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You Don’t Have To Live On The Coast

 

 

# 4587

 

 

Note: Tomorrow kicks off the 2010 Hurricane Preparedness Week campaign. 

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As a native Floridian who has lived on or around boats much of his life, I have an abiding interest in, and deep respect for, hurricanes.

 

So this week, AFD will spend a good deal of time talking about hurricanes, hurricane history, and preparedness.

 

While we can’t know how many storms will form this year, or how many will affect our shores, we’ve been in an `up-cycle’ of hurricane activity in recent years and forecasters are anticipating an active season.

 

 

Every year I give hurricane preparedness a prominent place in this blog because for more than 50 million Americans living in coastal areas (and millions more in other countries), hurricanes and their byproducts (flooding, tornadoes, lightning) are probably their greatest natural disaster threat.

 

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From Escambia County Hurricane Preparedness Information

 

 

While South Florida and the northern Gulf coast are at highest risk, even those areas not shaded in – even hundreds of miles inland – can still feel the effects of a hurricane. 

 

Inland fresh water flooding is of particular concern as these tropical systems rain themselves out far from the coast.   Even if they no longer carry hurricane force winds, their destructive power remains.

 

Hurricane Agnes (1972), which I remember well as the first disaster I worked as a Red Cross volunteer, caused relatively little damage to Florida where it made landfall as a weak CAT 1 storm, but caused devastating flooding more than a thousand miles inland. 

 

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Of the 122 deaths associated with this storm, only 9 occurred in Florida where Agnes made landfall.  The rest - 113 deaths - were due to inland fresh water flooding, with New York and Pennsylvania suffering the highest loses.

 

Odds are, no one sitting at home in New York state or Pennsylvania on the night of June 19th, 1972 gave much thought to a weak little hurricane that was making landfall more than a thousand miles to their south. 

 

But a week later Agnes would end up being the costliest hurricane in U.S. history up until that date.   And a life altering event for millions of people far removed from where she came ashore.

 


Click for a larger map of Hurricane Hazel 1954

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hurricane Hazel, which had already devastated Haiti (400-1000 deaths) came ashore on the North-South Carolina border in August of 1954.  She claimed 95 lives in the United States and was responsible for as many as 100 deaths in Canada. 

 

 

Hurricane Camille 1969
Click for a larger map of Hurricane Camille 1969

 

 

 

 

 

 

The CAT 5 monster Camille, which claimed 143 lives along the Gulf coast also killed 113 people in associated flooding in Virginia.

 

In 1995, Hurricane Opal (once again, a `Florida’ storm) produced 100 mph winds in Atlanta, Georgia and tornadoes in Maryland that killed at least 1 person.  

 

And  Audrey, the horrific `surprise’ gulf coast CAT 4 storm of 1957 -that claimed more than 550 lives -  killed at least 15 people in Canada.

 

While the closer you are to the coast, the greater your risk, being hundreds of miles inland is no guarantee that a hurricane’s effects won’t reach you.  

 


Which is why everyone, regardless of how far inland they live, needs to be preparing for this upcoming hurricane season. 

 

Don’t delude yourself into believing it can’t happen to you.

 

Some essential hurricane resources to get you started include:

 

http://www.fema.gov/hazard/hurricane/index.shtm

 

http://www.ready.gov/america/beinformed/hurricanes.html

 

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/intro.shtml

 

And of course, you’ll find a long list of preparedness articles on this blog simply by clicking on the PREPAREDNESS quick search on my sidebar.

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Preparedness

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