Hurricane Impacts USGS Science Priorities

• Hurricanehazardsincludeintensewind,highwaves,strongcurrents,flooding,stormsurge,tornadoes,landslides,andcoastalerosion.

• Stormsurge,adomeofoceanwater,canexceed20feetinheightandextendalongshorefor100miles.

• HurricanescanaffecttheNation’senergysupply;morethanone-fourthofU.S.crudeoilproductionisfromtheGulfofMexico.

• Hurricanesoftenleaveanareamorevulnerabletosubsequentstorms.

• Developabilitytomakenearreal-timemapsforemergencyplanningandresponse

• Increaseabilitytorecordhurricaneimpactandrecoveryofnaturalsystems

• Useairborneandotherremotesens-ingtechniqueswithhurricaneresponsemodelstoimprovecoastalmappingandtopredictwherebarrierislandsandevacuationrouteswilllikelybeseveredorwashedoverinanapproachinghur-ricane

• Expandthenetworkofnearreal-timestreamgagesforfloodforecasting

• Developanecologicalalertsystembasedonahurricane’spotentialtospreadwildlifediseasesandinvasivespecies

U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2005-3121October 2005Printed on recycled paper

The number of hurricanes expected to occur during a 100-year period based on historical data—light blue area, 20 to 40; dark blue area, 40 to 60; red area, more than 60. Map not to scale. Source: the National Atlas and the USGS

Hurricane Hazards—A National ThreatA Population in Jeopardy

Hurricanesbringdestructivewinds,stormsurge,torrentialrain,flooding,andtornadoes.Asinglestormcanwreakhavoconcoastalandinlandcommunitiesandonnaturalareasoverthousandsofsquaremiles.

In2005,HurricanesKatrina,Rita,andWilmademonstratedthedevastationthathurricanescaninflictandtheimpor-tanceofhurricanehazardsresearchandpreparedness.

MorethanhalfoftheU.S.popula-tionliveswithin50milesofacoast,andthisnumberisincreasing.Manyoftheseareas,especiallytheAtlanticandGulfcoasts,willbeinthedirectpathoffuturehurricanes.Hawaiiisalsovulnerabletohurricanes.

Losing Land and PropertyAsseasidepopulationsanddevelop-

mentescalate,sodoespropertydamagefromhurricanes.RecentAtlantichur-ricaneseasonshavebeenthecostliestonrecord,withlossesof$42billionin2004andinthehundredsofbillionsin2005.

ResearchsuggeststhatAmericansshouldbraceformoreofthesame,becausetheAtlanticbasinisinanactiveperiodthatmightpersistfordecades.

Hurricane Katrina caused billions of dollars in damage and killed hundreds in August 2005.

Hurricane potential in the United States and Puerto Rico

USGS Science Helps Build Safer Communities

Hurricane Facts• Hurricanesarerevolvingstormsoriginatingneartheequatorthatare

accompaniedbytorrentialrainandwindspeedsexceeding74mph.

• IntheAtlanticandeasternPacific,includingHawaii,thesewhirlingstormsarecalledhurricanes.InthewesternPacific,includingEastAsiaandAustralia,theyaretyphoons.IntheIndianOcean,theyarecyclones.

• TheSaffir-SimpsonHurricaneScaleexpressesahurricane’sstrengthbyitssustainedwindspeed—Category1:74-95mph;Category2:96-110mph;Category3:111-130mph;Category4:131-155mph;Category5:inexcessof155mph.AugustandSeptemberarethepeakmonthsofthehurricaneseason,whichlastsfromJune1toNovember30.

• Hurricanescanbeasmuchas400mileswide.

• The1938NewEnglandhurricanewasthecostliestnaturaldisasterofitstime,withabout$3billionindamage.LossesfromHurricaneHugo,whichhitSouthCarolinain1989,werealmost$11billion.HurricaneAndrewin1992destroyedmorethan$20billioninproperty.Allfiguresarein2005dollars.

• ThedeadliestnaturaldisasterinU.S.historywasthe1900Galvestonhurricane,whichtookanestimated8,000lives.Sixofthe10costliestU.S.disastersresultedfromtropicalweathersystems.

BarrierislandsandcoastalwetlandsarethefirstlineofdefenseformanyAtlanticandGulfcoastcommunities,andmanyarerapidlyeroding.

Sincethe1930s,Louisianahaslostabout1,900squaremilesofcoastallandfromsubsidence,inundation,anderosionduringhurricanes.HurricaneKatrinaeliminatedmorethan100squaremilesofwetlandsprotectingNewOrleans.In2004,HurricaneIvanerodedAlabama’scoastanaverageof40feet.

Coordinated Federal EffortsTheNationalOceanicandAtmo-

sphericAdministration(NOAA)isresponsibleforforecasting,tracking,pre-dictingthelandfallof,andissuingwarn-ingsforhurricanesandtropicalstormsintheUnitedStatesanditsterritoriestothepublic,themedia,andothergovernmentagenciesandauthorities.Sciencetofore-casthurricaneimpactsisacollaborativeeffortamongtheU.S.GeologicalSurvey(USGS),NOAA,theNationalAeronau-ticsandSpaceAdministration,theU.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineers,andothers.

USGS Science Can HelpBeforeahurricanemakeslandfall,the

USGSensuresthatequipmentalongtheGulfandAtlanticcoastsisreadytomoni-torcoastalchange.AUSGSnetworkof

For More Information http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/hurricane/hurr2001.htm/

http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/

http://www.usgs.gov/

streamgagesalsoreportsreal-timestreamflowtoofficialsissuingfloodwarnings.

USGSgeospatialdatabasesandmapsassistpre-stormevacuationplanningandpost-stormrescueandrecovery.

Beforeandaftermajorstorms,scientistssurveyhabitatsanddocumenterosiononcoastsandbarrierislandsbyusingairborneandsatelliteimagery.TheUSGSdeploysamphibiousaircrafttoconductenvironmentalassessmentsandtoaidemergencyresponse.

ImmediatelyafterHurricaneKatrina,theUSGSusedsatelliteandaerialimagerytocreatemapslinking911callstolocationswherepeopleneededtoberescued.USGSscientistsalsoassistedFederalandStateagenciesbyconductingwaterqualityandsedimenttestingtoindi-catethesafetyofwaterforhumancontact.

Scientistsalsocompletegroundsur-veystohelplandmanagerswithhabitatandwildlifeimpactassessmentsandtosecurescientificequipmentinremotefieldsites.

TheUSGSprovidesscientificresearchandanalysesthathelpthepublic,policymakers,andtheemergencymanagementcommunitymakeinformeddecisionsonhowtoprepareforandreacttohurricanehazardsandreducelossesfromfuturehurricanes.

These images are from New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. (USGS photos)