Dust devils are a very interesting natural disaster. Unlike tornadoes, dust devils develop from the ground up and operate independently of clouds, usually appearing during cloudless skies.
Every single summer, hundreds of thousands of these devilish whirlwinds dance all across the arid and semiarid regions of the world. During a scientific count of dust devils undertaken around Tucson, Arizona, from June 23 to July 28, 1963 a total of 1,663 dust devils were spotted. That's an average of 46 dust devils per day!
A dust devil is so powerful it can lift a jackrabbit into the air and harm small livestock! Dust Devils have flipped over cars in the southwestern United States! The blowing dust and sand from this crazy whirlwind can irritate the eyes and cause eye infections and can also cause respiratory problems, especially for people with allergies or other respiratory ailments. In places where dust devils are very frequent, exposed surfaces can be specially treated to reduce abrasion damage. If a dust devil is coming toward you, you should go indoors. If you are out in the open, cover your eyes, nose, and mouth until the dust devil passes. A surgical mask would be extremely helpful in any desert like environment.
In summary, dust devils can be very dangerous and should be avoided. As you can see, dust devils are a very interesting natural disasters.
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