study : Mars is a planet of natual violence far greater than is known on earth, with winds gusting to 560kph and evidence of immense floods that swamped vast areas. Researches analysing pictures taken by the Mars Observer said the red rock and soils of Mars were imprinted with marks of high-speed winds storms that cover virtually a whole side of the planet, and of waters that race out of dammed up craters at speeds of more than 160 kph. "The floods could have lasted for months," said Michael C Malin, a research scientist on the Mars Observer team who analysed one such flood. The water flow, he said, was 1,000 times greater than floods, that have struck the US Mid-west in recent years.