Hurricane Hazards
One of the most dramatic, damaging, and potentially deadly events that occur in this country is a hurricane.
Hurricanes are products of the tropical ocean and atmosphere.
Powered by heat from the sea, they are steered erratically by the
easterly trade winds and the temperate westerly winds, as well as by
their own energy. As they move ashore, they bring with them a storm
surge of ocean water along the coastline, high winds, tornadoes,
torrential rains, and flooding.
Each year on average, ten tropical storms develop over the Atlantic
Ocean, Caribbean Sea, or Gulf of Mexico. About six of these typically
strengthen enough to become hurricanes. Many of these remain over the
ocean with little or no impact on the continental United States.
However, about five hurricanes strike the United States coastline every
three years. Of these five, two will be major hurricanes measuring a
category 3 or higher (defined as having winds above 111 miles per hour)
on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. These storms can end up costing our nation millions, if not billions, of dollars in damages.
During a hurricane, homes, businesses, public buildings, and
infrastructure may be damaged or destroyed by many different storm
hazards. Debris can break windows and doors, allowing high winds
and rain inside the home. In extreme storms (such as Hurricanes Hugo,
Andrew and Katrina), the force of the wind alone can cause tremendous
devastation, as trees and power lines topple and weak elements of homes
and buildings fail. Roads and bridges can be washed away and homes
saturated by flooding. Destructive tornadoes can also be present well away from the storms center during landfall. Yet, storm surge
alone poses the highest threat to life and destruction in many coastal
areas throughout the United States and territories. And these threats
are not limited to the coastline -- they can extend hundreds of miles
inland, under the right conditions.
