Cyclones can create storm surges, which usually means increased flooding for coastal areas. Unlike a tidal wave, which comes crashing into the shore as one wall of water, a storm surge reaches the coastline like a rapidly rising tide, reaching two to five metres above the normal sea level, and affecting a coastal zone up to 100km across.

All cyclones produce storm surges, but they're not always dangerous. It depends on the cyclone's strength, speed, shape of the sea floor, features of the land, angle it crosses the coast, and most importantly, when it makes landfall. If a storm surge occurs at high tide, flooding will be at its worst.

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