Why greater damage take place a day or two after a hurricane has moved ashore than on its 1st onslaught?

Answer 1

This is not always the case, but some of the major damage from a weakening tropical storm is the result of the intense period of heavy rainfall that occurs a few days after landfall. This is especially true when the tropical system after landfall would slow down or even stall at over one area if the steering current is weak. These type of a system, as it weakens and slowly transitions toward becoming a cold core system, will go through a period of intense moisture condensation through a very deep layer as cooler air will mix into the system. Unlike cold core system, these warm core systems will produce even greater amounts of precipitation at night as cooling increases after sunset resulting in even more deep layer condensation. With this situation, a slow moving system with very heavy precipitation will cause major flooding and flash flooding conditions over a wide area. As this water drains into the river and streams, areas that were not hit by this storm may become the victim too as the huge amounts of water travels downstream and flood communities...even those that may seen little damage from the initial storm passage.

Answer 2

When hurricane approaches a place from the sea, the winds will be blowing from one direction.If you assume it is northerly, all the trees and poles will either be tilted towards south or uprooted in that direction.By this time, only one side of the eye wall of the hurricane might have crossed the place.After this, the centre of the storm which is a calm area with probably a clear weather will cross the place.Now some people may think that the storm is over.It is not so. After some time, the other side of the circular eye wall will cross the same place with more vigour and the winds will be blowing exactly in the opposite direction (southerly)accompanied with torrential rain.Now the trees and poles which still remain tilting on one side will be tossed towards the opposite side and they will also be uprooted.This is something like plucking the trees and poles shaking it vigourously on opposite sides.The same thing happens to houses also.Moreover due to continuous torrential rains from the first onslaught(except for the period during which the calm, clear weather moves) the land area becomes choked with water and the soil becomes loose.Then it becomes easy for the storm to completely wreck the remaining things in the subsequent on slaught.As the surface can no longer absorb water floods may occur in the second onslaught.Thunder clouds will cause severe lightning which also may contribute to the wreckage.