` 130M Americans Live in Hurricane Danger Zone - "It Only Takes One Storm" - Ruckus Factory

130M Americans Live in Hurricane Danger Zone – “It Only Takes One Storm”

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Almost 130 million Americans now live in areas that can be hit by hurricanes or tropical storms. That’s nearly 40% of the U.S. population. From Texas to Maine, entire coastal regions face growing threats from storms that bring floods, strong winds, and destruction. Because more people are moving to coastal cities and property values keep rising, the warning is more real than ever.

As climate and population patterns shift, even one powerful storm can have national economic effects.

Why People Keep Moving to the Coast

The New Zealand Railways Magazine Volume 13 Issue 11 1939 Mapoutahi Pa Goat Island Blueskin Bay The Massacre at Mapoutahi Pa The Story of a Southern Maori Inter-Tribal War Before The Coming of the Pakeha By R K McFarlane Legend and tradition have enriched the North Island of New Zealand with a wealth of knowledge concerning the history of the Maori before the advent of the white man On the other hand there is perhaps not so much tradition connected with the southern Maori which enables us to follows his doings before the pakeha came This is due chiefly to the fact that the Maoris colonised the southern part of New Zealand a long time after their first arrival and then only very sparsely on account of the more rigorous climate Then again it is on record that the southern Maori was several times almost exterminated by his overpowering northern brother Although little Maori history about Dunedin is known tradition has recorded for us two outstanding episodes Both are tragic-one a tragic romance on the coast near the Taieri the other a tragic massacre also on the coast about fifteen miles north of Dunedin It is the latter which I propose to relate From two sources only could I get information about this intensely interesting history The first was a brief account in a small hand-book entitled Dunedin and its Neighbourhood published in 1904-the other a newspaper article of 1929 regarding research carried out among the Maoris concerning Mapoutahi Pa The latter sums up very well the difficulties of acquiring information as the old Maori is passing on - There is much which remains to be told concerning the history of the Maori Race in Otago and with the passing of the years traditions as they relate to historic incidents are becoming more and more extinct however it is possible to trace the history of Mapoutahi Pa from the tradition handed down from generation to generation Soon after leaving Purakanui station the traveller by train northwards from Dunedin sees from his window as the train winds its way round the precipitous cliff face a green and picturesque little island almost completely surrounded by steep cliffs and lying close to the long stretch of white sand washed by rows of creamy breakers which is Purakanui Beach As the panorama unfolds it can be seen that this so-called island is really a small peninsula connected to the high cliff of the mainland by a small isthmus three or four feet wide and a few yards long On one side of this neck of land is a little golden half-moon beach while on the other side the sea rushes in with a turbulent swell threatening to undermine the narrow pathway On the slopes of the island itself long green grass sways in the sea breeze while the leaves of the numerous cabbage trees rustle continually as if mournfully trying to tell the story that exists beneath their roots There is nothing to suggest the tragedy of which it was once the scene yet these green slopes once ran red with blood and the yells of the victors and the vanquished could have been heard above the noise of the surf that laves its rocky base Goat Island it is called no doubt because its outline bears some resemblance to the head of a goat There in the 18th century stood a fortified pa-Mapoutahi Pa Some six or seven generations ago a chief named Taoka or Taonga lived with his people in a kaika near Timaru As was customary at times he set out with a small party to visit his cousin Te Wera of Ngatimamoe who had a large pa at Karitane Peninsula or Huriawa After enjoying Te Wera s hospitality for three days Taoka set out with his host who it might be mentioned was a man of very fiery temper he had killed his own wife-a princess of the Kaitahu to visit another relative Kapo in Mapoutahi Pa at Purakanui While staying here these two-Te Wera and Taoka-as relatives often do had a heated argument which developed into an open quarrel resulting unfortunately in Te Wera killing Taoka s son Taoka vowing vengeance returned to Timaru gathered all his fighting men about him and laid siege to Karitane Pa For twelve long months he waited but only once did any of his men gain entrance-several climbed up a blow-hole into the pa and stole Te Wera s god-stick Next day Te Wera saw them doing a haka and noticing the loss of his god-stick induced his tohunga to chant for its return whereupon it came flying back through the air to him Unable to sack the Karitane Pa whose massive entrenchments remain to-day Taoka went home but came back again the following winter and this time made to attack the Mapoutahi Pa whose chief Pakihaukea was a close ally of Te Wera After besieging the pa for ten days since both the invaders and defenders were wary Taoka thirsting for the blood of his foeman and seeing a snow storm approaching decided that the hour for revenge had come Snow fell for many hours That night with the snow eighteen inches deep and all the hillside quiet he sent out a scout to ascertain if the palisade were defended The scout returned to say that it was fully guarded Not satisfied Taoka himself crept silently to the palisade and discovered that the supposed guards were merely dummies hanging from the palisade and moving occasionally as the wind caught them The page 44 besieged natives in the pa had committed the same human error which many besieged peoples in European and ancient history had done They had thought themselves secure within their walls and had relaxed guard Taoka and his men silently scaled the palisade and cautiously arranged themselves among the whares Suddenly the blood-curdling war-cry of the invaders roused the sleeping natives and dazed by sleep as they stumbled from their whares they fell victims to the weapons of the enemy Altogether 250 were mercilessly slaughtered and only one or two escaped by rushing to the cliff edge and throwing themselves 60 feet or 70 feet into the sea As day dawned the rising sun revealed a ghastly sight The dusky bodies of the victims had been piled in a huge heap and covered in places with a mantle of snow they resembled a huge pile of wood So they named the place Purakanui meaning a large pile of wood That was about the year 1750 and to-day nearly 200 years later little evidence remains of that terrible massacre save the name of the district and the line of the trenches beneath the palisade in which human bones have been found Goat Island is now a scenic and historic reserve under the administration of the Otago University Museum where there is a model of the island and the pa To-day as the holiday maker wanders over its sunny slopes or fishes from its craggy rocks or shouts as he plays in the surf he does not think much of its tragic history-it would seem absurd But as night falls and the rising moon casts long dim shadows of the rustling cabbage trees across the grass it almost seems that one can hear sad cries above the moan of the surf Traditions and Legends Collected from the natives of Murihiku Southland New Zealand H Beattie Volume 25 1916 THE COASTAL WARFARE The Kai-Tahu who came down the coast distinguished themselves by fighting one another It is very difficult to straighten out the narrative of that warfare but here it is as well as I could disentangle it Taoka is often called Te Wera s uncle and then again they are termed cousins and sometimes brothers-in any case the ties of blood should have knit them together instead of which we find them usually at loggerheads and frequently fighting in deadly feud It has been mentioned before that there were two chiefs named Moki The first was the son of Tuahu-riri and has been mentioned already but the second Moki the son of Te Rua-hikihiki now comes into the story Te Rua-hikihiki married two sisters and by the elder one he had Te Matauira Moki and other sons and Uritoko a daughter and by the younger one he had a son Taoka This last named chief set out from Kaiapoi with the intention of vanquishing the Kati-Mamoe down the coast and he built pas at O-taoka in South Canterbury and at Katiki in North Otago and there we will leave him for the present Moki lived with the Kati-Mamoe people at Pukekura Otago Heads His child died and to pay for it as the narrator expressed it he sent out a small party under Kapo to kill someone as utu Te Wera and Patuki had a sister who had married Te Rehu who lived at Pu-rakau-nui and they were on a visit to her from their pa near Wai-koua-iti They were sitting in Te Rehu s whare one evening when Kapo stole up to the building and hurled a spear through the - 16 little window Te Rehu ducked and the spear struck and killed his father whose name the narrator could not recall Kapo s men surrounded the whare and waited for daylight It was a very dark night and Te Rehu burrowed under the wall and escaped with the intention of going to Wai-koua-iti for help Te Wera and Patuki would not run from a foe so they remained behind and Te Wera repeated a long karakia He got through the first half of it fluently but the second half was very halting Again he tried with the same result so they knew that one was to be killed and one escape Just before it was daylight they pulled back the door suddenly and made a dash for it Patuki who was in advance was killed but Te Wera had a marvellous escape and rushed to a waka-hunua double canoe and dodged under the platform and dived He kept under the water a long time and covered a good distance When he was safe across on the other shore he called out to the war-party to be alert to sleep with their wives and feed their children well for he was coming to avenge Patuki Te Wera made straight for Pa-katata on Huri-awa peninsula and found that Te Rehu had got there shortly before and the people were lamenting for Te Wera and Patuki In revenge for Patuki s death Te Wera sailed round into Otago Harbour and surprising some women getting whitau flax he slew them and cut off their heads The canoe then went under Pukekura pa and the heads were held up to the view of the inmates TAOKA VERSUS TE WERA Having thus squared accounts with the Pukekura people Te Wera desired to make peace with Moki and he asked Taoka to come and make the negotiations Taoka who was then at O-tipua in South Canterbury went to Pukekura and made a fairly lengthy visit there after which he canoed to Timaru and never went near Te Wera much to the latter s annoyance and disgust Te Wera went to make peace himself but his good intentions were not carried out While he was talking before Pukekura a man named Te Taoho amused himself by throwing small sticks at the visitors Te Aruhe the hot-headed son of Te Wera said We are not children to let sticks be thrown at us and started hostilities As soon as the struggle commenced Te Wera killed Kapo at once Te Taoho escaped and will be mentioned later on One of the few men who was saved of those at Pukekura was Moehuka He did not like the look of things when the visitors appeared and retired to the top of a hill near before the fight began recognising that discretion was the better part of valour The narrator could not say whether Moki was killed here or not During the slaughter of the people of the pa Te Wera saw a small boy named Taikawa and spared his life This Taikawa comes into the history later on After this killing Te Wera went back to Pa-katata for a - 17 while and then to Timaru to see Taoka but found that the latter was away at O-tipua Taoka s son Roko-marae-roa was at Timaru however and Te Wera killed him in retaliation for the trick Taoka had played on him He sent two chiefs whose names the narrator had forgotten to tell Taoka that he had killed his son He thought that Taoka would kill these two men of rank to equalise the killing of his son Taoka was not at home when the two chiefs called so they gave Taoka s wives the message and set out back to Te Wera Night overtaking them they camped on the beach When Taoka returned to his home towards evening and was told the news he was very wrathful and set out in pursuit of the messengers but he missed them in the darkness and they got back safely to Te Wera who with his men withdrew to the strong fortress at Pa-katata A MEMORABLE SIEGE After the slaying of his son Taoka gathered together his forces and besieged Te Wera in the strongly-fortified pa on the Huri-awa peninsula near Karitane and Puke-tiraki Te Wera had been preparing for such a contingency as he had laid in a great stock of preserved birds fern-root and dried fish etc and there was a small but permanent spring in the pa to supply water The story of the siege has been told in print before so I will not serve it up again Suffice is it to say that Taoka s taua besieged the pa for six months and then had to relinquish it owing to the scarcity of food This had been their difficulty all along but by scouring the country they managed to keep their leaguer for half a year and then had to return home Some time after this Te Wera and a companion chief whose name my narrator unfortunately forgot and which I have never seen in print determined to sail for Raki-ura They set out in their canoes but a storm arose which Te Wera by means of his karakia was able to overcome and continue his course but the other chief was driven into the bay under the cliff called Tau-o-Tarawhata He determined to go no further and constructed a pa called Mapou-tahi on the small peninsula called Goat Island Soon after Taoka came down like the wolf on the fold and besieged it The season was winter and one wild night Taoka sent his men to see if the palisade was guarded They reported that it was and Taoka was so surprised that he went to see for himself and by careful reconnoitring discovered that the supposed sentries were dummies swinging in the wind His men quietly got into the pa and slaughtered all the inmates except one man who jumped into the sea and escaped Next day the bodies of the slain were piled up like a large heap of wood and since then that bay has been known as Pu-rakau-nui Lore and History of the South Island Maori by W A Taylor 1952 Leaving Old Waikouaiti or modern Karitane we pass south Okai hau is the outlet to the sea of the Omimi Greek The full name of the site of the Omimi railway station is Te Mimi e te haki The location of the Seacliff Mental Hospital is Turau aruhe Waikoko is the Seacliff Creek Potaerua represents the bush at Seacliff and the bight on the coastline towards Omimi is Rau-one Warrington the aristocratic weekend resort bears the name of a famous greenstone weapon Aka hau Whaitiri-paku was the name of an old native village at what we now call Evansdale The Evansdale Stream below its Kilmog branch was an eeling place called Wai moi sour water The streams entering Blueskin Bay travelling south were the Totara Waiputi and Waitete the latter erroneously spelt Waitati Waitete means bubbling water and no one who has lived alongside its course would question the translation as being truly descriptive The Orokonui Stream drains the northern slopes of Mount Mopariui entering the mouth of the Waitete not far away from the Orokonui Mental Hospital Blueskin was the name of Waitete in the early days The early settlers named it such after a well-tattooed Maori called Te Hikututu whose nickname was Blueskin A Ngai Tahu chief named Tutakahikura visiting Southland coveted the wives of a Ngati Mamoe chief named Tutemakeho when the latter chief was away foraging and abducted the women A chase from Southland resulted and Tutemakeho fortunately caught up with the abductor at Pae Kohu place of frogs or Green Hill on the divide between the Silverstream and the coastal valleys It was decided by the warriors to fight the matter out in gladiator fashion at Waitete Tu te makaho won back his wives taking them back to Otaupiri A leaderless hapu of the Ngai Tahu returned to Canterbury Approximately 12 miles from Dunedin is Purakaunui page 120wrongly spelt Purakanui which boasts a large native reserve and its native inhabitants who originally hailed from Kaiapoi are proud of the fact that they are descendants of Ngai Tahu who were there long before the fall of Kaiapohia and are not begotten of refugee stock Away back about the year 1750A D the War God Tu controlled the lives of the inhabitants of Purakaunui Three cousins of chief rank but with no trace of family affection kept the Ngai Tahu Tribe in almost an unbroken state of strife Their names were Moki II Taoka and Te Wera Te Wera of Huriawa Pa at Old Waikouaiti dwelt for a time at Pukekura Pa at Otakou Heads When there the paramount chief Tu ki taha rangi died also Moki II s son Te Wera was accused of practising makutu wizardry on his kinsfolk and killing them Te Wera fled away to Purakaunui where Te Rehu his sister s husband held sway Moki II was not to be outmatched so he sent a surprise war party to Purakaunui kainga under the chief Kapo The house of the chiefs was surrounded and most of the inmates slain including a chief named Patuki Te Rehu and Te Wera made a miraculous escape indeed a wailing for their decease had commenced at Huriawa when they arrived Safe back in his fortress Te Wera waited and gathered together his warriors He then set out for Pukekura on which he exacted full vengeance Taoka took up the Pukekura cause and besieged Te Wera at Huriawa He failed to capture that pa so he turned his attention later to Mapou tahi on Goat Island Peninsula where the railway skirts the Blueskin Cliffs near the tunnel When Taoha arrived at Mapoutahi in mid-winter his scouts found the narrow neck of land which gave access to the pa well guarded One exceptionally wild night however the sentries were withdrawn and dummies put in their place The ruse worked until Taoka went forth and did scouting for himself He discovered the true position and Mapou tohi Pa was stormed Only a few persons escaped by swimming and scaling the vine ladders on the Blueskin Cliffs which had been used for bird nesting The name for Goat Island is Mata awhe awhe dead gathered in a heap and its isthmus is called after Pakihaukea its unfortunate defender The portion of the Blueskin Cliffs nearest to Waitati is Wata awa awa edge of the valley The bay east of the peninsula is Paua nui large ear shell fish On October 22nd 1930 Goat Island Peninsula area 4 acres was vested as a scenic reserve under the control of the Otago University Why the Maori people were not favoured with possession is not clear Near Mapou tahi the canoe of Waiti named Tau a Tara-whata was wrecked a few centuries ago Mihiwaka lament for a canoe is the hill which separates the Purakaunui Valley page break Otakou Mrs Mere Harper-Old Waikouaiti page 121 from Otago Harbour Aorangi light of heaven is the hill across Purakaunui Bay near the site of the old whaling station Opeke is the foot of Foote s Greek Ko te wai a pukuraku is a small watercourse near the sand drift to the railway line Haereoa Teoti Wahie and Noah were the leading men at Purakaunui in the forties The present native inhabitants of the reserve are half-castes being descendants of the old whalers The Purakaunui Reserve was set aside in pursuance of the infamous Kemp Deed Near Purakaunui is Long Beach known as Whare wera wera which contains a native reserve of a few hundred acres The original trustees of this poor quality reserve were Tamati Tiko Te Ati Poroki Hipa Porekaha Riki Tuete and Haereroa The land is of sandy nature with however miniature lagoons through which a very wandering stream passes and in the days when the Piorakaunui district once held a large native population provided good eeling places There is no doubt that the Maoris living between Purakaunui and Otago Heads suffered severely from European diseases during the period sealing ships were frequenting the coast The cold-water treatment by the tohungas of influenza and measles could only result in one way-death South of Longbeach is Murdering Beach which should be known by its Maori name of Whare ake ake On December 24th 1817 a Tasmanian brig named the Sophia commanded by Captain Kelly anchored there to trade with the Maoris However a man named Tucker was recognised as a person who at Riverton traded in dried Maori heads Such sacrilege quite rightly brought down on the pakahas the anger of the Maoris Tucker fell to the blow of a mere wielded by Te Matahaere as did two or three others The remaining boatsmen returned to the ship for reinforcements and in the skirmish the Maoris were defeated and prisoners taken back to the Sophia including the chief Korako a progenitor of the Taiaroa family The Maoris rallied under the chief Tukarekare and in canoes attacked the ship but without success Korako rejoined his friends by jumping overboard to the canoes The Europeans then killed their other prisoners and sailed away to Otakou Heads where they destroyed the native village The bay south of Whare ake ake is called Kaikai after a Ngati Mamoe man dwelling there in a cave in the early days The proper name is Takeratawhai The cave belonging to Kaikai is now used as a sheep pen A heavy tapu rested on Murdering Beach until it was lifted by a North Island tohunga at the request of the Purakaunui Maoris The three bays south of Purakaunui have been the happy hunting-grounds of curio collectors alas many not venerating the burial-places It has been estimated that 3 tons of worked greenstone has been page 122recovered In 1912 a large part of this collection passed to British and American museums In 1926 a curious adze hogbacked with a very narrow cutting edge was found Mr Washbourne Hunter was the land owner in the early days and during his time 400 curios were discovered Two dozen greenstone tikis have been found at Whare ake ake The late Mr Murray Thomson who had a weekend house at Murdering Beach was an enthusiastic collector and he assisted greatly the archaeological section of the Otago Institute during a fortnight of March 1935 in cross trenching digging and searching every nook and corner of Kaikai Murdering and Longbeach and the chance of finding a good cache of curios is now very remote Though a green-stone workers factory the meres found have invariably been executed in slaty stone When Edward Shortland visited Purakaunui in October 1843 the Maori population had dwindled to 32 persons Pukai-a-te-ao and Kaitipu of the Huirapa hapu had succeeded Urukino in the leadership When Mantell made his census of Purakaunui in connection with the sale of the Ngai Tahu Block the inhabitants numbered 46 The majority of the people belonged to the Ngai tuna hapu The Huirapa hapu mostly females counted 8 and the Ngati Tuahuriri 2 persons The few Maoris who now occupy Purakaunui are half-caste descendants of whalers The settlement is now a popular Dunedin weekend resort The little fenced-in cemetery on the Purakaunui Spit alone reminds the visitor of the Maori backgroundOld Waikouaiti and Purakaunui are usually by-passed by motorists journeying to Dunedin who travel on the Main Road The Main Road from modern Waikouaiti to Waitati crosses over the well-known Kilmog Hill Kilmog being a corruption of the Maori name of the plant Kirimoko known to botanists as Septospermum ericoides which grows profusely in the locality Otago Daily Times 29 December 2011 Rakau is the Maori word for stick and pu-rakau-nui means big pile of wood or sticks About 1750 a massacre happened at Mapoutahi a fortified pa on the headland near what is now Purakaunui Two Kai Tahu cousins had the mother of all scraps at the pa which resulted in one cousin killing the other cousin s son The grieving father waited 12 months to exact his revenge He gathered a war party and attacked the pa for 10 days That night with snow lying deep on the ground his warriors broke through Dazed from sleep 250 villagers were killed Only a few were able to survive by jumping from the cliffs into the sea Dawn revealed a ghastly sight the villagers bodies had been piled into a huge heap The brown shapes covered in places with a mantle of snow resembled a wood pile and the survivors named the place Purakaunui Below Kiwi Adventures a href rel noreferrer nofollow adventure nunn nz about a This narrow headland was once the strategic location of a pa that was the scene of the last dreadful act in a feud that tore through the pre-European Maori community of the Dunedin area It began sometime in the mid-1700s when a leader named Taoka failed to make an expected visit to his cousin Te Wera who took this as an insult In response he took a war party to the Waitaki River and slew Taoka s son He sent two minor chiefs to bear the news to Taoka perhaps hoping that he would slay the messengers and no further utu would be forthcoming However Taoka was away when the messengers arrived so they passed the news on to his wives and beat a hasty retreat likely thanking their lucky stars The outraged Taoka laid siege to Te Wera s fortified pa at Huriawa which we will no doubt visit in future but Te Wera had prepared for the attack by stockpiling preserved food and fresh water could be obtained from a spring on the highly defensible Karitane peninsula Eventually Taoka was unable to feed his war party and forced to leave Te Wera quickly took the opportunity to leave for Stewart Island But Taoka still needed to settle the score so he turned his sights on Te Wera s ally Te Pakihaukea who chose to make his stand here at Mapoutahi perching his pa atop cliffs that could only be accessed via a narrow strip of land Back in his time the water was deeper around the isthmus making it an even more secure position than it appears today Taoka laid siege but could not breach the fortress Then one winter night he sent a scout to check the defences and discovered that dummies had been set up in place of the usual sentries The vengeful chief seized this opportunity broached the pa and slaughtered the inhabitants It is said that only one man escaped by diving into the ocean Once the massacre was over the bodies were left piled up like a large heap of wood which is the translation for the name of the bay - Purakaunui
Photo by Alistair Paterson from Dunedin New Zealand on Wikimedia

Coastal living has undeniable appeal in jobs, beauty, and a relaxed lifestyle. Yet as more Americans move to the coast, they unknowingly put themselves at great risk. States like Florida, Texas, and Louisiana continue to see population booms in zones at high risk of flooding or storm surges.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, coastal counties make up less than 10% of U.S. land but hold nearly 40% of the population. This migration increases pressure on housing, infrastructure, and insurance systems.

What Makes an Area a Hurricane Danger Zone

green yellow and pink abstract painting
Photo by Brian McGowan on Unsplash

Hurricane danger zones aren’t just beachfront towns, they extend far inland. These areas can experience destructive winds, storm surges, floods, and long power outages. A storm surge happens when strong winds push seawater onto land, often causing deadly flooding. Even communities hundreds of miles from the ocean can face flash floods or high winds from a storm’s remnants.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) maps these danger zones to help communities prepare for potential disasters. Knowing whether you live in a storm zone helps you make smarter choices before a hurricane hits.

How Past Hurricanes Changed America

The surface of Earth is constantly changing and evolving Coastal barrier islands demonstrate such change faster than almost any other landscape Assateague Island stretches 37 miles 60 kilometers from north to south along the Atlantic coast of Maryland and Virginia As barrier islands go Assateague is quite dynamic Longshore currents mostly flow south along this part of the coast carrying sand to the south So Assateague Island is steadily relentlessly losing mass at its north end near Ocean City Maryland and gaining it on the south end near Tom s Cove Assateague also shelters two other islands Chincoteague and Wallops in a rare example of overlapping duplexed barrier islands Major storms such as hurricanes and nor easters sporadically and dramatically move sand from the ocean-facing side of Assateague to its land-facing side into inlets and bays and onto the shores of Chincoteague and Wallops This means all three islands are slowly marching toward a merger with the mainland This is how Assateague Island has been growing for approximately the past 2 000 years said Christopher Seminack a University of North Georgia geologist who has studied the area The island is growing to the south as sand shoals are migrating and welding onto the island You can see evidence of this from the linear features that appear to be welded onto the most southerly part And because the southern spit of Assateague acts as a sediment sink-the sediment is deposited there-it starves the barrier islands to the south of sand The natural-color images above acquired by Landsat satellites show change to Assateague Chincoteague and Wallops islands across three decades The first left image was acquired by Landsat 5 on June 20 1985 the second image shows the same area as observed by Landsat 8 on June 2 2019 Some of the color differences are related to the different sensors and likely different tidal stages at the time of each image Note the southwestward migration of Assateague Island and especially the substantial growth of vegetation on the southern spit Just across the inlet the east side of Wallops Island has bulged markedly Changes in buildings and infrastructure are a bit more subtle Activity has increased at NASA s Wallops Flight Facility in recent decades a new causeway bridge was built to Chincoteague and more seasonal property and tourist business has sprung up in the area But according to census estimates the year-round population of Chincoteague has actually dropped since the 1980s Through all of the changes wild ponies have stuck around on the islands for several hundred years as the sand has moved under their feet Legend has it that some of the original ponies arrived from the shipwreck of a Spanish galleon though more likely they were left abandoned on the island by settlers and farmers About 150 feral ponies live on the Maryland portion of Assateague and are kept relatively wild without much human intervention Another 150 live on the Virginia side and are owned by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company which provides medical checkups twice a year and auctions off several ponies each summer to raise money and maintain a steady population All of the horses have adapted to eating salt marsh grasses and brush I spend a lot of time going in and out of Chincoteague inlet on my boat and I have watched the inlet and islands change pretty dramatically over the past 20 years said Kyle Krabill a research engineer at NASA s Wallops Flight Facility Krabill his colleagues and his father have been observing these shores for decades as they have tested lidar instruments that are ultimately used to study ice I have always been interested in these coastal processes and think it s really neat to watch them move around in our timescale
Photo by NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens using Landsat data from the U S Geological Survey Photo courtesy of Margaret Landis Story by Michael Carlowicz on Wikimedia

History proves how devastating hurricanes can be. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 left behind more than 1,800 deaths and $160 billion in damages.

Hurricane Harvey flooded entire neighborhoods in Houston in 2017, while Hurricane Ian in 2022 reshaped parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Each event reminded America that storm recovery can take years, not months. Many communities never fully rebuild.

Why One Storm Can Change Everything

cyclone storm hurricane clouds weather the atmosphere power rotate tornado typhoon wind destruction rain nature broken dangerous damage cloudy force of nature catastrophe civil protection climate change climate protection environmental protection natural disaster landscape path dark cyclone storm storm storm hurricane tornado tornado tornado tornado tornado wind wind rain rain climate change climate change climate change climate change
Photo by 51581 on Pixabay

You could have a quiet year, but one major storm can undo years of progress. Even when forecasts predict a mild season, every resident in a hurricane-prone area should prepare as if a storm will hit. Experts insist that readiness is key.

How Climate Change Fuels Stronger Storms

a large field of grass under a cloudy sky
Photo by P ter K vesi on Unsplash

Rising sea levels and warmer oceans are making hurricanes stronger. These warmer waters provide extra energy, creating storms that are slower, wetter, and more destructive. Research from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows that hurricanes today produce more rainfall and stay longer over land than they did decades ago.

Higher sea levels also mean storm surges reach farther inland. As the planet warms, hurricanes will continue to change, and not for the better.

Where the Risks Are Rising Most

A stunning aerial view of Earth with a massive swirling hurricane highlighting meteorological beauty
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels

Florida, Louisiana, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina are the top states at risk for hurricanes. But the danger doesn’t stop there. Recent hurricanes have hit states like New York and Massachusetts, places once considered too far north.

NOAA’s data shows that storm tracks are shifting, pushing risk zones farther up the East Coast. Inland states like Tennessee and Kentucky have also seen deadly flooding from storm remnants. Understanding these new patterns helps communities plan smarter and stay safer.

The High Price of Hurricane Damage

Barber Shop located in Ninth Ward New Orleans Louisiana damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005
Photo by Library of Congress on Unsplash

When hurricanes strike, the economic impact is massive. Damaged homes, flooded roads, and power outages can paralyze local economies for months.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that annual hurricane losses in the U.S. alone total $54 billion. Insurance companies are now pulling out of high-risk states because claims have skyrocketed.

The Emotional Impact of Displacement

Asian woman holding an umbrella amidst storm aftermath with scattered debris
Photo by Denniz Futalan on Pexels

Beyond broken homes and fallen trees, hurricanes can break lives apart. Families often lose everything, sometimes overnight, and are forced to move to temporary shelters or relocate entirely. Displacement brings mental and emotional strain, especially for the elderly and low-income families who lack support systems.

According to the American Psychological Association, disaster survivors often face anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. Recovery involves more than physical rebuilding, it’s about healing, too.

The Power of Early Warnings

When Hurricane Katrina moved over the Gulf Coast of the United States on August 29 2005 its effects were felt far from the reach of its powerful winds drenching rains and surging surf The storm s impact reverberated across the United States and the world its tragedy still ringing fresh after a year Though Katrina achieved the infamous distinction of being among the worst natural disasters in the United States some good did come of the storm Hurricane Katrina provided the perfect proving ground for the latest global atmospheric model developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center The model was not designed to forecast weather but it provides a picture of the processes that drive weather By gaining a clearer understanding of the atmosphere particularly as it relates to hurricanes scientists can improve forecasts and better forecasts can save lives This image shows winds predicted by the model for August 28 2005 the day Hurricane Katrina was at its strongest White swirls near the center of the image illustrate the 161-mile-per-hour winds that circled through the storm on August 28 The lines resemble comets streaking through the sky except that the lines are darkest at the head in the direction that the wind is moving The length of the lines indicates how much the air had moved during a six-hour period The concentrated dots that extend diagonally across the image show the eye of the storm moving steadily northwest towards the United States The animation tracks Hurricane Katrina from August 23 to August 31 2005 The predictions shown here closely matched the actual track the storm took The model that generated the wind predictions shown here is called GEOS-5 for Goddard Earth Observing System It incorporates satellite data collected by NASA s suite of Earth-observing satellites to describe how the atmosphere works Basically scientists want to know if temperatures winds and water vapor are this then what will the atmosphere do What underlying physical processes drive air circulation around the globe More specifically why do some storms turn into monstrous hurricanes while others break apart into wisps of cloud In many other scientific fields such questions are answered in the lab where scientists can make small tweaks to one thing to see how the whole system will react But scientists studying the Earth have no such lab they can t adjust the flow of the wind to see how changes affect storm formation Instead they build a model a mathematical description of the atmosphere in all of its complexities If the model is accurate then it can become the lab where scientists can change temperature or wind or humidity to see how each affects storm formation In this way scientists get a clear picture of how the atmosphere works But the information the model provides is only as good as the model itself To know how well GEOS-5 represented what the atmosphere would actually do scientists at Goddard ran a simulation of the 2005 hurricane season What better way to test the model than to see how well it represented one of the most powerful storms Nature is capable of producing They fed the model information from NASA satellites to keep current conditions up-to-date and predicted how each storm would develop and move across the Atlantic Though the model wasn t perfect it did predict Hurricane Katrina very well The model is also running through the 2006 hurricane season in a project called MAP 06 Image and animations by Perkins de La Beaujardiere and Shirah NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio Click here read more on Hurricane Katrina The 5th Anniversary NASA Retrospective Click here to read more on the subject from the Geeked on Goddard Blog NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation s largest organization of combined scientists engineers and technologists that build spacecraft instruments and new technology to study the Earth the sun our solar system and the universe Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook
Photo by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from Greenbelt MD USA on Wikimedia

Accurate forecasts save lives. Thanks to satellites, radar, and advanced computer models, meteorologists can track hurricanes days before they hit. These warnings give people time to prepare, evacuate, and protect their property.

FEMA stresses the importance of listening to official alerts and having an emergency plan ready. Checking forecasts, charging devices, and stocking essentials can make a critical difference.

What Local Governments Must Do

A group of people riding motorcycles through a flooded street
Photo by Aldward Castillo on Unsplash

Local leaders are the first line of defense during a storm. They open shelters, plan evacuations, and coordinate emergency resources. Coordination with state and federal agencies ensures faster, more organized responses.

FEMA provides resources, but it’s local crews who save lives on the ground. Local authorities also play a key role in rebuilding by securing federal aid and ensuring that new construction meets safety standards. Strong governance makes resilient communities.

Why Infrastructure Matters

cars on flooded street
Photo by jim gade on Unsplash

Outdated bridges, drains, and power systems make hurricane damage worse. Many coastal cities have aging infrastructure not built for today’s more intense storms. Broken levees or overwhelmed sewers quickly lead to flooding and blackouts.

That’s why engineers now focus on resilient design with stronger materials, elevated buildings, and smarter grids. The American Society of Civil Engineers warns that U.S. infrastructure needs over $2.6 trillion in upgrades.

Rebuilding Lives and Communities

A car parked in front of a fallen tree
Photo by Erok Mule on Unsplash

When the winds calm, recovery begins, but it’s often a slow path. Rebuilding stronger homes, restoring power, and helping displaced families can take years.

Federal and state aid programs, nonprofits, and volunteers play key roles. The most successful recoveries happen when communities plan for resilience rather than just replacing what was lost.

How People Can Stay Ready

Two people walk through debris in Banda Aceh Indonesia after a devastating tsunami
Photo by Read Once on Pexels

Every household can take steps to reduce risk. Simple actions like installing storm shutters, reinforcing roofs, and stocking emergency kits make a big difference.

Families should also plan evacuation routes and stay connected to official alerts. The Red Cross recommends having enough water, food, and medication for at least three days.

Building a Culture of Readiness

an aerial view of a house being built
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

With 130 million Americans living in hurricane-prone areas, the nation’s approach to preparedness must evolve. This isn’t just about weather, it’s about resilience, planning, and unity.

Communities must invest in stronger infrastructure, better warning systems, and public education. The path forward lies in awareness, preparation, and collective strength, so that when the next storm comes, America stands ready.