History[]
For the most part, the term "storm" is distinct from "rain" or "thunderstorm", although these latter two are often elements of storms. Instead, the term refers to weather phenomena with significant and potentially damaging winds, hail, rain, thunder, or other elements. Storms have always existed on Unda, primarily out in the deeper ocean, losing momentum and becoming thunderstorms or rain as they reach the islands. Prior to the formation of the Island Union, each island had their own system of naming the significant storms that affected them. After the formation of the IU, this system was standardized, and storms that did not reach islands began to also be tracked and classified.
Starting around 450, the inhabitants of Unda began to notice that the storms had been gradually worsening in severity and frequency. While coastal homes and boats had always been at risk for damage, more and more casualties and property damages began to accrue.
IU Storm Classification System[]
The modern classification system used by the Island Union is relatively simple. Storms are named as follows:
(YEAR)(LETTER)(RECURRENCE NUMBER)
The first storm of the year 400, for example, would be 400A1. The twenty-eighth storm of the year 400 would be 400B2, etc.
Notable Storms[]
A list of notable storms -- whether remembered for their intensity, the damage they caused, their size, or other criteria -- can be found below. Storms of particular severity may be referred to using the IU Phonetic Alphabet's (IUPA) call signs for their assigned letters.
- 492F1. This storm devastated much of the southern part of Laku and northern part of Tekal. It was similar in magnitude to many other storms that occurred that year and the year before, but was not covered as extensively in the media. The kindest explanation was that the news agencies wanted to spare the people from seeing the unending destruction on their screens week after week, but it was widely suspected that coverage was suppressed so as to discourage concerns about the impact of climate change. Activists refused to call the storm 'Fluke One,' believing that it was in no way a fluke.
- 497B1. A tsunami that hit the southern coast of Bhalua, notable for its massive destruction and high fatality numbers. For about five years after, crops that were grown in that section of the country seemed diseased. Environmentalists pointed to the waste on Pleoh as a likely contributing factor. It is commonly referred to as the 'Bhalua Tsunami' or the 'Southern Tsunami' for those living in Bhalua.
- 500K2. Referred to as 'Killick Two', this storm swept across the western halves of both Ilona and Ilesar and caused record amounts of casualties and damage, particularly to the coastal regions, which were still densely populated but considered habitable due to the islands' implementation of mandatory storm cellars and their construction of seawalls. Killick Two caused catastrophic damage despite these precautions. It resulted in both an ideological and economic crisis. The islands' economies were adversely affected by the abrupt loss of workers, workplaces, and the flight of many coastal inhabitants moving inland. In the aftermath, the Ilesarian government still maintained that taking action to reduce greenhouse gases would have too severe of a negative effect on productivity. That sentiment was shaken on Ilona, however.