preparing for the beginning of my final school year when on Sunday, I still remember the date.0:21
28 August, we heard that Hurricane Katrina was on the way to the city.0:30
On Monday the 29th, it hit New Orleans and we had a week of horror.0:36
It was the disaster in fact that started your career.0:42
Katrina was one of the wildest storms in history.0:47
It took 1833 lives and caused a lot of damage.0:51
80% of New Orleans was buried in flood water.0:56
But my family was lucky.0:59
Our house wasn't damaged.1:01
Then I felt I had to do something.1:03
So I decided to study nature's wildest storms and hurricanes.1:06
When do such storms usually happen?1:10
During the so called hurricane season.1:13
From June to November in the Atlantic Ocean and from May until November in the Pacific Ocean.1:15
How does a hurricane start in the Atlantic Ocean?1:22
They actually begin as windy thunderstorms that have formed over the warm ocean near the equator.1:25
Then the winds pick up energy from the warm surface of the ocean.1:31
What is the main danger?1:36
These major tropical storms can be very dangerous along coastlines because ocean waters flow onto land, destroying everything.1:37
When this is combined with heavy rainfall, there can be awful floods.1:46
Why do hurricanes happen so often?1:51
Many scientists think that warmer ocean temperatures have led to stronger tropical storms and hurricanes.1:54
So the explanation is global warming and climatic changes.2:00
People say that the wildest and strongest dangerous winds suddenly stop and unusually quiet periods come.2:05
And then the hurricane hits even more strongly.2:12
The center of a hurricane is called the eye.2:16
While most of a hurricane has dangerously strong winds, the eye is actually a calm area in the storm.2:19
When the eye of a hurricane passes over land, people usually think the storm is over.2:26
But before long the wind and rain increase again.2:31
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