worst hurricanes in us history

worst hurricanes in us history

The Devastating Impact: A Comprehensive Study of the Worst Hurricanes in US History

1. Introduction to Hurricanes and Their Formation

Initially, the tropical cyclone would have developed from green clouds to a central region called the “eye” in just over 24 hours. The eye is the region of relatively low wind velocities and fair weather as the winds converge spiraling upward and outward into the thunderstorms. The path may take the tropical cyclone into the ocean, or land, or merge in a more general path that combines these land and ocean threats. This section introduces the formation process of hurricanes. The relevant foundation and the process of hurricane modeling are introduced in the following section.

Hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons are all synonymously used terms for severe tropical cyclones. The term hurricane originated from the Spanish word huracán that means “big wind,” or Zaephyrus, the Greek God of the west wind. When tropical cyclones occur in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, they are called hurricanes. They are collectively referred to as tropical cyclones in the northern Indian Ocean along with the South Pacific and South Atlantic; and only cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. Tropical cyclones usually originate in a broad area of relatively low pressure spreading in a westward path from where great heat prevails over the oceans. As they grow and drift into cooler northern latitudes, there is a transformation that takes place.

2. Historical Overview of Hurricanes in the United States

Beginning at the end of the last glacial maximum, about 10,000 years ago, great ice caps of the Pleistocene had melted, causing sea levels to rise until the present coastlines were probably established in the Upper Holocene. The pioneers of these modern coastlines and barriers were hurricanes, high seas, and storm surges. Many stories concern the effects of violent storms and hurricanes upon the coast of Florida, and the inland effects of these hurricanes add many instances of violence and tragedy to the climatic history of the Gulf and Atlantic lowlands of the southeastern United States.

The earliest information on hurricanes in North America comes mainly from the accounts included in the logbooks of Spanish explorers, settlers, and missionaries who were endeavoring to navigate routes of maritime commerce and power from the Caribbean and Mexico to the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of what is now the southeastern United States. Investigations conducted by these and other researchers add many more details about severe weather during the time of the first Americans, the land bridges, and the Pleistocene environment.

3. The Top 5 Worst Hurricanes in US History: Causes and Impacts

The most obvious cause would be an unusual incidence of very strong hurricanes. There are reasons to believe that major hurricanes could historically occur with greater frequency in the United States than in the current climatology. The relatively lull in such intensities in the climatology in the past half-century potentially could reflect some ‘spurious’ influences in addition to any influences of El Nino or related unusual occurrences. However, there is no scientific consensus on this issue. Another potential factor is that urban crowding and affluence led to a catastrophic outcome from hurricanes that, if striking on empty lands, would not have had such serious consequences.

The five hurricanes that we place at the top of our list – even ahead of the Galveston Hurricane – hold that position by virtue of their unprecedented intensities and impact, and they have contributed immensely to the death and destruction from these five storms. This section describes, in brief, the severe losses due to these major hurricanes and discusses their causes, impacts, and resulting policy and research implications. With loss data corrected for inflation and wealth, it appears that no antecedent hurricane in American history has even remotely approached this horrendous devastation.

4. Response and Recovery Efforts in the Aftermath of Major Hurricanes

One of the earliest reminders of the federal government’s cumbersome assistance was articulated by the President of Texas. The citizens of Texas expected him to ask for an advance of $125,000 from the New York merchants, he wrote. In addition, any borrowing parts of ships or revenue cutters were to send food and relief supplies to all the busy Gulf Coast ports ravaged by the category 4 storm. Immediately after the storm, the President of Texas again petitioned the federal government for aid in order to provide for the reinhabitation of those permanent forts located within the state of Texas.

Hurricanes are best remembered for devastating losses of life, property damage, and destruction. Unfortunately, hurricanes have been a pattern of life that most coastal dwellers came to accept as a consequence. Historically, responsibility for the relief and recovery process is focused on the state and local government. Only when state and local responses are inadequate, did the federal government have a vital role to play. Unquestionably, hurricanes have resulted in what most consider to be the most devastating and costly destruction, whose critical need required response from every level of government. With the potential destruction from hurricanes and the recognition that the states could not respond themselves, early developing federal relief responsibility targeted its role at aiding in the rehabilitation of public facilities.

5. Lessons Learned and Future Preparedness Strategies

This educational focus should be an integral part of an aggressive outreach activity needed for a successful disaster preparedness strategy. Another important issue is that the rebuild of homes and buildings should be completed to a standard better than prior to the event, rather than just replacing those buildings. This is primarily due to the fact that the costs of these homes that are destroyed will continue to escalate into the future. These areas, concerned government-related entities, have roles to play in reducing these losses for their own personal financial good.

Disaster relief is an important capability that should be maintained at all levels to provide rapid help to those needy areas suffering the devastating impacts of extreme events. An important factor to consider is the huge economic losses due to destruction caused by extreme weather events. Many of these results are due to homes and other building losses within these areas. A general lack of compliance with current building codes has increased these costs. It is also true that current knowledge should be shared among the different entities and disasters experienced within areas to drive educational and response planning.