It’s Cyclone, No It’s a Tornado? ‘Twister’ witnessed at Panambur Beach goes Viral
Mangaluru: On the outset, first let’s know what is the difference between cyclone, hurricane, tornado and twister? Technically, a cyclone is any kind of circular wind storm. But now, it is only used to describe a strong tropical storm found off of the coast of India. Hurricanes and Typhoons are the same thing but in different places. On the coast of Florida-USA, it is called a hurricane. In the Philippines, it is called typhoon. Hurricanes occur in the Atlantic and typhoons, in the Pacific. Basically, hurricanes and typhoons form over water and are huge, while tornado’s form over land and are much smaller in size. A tornado is a violent windstorm characterized by a twisting, funnel-shaped cloud. In the United States, the twister is used as a colloquial term for a tornado.
Okay, now coming to the what was seen on Monday 18 June evening at Panambur Beach, and the video taken of the Twister, Tornado or Cyclone -whatever it was, has gone viral. But for hundreds of beachgoers, it was some kind of a scary moment as they witnessed gusty winds, like a tornado storming the beach area. Beach personnel/beach guards sighting this tornado immediately blew the warning siren and rushed to the beach area to vacate the tourists out of the beach as quickly as possible.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Yathish Baikampady, CEO of the Panambur Beach Tourism Development Project said, “Around 6.30 pm or so, the tornado was sighted which travelling across the New Mangalore Port Trust yard, and moved towards the national highway. It was learnt that heavy rains and gusty winds stormed the areas of Suratkal, Panambur, Krishnapura and nearby areas. This tornado must have initiated in the deep sea and moved towards the beach. Luckily no damage was done to the beach shops/property, or any harm to the tourists. Such kind of gusty winds, along with torrential rains are common during monsoon time.”
It is learnt from the beach guards, instead of running for their safety away from the beach, tourists were seen capturing the moment through selfies, and photos on their smartphones. Oh well, sometimes people are nuts, and you can’t help it?