Hurricanes: Their Nature and Impacts on Society - Climate Science ...

24 HURRICANES: THEIR NATURE AND IMPACT ON SOCIETY
Alicia 1983
Alicia in August 1983 was the first hurricane to make l<strong>and</strong>fall in the US since
1980. Alicia made l<strong>and</strong>fall as a Category 3 storm over Galveston Isl<strong>and</strong>,
Texas. The storm carried with it a 15 foot storm surge <strong>and</strong> spawned several
dozen tornadoes during l<strong>and</strong>fall. L<strong>and</strong>fall at Galveston came as somewhat of
a surprise as the storm was poorly forecasted. Residents were fortunate to
have in place the sea wall built following the 1900 disaster.
Hurricane Alicia in 1983 had the potential to produce a catastrophe. It formed
as a weak storm in the Gulf of Mexico in an environment that did not appear
favorable for strengthening. Local officials in Galveston decided against
complete evacuation of coastal areas. When Alicia strengthened significantly in
the 18 hours before l<strong>and</strong>fall, it was too late to totally evacuate the threatened
area. Large loss of life was averted by the presence of a 15-foot sea wall that was
built to protect the city following the record disaster of 1900. ...Few coastal
locations have such massive seawalls. If a similar situation occurred in an
unprotected area, resulting casualties could number in the hundreds or
thous<strong>and</strong>s. (AMS 1986)
Subsequently, Alicia moved inl<strong>and</strong>, passing directly over the Houston, Texas,
area causing extensive damage. The storm resulted in 21 deaths <strong>and</strong> $2.8
billion (1994 $) in hurricane-related damages, at the time making it the
costliest disaster in Texas history (Eagleman 1990).
Hugo 1989
When Hurricane Hugo made l<strong>and</strong>fall just north of Charleston, South
Carolina, on 22 September 1989, it was the first Category 4 (or higher) storm
to strike the US coast since Camille (1969) 20 years earlier. Prior to its
l<strong>and</strong>fall on the US Atlantic coast, the storm had directly hit the US Virgin
Isl<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> Puerto Rico. The storm cost 49 people their lives, <strong>and</strong> resulted in
more than $9 billion in total damages, with more than $7 billion due to
damage on the US mainl<strong>and</strong> (DOC 1990). Although Charleston, South
Carolina, escaped the full fury of the storm, the city suffered extensive
damage. Loss of life <strong>and</strong> property could have been much worse had Hugo
made l<strong>and</strong>fall just a little south of where it did.
Andrew 1992
After passing over the isl<strong>and</strong> of Eleuthra, in the Bahamas, Hurricane Andrew
made l<strong>and</strong>fall over Dade County, Florida, on 24 August 1992 <strong>and</strong> then
moved into the Gulf of Mexico before making a second l<strong>and</strong>fall three days
later over rural Louisiana. The storm was one of the most costly natural