Demystifying Hurricane Florence Through A Geographic Perspective

For a hurricane that reached landfall at “category 1”, the resultant effect, damages and response it has garnered over the past few days of its inception is nothing close to that of a category 1. With over 1 million people displaced and without power, 43 people killed, millions of animals killed, damages reaching about $17 billion dollars, the resulting flood broke records and sent animal waste and toxic coal ash spilling out of containment structures and into surrounding waters. A hurricane of this magnitude with torrential downpour of up to 30 inches of rain in some areas as the storm made landfall and about 8 trillion gallons of rainfall is expected (This is because Florence is driven by warm air, it is capable of carrying more water, because warm air generally holds more water than cold air) to have been predicted but not wrongly. The 47 year old five-step saffirr-simpson hurricane wind scale which measures only wind speed downgraded the category of the hurricane after its wind had weakened from a 130mph which was categorized as a 4 and was expected to hit North Carolina at 120mph at category 3 and then further down.

Millions of Americans from Texas to Maine know by heart the categories of each storm and as such are entitled to feel prepared for the inevitable if only they are provided by the right information. Hurricanes form in tropical waters around the globe and the larger the area with tropical storm-force winds, the more potential for those winds to push water onshore, and the greater the impact of storm surge. It is worthy to note that September is a peak hurricane season where the Atlantic Ocean gets hotter than any other time in the year making it conducive for hurricane formation. Three simultaneous hurricanes were expected this year hurricane Helene, Isaac and Florence, and it is safe to say that these kind of things are expected at this kind of times. Although hurricane Florence has a 0.1% chance of happening in any given year, it doesn’t mean this kind of event won’t happen again in the nearest future due to increased climate changes.

With damages estimated to be about $17 billion dollars, rebuilding is a huge task everyone, including the government has come together to achieve, although it is suspected that the hurricane might return, however, there is a lot of dry air and low level winds which is not a good environment for growing a hurricane. A number of individuals, organizations and companies are stepping up to offer assistance in any way they can. Among the first responders being Michael Jordan who grew up in North Carolina donating $1 million to International Red Cross and another $1 million dollars to the foundation for the Carolinas and McDonalds following suit with a $500,000 pledge. However, there is still a lot of work to be done.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are actively responding, providing emergency response staffing and other assistance to residents, agricultural producers, and impacted communities at large. The USDA has been helping to rescue and evacuate residents, animal health, provision of food and drugs, assisting farmers and help ensure the safety of food and water as flood water recedes. The International Red Cross has not been left out too with recorder help of 323,000 served meals, 8,800 relief kits that contains diapers, toothbrushes and soaps and over 100,000 overnight stays in shelters