Several regions in the world are subject 21____ storms which are so severe that they cause damage on a tremendous 22____. The regions are all located on the edges of great oceans. The general term for such severe storms is ‘cyclone’. The term ‘hurricane’ is 23____ for storms that occur in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Cyclones and hurricanes differ in one curious way: in a cyclone, the wind 24____ in a clockwise direction; in a hurricane, the wind direction is counter-clockwise. But cyclones and hurricanes have one ominous similarity.25____ the damage they cause on land and at sea, they are identical.
Australia undergoes a number of cyclones every year along its northern coast, which faces Indonesia. The cyclones 26____ mainly in December and January, the summer months in the southern hemisphere.
Usually the Australian cyclones don’t cause great damage because Australia’s northern territory has vast empty regions that are virtually 27____. There are few coastal cities. When a cyclone 28____ move inland from the sea, it usually blows itself out without striking any inhabited area.29____, in 1917 the small city of Townville was severely devastated by a cyclone. There was a public outcry about it. People demand an adequate 30____ system. E-ver since then the meteorological bureau has regularly issued alarms in advance of every serious cyclone.
25.