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A natural hazard is when extreme events which cause great loss of life and or property and create severe disruption to human lives, such as a hurricane. Editor Philip Whitefield brings up an important point in ‘ Our Mysterious Planet’ when he comments ....

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.... in Mexico where Gilbert hit twice, first of all traversing the Yucatan Peninsula and two days later making landfall some 150 km south of the border with the USA, finally dissipating near the city of Monterrey. During its most intense phase at the western end of the Caribbean Sea, Gilbert was estimated to have central pressure of 885mbar, and maximum sustained winds in its circulation over 150kt (knots) with highest gusts in excess of 175 kt. The central pressure outrivalled the 899 mbar of the Florida Keys hurricane of 1935. Gilbert, at that stage an un-named tropical depression with maximum sustained winds around 30kt, was first spotted on ....