Geografie 2006, 111, 51-69
Spatial analysis of damage caused by strong winds and gales in the Czech lands since ad 1500
The aim of this article is an analysis of the spatial distribution of places with damage done by gales and windstorms in Czechia in the course of the last 500 years. Descriptive documentary data derived from historical climatology are used for this analysis and the specific features contained within these data are mentioned. Using ArcGIS tools, thematic maps of the locations damaged by gales for each century are presented and the spatial distribution of the places is characterized. This spatial distribution is connected to a large degree with the quantity and quality of available historical sources. However, spatial analysis enables the characterization of the most affected localities and also the most significant cases, "the windstorms of the century".
Keywords
spatial analysis, documentary evidence, windstorm, damage, the Czech Republic.
Funding
This study has been elaborated thanks to the financial support of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the CR in awarding research project MŠM 0021622412 INCHEMBIOL.
