I think this is overly literal and simplistic. Sure a person can understand on paper what causes a cyclone or flood. But being in one is an experience completely outside of usual human norms. I would describe the power of a big cyclone or tsunami as "incomprehensible" in precisely the way that a cosmic entity wiping out a city would be; you can read about how many miles per hour the winds are in a cyclone but you don't really understand what the reality of that kind of force is and just how insignificant you are in the face of it.