How we talk about the weather / Tropical storms: Describe the risks

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.

Hurricanes, cyclones, typhoons, all these types of tropical storms can cause destruction on a massive scale. Let's hear from BBC weather forecaster and presenter Darren Bett about what damage they can cause.

All these storms bring the same sort of weather. Really, really, strong winds that cause damage and destruction. Really heavy rain that could lead to flooding, mudslides and landslides, but also something what we call a storm surge. And this is a large area of water that gets swept into the land and causes widespread flooding. You can get flood waters as high as two storeys high.

Storms are given a category depending on how strong the winds are. So, in the case of a hurricane, a category 5 hurricane is the strongest hurricane and the damage caused by a category 5 hurricane is going to be catastrophic. The winds are going to level whole towns and villages, so buildings will be blown over, blown down, roofs will be blown off. And the really strong winds means that there's likely to be power cuts that could last for weeks, if not months. And all of these things mean that some places will be uninhabitable for a long period of time.

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Tropical storms, also known as hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons can be incredibly destructive, but where do they come from and how do they start?

Every year we see damage, death and destruction caused by hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons - tropical storms. How can we describe these risks?