Final answer:
Severe wind storms can cause damage through four primary mechanisms: injury or death, indirect effects, fragmentation, and force of the winds.
Step-by-step explanation:
Severe wind storms can cause damage through four primary mechanisms:
- Injury or death from extreme heat/cold, storms, floods, and fires: This refers to the direct harm caused to humans and animals during wind storms.
- Indirect effects: This includes the spread of vector-borne diseases, aggravation of respiratory diseases, population dislocation, and water pollution from sea level rise caused by the storms.
- Fragmentation: Severe wind storms can increase desiccation, tree mortality, and fuel loads, leading to increased damage.
- Force of the winds: Wind storms produce strong winds that can directly damage structures, blow away objects, and cause destruction.