Hurricane Hazards
Hurricanes are intense storms that can cause different kinds of damage. Click on the pictures to see how hurricanes ruin property and harm people.
Winds are the most known hazard of tropical storms and hurricanes. The strength of a hurricane (from 1 to 5) is based on its strongest winds. The strongest hurricanes have winds over 150 miles per hour! The winds have the power to damage power lines, trees, houses and buildings. Winds do not weaken quickly as these storms move across Florida, and strong winds can be felt hundreds of miles from the center of the storm.
Source: Hurricane Dennis | Wikimedia
Storm surge is the term that describes the wall of water that is pushed up and onto land when a tropical storm or hurricane makes landfall. The storm surge can cause significant damage by flooding areas and pounding waves impacting coastal zones and communities. In the strongest hurricanes, the storm surge can be as high as 25 feet above normal water levels.
Source: Surge | Wikimedia
Flooding does not depend on the strength of the storm, but it is related to the forward motion, or speed, of the storm. Slow moving tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes can produce significant amounts of heavy rain that can lead to flooding. This flooding can be hundreds of miles away from the center of the storm, and is often caused inland flooding. These slow moving storms can produce more than 20” of rain over a period of a couple of days.
Source: NOAA