Typhoons and Flooding
This powerful tropical storm can bring destructive winds, heavy rain, and storm surge to Guam.
What is a typhoon?
This industry brings visitors to Guam and supports hotels, restaurants, stores, and tour companies.
What is tourism?
Bottles, bags, wrappers, and fishing line are examples of this type of pollution.
What is plastic pollution or marine debris?
This long-term increase in the average height of the ocean threatens coastal communities.
What is sea-level rise?
During this event, stressed coral loses its color and appears pale or white.
What is coral bleaching?
Roads, bridges, drainage systems, power lines, and water systems are all examples of this.
What is infrastructure?
Flooding occurs when water collects faster than the ground, streams, or this human-made system can remove it.
What is a drainage system?
This term means having reliable access to enough safe and nutritious food.
What is food security?
This is the movement of rainwater across the ground into drains, streams, and coastal waters.
What is runoff?
As seawater becomes warmer, it takes up more space through a process called this.
What is thermal expansion?
This environmental condition is the most common cause of large coral-bleaching events.
What is unusually warm ocean water or heat stress?
This is the regular work needed to keep roads, equipment, and public systems functioning properly.
What is maintenance?
Name two conditions that can contribute to flooding on Guam.
What are heavy rainfall, blocked drains, paved surfaces, saturated soil, high tides, storm surge, or development in low-lying areas?
Guam’s food supply may be interrupted because much of its food reaches the island using these two forms of transportation.
What are ships and airplanes?
Name two pollutants that runoff may carry from the land into Guam’s coastal waters.
What are litter, oil, chemicals, sewage, fertilizers, or soil?
Melting glaciers and ice sheets contribute to sea-level rise by adding more of this to the ocean.
What is water?
During bleaching, coral expels these tiny organisms that live in its tissues and provide it with food.
What are algae?
Name two conditions that may contribute to infrastructure problems on Guam.
What are aging equipment, typhoon damage, flooding, delayed maintenance, insufficient funding, limited materials, or systems that are too small?
What two factors are present in tropical climates that are needed to create a tropical cyclone or typhoon?
Warm ocean water provides the heat and moisture needed for this type of storm to develop and strengthen.
Name two events or conditions that could reduce the number of tourists visiting Guam.
What are typhoons, expensive or limited flights, disease outbreaks, economic changes, or damage to beaches and reefs?
Land clearing and construction can cause large amounts of this material to wash onto coral reefs and block sunlight.
What is sediment or soil?
Name two places or resources on Guam that could be affected by rising seas.
What are beaches, coastal roads, homes, businesses, cultural sites, freshwater supplies, or public utilities?
Name two local stressors that can make it harder for coral to survive or recover from bleaching.
What are pollution, sediment, wastewater, disease, physical damage, or poor water quality?
Explain one way a power outage could also affect Guam’s water or communication systems.
What is the loss of electricity preventing water pumps, treatment equipment, cell towers, or internet equipment from operating?
A village experiences several hours of heavy rain. Its drains contain litter, most of the area is covered by pavement, and the village is near sea level. Identify three factors that increase its flood risk.
What are heavy rainfall, blocked drainage, paved surfaces, and low elevation?
A typhoon closes Guam’s port and airport for several days. Explain one way this event could affect tourism and one way it could affect food security.
What are canceled flights or fewer visitors, and delayed food shipments or reduced food availability?
Trace the path that a plastic bottle left beside a road could follow until it reaches a coral reef.
What is rain carrying the bottle into a storm drain, stream, river, beach, and then the ocean or reef?
Explain why the same coastal storm could cause more flooding if the average sea level becomes higher.
What is higher water allowing storm surge and waves to travel farther inland?
Coral reefs support Guam in several ways. Name three benefits provided by healthy reefs.
What are habitats for marine life, fishing resources, tourism, recreation, shoreline protection, and reduced wave energy?
After a typhoon, fallen power lines block a damaged road leading to a village with no running water. Identify three infrastructure systems involved in this situation.
What are the electrical system, transportation system, and water system?