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Article: El Nino's Return: Lessons Learned.
- Article from:
- Risk & Insurance
- Article date:
- January 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Axon Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A team of scientists from the United Nations is urging businesses and communities to prepare now for the next El Nino. The phenomenon occurs every two to seven years and develops when there is a decrease or reversal of trade winds over the ocean causing the ocean to warm. Deep clouds form, producing heavy rain along the equator. The change in ocean temperature causes the rain zone to shift eastward over the western Pacific back toward the western United States.
Losses from the El Nino that occurred in 1997-98 were great, reaching $32 billion. Insured losses in the United States alone added up to more than $10 billion, according to figures provided by the ...