NFPA Journal - Winter 2022 - 88

Looking Back
FIRE INCIDENTS AND
OTHER NOTABLE EVENTS
FROM SAFETY HISTORY
EL NIÑO
GRANDE
A 40-YEAR LOOK AT A
HISTORIC AND DESTRUCTIVE
CLIMATE EVENT
By Scott Sutherland
E
very few years, atmospheric
and oceanic conditions align to
produce a mass of warm water
off the Pacific Coast of South
America. The phenomenon,
dubbed " El Niño " by Peruvian fishermen,
typically occurs during the fall and winter
and results in heavier-than-normal rainfall
in the region and more storms throughout
the Pacific. Its global impacts can include a
reduction in the number of hurricanes that
can form in the Atlantic Ocean and droughts
in Indonesia and the Philippines.
The " super El Niño " that occurred during the
fall-winter of 1982-83 was one for the ages-
some climate scientists argue it was the strongest
in recorded history. While surface water temperatures
in the eastern Pacific typically undergo
a warming of 5-10 degrees F during an El Niño
event, the 1982-83 El Niño produced sea surface
temperatures as much as 18 degrees F above
normal. Along one stretch of coastal Peru, sea
surface temperatures rose more than 7 degrees
F over the course of a single day. Such dramatic
shifts over a vast portion of the Pacific had a profound
impact on the planet's climate, nowhere
more than in countries like Chile and Peru, where
record rainfalls produced widespread flooding.
Further north, the west coast of North America
experienced an especially stormy winter, while
winter in the eastern U.S. was one of the warmest
in decades. Australia endured extreme drought
as a record number of typhoons churned through
the Pacific. Trade winds collapsed, then reversed.
88 | NFPA JOURNAL * WINTER 2022
A depiction of surface water temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean
during a recent El Niño event. The El Niño of 1982-83 is regarded as the
strongest in recorded history.
Emergency managers and first responders worldwide were put on high
alert as the macro-level climatic events triggered a mind-boggling range
of secondary effects, from dust storms in Africa to wildfires in Indonesia.
According to an overview produced by the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institute, the problems in the United States included " encephalitis outbreaks
on the East Coast, attributed to a warm, wet spring-perfect for
mosquitoes; increased snake bites in Montana, as the hot, dry weather
drove mice from high elevations downward in search of food and water-
the rattlesnakes followed; a rise in bubonic plague in New Mexico, with a
cool, wet spring providing favorable conditions for flea-ridden rodents; an
increase in shark attacks off the Oregon coast, due to unseasonably warm
sea temperatures; and a rash of spine injuries in California, as weather-altered
coastal sea floors fooled surfers. "
As many as 2,000 deaths worldwide were attributed to the event,
along with more than $13 billion in damage to property and livelihoods-
conservative estimates, considering its scale. The effects of most El Niños
can last for roughly 18 months, but the 1982-83 event was exceptional
in this regard, too. In 1994, a lone wave about eight inches high and
attributed to the super El Niño continued to push its way across the
world's oceans at a leisurely five miles per hour.
THE NFPA LIBRARY AND ARCHIVE holds a rich collection of books, reports, and photographs that
document important moments in fire history. To provide better electronic access for researchers and
to preserve our unique archival holdings, work has begun to digitize the files of the Fire Record Department,
the original NFPA department responsible for collecting and analyzing information and compiling
statistics about key fires and other events. The incidents featured in " Looking Back " are drawn from this
collection and will eventually be part of NFPA's online archive. For information, visit nfpa.org/library.
NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

http://www.nfpa.org/library

NFPA Journal - Winter 2022

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