This City Has the Highest Hurricane Risk on the East Coast
Updated: Nov. 02, 2022
Is your home at risk?
As infamous storms like Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey have shown, tropical storms leave nothing but catastrophic destruction in their wake. And the damage from raging hurricane floods will persistently get worse if sea levels continue to rise at an accelerating rate due to global warming, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. In fact, global warming will make strong hurricanes, like Category 4s and 5s, more frequent.
The Caribbean islands are especially vulnerable to these tropical storms, as evidenced by Hurricane Dorian devastating the Bahamas in September 2019. But many hurricanes prove to be a threat to cities in the southeastern United States, too.
Since coastal states in the south are extremely susceptible to getting hit hard by hurricanes, it’s no surprise that Miami, Florida tops the list as the most vulnerable city at risk of being hit by a hurricane, according to data from the NOAA’s Hurricane Research Division. “Miami has a large population density, and as a result, the effects of a major hurricane would be catastrophic to the city,” meteorologist David Samuhel told accuweather.com. “Miami is probably the largest city on this list to see a Category 4 or 5 hurricane in the future.”
Hurricane data from the past 126 years shows that a hurricane will pass within 50 miles of Miami every six to eight years. Researchers estimate that Miami has a 16 percent chance of experiencing the impacts of a hurricane in any given year. “These numbers are not based upon property damage but instead focus on the chances that a hurricane will strike a region based upon factors such as geography and location,” hurricane expert Dan Kottlowski told AccuWeather.
Plus, Miami has the perfect conditions for a hurricane to wreak havoc: It sits at a maximum of 42 feet above sea level and holds a large population density within 20 miles of its coastline. The 2020 storm surge report from CoreLogic, a provider of consumer, financial, and property data, reveals that more than 798,000 single-family homes in Miami are at risk of a storm surge (rising sea levels from atmospheric pressure changes and wind associated with a storm), which would cost nearly $160 billion in repairs. New York City came in as a close second with more than 732,000 homes at risk of a storm surge with a whopping reconstruction value of $285 billion!
And how is this high-risk city faring during Hurricane Laura? Well, according to NBC Miami, the center of Laura re-emerged off the Western coast of Cuba a few nights ago and is heading straight for the Texas/Louisiana coast, so Florida should be somewhat spared. For more information on how to keep your home and family safe during a hurricane, visit the redcross.org and make sure you do these things you must do to prepare your home for a storm.
Sources:
- NRDC.org. Flooding and Climate Change: Everything You Need to Know.
- Accuweather.com. Top 5 US cities most vulnerable to hurricanes.
- Corelogic.com. 2020 Storm Surge Report.
- NBCMiami.com. Laura Strengthens, Expected to Become Major Hurricane at Landfall.
- Redcross.org. Hurricane Safety.
