Long beforesatellites , radar and estimator fashion model could predict the track and intensity ofhurricanesand tropical storms , there was Galveston . It was 1900 , and the Gulf Coast Texas city was a sit duck . Offshore spin a powerful hurricane with winds that exceeded 130 miles ( 209.21 km ) per time of day .
The storm did n’t have a name , because back then no one gave hurricanes names . Forecasting storms was more guessing than scientific discipline . Before racing through the Gulf on its elbow room to Texas , it had hammered the Caribbean . The Weather Bureau , which at the prison term was responsible for issuing warnings of wild weather , had done so . As expert would later determine , " many did n’t heed the warnings , favour instead to follow the huge waves " [ informant : Britt ] .
In the end , those huge waving devastated Galveston . When the hurricane move ashore on Sept. 8 , it crash into the city . A violent storm surge of 8 to 15 feet ( 2.44 to 4.57 meters ) swamp the island and other part of the coast . one-half of Galveston ’s homes were swept away . By the time the storm terminate , between 8,000 and 12,000 multitude were deadened [ reservoir : Britt ] .
When a hurricane hit , it ’s normally not the wind or rain that causes the most damage . The deadliest prospect of a hurricane is thestorm surge . tempest surges human body as a hurricane travels over ardent water . As the hurricane sucks in moisture and heat from the water , it increase in strong point . The storm ’s firm winds slam against the sea surface , forcing water to jam up . This rampart of water then moves toward the coast , gaining energy and strength as it travels . It can take hours for a surge to progress . By the meter the hurricane slam into the shoring , the storm rush can be a towering behemoth , a wall of water sweep away everything in its path [ source : NBCNews.com ] .
What can humans do to protect their prop against such devastation ?
Is storm surge a man-made problem?
One hundred and five year after Galveston , another Gulf Coast residential district was lay waste to by ahurricane . This fourth dimension the metropolis was New Orleans and the hurricane had a name : Katrina . New Orleans sit around at the mouth of the Mississippi River at sea point , protected by a series of levees . The levees are supposed to hold back the sea when a storm egress . When Katrina barreled its way onshore on Sept. 29 , 2005 , the urban center had on the face of it get away the worst of the disaster . Then , the storm billow heap up offshore , finally overwhelming the levees that protected the city .
The weak levees were n’t the only things that allowed Katrina to overwhelm the Big Easy . Over the decades , born precaution against rise water had eroded out . Coastal wetland and the barrier island that once protect New Orleans could no longer stop the flood of ocean water . Since the 1930s , Louisiana had lose more than 1.2 million acres ( 485,622 hectares ) of wetland . These wetlands had disappeared because the dams and theleveesthat protect the region against flooding immobilize the sediment that Mother Nature use to build wetland sphere [ source : Wade ] . When Katrina struck , there was nothing to trip her up .
The same scenario is being played out across the world , as populations boom and look for for new areas to inhabit . After the Great Midwest Flood of 1993 retire , expert determined that the refurbishment of 13 million Akko ( 5.2 million hectare ) of wetlands along the upper Mississippi - Missouri River catchment basin would have absorbed enough floodwater to abbreviate damage , which totaled some $ 16 billion . It would have cost $ 2 to $ 3 billion to repair the watershed [ source : Wade ] .
mend ecosystem would do much to mitigate the impact of coastal storm surges . But is there anything homeowners can do to protect their belongings ?
What You Can Do To Protect Your Property From Storm Surge
We ’ve all encounter the images . Perhaps you have been one of the millions who had to evacuate an domain because of rising urine . Maybe you lost your home when the water affect inland . Was there anything that you could have done to protect your dimension ? Probably not .
Water hold up where it wants to go . It can breachlevees , pound dams into dust and overwhelm breakwater . While it might seem that agitate a storm surge is a David and Goliath battle , there are stair you could take to minimize the impact of implosion therapy . For one matter , you could prove to protect your home ’s foundation with sandbags . You should put the sandbag not only around the foundation , but also near any vents or openings . you could also utilise aluminum or glass flood panel around vents [ generator : Lavernia and Smart ] .
Water will go to the lowest useable point . That ’s why cellar flood . cellar are sort of like a bulwark against flood water supply damaging the rest of the house . To a certain extent , the basement is meant to inundate . If your neighborhood is prone to flooding of any type , you should get up the furnace , pee heaterand electrical panel . Seal the basement wall with waterproof compounds . establish backflow plug and valves to prevent water from stimulate into the rest of the home . These devices can terminate can , shower cubicle , baths and sinks from becoming geyser of noisome water supply . Also , screw how to turn off the electrical energy and other utilities [ generator : Thomas Willis ] .
And know your property . Are you in an orbit that is prostrate to violent storm - surge damage ? Have your neighbors experience such flooding in the yesteryear ? If you be in a storm - surge zone , be prepare . violent storm surge can hit at any time . have a go at it the evacuation route . Know how to contact household members . Make certain the basement windows are close and your car is fuel . Keep an inventory of all your property . Make trusted you have everything you need in an pinch supply kit . Include changes of clothes , battery - power radios , batteries and flashlight [ source : Public Safety Emergency Preparedness Canada ] .
Perhaps the good matter you’re able to do to protect your property from flooding of any type is to buy flood insurance . Storm surge implosion therapy is not report by most homeowner ’s policies . The wrath of Mother Nature is sinewy , but there are things you may do to struggle back .
There is n’t much you may do when a violent storm surge strikes . The best advice the experts give is to gear up yourself for the worse , and empty when there ’s time . dwelling house and belongings can be replaced . animation can not .
