Barrier islands and wetlands are natural protection against the storm surge, and work to slow it down by helping to absorb the impact. However, when houses are built on barrier islands like Galveston, Texas, they end up doing the absorbing, with devastating results. Furthermore, the destruction of wetlands for construction also increases the storm impact. Wetlands can help to slow a storm, however, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that the wetlands in the lower forty-eight states are half the area that they were in 1700.
What About the Fish?
Under the sea is where it’s at during a hurricane. Though landfall leads to evacuations and destruction, most ocean life remains unharmed during these violent storms. However, sea birds may be pushed far from their homes by strong winds and animals that habitat on the coast, such as turtles, may have their nests destroyed.
Large, breaking waves can also thrash coral reefs and the organisms that live in and feed off them. Most reefs can recover, however.
Worse or Better?
The effect that global warming—specifically rising ocean temperatures—has on hurricane frequency and strength is not clear. Studies have shown that tropical cyclones have increased in intensity since the 1980s, something that could likely be attributed to rising sea temperatures. However, more recent research indicates that global warming has not caused a surge in frequency, but its affects on the intensity of the storms is unclear.
Whether or not we’ll see an increase in the damage that is incurred by hurricanes has more to do with how many people are continuing to build along hurricane-heavy areas versus those who are able to watch the storm from a safe spot.
Updated August 17, 2009.
