Impact Of Hurricanes In Florida Essays - Atlantic Hurricane Seasons

Impact Of Hurricanes In Florida IMPACT OF HURRICANES IN FLORIDA INTRODUCTION According to the National Hurricane Center, a hurricane releases heat energy at a rate of 50 trillion to 200 trillion watts, which is equivalent to the energy from exploding 10 megaton bombs every 20 minutes. With such strength, it is no wonder why these natural disasters have such large destructive impacts on the environment. Furthermore, hurricanes are of extreme importance to Florida, since they have historically plagued the state, especially in 1992 with Hurricane Andrew. Since it is certain that hurricanes will hit Florida and equally certain that biological populations (including people) will exist in Florida, there is a need for researching methods to coexist with these monstrous storms. IMPACTS OF HURRICANES First, to be able to create solutions to hurricane damage, experts must understand the physical manner in which hurricanes actually cause damage. Roger Pielke, in his hurricane book, The Hurricane, identifies four impacts of a hurricane: storm surge, extreme winds, tornadoes, and rainfall. These impacts are not completely separate from each other; they interact, but are different in scope. Storm surge refers to the rapid rise of sea level as a storm approaches a coastline. This is the biggest impact of a hurricane and accounts for 90% of hurricane deaths (Pielke 1990). Storm surges are caused by three factors. First, the overlying atmosphere pressure drops. Second, strong onshore winds cause a piling up of water at the coast. Third, the decreasing sea depths as the ocean approaches the coast causes the surge to get steeper. A storm surge of 15 feet corresponds to a level 5 hurricane, and a surge greater than 5 feet can cause major damage and loss of life. Since surges diminish as they move inland, surges are mostly destructive to beaches. Extreme winds, which carry a lot of kinetic energy, can cause significant structural damage and even endanger life with dangerous debris. The damage of winds is proportional to the kinetic flow, which is exponential. For example, a wind of 50 ms-1 is four times greater than winds of 25 ms-1. In addition, winds are not restricted to the coasts; extreme winds appear and are destructive far inland. Tornadoes are connected with extreme winds. Although hurricane induced tornadoes are not as strong as the ?normal? ones that appear in the Midwest, they still cause a lot of damage and are dangerous to life. Tornadoes are mysterious, but there are theories on their causes. Tornadoes form as a response to large vertical shears of horizontal wind that develop as lower level wind is slowed by ground friction. The large velocity shears tilt due to spatially varying vertical motion, which causes circulation to complete the tornado. Tornadoes can form far inland. Rainfall is the mildest impact, although it still causes major damage and erosion. Even weak tropical disturbances can cause extreme rainfall. This extreme rainfall can cause flash floods or cause body of waters to flood. Rainfall becomes excessive at and after the hurricane hits land. FLORIDA PROBLEMS WITH HURRICANES According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Florida had the most hurricane strikes from 1900 to 1996 of any other state in the United States with 57 hurricanes. Texas was a far second with 36. With such an intense hurricane history, it is no wonder why hurricanes are a major environmental problem facing Florida. For examples, a 1928 hurricane hit Lake Okeechobe and killed 1800 people (Stormfax Weather Almanac 1997), and 1994 Hurricane Gordon caused significant beach erosion along Florida's east coast and $275 million in agricultural damage by flooding Dade and Collier counties (NHC Hurricane Andrew 1994). The best example of the powerful destruction of hurricanes to Florida is hurricane Andrew. According to the National Hurricane Center's report on hurricane Andrew, total damage was estimated at $25 billion! Fortunately, good preparation prevented major loss of life as 26 people died directly from the hurricane. Over $2 billion dollars was needed to cope with environmental damage from the storm. Also, Ocean Oil reported that there were seven incidents of pollution from the hurricane destroying oil structures in the Gulf of Mexico. Perhaps worst of all, the $15 billion of damage to private property left many people homeless, with most of their possessions destroyed. This hurricane caused